Joe Gray… AKA Gray Matter Lifting is someone who is truly passionate about the home gym community. His goal is to create opportunities and content for the community he wants to watch, read, and take part in. He performs 1+ year reviews with no affiliate links, coordinates monthly AMAs as a moderator on Reddit r/Home Gym, runs the annual #GarageGymCompetition on Instagram, and documents other “experiences” in the “Gray Matter Lab” on his blog. He’s also a dad, instructional designer and human resources professional, married to a fellow garage gym athlete, a father, and can squat over 500 pounds.
OKAY. LET’S GO
What’s your favorite part of being a moderator of r/homegym on Reddit?
I really love the handful of events and topics I run every month. Scheduling the AMAs and getting a chance to bring to light some cool companies, brands, and people that others might not know about… and then our monthly targeted talks have been a huge hit, really getting nerdy on one item each month, learning from the broader community and helping people make sense of it all. I just love seeing the community have an open dialogue, discuss, learn, and grow!
Anything you’ve learned that has been truly surprising or caught you off guard from the home gym community from Reddit?
We all have a lot in common in terms of the “Home Gym Experience” regardless of the extent of your equipment and space. Things like craigslist scores, getting in an early workout before a busy day, finding time for a rower session while the kiddo naps, etc. Whether you have $10k invested, or $10 invested, you are accomplishing the same thing… getting it done at home whenever and however you can.
Does the Reddit Home Gym crowd differ from what you see on Instagram? If so, how?
Sort of. The nice thing about Instagram is that you can choose who to follow, so you only get what you want. The nice thing about Reddit is that you CAN’T choose who to follow, so you get a little bit of everything. There was a post recently of someone who didn’t want ANY weights, so they snagged an Inspire FT2 and a few bodyweight machines like a back extension. I’d never follow that person on Instagram, but I learned a few things about the FT2 from them. So I think it gives you a broader view of what is out there, whether you like it or not.
You’ve reviewed quite a bit of items for your home gym. What’s your “favorite” item or two that you’ve reviewed.
The Rickshaw from Edge Fitness Systems continues to get used and abused regularly by me and my wife. I’ve said before, it isn’t for everyone, but for us, absolute game changer. Weighted carries on the sidewalk went from a nuisance to a joy. It doubles for deadlifts, I use it for rows, sometimes push-ups, etc. Just a solid addition to my gym.
The Powertec Levergym for space constrained athletes that enjoy some bodybuilderish accessories is just awesome (as long as you aren’t above 6ft tall). High cable, low cable, pressing arms for decline, flat, incline, and overhead presses. Flip around and use them for rows, both standing and prone, as well as deadlift variations. They also go iso-lateral, so hit one arm at a time, alternating arms, etc. Even has a bar for leverage squats. The bench has attachments for leg curls/extensions, preacher curls, flyes, and freaking leg presses! Keep in mind, a commercial $5000 leg press (and chest machine, back machine, etc.) is going to be light years better, but this thing takes up half the space, costs 1/5th less, and does 30x more stuff. This is not your Wal-Mart special Gold’s Gym All-In-One.
You are a veteran home gym owner. In 50 words or less, what advice would you give to someone looking to start a home gym?
Plan it out, start small, and don’t be afraid of the used market. Follow those three things, you’ll save a ton of money and get better stuff that you will ACTUALLY use.
What’s this Garage Gym Competition that you started (describe in less than 100 words)?
A virtual powerlifting meet taking place in the middle of May each year for Garage Gym athletes, by Garage Gym athletes, and sponsored by companies that support the community. You can win awesome stuff from awesome people and companies, it is free, and the community is crazy supportive. If you need some fire under your ass to train, we got you!
What gave you this idea (for the Garage Gym Competition)?
I had an idea that we had a lot of weekend warrior type powerlifters in the garage gym community, as well as a lot of people that were “just lifting”, and putting something together for us to collectively aim for bigger and better TOGETHER would be cool. It worked out better than I had thought.
You started the Garage Gym Competition two years ago. How did you see it grow in the 2nd year?
We went from about 80 people to just over 210. We added a bunch of awesome sponsors, where we went from the biggest prize was a bench from a no-name company, to 4 barbells, a half rack, a rower, and a ton more from some of the bigger home gym manufacturers, on top of awesome stuff from guys like you, Garage Gym Lab, Garage Gym Powerlifting, Garage-Gyms.com and more. We also had more “get-togethers”, or “mock meets” where people had friends, family, and fellow lifters over for a day of PRs, food, laughter, and more. It doesn’t get much better than that, and I credit Working Class Barbell for getting the ball rolling on that idea.
The thing I was most proud of, was the increase in diversity. We had people who had never posted to Instagram before, people who didn’t even own a bench or squat rack, even a dude in a banana suit! We had about 40 women participate in year 2, we had people in multiple countries, and even had some kids down to age 2 (with adult supervision)! Lots of husband and wife duos, people who were seasoned powerlifters tossing this into their training mix, and people who had started lifting a few weeks or months before the competition.
My main goal was for it to always be inclusive, whether you total 135lbs or 3000lbs and inclusive of every race, creed, color, gender, and more, so this tells me we are headed down the right path.
Anything else you’d like to add?
If you are reading this and on the fence about whether the #GarageGymCompetition is right for you or not, you can go and see ALL of the entries from the last two years if you check out the hashtag on Instagram. If you don’t see someone that looks like you, lifts like you, in a space like yours, I’d be shocked (and please tell me, because we are obviously missing something).
What I’m saying is… Powerlifters, Crossfitters, Bodybuilders, Strongmen, Olympic Lifters, and literally anyone else who pursues strength with a barbell… we got you! Crush some lifts, encourage some of your fellow garage gym athletes, and maybe win something cool!
Oh, and I donate money to Special Olympics on behalf of everyone who enters, so you are doing something good no matter what!
Lastly, thank you Joe for taking the time to do this! For more info about what you heard above, check out his blog, Instagram Account, YouTube Channel, r/HomeGym and #GarageGymCompetition.
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