Intro
The third year of “Sunday Surveys” is live. What originally started as a few random questions to the community has turned into a weekly update with thousands of responses for each topic. This page showcases survey results for 2021. The first few years of data are summarized below:
Results are released weekly. Stay in the loop weekly by subscribing below:
Miscellaneous End of Year Questions
- 68% voted “yes” when asked if the Plate Loaded Lat Pulldown from Titan was the best value specialty machine available.
- When asked which lat attachment many would choose if they could only have one, the traditional lat bar won with about 42% of the votes. Mag Grip style wasn’t too far back with 36% and 22% voted multi-grip.
12/5/2021
What is your “Rack Hardware” Preference? (1:27)
- 1-inch is the clear winner with close to 3 out of 5 votes. Examples include the Rogue Monster Racks, PR-5000, and Titan Series.
- Very little chose other, which means that these are very clearly the favorite options for most.
About 28% bought gym equipment during a November 2021 sale (4:40)
- This is far less than the the 50% saying they expected to make a sale towards the middle of the month.
Vertical Folding > Folded Up Adjustable Bench Storage for most. (6:36)
- The new Bridge Built Adjustable Bench was not seen as a better option than something that stores vertically like the REP AB-5200 or Get RXD FIDAB-2. 82% voted for the “Vertical Storage.”
- In this audio section, we also discuss some potential product ideas.
A majority are working out “outside” of traditional working hours (12:37)
- Evenings are the most popular workout time. 43% are working out after 4 pm, 27% before 8 am, and 31% during the day. This aligns pretty well with a survey accomplished in April of 2019.
Saving time is more important than saving money (15:47)
- Saving time received nearly 6x more votes than the potential money that can be saved by owning your own gym.
A decent amount answering these surveys are running a “business” out of their home gym (18:34)
- Whether it’s running a personal training business or creating content, there are quite a bit using their personal gym to make some income.
Lots of time is saved by owning a home gym (18:56)
- Less than 10% believe that they are saving less than 15 minutes by owning their own setup.
- A massive 43% save more than 45 minutes.
- Let’s just say you save 30 minutes a day and you workout 5 times a week. That would ultimately save you 130 hours a year, which is more than 3 “work weeks.”
Have you been “Influenced?” (21:46)
- About 41% they’ve made a gym equipment purchase based on a personal recommendation from a friend or family member, while 54% say a recommendation from a “home gym influencer” has influenced them to make a purchase.
What’s the #1 reason you train? AND What’s the #2 reason you train? (23:33)
- With the four options availalbe to choose from (in the chart below), physical health was easily the number one reason someone trains with mental health being the second. These two responses made up about 75% of total responses for both question.
Cold winters are worse for most than hot summers (30:18)
- Without question, this just depends on where you live, but about 65% say cold winters are tougher than the hot summers (35%).
11/28/2021
(0:43) When buying gym equipment, how important is it that it was made in your country (if possible)?
- Nearly 38% stated that it was not important at all while a total of around 43% voted it to be at least “important” with a small portion of that saying it’s essential. About 20% did not have any feelings on the subject.
- There isn’t too much variance from when this question was asked in August 2020.
(1:38) What proportion of your gym was made in your country?
- The distribution of “made in your country” equipment is relatively spread out. There are some with very little and others with a lot of gym equipment that was made in their country.
- This question was also asked in August 2020 and the proportion of gym equipment made in “your” country is down slightly.
(4:05) What do you lift with?
- Most answering these questions are in the USA, so it’s not suprising that the majority are lifting with pounds.
(4:56) Is it okay to finance gym equipment? “and” Have you financed gym equipment?
- Overall, most do not believe that you should be financing gym equipment and most have not.
- In an upcoming survey, we will make sure to include a question that includes 0% interest, which is something this question does not account for.
(6:21) Would you consider yourself an “equipment snob?”
- About 38% believe they are a “snob” when it comes to equipment. This is up from a September 2021 question where 32% said they were “equipment snobs.”
(8:21) How many work out in your home gym?
- Only 32% of home gyms have a single person using it and the most popular answer was “two” with nearly 43% of the responses.
- This did not vary too much from last time this was asked about (December 2020), but the amount per household did shrink a bit.
(10:24) Kabuki or Eleiko?
- Eleiko is the winner of this one with 56% of the votes.
- Kabuki did make up some ground from a survey done back in 2020 where they received only 41% of the votes.
(12:28) Do you drink a “pre-workout” before working out?
- Over half are slugging a pre-workout before most of their workouts (this aligns with a 2020 survey as well where 51% also said yes)
(14:41) Is it worth spending $30-$40 more for a barbell that will not rust?
- Over 9/10 think that it is worth spending the extra 💰.
- 89% voted “yes” back in December 2020 so not much has changed. A follow-up conversation is here.
(15:09) Battle Rope or Inertia Wave?
- Nearly 3x more voted for the Battle Rope over the Inertia Wave with about 40% not knowing what both are or the difference between them.
(17:54) Do you actually save money by owning a home gym?
- Over half say that they do indeed save money by owning a home gym, contrary to many of the amazing gyms posted on Instagram. So, don’t let those fool you!
- In October 2020, 62% said they saved money, so the totals are down slightly.
- A follow up question was asked on Instagram, which you can check out below. Many took the opportunity to say no, but…. there are so many other benefits that are more important than money. That was not the original intention of the IG post, but it’s good to know!
(22:29) How many home gym instagram accounts do you follow?
- Less than 8% are only following 1 home gym Instagram account, while over 52% are following four or more.
- This has changed relatively significantly over the year. For example, one year ago, only about 40% were following four or more, while it’s above half now. In addition, 16% were only following one and that number has shrunk to less than 8%.
(24:33) REP or Rogue Bench?
(40:12) Sunday Survey Discussion – What’s the best purchase you’ve ever made for the home gym? Worst?
This question was asked in an IG Post as the #sundaysurveydiscussion. A few of the responses mentioned at least a few times included:
- A heavy duty rack and a solid barbell
- Nuobells and Powerblocks
Some of the worst purchases included:
- Cheap benches
- Battle Ropes
- Cheap pulley systems
- “Economy” barbells
11/21/2021
(0:00) Intro
This week we have a few quick hitters talking about the Assault Bike, “specialty bar” storage, and the new Bridge Built adjustable bench. Then, we’ll discuss a typically repeated survey each season, which revolves around the “issues” we face as home gym owners. There are two “issues” that are easily the biggest problems that home gym owners face.
***The audio version is available on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
(0:26) Quick Hitters
- (0:57) 51% say that the Assault Bike is “not” irrelevant, but 72% would choose the Rogue Echo Bike over it.
- (1:33) 86% believe that “Specialty Bar Storage” would be a good idea.
- (4:50) 63% vote “Yay” to the “Bridge Built” Adjustable Bench that folds up. This will be released during Black Friday.
(4:50) Issues
Last week’s Sunday Survey took a look at “issues” home gym owners face. When answering, you needed to highlight whether it was an issue or not and if it was an issue, whether or not it was large, medium, or minor.
There are 13 different potential issues that were asked about. Below is a breakout of each.
(7:32) Barely Issues
Less than 10% voted for these as either “medium” or “large” issues.
| Issue | Not an issue | Minor Issue | Medium Issue | Large Issue |
| Working out safely | 61.41% | 28.96% | 6.58% | 3.05% |
| Not enough lighting | 54.74% | 34.99% | 8.02% | 2.26% |
| Equipment aging quickly | 66.17% | 27.06% | 5.20% | 1.58% |
| Finishing workouts in home gym | 62.93% | 28.94% | 6.62% | 1.50% |
(8:32) Small Issues
Between 10% and 20% voted these as “medium” issues. In addition, at least 31% votes as a “minor issue.
| Issue | Not an issue | Minor Issue | Medium Issue | Large Issue |
| Concern about making too much noise | 46.63% | 31.42% | 15.71% | 6.25% |
| Warming up for home workouts | 51.83% | 31.05% | 11.36% | 5.76% |
| Keeping home gym clean | 29.15% | 48.46% | 17.61% | 4.77% |
| Amount of equipment | 29.56% | 48.38% | 17.88% | 4.18% |
| Quality of equipment in home gym | 54.16% | 31.35% | 10.34% | 4.16% |
(9:47) Medium Issues
- At least 70% said that these were at least minor issues.
| Issue | Not an issue | Minor Issue | Medium Issue | Large Issue |
| Temperature control | 28.12% | 35.83% | 24.24% | 11.81% |
| Distractions during home workouts | 27.08% | 43.10% | 23.10% | 6.73% |
(11:28) Large Issues
- Over 60% voted for these as more than a “minor” issue.
| Issue | Not an issue | Minor Issue | Medium Issue | Large Issue |
| Lack of space for home gym | 11.36% | 28.20% | 31.68% | 28.76% |
| Price of obtaining more equipment | 8.13% | 24.12% | 39.26% | 28.49% |
(12:25) Comparison to the Summer
- In general, the overall “issues” did get smaller. For example, last summer 15% of the votes were for “large issues,” wheras this time around it was only 8%.
- Several “issues” did get a bit larger – disctractions, lack of space, and price of obtaining equipment.
- However, most issues did improve. Working out safely, equipment aging quickly, finishing home workouts, and not enough lighting were not seen as big as issues.
That’s it!
Thanks to all for voting and checking out the results!
11/14/2021
Audio
An overview of this week’s results is live on Spotify and Apple! It’s likely on your podcast host of choice as well. Take a listen, subscribe if you’d like, and let us know what you think!
(2:47) Good or Bad Idea?
Last week, we tried a “game” that we haven’t done in quite a while via Instagram Stories. It was called “Good Idea or Bad Idea.” You needed to pick whether each product idea was “good” or “bad.” These are all ideas that do not exist today or are not well known by the vast majority. It’s also important to note that many of these ideas may be more difficult and cost-inefficient to produce, but it’s a fun way to think about what’s possible.
Below is a summary of the results:
- The sandbag that can also be used as a “Ruck” bag was the easy winner with 69% voting good idea.
- There are many “eco-friendly” lines popping up in a number of industries (toothpaste, laundry detergent, electric cars, etc.). About 55% voted an “eco-friendly gym equipment line” as a good idea.
- A bench that adjusts to the ground for floor press impressed about 47%. This seems like an option that would be easy to store against a wall as well.
- The detachable “center knurl pad” did not impress many. With many people opting to use a multi-purpose bar for their home gym (without a center knurl), this could potentially help with heavy squats.
(5:38) Concept 2 eeks out a victory over the Rogue Echo Bike in a battle of “if you could only have 1.”
It was close, but the Concept 2 Rower received 51.7% of the vote. This was asked in April 2021 where the Rogue Echo Bike was the winner with 50.2% of the votes. Typically, the Echo Bike does win this one. We’ll do this one again early next year to see if the C2 Rower grows its lead or if the Rogue option takes it back.
(6:32) REP is a better “home gym option” for more people than Sorinex
About 3 in 5 (60.1%) said they’d be filling their gym with REP over Sorinex if they had to pick between the two
(7:29) Powerlifting dominates CrossFit in workout preference?
With 63% of the votes, powerlifting wins this one easy. This is another one of those surveys done in April where Powerlifting one with 56% of the votes. This shift most likely shows a shift in the audience vs. a change in the world.
(8:07) More prefer a Garage over a Basement for their home gym
Nearly 3 out of 4 voted for the garage. In this IG conversation though, more basement gym fans came in to argue their side of the argument.
(9:07) About half expect to make a home gym purchase during Black Friday Sales
For the third straight week, this question was asked. After rising the second time around, it dropped a few percentage points to 50.2%.
(10:57) More have bought gym equipment on the “Used Marketplace” than sold.
A significant amount of people have sold or purchased gym equipment on the used marketplace. More have bought than sold though.
(13:23) Roller J-Cups are more appealing to most over Monolifts
Roller J-Cups received about 50% more votes than monolifts with about 36% not having any interest at all.
(15:58) Clearing Space for Gym more difficult than Filling Space with Gym
86% say that it’s more difficult to find the space for that gym equipment. This is a question that has been asked several times during these surveys, and they have always produced a similar result.
(18:09) What’s Your Favorite Home Gym Hack?
Some notable responses included:
- You’re able to lift with your kids or while they are around
- “You can switch the laundry or emails while “resting” for the next set”
- Leaf blower to clean
- Black gorilla tape to keep stall mats from moving
- Bands can replicate a ton of “machine movements.”
- You save money on gas, which means more money for the home gym supplies.
11/7/2021
This post analyzes a number of head-to-head matchups like REP vs. Titan and Half Racks vs. Power Racks, along with some other random questions like what is your foldaway rack of choice and if you expect to make a gym equipment purchase this month (again)?
Listen to the Podcast
An overview of this week’s results is live on Spotify and Apple! Take a listen, subscribe if you’d like, and let us know what you think!
Which One?
To start, there were several head-to-head matchups where you had to choose which one you preferred. Matchups included:
- Rep vs. Titan
- Half Racks vs. Power Rack
- Concept 2 vs. All Other Cardio Machines
- 3 Traditional Hex Dumbbells (Any Weight) vs. 1 Set of Adjustable Dumbbell (Your Choice)
- Rogue Rack vs. REP Rack (with price in mind)
REP over Titan
- REP wins this one pretty easily over Titan with 75% of the votes. This head-to-head matchup was also featured in June where just under 69% went with the equipment supplier based out of Denver. Therefore, the gap did widen a bit.
Power Rack over Half Rack
- This question was also a repeat from June, with 79% choosing power rack before. It went down slightly to 74%. Nevertheless, power racks are still dominant over the half rack.
Concept 2 over All Other Cardio Machines
- Concept 2 proves it’s dominance amongst this group with taking over 60% of the votes. When this question was asked, it was even noted to take into consideration the Rogue Echo Bike and Peloton.
3 Traditional Hex DB Pairs over Any Adjustable Dumbbell Set by a Smidge
- This was another repeat from June where 3 traditional hex dumbbells received 50.4% of the vote. That number did not change much with 3 traditional hex dumbbells getting 51.5% of the votes.
Rogue Rack over REP Rack (with price in mind)
- About 59% went with the American made option. However, with over 41% of the votes, REP didn’t get blown out.
More expect to make a Black Friday Purchase than 2 weeks ago
- This question was also asked two weeks ago. The overall % is up about seven percentage points. Therefore, after seeing some deals, more are likely to purchase.
Many have a slope, but say it does not affect much
- Only about 1 in 10 say that the slope they have in their workout spot affects their workouts. 47% say no and the other 43% say that one exists, but it doesn’t hurt their workouts too much.
- Keep in mind that a portion of these gyms are in basements or another spot around the home. Therefore, it does seem that most with a garage do have at least some type of slope they are working with.
Rogue is top foldaway rack choice
- Rogue received over 53% of the votes. While in second place, PRX, who is known for their foldaway racks, received about 19% of the votes and slightly beat out the third place option of REP or Titan.
When working out at home, most do it alone
- About 2 in 3 are doing every single workout alone. Only 5% are working out with a partner at home a majority of the time.
Low Interest in All-in-One Trainers
- An all in one trainer is not at the top of most lists. More said they didn’t know what they were vs. “high interest.”
What’s the #1 Item on your wish list?
Top Items mentioned in this discussion included:
- Cardio options like the Echo Bike, SkiErg, and Concept 2 Rower were high on many lists.
- GHD was a “specialty item” mentioned quite a few times.
- The SSB was the barbell highlighted the msot often.
- All responses are in the Instagram post below:
10/31/2021
Audio
An overview of this week’s results is live on Spotify and Apple! Take a listen, subscribe if you’d like, and let us know what you think! We’ll work on adding some additional listening options shortly.
Without price included, what is your level of interest in the Ropeflex rx505?
- For those unaware, the RX505 is a rack attached endless rope that can be attached to a power rack. It can be attached to the top, middle, or bottom, and simulates a number of climbing movements.
- The overall interest was not too high, even without considering the price, which starts at $575. A little less than a fourth voted “high” interest. You can use the promo code GGE to save 20% though, if interested!
Yay or Nay to REP Wide Pads?
- This upgrade option was just added to the AB-3000 and AB-5000. Nearly 7/10 say “Yay” to to this upgrade from REP..
Is the REP AB-3000 the best bench for most people?
- A whopping 78% said this FID bench was the best option for most people when taking into consideration what people want to pay for a bench.
Trick or Treat
Sunday was Halloween, so we asked whether these non “home gym essentials” were either a “trick” or “treat.” In this case, “trick” means gimmicks, and “treat” would be something you want or think is practical.
Highlights include:
- Fat Gripz were the easy winner with 75% voting “treat.” This is likely the most well known item on the list.
- Bandbell bars, the Preacher Pad, and Primal Kettlebells all had at least 50% of their votes as “treat.”
- 58% of the total votes were “trick” with the HyBell leading the way with 81% of its votes being “trick.”
What’s a company or product for your home gym that more people should know about?
A couple of companies mentioned the most were:
- Surplus Stength with the Universal Pulley System
- Havak who is popular for their adjustable triads, cable attachments, and sliders
- I Sell Fitness making budget friendly options and also includes local pickup.
10/25/2021
There is much concern about deals this year with a supply chain crisis and rising steel prices. This analysis gives insights into what people expect and the gym equipment they are interested in during this highly anticipated time of the year for those building out a home gym.
Audio
If you have been following the most recent survey results, you’ve seen that we’ve been testing it out in an audio form. Below is another discussion of the results. We didn’t feel like the quality was high enough to be our “first official podcast,” but take a listen and let us know if you think we’re on the right track! The Garage Gym Experiment Podcast will launch soon.
Do you think there will be decent deals this year for Black Friday?
- As discussed above, the ideal circumstances for amazing deals don’t exist. Therefore, hope for great deals on gym equipment this year is LOW. Only 23% believe there will be decent sales this year.
Are you excited to see Black Friday Deals this Year?
- While hope for great deals is low, excitement is still relativley high! Only 26% said they are not excited to see the Black Friday deals.
Do you expect to make a gym equipment purchase during Black Friday this year?
- 45% expect to make a purchase during Black Friday this year, which is a decent amount more than the amount that have faith in decent deals this year.
Have you purchased Black Friday Deals in the past for your home gym?
- About 40% say they’ve purchased in the past, which is probably a lower % than expected considering the amount of hype these sales usually entail. Nevertheless, it’s most likely due to many people starting their home gyms within the past few years.
Which “dream sale” interests you more?
- Rogue free shipping or 20% off REP? It was a close one, but REP squeezes by with 53% of the votes. The discount beats out free shipping here.
Which company are you most likely to buy from if sales exist (Rogue, REP, Titan, Other)?
- With nearly half of the votes, Rogue wins, which is consistent with most surveys we do that includes Rogue. All others were a distant amount behind.
Where is gym equipment on your “Holiday Wish List?”
- 18% said it was the number 1 item on the list with another 40% saying it was near the top.
- Only 9% said that it was “not” on their list.
- Last year, 30% said it was the number 1 item on their list, so it did drop slightly.
How many companies will you likely check out to see if sales exist?
- About 2 out of 3 say they’ll look at between 2 and 4 companies, 20% to look at more than 4, and 14% will look at 0 to 1.
What are you most likely to buy if you find on sale?
- Most are still interested in buying the basics with combination of barbell/plates/rack getting the most votes here. However, the responses for this question were still pretty spread out. There is isn’t a single item that most are focusing on.
Sunday Survey Conversation – What Gym Equipment do you hope to see on Sale during Black Friday?
Similar to the question above, there weren’t any huge trends that we saw within this question.
- Dumbbells and plates were mentioned the most out of the “necessities.” It’s hard to pass up a good deal on either of those items.
- REP was mentioned quite a bit.
- Scout Hyper, Echo Bike, and Rhino were the Rogue products that people want to see.
- Many mentioned Kabuki, however they’ve already came out and said no sale is going to happen.
- Concept 2 products, but that is very likely not to happen.
10/11/2021
30 Second Summary
- Most are not working with a full room for their home gym.
- The garage is the most popular spot for a home gym but many wish it were elsewhere.
- Most do not have a ton of space for many “large specialty items.”
- As expected, 11 gauge steel and a 1 inch or 5/8 inch hole preference are what most look for in a rack.
- Limited edition and vintage equipment are not at the top of most people’s to get list.
Audio
Just a couple of dudes talking about these results below in audio form. The plan is to have this in “podcast form” in November. Take a listen below:
How many walls do you use for home gym?
- About 60% are working with one or two walls. Most do not have a dedicated room for their home gym.
Where is your home gym? Where is it in your “dream world?”
- The garage is the most popular spot for most putting in a home gym. About 2 in 3 have a “garage gym” with 20% in the basment. 9% are in another room in the house and 7% have it elsewhere.
- While 65% have it in their garage, only 50% say it would be in their dream world. All other possible answers bumped up slightly with “Other” going from 7% in reality to 15% in a dream world.
What should you buy first on your home gym journey (Barbells, Dumbbells, or Kettlebells)?
- Nearly 3/4 say that a barbell & plates should be the first purchase when starting a home gym.
- Dumbbells received nearly 4x more votes than kettlebells.
How many larger specialty items (GHD, Functional Trainer, etc) do you have space for?
- The responses for this question were spread out relatively evenly, but only 21% have room for at least three “larger specialty items,” meaning most have to be very particular when adding something like this for their home gym.
- This question was also asked about 8 months ago. Most are saying that they do have more room for more. For example, “3 or more” was up to 21% from 15% in February.
What is your preferred bench width?
- 43% do not know what their preferred bench width.
- Only 4.4% want their bench to be less than 11 inches.
- The majority want their bench to be at least 11 inches wide. 25.7% voted more than 11 inches, but less than 12. Just under 27% voted for 12 inches or more.
What’s your hole preference on a squat rack?
- Nearly 3/4 voted for their how preference on a squt rack to be either 1 inch or 5/8 inch. Of those votes, over 3 out of 5 preferred the 1 inch.
- 23% did not see why it’s important and only 4% voted “other.”
This survey was asked about nine months ago. How has it changed?
- The “IDK why that is important went from 37% down to 23%. Many more now realize the benefits of these hole sizes. A larger proportion of these votes went to 5/8 inch, which made up just 18% in January, but almost 28% of total votes in October. 1 Inch holes were up to 46% from 40% in January.
How important is it to have an 11 gauge steel rack?
- While 12% don’t quite know what this question is asking, only 20% believe that it is not important to have an 11 gauge steel rack. That means that at least 70% say it’s at least somewhat important that the rack is made of 11 gauge steel.
This question was also asked last November. How has it changed?
- More people know now what this question means. The “IDK” responses went from 26% to about 12%.
- “Not Important” is down 9%, while “somewhat important” is up about 10% and “very important” up 3%.
Level of interest in limited edition gym equipment? Vintage Equipment?
- There isn’t a ton of interest in limited edition or vintage equipment, but limited edition beats out vintage by a little bit. Both had about 17% “high” or “very high” interest votes.
| Level of Interest | Limited Edition | Vintage |
| Very High | 6.61% | 4.60% |
| High | 10.60% | 12.18% |
| Medium | 27.65% | 26.17% |
| Low | 55.14% | 57.06% |
Sunday Survey Discussion – What’s the best home gym purchase you’ve ever made?
- Responses from the community varied widely, but a few popular responses include:
- The barbell or rack they purchased.
- Stall Mats
- Whatever they bought first.
- Assault and Echo Bikes mentioned a few times.
- Homes with a good space to lift in.
- Powerblocks, Monolifts, and Sanddune Stepper were some other items mentioned quite a bit.
10/3/2021
In Audio Form
We tried something new. This is a test of a potential podcast we will do weekly, and there are some tweaks needed, but take a listen to a discussion of these results. We would love to hear some feedback. Feel free to add that at the bottom of the post or send us a message. THANK YOU!
*You may need to click into the browser to listen.
Some Quick Hitters:
- 85% think the popularity of home gyms will continue to rise (so do we…..)
- 48% use a fitness tracker. That’s up 25% from an October 2019 survey.
- 33% are currently going to another gym besides home gym, which is consistent with other times this has been asked in 2021.
- 78% say they’d buy jammer arms compared to DIYing them
- 61% say “Yay” to Hundo Plates.
Where are your primary workout shoes from?
Nike was not as dominant as expected but did gain more votes than Reebok and Adidas combined. About 38% voted “other” as the most popular answer.
In a follow-up question, it was asked what those “other” shoes were. NoBull and Under Armour are the most popular response by far.
Which “Specialty” Kabuki Bar are you going with first?
The Transformer Bar received the most votes with nearly 38% of the total.
However, the Open Trap Bar was not too far behind with almost 32%. Both received more than the Duffalo and Kadillac bar combined.
What is your preferred bench width?
This is the second week in a row this question has been asked, but unfortunately, the possible responses were not phrased as well as they should have been. It will need to be asked for a third week in a row next week. We need to figure out if most would like to have something at least 12 inches.
With that being said, we still know that most do not know their preferred width, and of those that do, it’s more than 11 inches.
What selectorized strength machine are you most interested in?
The functional trainer beats out the lat pulldown, belt squat, and leg curl/extension when it comes to stack weight. It was not absolutely dominant, though, with 34% of the votes. The simple lat pulldown received 30% of the votes, so it wasn’t too far behind.
The week before, the same question was asked about “Plate Loaded” Strength Machines, where the lat pulldown was the #1 choice. As previously mentioned, the functional trainer is the new #1 with the selectorized voting, and all other %’s went down compared to when as for the plate loaded option. For example, the leg curl/extension dropped from 16.4% to 15.0%.
Where are you most likely to get a Barbell, Dumbbells, and a Bench from? Rogue, Titan, REP, and Other were the possible answers.
- Rogue DOMINATED the barbells with nearly 3/4 votes. “Other” received 14% of the votes and Kabuki Strength and Texas Power Bars definitely had the most responses of those.
- The bench matchup was a bit closer, but Rogue was the winner again. REP was about 6% points behind them.
- “Other” led the way for buying dumbbells. In a follow up question many responses included: WalMart, local distributors, Academy Sports, Fray, Amazon, or an adjustable dumbbell brand. Only a few mentioned premium brands like Intek or Watson.
- In general, Titan did not do very well in these surveys with 10.9% of responses being the highest.
What’s your biggest home gym regret?
This was asked as a #sundaysurveydiscussion, and there were over 300 responses.
- The most popular response was easily “not starting sooner.” Many expressed waiting until COVID started.
- Buying low quality items at the very beginning. Many end up replacing the items which actually cost more in the long run. Adjustable benches were mentioned numerous times.
- Choosing a spot with a low ceiling height or simply choosing a house that is not “home gym friendly.” A lot of people wished they had a bigger garage. They did not foresee the need when originally moving in.
- Getting cheap flooring.
- Buying large pieces of equipment that don’t get used often (GHD, Echo Bike, Reverse hyper, standing calf raise, stand alone preacher curl)
- Getting a foldaway rack and it never gets folded. Others wished they got a folding rack.
- Not insulating the garage.
- Going with a Monster Lite rack vs. a Monster style.
9/26/2021
The Lat Pulldown was the winner when asked, “Which plate-loaded strength machine are you most interested in?” It was closely followed by the functional trainer with belt squat and leg curl/extension following behind. None had more than 31.1% of total votes, though, so nothing absolutely dominated.
A follow-up conversation is on the IG post below. The leg curl/extension received quite a bit more love here.
When it comes to “bench width preference,” over half do not know what they like. However, the rest know that they want it wider than 11 inches. In total, only 4% said they prefer 11 inches or less. Rogue probably wishes they had this data when they designed the Adjustable Bench 3.0.
With that being said, there was a bit of a flaw with this question. There needs to be an option for between 11 and 12 inches. This will be added to next week’s survey.
Traditional Hex Dumbbells narrowly beat out Adjustable Dumbbells as the best option for most home gym owners with space and budget in mind. Loadable dumbbells were pretty far back compared to the top two options.
The multi-purpose bar narrowly beat out the power bar as the most popular “primary barbell” that survey responders use.
Nearly 2x more prefer a bar to have a center knurl on it. Only a handful don’t know what they like better (as opposed to the bench width question above).
The power rack is the most popular for most home gym owners even with space and budget in mind. Over half voted for this option.
Bumper plates are the ideal option for most. As with most surveys done in the past, they beat out traditional iron plates relatively easily.
Motorless treadmills are much more popular than those with a motor from these survey responders.
Over 8x more voted for dumbbells with steel handles vs. rubber.
9/19/2021
What Do You Own?
Last week’s Sunday Survey simply asked if you owned an item. There were 30 items asked about and each one received an average of nearly 10,000 responses. Highlights include:
- This survey was done 6 months prior and there was a shakeup. With 91.45% of survey respondents saying they own a barbell, this is the new number 1 item owned, replacing resistance bands, which fell to #3.
- Only 6 differtent items are owned by 70% or more (barbell, dumbbells, resistance bands, jump rope, squat/power rack, and bumper plates.
- The large specialty items came in at the very bottom with the order of the bottom 6 not changing from the last survey done in March.
Notable Comparisons
- Less than 5% own bumper plates (71%) compared to iron plates (66%)
- About 7/10 own kettlebells compared to 9/10 owning dumbbells.
- Nearly 3x more own Horse Stall Mats compared to deadlift platforms.
- 11% more own an adjustable bench vs. flat bench.
- When it comes to “heavy cardio equipment,” it’s close, but the Air Bike is the winner over its competitors.
Changes since March
This next section takes a look at the “rank changes” and overall differences since March. For example, you’ll see that the barbell moved from the #2 ranked item in March to the #1 ranked item in September. In addition, the “% Difference from March” is in reference to it going from 86.41% in March to 91.45 in September.
Other highlights include:
- Overall, there wasn’t a ton of change. Most either moved one spot or stayed in the exact same ranking as the time before.
- Only the stationary bike actually had a lower % owned in September vs. March. It moved down three spots, which was the most of any other piece of equipment.
- “Steel” storage racks were the only item to move up multiple spots.
| Rank | Item | March Rank | September Rank | Difference | % Difference from March |
| 1 | Barbell | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5.04% |
| 2 | Dumbbells | 3 | 2 | +1 | 8.29% |
| 3 | Resistance Bands | 1 | 3 | -2 | 1.15% |
| 4 | Jump Rope | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4.68% |
| 5 | Squat Rack/Power Rack | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4.23% |
| 6 | Bumper Plates | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3.69% |
| 7 | Kettlebell | 8 | 7 | +1 | 6.30% |
| 8 | Adjustable Bench | 7 | 8 | -1 | 3.46% |
| 9 | Iron Plates | 9 | 9 | 0 | 4.85% |
| 10 | Horse Stall Mat | 10 | 10 | 0 | 5.33% |
| 11 | Flat Bench | 11 | 11 | 0 | 7.11% |
| 12 | Medball | 13 | 12 | +1 | 11.32% |
| 13 | Plyo Box | 14 | 13 | +1 | 4.33% |
| 14 | Adjustable Dumbbells | 12 | 14 | -2 | 3.75% |
| 15 | Specialty Barbell | 15 | 15 | 0 | 8.04% |
| 16 | Landmine | 16 | 16 | 0 | 5.72% |
| 17 | Slam Ball | 17 | 17 | 0 | 3.72% |
| 18 | AbMat | 18 | 18 | 0 | 2.75% |
| 19 | Gymnastic Rings | 19 | 19 | 0 | 3.34% |
| 20 | Air Bike | 21 | 20 | +1 | 4.70% |
| 21 | Steel Storage Rack | 23 | 21 | +2 | 5.12% |
| 22 | Rower | 22 | 22 | 0 | 3.28% |
| 23 | Stationary Bike | 20 | 23 | -3 | -0.33% |
| 24 | Treadmill | 24 | 24 | 0 | 2.05% |
| 25 | Belt Squat | 25 | 25 | 0 | 3.92% |
| 26 | Functional Trainer | 27 | 26 | 1 | 4.34% |
| 27 | GHD | 26 | 27 | -1 | 1.90% |
| 28 | Reverse Hyper | 28 | 28 | 0 | 2.77% |
| 29 | Leg Press Machine | 29 | 29 | 0 | 1.10% |
9/13/2021
Last Sunday’s survey replicates a survey about “Specialty Bars” from 6 months ago. We’ll do this again in another 6 months or so to see how it changes.
Here is a quick summary of the results:
- The Safety Squat Bar overtook the Hex/Trap bar as the specialty bar most are interested in.
- The Deadlift Bar was the highest riser, rising from #5 on the list to #2 this time around.
- Overall, the amount of specialty bars are on the rise, but there aren’t any that seem to be a “must own” for most of the home gym population.
The Results
- First off, 87% said they knew what a “specialty bar” was. That is the same result as last time.
- Next, as mentioned above, more own specialty bars compared to 6 months ago. For example, about 54% did not own any in March, while the number is 47% this time. In addition, it appears that many added one or two during this timeframe. Sure, it’s not exactly the same group every time answering these questions, but it is a pretty noticeable shift.
| How Many Specialty Bars do You Own? | March 2021 | September 2021 | % Change |
| zero | 53.8% | 46.9% | -12.7% |
| one | 22.4% | 23.5% | 4.5% |
| two to three | 17.9% | 21.8% | 22.2% |
| four or more | 5.9% | 7.8% | 31.6% |
High Interest
- None had over 40% vote “high interest” and the total average was 26%. Therefore there isn’t any specialty bar right now that is a “must have” for most home gym owners.
- The safety squat bar with just under 40% “high interest” votes led the way. The deadlift, hex, and curl bars were all between 34 and 35%. The deadlift bar did jump from 5th place last time to #2 of “high interest” votes though.
Medium & Low Interest
- 29% of the total votes were “medium interest” with the Multi-Grip Bar leading the way around 40%.
- 39% of the total votes went to “low interest,” which was the biggest vote getter of them all. Log and Axle Bars each had more than 50% of votes for this option.
I Don’t Know What That Is
- Only 6% went to this category. The Camber and Buffalo/Duffalo bars were the least “known,” but both were still under a fifth.
Comparison to Last Time
To compare March Rankings to September, let’s say you assigned points:
- 3 points for the percentage of “High Interest” votes
- 2 points for the percentage of “Medium Interest” votes
- 1 point for the percentage of “Low Interest” votes
- 0 points for “IDK What This Is” votes
And averaged them out based on the percentage of votes.
The results are below. Overall, there isn’t much change in rankings, but you can see that the Safety Squat Bar went from the #2 ranked option in September to #1.
| Specialty Bar | March 2021 | September 2021 | March Rank | September Rank | Change |
| Safety Squat | 1.89 | 2.06 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Hex/Trap | 2.02 | 2.03 | 1 | 2 | -1 |
| Curl | 1.93 | 2.00 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Deadlift | 1.68 | 1.99 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Multi-Grip | 1.86 | 1.94 | 4 | 5 | -1 |
| Squat | 1.74 | 1.84 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Buffalo/Duffalo | 1.35 | 1.53 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Axle | 1.30 | 1.47 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Camber | 1.16 | 1.37 | 10 | 9 | 1 |
| Log Press | 1.26 | 1.32 | 9 | 10 | -1 |
With the same “points method” used above, you can see in the chart below (correlates to the chart above) that the Deadlift Bar rose the most. All did go up slightly, though.
9/6/2021
20 Second Summary
- 38% do not associate themselves with any “strength sport.”
- Interest in Labor Day Sales were not too high. Regardless, the most popular sale was REP’s though. Most do plan on buying gym equipment from now until the end of the year.
- Elite FTS would have been #5 on the “Do you own anything from these companies” survey.
The Results
In the past, we’ve asked, “which strength sport” you’d consider yourself a part of. That question doesn’t take into account those that wouldn’t consider themselves associated with any of them. With that being said, 38% would not consider themselves a Powerlifter, Bodybuilder, CrossFitter, Oly Weightlifter, or Strongman.
On the night of Labor Day, it was asked, “What’s your status on Labor Day Sales?” In general, most were not too interested. Only 11% had taken advantage of the sales at the time, and, likely, the number didn’t change too much. Most felt that REP’s sale was most appealing.
78% believe they’ll buy gym equipment between now and the end of the year.
The level of interest in a doorway pull-up bar is very low.
In response to the “Do you own anything from these companies survey,” there were three companies that had multiple requests to be asked about (Eleiko, Elite FTS, and Ivanko). Elite FTS actually had enough votes to put it as the #5 (just behind AbMat). Eleiko and Ivanko would be towards the back of the pack.
8/29/2021
20 Second Summary
- Nearly 3/4 say they own something from Rogue. Most companies were around 5-12%.
- Titan, REP, and AbMat were easily the #2, #3, and #4 ranked companies with products owned by the survey respondants.
- PRX Performance, Vulcan Strength and American Barbell were all in the top 7 of the most well known companies, but didn’t place any higher than 14 in this survey.
The Survey
Last week’s Sunday Survey took the top 20 companies from the most recent “Have You Heard of these Companies Survey” and asked if you owned anything from them.
There was an average of over 9,000 responses per question
Highlights
- An astounding 73% said they owned something from Rogue Fitness. With a total of 7,920 “yes” responses, they make up over 26% of all “yes responses. That’s domination.
- A distant 2nd and third place were Titan Fitness (44%) and REP Fitness (38%)
- Abmat came in 4th with 26%. It’s highly likely that most simply have the original AbMat, which is a staple in many workout routines.
- After AbMat, there is a very large gap. Next up would be Get RXd, where about 12% of respondants own something from there.
| Rank | Company | Yes | No | % Yes |
| 1 | Rogue Fitness | 7,920 | 2,946 | 72.89% |
| 2 | Titan Fitness | 4,520 | 5,820 | 43.71% |
| 3 | Rep Fitness | 3,870 | 6,231 | 38.31% |
| 4 | AbMat | 2,536 | 7,064 | 26.42% |
| 5 | Get RXd | 1,008 | 7,122 | 12.40% |
| 6 | Onnit | 1,155 | 8,971 | 11.41% |
| 7 | Fringe Sport | 1,164 | 9,135 | 11.30% |
| 8 | Again Faster Equipment | 795 | 7,115 | 10.05% |
| 9 | Body-Solid | 780 | 6,981 | 10.05% |
| 10 | Bells of Steel | 778 | 7,374 | 9.54% |
| 11 | Fray Fitness | 829 | 8,612 | 8.78% |
| 12 | Kabuki Strength | 832 | 8,823 | 8.62% |
| 13 | Sorinex | 844 | 9,079 | 8.51% |
| 14 | American Barbell | 750 | 9,035 | 7.66% |
| 15 | PRX Performance | 704 | 8,486 | 7.66% |
| 16 | Vulcan Strength | 557 | 8,736 | 5.99% |
| 17 | Kettlebell Kings | 475 | 7,688 | 5.82% |
| 18 | Force USA | 301 | 7,732 | 3.75% |
| 19 | Ghost Strong Equipment | 259 | 7,706 | 3.25% |
| 20 | The Strength Co. | 184 | 7,633 | 2.35% |
- The top 4 vote getters made up over 61% of total votes. That’s also domination.
When comparing the “Have you heard of these companies” rankings to this one, a few companies may be more well known but not owned by as many of those answering the surveys and vice versa.
- PRX Performance, Vulcan Strength and American Barbell were all in the top 7 of the most well known companies, but are all at 9 places down in the “owned” survey.
- Body-Solid, Again Faster Equipment, and Get RXd all went up at least 8 places when comparing the “heard of” survey to the “owned” one.
- Probably as expected, a few of the more budget friendly options such as Fringe Sport, Bells of Steel, and Get RXd went up while more specialty/premium companies went down – Kabuki Strength, Sorinex, and Ghost Strong Equipment.
| “Heard Of” Rank | “Own” Rank | Difference | |
| Rogue Fitness | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Titan Fitness | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Rep Fitness | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| American Barbell | 4 | 14 | -10 |
| AbMat | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| PRX Performance | 6 | 15 | -9 |
| Vulcan Strength | 7 | 16 | -9 |
| Fray Fitness | 8 | 11 | -3 |
| Kabuki Strength | 9 | 12 | -3 |
| Sorinex | 10 | 13 | -3 |
| Onnit | 11 | 6 | 5 |
| Fringe Sport | 12 | 7 | 5 |
| Get RXd | 13 | 5 | 8 |
| Bells of Steel | 14 | 10 | 4 |
| Kettlebell Kings | 15 | 17 | -2 |
| Force USA | 16 | 18 | -2 |
| Ghost Strong Equipment | 17 | 19 | -2 |
| Again Faster Equipment | 18 | 8 | 10 |
| The Strength Co. | 19 | 20 | -1 |
| Body-Solid | 20 | 9 | 11 |
8/22/2021
20 Second Summary
- The price of obtaining new equipment and lack of space are easily the biggest issues identified in this survey.
- Safety concerns and controlling temperature are next up.
- Troubles with keeping the home gym clean is on the rise.
- Distractions, noise concerns, and warming up are not too big of issues.
Survey Description
Last week’s Sunday Survey took a look at “issues” home gym owners face. When answering, you needed to highlight whether it was an issue or not and if it was an issue, whether or not it was large, mild, or minor. For example…
Highlights of Survey
- The biggest issue for most was the price of obtaining more equipment. Only 10% (lowest of all issues) said this was not an issue and nearly 32% voted it as a large issue (most of all issues).
- The second biggest issues was definitely lack of space for a home gym with only 12% describing this as not an issue.
| Issue | Not an issue | minor issue | mild issue | large issue |
| Price of obtaining more equipment is | 10.2% | 28.1% | 29.9% | 31.8% |
| Lack of space for home gym is | 12.3% | 31.8% | 28.1% | 27.8% |
| Working out safely is | 40.6% | 21.9% | 13.6% | 23.9% |
| Temperature control is | 23.8% | 30.9% | 26.7% | 18.7% |
| Keeping home gym clean is | 17.0% | 39.9% | 27.3% | 15.8% |
| Quality of equipment in home gym is | 42.5% | 28.1% | 15.6% | 13.8% |
| Equipment aging quickly is | 48.7% | 25.4% | 13.5% | 12.4% |
| Amount of equipment is | 20.2% | 44.4% | 24.6% | 10.9% |
| Finishing workouts in home gym is | 49.0% | 28.4% | 13.4% | 9.1% |
| Not enough lighting is | 34.2% | 37.5% | 19.5% | 8.8% |
| Distractions during home workouts are | 32.6% | 42.5% | 17.3% | 7.6% |
| Concern about making too much noise is | 43.8% | 32.5% | 17.4% | 6.3% |
| Warming up for home workouts are | 48.1% | 34.2% | 11.7% | 6.1% |
- The biggest non-issues included warming up and concern about making too much noise where only 6% said they were large issues with over 43% “non-issue” votes.
- While just over 40% said working out safely is not an issue, it did receive the third most “large issue” votes.
- When looking at just mild or large issues, “temperature control” comes in at #3. Over 45% have issues with keeping the temperature under control. This is even with a good chunk having it within their homes as opposed to the garage.
The “amount of equipment” and “keeping the home gym clean” add up to the highest amounts when looking at just minor and mild issues.
When combining all of the votes, about a third was seen as not an issue, another third was a minor issue, and the final was either large or minor.
Comparison to last time
This exact survey was asked in May earlier this year (with one additional question added). Overall, there were 5.6% more votes for not an issue (32.83% vs. 38.39%).
The largest movers were:
- Keeping a home gym clean had the most movement since the last time this survey happened. In May only 17% said it was not an issue, but nearly 38% said it was at least somewhat of an issue now this time. There was also a 9.8% increase the number that voted it as a large issue.
- Not enough lighting, finishing workouts, working out safely, and concern about making too much noise did rise a bit as well.
- While “price of obtaining more equipment” was the #1 issue in May as well, less did see it as an issue this time around.
8/15/2021
Most that own barbells are storing them in some way. The largest vote-getter was “on the rack” (36%) with “on the wall” in second (27%). 19% use a barbell holder on the ground, and 18% do not store them at all.
Then, it was asked, “what’s the preferred way to store barbells?” “On the wall” made up over half of the responses while “on the rack” fell over 9 percentage points.
Nearly half say the post size of their rack is 3×3, with another 18% using the more budget-friendly 2×2 tubing. 16% are clueless on this topic.
What are you likely to buy first? The Kabuki Strength Transformer Bar or a belt squat? The winner for this poll was “no interest in either.” However, about 2 out of 3 voted for one of these items, with the Kabuki bar beating out belts squats by 4% points (34% vs. 30%).
The level of interest in grips that can be added to barbells or dumbbells (like Fat Gripz) is not extremely high. Only 14% said they had high interest, and nearly half said “low interest.”
About half have pets frequently in their home gym.
There were two “what interests you most” questions that varied slightly. In the first, it was a comparison between powerlifting, bodybuilding, CrossFit, and Strongman. Some notes:
- Powerlifting is the winner here with about 35% of the votes with CrossFit coming in at number two, and Bodybuilding a distant amount ahead of Strongman for third.
- Since September 2020, powerlifting has steadily rose while CrossFit has declined.
- This question was also asked again, but Weightlifting replaced Strongman and there were some shifts in voting. For example, some of the CrossFit votes definitely went to Weightlifting, while some of the Strongman votes most likely went to bodybuilding. It’s likely some of the Powerlifting votes shifted to Weightlifting as well. Overall, Powerlifting was still at the top spot, while CrossFit fell quite a bit. Weightlifting only made up about 11% of total votes.
Bumper or iron plates? Consistent with most polls done in the past, bumper plates are the easy winner with 59% of the total votes. Iron made up a little less than one-third of voting and “whatever is cheapest,” 10%.
8/8/2021
This is the 7th edition of the “Have You Heard of These Companies Survey.” Most of these companies have the ability to outfit your entire gym with a few others thrown in. As always, this survey was done via the Instagram Story feature in the Sunday Survey.
| Rank | Name | Yes | No | % Yes |
| 1 | Rogue Fitness | 10,440 | 279 | 97.4% |
| 2 | Titan Fitness | 9,942 | 587 | 94.4% |
| 3 | Rep Fitness | 8,948 | 1,357 | 86.8% |
| 4 | American Barbell | 8,174 | 1,726 | 82.6% |
| 5 | AbMat | 6,970 | 2,146 | 76.5% |
| 6 | PRX Performance | 7,056 | 2,376 | 74.8% |
| 7 | Vulcan Strength | 7,062 | 2,423 | 74.5% |
| 8 | Fray Fitness | 7,276 | 2,660 | 73.2% |
| 9 | Kabuki Strength | 6,386 | 2,471 | 72.1% |
| 10 | Sorinex | 6,623 | 2,663 | 71.3% |
| 11 | Onnit | 5,982 | 2,760 | 68.4% |
| 12 | Fringe Sport | 5,603 | 2,739 | 67.2% |
| 13 | Get RXd | 5,680 | 3,034 | 65.2% |
| 14 | Bells of Steel | 5,171 | 3,310 | 61.0% |
| 15 | Kettlebell Kings | 4,894 | 3,808 | 56.2% |
| 16 | Force USA | 4,549 | 4,040 | 53.0% |
| 17 | Ghost Strong Equipment | 4,119 | 4,643 | 47.0% |
| 18 | Again Faster Equipment | 3,915 | 5,276 | 42.6% |
| 19 | The Strength Co. | 4,361 | 5,933 | 42.4% |
| 20 | Body-Solid | 3,743 | 5,108 | 42.3% |
| 21 | Raptor Fitness | 3,504 | 5,480 | 39.0% |
| 22 | Bridge Built | 2,976 | 6,522 | 31.3% |
| 23 | Tuff Stuff Fitness | 2,544 | 7,548 | 25.2% |
| 24 | I Sell Fitness | 2,384 | 7,303 | 24.6% |
| 25 | Crandall Fitness | 2,175 | 6,850 | 24.1% |
| 26 | Crane Fitness Equipment | 2,222 | 7,612 | 22.6% |
| 27 | X Training Equipment | 1,838 | 7,274 | 20.2% |
| 28 | Gymway USA | 1,995 | 8,245 | 19.5% |
| 29 | Batl Performance | 1,411 | 8,537 | 14.2% |
| 30 | Vesta Fitness | 576 | 7,709 | 7.0% |
March 2021 vs. August 2021 Analysis
Here are a few highlights that compare this past round to the most previous one performed in March of 2021.
- Since March the top 4 did not change with Rogue, Titan, REP, and American Barbell staying in their spots. AbMat slid in to the top 5 after being ranked #9 in March. AbMat rose 3% while others fell.
- The companies that fell the most were BATL Performance (-31%), Force USA (-15%), I Sell Fitness (-14%), Ghost Strong (-10%), and Fray Fitness (-9%).
- Tuff Stuff (+27%), X Training (+9%), Kettlebell Kings (5%), American Barbell (5%), and Again Faster (+3%) rose the most.
Below is a breakdown of the previous 7 editions of the survey. All percentages are below, but some notable highlights include:
- Only Rogue Fitness, Again Faster, and Body Solid have a lower “score” than when this first started back in June of 2019.
- The top 4 of Rogue, Titan, REP, and American Barbell have largely remained unchanged.
| Current Rank | Company | June 2019 | October 2019 | February 2020 | June 2020 | December 2020 | March 2021 | August 2021 | % Change from March 2021 |
| 1 | Rogue Fitness | 98% | 98% | 99% | 98% | 96% | 98% | 97% | -1% |
| 2 | Titan Fitness | 93% | 90% | 93% | 93% | 93% | 94% | 94% | 0% |
| 3 | Rep Fitness | 74% | 79% | 86% | 85% | 82% | 90% | 87% | -3% |
| 4 | American Barbell | 76% | 75% | 73% | 79% | 74% | 78% | 83% | 5% |
| 5 | AbMat | 61% | 75% | 76% | 3% | ||||
| 6 | PRX Performance | 68% | 71% | 73% | 73% | 68% | 76% | 75% | -2% |
| 7 | Vulcan Strength | 61% | 62% | 78% | 77% | 70% | 77% | 74% | -3% |
| 8 | Fray Fitness | 32% | 31% | 60% | 69% | 68% | 81% | 73% | -9% |
| 9 | Kabuki Strength | 62% | 60% | 69% | 69% | 62% | 73% | 72% | -1% |
| 10 | Sorinex | 68% | 66% | 72% | 70% | 65% | 76% | 71% | -6% |
| 11 | Onnit | 58% | 68% | 68% | 1% | ||||
| 12 | Fringe Sport | 65% | 68% | 75% | 66% | 56% | 67% | 67% | 0% |
| 13 | Get RXd | 60% | 59% | 71% | 63% | 59% | 69% | 65% | -5% |
| 14 | Bells of Steel | 45% | 44% | 58% | 62% | 47% | 67% | 61% | -8% |
| 15 | Kettlebell Kings | 41% | 53% | 56% | 5% | ||||
| 16 | Force USA | 16% | 40% | 41% | 38% | 62% | 53% | -15% | |
| 17 | Ghost Strong Equipment | 16% | 20% | 42% | 51% | 38% | 52% | 47% | -10% |
| 18 | Again Faster Equipment | 53% | 50% | 57% | 46% | 37% | 41% | 43% | 3% |
| 19 | Body-Solid | 54% | 47% | 56% | 47% | 35% | 46% | 42% | -9% |
| 20 | Raptor Fitness | 22% | 26% | 31% | 22% | 31% | 43% | 39% | -8% |
| 21 | Bridge Built | 23% | 22% | 33% | 31% | -5% | |||
| 22 | Tuff Stuff Fitness | 13% | 20% | 18% | 20% | 25% | 27% | ||
| 23 | I Sell Fitness | 13% | 20% | 19% | 25% | 24% | 29% | 25% | -14% |
| 24 | Crane Fitness Equipment | 11% | 10% | 6% | 11% | 23% | 23% | 0% | |
| 25 | X Training Equipment | 19% | 17% | 24% | 25% | 17% | 19% | 20% | 9% |
| 26 | Gymway USA | 16% | 19% | 19% | 1% | ||||
| 27 | Batl Performance | 15% | 21% | 14% | -31% | ||||
| 28 | Vesta Fitness | 7% | |||||||
| Valor Fitness | 59% | 45% | |||||||
| Powertec | 43% | 36% | |||||||
| Synergee Fitness | 25% | 22% | 30% | ||||||
| Lynx Barbell | 16% | 21% | |||||||
| Gorila Fitness | 26% | 35% | |||||||
| LUXIAOJUN Barbell | 41% | 57% | |||||||
| Dynamic Fitness & Strength | 20% | 23% |
A Few Notes about the Numbers Above
- It’s a tough (and probably unfair) comparison when you add a list with so many companies. There are established brands with a nationwide reach and happy to be a “regional” or “local” brand. Besides, some have equipment designed to help a certain type of training (i.e., powerlifting, CrossFit), so the reach may not be large. This is just something to keep in mind.
- Just because someone has heard of a certain company does not mean that they will consider purchasing from them.
- In an effort to keep the survey manageable and “fresh” certain companies are either added or removed
8/1/2021
43% say their ideal rack based on space and budget is a power rack. Here’s what some GGE Contributors have to say:
- @kaizendiygym: My preference is a power rack. If you have the space for one, I think a power rack gets you the best bang for your buck. There are more attachments available for power racks than any of the others and they’re pretty easy to expand when you’re ready for more.
- @thechickenhomegym: Given my limited ceiling height, a squat stand was perfect for my home gym. BUT with some squat stands you can turn them into half racks as well so it’s a good starting point.
- @mattpendergraph: What style rack is best for your current space and budget? I’ve personally always gravitated towards power racks due to the functionality and piece of mind they provide! When you’re moving any amount of weight, nothing is more reassuring than being completely surrounded by steel uprights, crossmembers, and safeties catches!
A little over a third said they watched at least some of the CrossFit Games.
Only 14% of respondents have had a home gym for more than five years. About 43% began one within the last year or two, probably due to COVID-19.
Nearly 3/4 say their home gym is between 30 and 90 percent “finished.”
What are you buying first between a ploy box, sandbag, medicine ball, and gymnastics rings? Plyo Box wins with a third of the votes and rings came in last with just 15% of the voters.
Rogue dominated the “where are you most likely to buy a power rack” question with over half of the votes. 18% also said REP and 12% voted Titan. Only 17% said they would most likely get one outside of these three companies.
7/25/2021
Survey Results
While the largest response was mislabeled (should have been ‘more than $400’), only 9% said that your primary bench should cost more than $499. The largest response was $150-$250, where nearly half voted for.
Only 18% said the ability to decline on a bench was of high interest.
GGE followers are doing a lot more squat, benching, and deadlifting than OLY movements.
In a battle of Concept 2 machines, the rower easily wins with over 70% of the votes.
Not a lot of context for this question, but coffee narrowly beats out pre-workout.
Most aren’t going to wait too long before snagging up some more gym equipment.
7/18/2021
Over 83% enjoy planning the layout of their home gym.
About 73% typically follow a workout program.
57% do not pay for this workout program.
Nearly 14% have a 1:1 coach.
Most survey respondents would rather choose to improve their deadlift over bench, mile time, and Fran time.
Under 30% regularly listen to fitness podcasts.
The level of interest for Wall Control was not out of this world, with about 38% not knowing what it is.
Only 7% claim not to own a barbell, while 70% own multiple.
About 2 out of 3 want more barbells, though.
In a battle of “plate storage options,” the rack wins with 43% of total votes. A standalone storage unit came in second with 36%, and only 20% voted for on the wall.
Hot coffee beats out cold brew.
Only 29% say they have 1 pair of shoes within their workout rotation.
Lastly, 59% say they use chalk in their home gym.
7/11/2021
There is no question the technology in the home gym space is going to evolve. Only 13% voted “keep me away,” while nearly 40% say they are a “fan” or “big fan.” Nearly half said they were “neutral” though.
Most spouses (if applicable) are supportive of your home gym endeavors.
74% consider building out their home gym a “hobby.”
81% say that the home gym is their “primary” workout option.
The Rower (36%) narrowly beats out the Air Bike (33.4%) with a treadmill (17.3%) and stationary bike (13.3%) quite a bit behind when asked if you could only own one.
71% will not do an organized race or lifting competition this year
Only 32% don’t know or have low interest in the Rogue Echo Bike.
Nearly 61% don’t know or have low interest in the Scout Hyper.
7/4/2021
Below are some overrated/underrated votes.
- Horse Stall Mats once again prove to be popular among the home gym crowd with nearly 85% voting underrated.
- Rack Attachments also performed well and is a reason so many stick with 5/8″ or 1″ rack hole sizes.
- Weightlifting Shoes were seen as overrated by the majority.
| Item | Overrated | Underrated |
| Horse Stall Mats | 15.2% | 84.8% |
| Rack Attachments | 20.9% | 79.1% |
| Lat Pulldowns | 25.6% | 74.4% |
| Wall Mounted Racks | 46.7% | 53.3% |
| Weightlifting Shoes | 53.6% | 46.4% |
Only 7% said it was highly likely they’d ask anyone to do custom work for their home gym.
A majority would not consider a rack without 5/8″ or 1″ holes.
37% say their workouts have suffered during the summer heat.
54% have performed a DIY project within their home gym this year.
There are a bit more than half that have performed some sort of DIY project.
6/27/2021
In a head-to-head matchup between the REP FT-5000 and the Titan Single Stack Pulley, the Functional Trainer received 62% of the votes.
Gainz are made in the kitchen, right? 91% said it’s more difficult to eat healthy than workout enough.
In a battle of leg machines from Titan, the Seated Leg Curl received 38% more votes than the Lying Prone Leg Curl. Only 23% said they had no interest in these machines at all.
67% voted that @garagegymjunkies should paint his ceiling black.
46% say they are likely to spend at least $300 on their home gym in the last half of the year. Only 11% said $0.
The next few questions are about the new adjustable bench released from Rogue last week.
Just 42% said they knew Rogue released a new adjustable bench last week.
3 colors are offered on the new Rogue Bench. Nearly 60% said they’d choose black.
In general, this is not a bench that most are interested in.
6/20/2021
There were several head-to-head matchups where you simply had to choose which one you preferred. Highlights include:
- Concept 2 dominated Xebex in the biggest blowout of the week
- 4/5 voted for Rogue vs. The Field (everyone else)
- About 7/10 went with REP over Titan
- More went with a Power Bar over a Multi-Purpose Bar
- The closest matchup was where you needed to choose 3 Traditional Hex Dumbbells (any weight) or Any Adjustable Dumbbell (type up to you). This was basically a toss-up with Hex Dumbbells winning out with 50.4% of total votes.
| Winner | Loser | % of Winner Votes |
| Concept 2 | Xebex | 92.0% |
| Power Rack | Half Rack | 79.4% |
| Rogue | The Field | 79.3% |
| REP | Titan | 68.9% |
| Buy Home Gym 1 at a Time | Buy Home Gym All at Once | 65.3% |
| Power Bar | Multi-Purpose Bar | 54.4% |
| 3 Traditional Hex Dumbbells | Any Adjustable Dumbbell | 50.4% |
6/13/2021
- Only 34% are going to another gym right now. This is up slightly (but very similar) to the 30% that said they were in January. In April of 2019, this 52%.
- About 60% of people say they have about 3 to 5 different brands represented in their home gym. Little say just 1 or 2 and very little have more than 11.
- 54% consider themselves an athlete.
- This is an active group with only 3.9% workout out less than 3 times a week. About 70% are workout out at least 4 times.
- 47% do at least 10 minutes of cardio every single workout.
- In a head to head matchup, about 64% believe it’s more difficult to get a good workout vs. finish strong for home workouts.
- Just 22% would buy a barbell without reviews.
- You can only buy one of these items to start a gym. What are you buying between a pair of dumbbells, 2 kettlebells, a pull-up bar, and a barbell with no plates? The easy winner here was a pair of dumbbells with nearly 39% of the votes.
- 35% consider themselves an equipment snob.
6/6/2021
This survey simply asked whether something was overrated or underrated? Here are some notes.
- 75% said Rep Fitness was underrated. They received the most underrated responses. This was about 14% points higher than Titan Fitness and 22% more than Rogue Fitness.
- 6 Post Power Racks were identified as the most overrated item on this list.
- DIY Equipment and owning multiple Barbells also had around 2/3 saying it was underrated.
- All other results are below. In general, most of them were seen as underrated and only 53.6% was the highest overrated percentage.
| Feature, Company, Item, Etc. | Overratted | Underrated |
| Rep Fitness | 25.5% | 74.5% |
| DIY Equipment | 29.5% | 70.5% |
| Owning multiple Barbells | 33.4% | 66.6% |
| Titan Fitness | 39.8% | 60.2% |
| Westside Spacing | 40.9% | 59.1% |
| Stainless Steel Barbells | 41.7% | 58.3% |
| 11 Gauge Steel for Power Racks | 45.0% | 55.0% |
| Specialty Barbells | 47.4% | 52.6% |
| Adjustable Dumbbells | 48.9% | 51.1% |
| Rogue Fitness | 53.0% | 47.0% |
| 6 Post Power Racks | 53.6% | 46.4% |
5/30/2021
A whopping 80.4% said the quality of their life would decrease if their home gym was taken away today.
When comparing against conditioning and mobility, strength is more important to most answering these surveys. While only 14% said it was their biggest weakness, nearly 43% described it as the trait they want to improve most. Conditioning and mobility performed about the same with these back-to-back questions.
Nearly half already have some sort of pulley system in their home gym, while most of the those do not yet, are interested.
Only about 10% have had a home gym for over 5 years and 78% have had one less than 3 years.
Only 23% own some sort of “deadlift jack.”
The last 4 questions simply asked: “What is your level of interest in a deadlift jack, jammer arms, rack-mounted landmine, and dip attachment?” Here is a quick summary:
- The overall winner was the dip attachment with 39% high and 33% medium interest votes.
- A clear #2 was the rack-mounted landmine, where a total of 65% voted high or medium.
- The jammer arms had the highest number of “I don’t know what that is” votes
- The deadlift jack had a 46% “low interest” rating and the lowest amount of high-interest votes.
- 39% was the highest “high interest” votes. Therefore, this list of items you won’t find high on most home gym owners’ lists.
5/23/2021
- 59% say that they do indeed save money by owning a home gym.
- Imagine this. It’s 65 degrees Fahrenheit at noon. Is the garage door open or closed? Just under 80% say it’s open.
- The garage is the most likely spot for the home gym (65%) with the basement making up less than 17% of total responses when asked where your home gym is.
- Next up, was a number of head-to-head matchups where you simply had to choose which one. Highlights include:
- Outside of podcasts over audiobooks, dumbbells beat the hell out of kettlebells, gaining 4 out of 5 votes.
- Horse stall mats are the gym flooring choice of most and it gained 70% of the votes when matched up against the deadlift platform.
- Rogue was dominant again with nearly 2/3 votes when paired against “the Field.”
- Leaf Blower > Broom
- Running lost in a head-to-head matchups with air bikes and “all cardio machines.”
| Winner | Loser | % of Winner Votes |
| Podcasts | Audiobooks | 83.3% |
| Dumbbells | Kettlebells | 80.2% |
| Horse Stall Mats | Deadlift Platfrom | 70.7% |
| Bench Press | Power Cleans | 69.0% |
| Rogue | The Field | 65.7% |
| Leaf Blower | Broom | 63.1% |
| All Cardio Machines | Running | 60.4% |
| Air Bike | Running | 55.8% |
| Squats | Deadlift | 53.7% |
5/16/2021
Last week’s Sunday Survey took a look at “issues” home gym owners face. You needed to highlight whether it was an issue or not and if it was an issue, whether or not it was large, mild, or minor. Highlights include:
- The price of obtaining more equipment was identified as the largest issue with a lack of space being a close second. Only 6.5% and 11.7% said this was not an issue, which much lower than all others.
- Finishing workouts in-home gym and concern about making too much noise were votes as the largest “non-issues.”
- While just over 50% said working out safely is not an issue, it did receive the third most “large issue” votes.
- Temperature control is at least a minor issue for 74%, making it the third biggest issue on this list.
- While most say it’s a “minor issue,” distractions during home workouts affect 69%.
- In total, 38.4% of these were seen as “not an issue,” 30.6% as a “minor issue,” 17.2% “mild,” and 13.8″ as “large.” Therefore a majority of these were seen as extremely important issues.
| Not an issue | minor issue | mild issue | large issue | |
| Price of obtaining more equipment is | 6.5% | 23.2% | 33.3% | 37.0% |
| Lack of space for home gym is | 11.7% | 26.2% | 30.0% | 32.1% |
| Working out safely is | 50.4% | 20.5% | 10.0% | 19.1% |
| Equipment aging quickly is | 47.9% | 25.2% | 12.3% | 14.7% |
| Temperature control is | 26.3% | 35.2% | 24.9% | 13.7% |
| Quality of equipment in home gym is | 43.2% | 29.7% | 15.4% | 11.7% |
| Distractions during home workouts | 31.0% | 42.2% | 17.7% | 9.1% |
| Finishing workouts in home gym is | 60.0% | 22.0% | 11.0% | 7.1% |
| Keeping home gym clean is | 37.9% | 41.0% | 15.0% | 6.1% |
| Concern about making too much noise is | 51.9% | 29.5% | 13.1% | 5.5% |
| Warming up for home workouts are | 47.6% | 36.0% | 11.0% | 5.4% |
| Not enough lighting is | 46.1% | 36.6% | 12.6% | 4.6% |
| Average | 38.4% | 30.6% | 17.2% | 13.8% |
5/9/2021
- 87% believe that an adjustable bench covers their “home gym needs,” while only 39% say that about a flat bench does.
- When it comes to a bench, over 70% believe an adjustable bench is the best way to start.
- When it comes to buying large equipment, most survey respondents believe it should be for strength rather than cardio.
- Space is tight for many. Only about a third are dealing with around 400 sq. ft. or more.
- Ceiling height is another struggle for many. Nearly half are dealing with heights around 7 and 8 feet, which means not all equipment options “are options.”
- About half believe a power rack is the best style for their home gym when comparing to a half rack or squat rack.
- The level of interest in this kettlebell below was relatively low.
- Not that these surveys are going anywhere, but it’s clear that those involved like doing them. Answering these surveys seems to be much more enjoyable than reading the results.
5/3/2021
- 38% plan on doing “Murph” over Memorial weekend.
- 30% are rearraging their gym at least twice a year, whole the majority is only zero to 1.
- In a follow up from last week, 38% say they look to see what Country the equipment was made before purchasing.
- 43% own a squat or power rack with 3×3 posts with 47% not and 11% not knowing what this even means.
- Most are a big fan of free stickers being included in their orders. Only 3% said they actually dislike this.
- About 44% watch at least some YouTube while working out.
- About 2/3 are listening through a speaker during most of their home workouts. Headphones came in a distant second but had nearly 5x more votes than TV.
The majority are never listening to an audiobook or podcast while working out. Less than 10% say they do it often.
- Only 15% have issues with a TV in the home gym but only 35% actually have a tv in their gym.
- 9% of survey respondents are running some sort of business out of their home gym.
- With cost in mind, who you you choosing to purchase an entire home gym from? Rogue makes up over half, but REP is easily in second.
4/25/2021
Numbers for this question are skewed a bit because people worldwide are answering these questions, but more than 80% are most likely in the United States.
- About a third of survey respondents believe that it’s either important or essential to buy gym equipment in the country you live in. That means that a majority do not feel as though it’s a huge issue.
- This question was typed incorrectly, but the results are going to be shared anyways. This question will be asked again next week. Do you typically look to see what county was made in before purchasing? This was supposed to say COUNTRY. Most likely, a majority read it as “country,” because it’s a common topic on this page, but only 33% did say they look.
- What proportion of your gym equipment was made in your country? About 46% say they have at least 50% of their home gym from equipment made in their country.
Rogue, Rep, Sorinex, or Force USA? If you could choose 1 company to fill your entire gym, who would you choose? Rogue is the winner of this one with Sorinex taking second place easily. A follow up question will be asked next week with price being included.
70% say they read expert reviews before most important gym purchases.
What’s more important? 5 consumer reviews or 1 expert review? 64% would rather see 5 consumer reviews. It did not change when it was 5 consumer reviews vs. 2 expert reviews. 62% still voted for the consumer reviews.
59% say they focused more on their health since the pandemic started last March.
Most answering these surveys are still lifting with LBS compared to KGS.
4/18/2021
This Sunday Survey was a list of matchups, where you simply had to choose, “which one” you preferred? They were random companies, pieces of equipment, workout styles, etc. The highlights include:
- The closest match was between the Rogue Echo Bike and Concept 2 Rower. The air bike eeked out a win with 50.2% of the votes.
- Rogue was pretty dominant with wins over Titan and Sorinex. Both times they received over 80% of the votes.
- REP also took down Titan with over 3 out of every 5 votes and the mighty Sorinex.
- About 4 out of 5 with went the garage over the basement
- 2 out of 3 went with bumper over iron plates
- Powerlifting beat out CrossFit, Bodybuilding, and Strongman.
- The second closest matchup was with loadable dumbbells (i.e. Rogue DB-15) just losing to adjustable dumbbells (i.e. Powerblock)
| Comparison | % Votes for Winner |
| Rogue Fitness over Titan | 87.6% |
| C2 Rower over C2 SkiErg | 83.5% |
| Rogue over Sorinex | 81.4% |
| Garage over Basement Gym | 79.2% |
| Powerlifting over Strongman | 75.2% |
| Bumper over Iron Plates | 65.0% |
| Rep Over Titan | 61.9% |
| Powerlifting over CrossFit | 58.0% |
| Powerlifting over Bodybuilding | 56.8% |
| Rep over Sorinex | 52.3% |
| Oly Weightlifting over CrossFit | 51.5% |
| Adjustable over Loadable Dumbbells | 51.4% |
| Rogue Echo Bike over Concept 2 Rower | 50.2% |
4/11/2021
- 82% are male and 94% are under the age of 45. The largest age group was between 25 and 34 who make up nearly 49% of all respondents.
- 82% are in the USA with Europe and Canada making up another 14%.
- Within the USA, it’s very much spread out. About 48% would identify as being in the eastern part of the country though.
- It snows more than 5 times a year for 47%. Not everyone is dealing with winter workouts in the garage.
- The amount of blue collar workers vs. white collar workers were the exact same! Both had 5,683 votes. Stay at home parents make up 5% of total.
- 45% are parents.
- Powerlifting would be the sport of choice for many. However, Bodybuilding made a large jump from last year and now controls the 2nd spot. CrossFit has fallen from 1st to 3rd.
- A power rack is much more appealing to this group of respondents than a pulley system or cardio equipment. It combined more than 5x more votes than the other two combined.
- About 4x more people believe that saving time is a more important benefit of owning a home gym than saving money.
3/28/2021
“Have You Heard of these Companies?”
Below is a look at the last two times this survey has been done. Most of these companies have the ability to outfit your entire gym with a few others thrown in. As always, this survey was done via the Instagram Story feature in the Sunday Survey. Here are a few notes.
- There were 39% fewer votes in March than in December (about 7,800 per company). This most likely had some impact on the numbers. All scores ended up being higher than what occurred 4 months before.
- Those that moved up at least 2 positions were Crane Fitness (+4), Fray Fitness (+3), Force USA (+2), and BATL Performance (+2). X Training Equipment dropped the most (-3).
- Rogue, Titan, and Rep remain in the top three, but Fray has moved into fourth. The Rep vs. Titan Gap is getting closer.
| Rank | Company | December 2020 | March 2021 | % Change |
| 1 | Rogue Fitness | 96.2% | 98.2% | 2.2% |
| 2 | Titan Fitness | 92.7% | 94.4% | 1.9% |
| 3 | Rep Fitness | 81.8% | 89.7% | 9.7% |
| 4 | Fray Fitness | 67.8% | 80.9% | 19.3% |
| 5 | American Barbell | 73.7% | 78.3% | 6.2% |
| 6 | Vulcan Strength | 70.4% | 76.8% | 9.1% |
| 7 | PRX Performance | 68.5% | 76.4% | 11.6% |
| 8 | Sorinex | 65.5% | 75.5% | 15.4% |
| 9 | AbMat | 60.7% | 74.5% | 22.8% |
| 10 | Kabuki Strength | 61.7% | 72.9% | 18.2% |
| 11 | Get RXd | 59.4% | 68.6% | 15.5% |
| 12 | Onnit | 58.1% | 67.5% | 16.3% |
| 13 | Fringe Sport | 55.8% | 67.4% | 20.8% |
| 14 | Bells of Steel | 46.9% | 66.6% | 42.0% |
| 15 | Force USA | 38.3% | 62.0% | 61.7% |
| 16 | LUXIAOJUN Barbell | 40.5% | 56.5% | 39.5% |
| 17 | Kettlebell Kings | 41.5% | 53.3% | 28.5% |
| 18 | Ghost Strong Equipment | 38.3% | 52.0% | 35.6% |
| 19 | Body-Solid | 35.2% | 46.4% | 31.5% |
| 20 | Raptor Fitness | 31.1% | 42.5% | 36.8% |
| 21 | Again Faster Equipment | 37.2% | 41.2% | 10.9% |
| 22 | Bridge Built | 21.6% | 32.8% | 52.2% |
| 23 | I Sell Fitness | 24.1% | 28.6% | 18.5% |
| 24 | Dynamic Fitness & Strength | 19.9% | 23.2% | 17.0% |
| 25 | Crane Fitness Equipment | 11.0% | 22.6% | 104.4% |
| 26 | Batl Performance | 15.2% | 20.7% | 35.4% |
| 27 | Tuff Stuff Fitness | 18.0% | 19.9% | 10.6% |
| 28 | Gymway USA | 16.4% | 19.3% | 17.4% |
| 29 | X Training Equipment | 17.3% | 18.5% | 7.3% |
3/21/2021
Last week’s Sunday Survey simply asked if you owned an item. There were 29 items asked about and each one received an average of nearly 12,200 responses. Highlights include:
- Resistance bands came it at #1 with 89% owning. A barbell fell just behind (86%) and dumbbells were the third most owned product (83%).
- 29% more own adjustable benches compared to flat benches
- 67% own bumper plates compared to 61% iron (some own both)
- Only 5 of the 29 products asked about were owned by more than 75%
- The large specialty machines came in at the very bottom.
What’s Your Favorite Piece of Cardio Equipment?
This was asked a few weeks ago as a #sundaysurveydiscussion. There weren’t a ton of instructions, so the answers varied, but the number one mentioned item was…. the Rogue Echo Bike. When looking at specific products mentioned, the Concept 2 Rower and Assault Bike were not too far behind.
A breakdown of the responses are below. A few notes and highlights include:
- The overall responses were very spread out. For example, the number 1 response received 13.7% of the responses. Nevertheless, rowers and air bikes were clearly the top 2 responses given.
- The Concept 2 Rower could very well be the most popular item, but there were a large number of people that simply put “rower.” There weren’t many people who put “air bike” as the response.
- Jokes and responses with cardio options used outside of the gym were not added. For example, the mountain bike was a popular answer.
- Concept 2 had three specific items listed in the top 10.
3/14/2021
To start, 87% say they know what specialty barbells are.
Over half of respondents do no own any specialty barbells and about 24% own multiple.
When it comes to interest of each type of specialty bar, that varies. The level of interest in 10 different barbell types were asked about below are the results.
- The Hex/Trap Bar had the most interest and in a relatively close 2nd and 3rd place were the Safety Squat Bar and Curl Bar.
- 35% was the most “high interest” votes a product received. Therefore, there wasn’t really a massive interest for any of them.
- Axle, Log Press, and Camber were at the bottom of the list.
3/7/2021
Half Rack vs. Power Rack? This one was closer than expected and “Team Half Rack” is definitely getting closer, but the power rack is still the choice of the majority. Half Rack received 45% of the votes, while the power rack had 55%.
79% believe they will add to their gym this spring.
About 63% are using one or two walls for their home gym, meaning that most are sharing a room with something else.
What would be your first piece of cardio equipment choice between a rower, air bike, treadmill, or stationary bike? The rower eked out a victory here by just a few percentage points over the air bike. These two combined for about 2/3 of the total votes.
Most do not have more than 1 piece of cardio equipment if any. The most popular response was simply 1, with nearly a quarter not owning any when asked the number of cardio pieces they own in their home gym.
How many times have you ran, biked, or performed a “WOD” in the last 30 days? This one will need to be asked again when the weather is warmer, but overall, there are not a ton doing any of these on a consistent basis. More than 75% are doing all of these less than 5 times in 30 days.
Lastly for this week, 20% have ran in an organized race in the last 2 years, while have completed some other sort of fitness competitions (not including races).
2/28/2021
Steel is by far the preferred dumbbell grip of choice.
While most say it’s a future purchase, more than half say they’d consider something like the Monster Cave from Rogue (pictured below chart). Only 26% said no to the idea of this.
68% have focused more on their physical health during the pandemic.
87% are building out their home gym one step at at time.
41% believe commercial gyms will be back to normal by end of the year.
The interest for a plate loadable lat tower is pretty high for a specialized piece of equipment. It’s a bit lower than the stack weight option asked about a few weeks ago, but still very close. 60% voted either medium or high.
How many people do you know with “serious garage gyms?” Most likely it’s not too many or zero. Only 8% said they knew at least 4 people with gyms like this.
In 5 years, who will be the most popular equipment supplier for home strength equipment? With 62%, most believe that it will be Rogue. Amazon/Walmart are in a distant second with Rep in third as they make up another 31% of the votes. Only 7% believe it will be someone else.
Which specialty piece of equipment are you choosing? A Belt Squat, GHD, Reverse Hyper, or Functional Trainer?
With 42% of the votes, the functional trainer is the easy winner.
Wind guards for fan bikes or no?? While 22% say they don’t know, there were slightly more voters for the wind guards than not.
2/21/2021
In the latest Sunday Survey, a “lack of space” was easily the biggest issue highlighted by home gym owners. 73% said this was an issue for them and was without question the most mentioned and “liked” in the Sunday Survey Discussion. Ceiling height was a big concern, as well as just simply wanting more than you could fit.
Other highlights of the survey include:
- Temperature control (cold winters, hot summers) came in as the second biggest obstacle. This was also a hot topic in the Sunday Survey Discussion mentioned above.
- Nearly half say warming up is difficult to do within a home gym setting and came in as the #3 issue, while only 16% said finishing a workout was a problem.
- Keeping the gym clean, not enough lighting, and concern about making too much noise are seen as moderate issues. All had about a third saying these were issues.
- Most feel that they are working out in a safe environment with equipment that will last and is not poor quality.
| Rank | Statement | True | False | % True |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lack of space is an issue for my home gym | 7,507 | 2,793 | 73% |
| 2 | Temperature Control is an issue for my home gym | 6,029 | 4,353 | 58% |
| 3 | Warming Up is an issue during home gym workouts | 4,830 | 5,337 | 48% |
| 4 | Distractions are an issue during home gym workouts | 3,901 | 6,308 | 38% |
| 5 | Keeping home gym clean is an issue | 3,137 | 6,222 | 34% |
| 6 | Not enough lighting is an issue for my home gym | 3,178 | 6,652 | 32% |
| 7 | Concern about making too much noise is an issue | 2,908 | 6,486 | 31% |
| 8 | Poor equipment is an issue I face with home gym | 1,812 | 7,678 | 19% |
| 9 | I’ve made multiple home gym purchase regrets | 1,788 | 8,133 | 18% |
| 10 | Finishing workouts is an issue for me in home gym | 1,508 | 8,063 | 16% |
| 11 | Equipment aging quickly is an issue for my home gym | 1,352 | 8,662 | 14% |
| 12 | Working out safely is an iussue for me at home gym | 1,122 | 8,832 | 11% |
| Total | 39,072 | 79,519 | 33% |
Except for a few additions. this survey was also done last October. All but “Temperature Control” had a lower percentage of “true” votes, meaning fewer issues with the topics above. For example, time 21% voted that equipment aging was an issue vs. just 14% this time.
It should also be noted that the U.S just came out of a winter storm, so that is most likely the reason we didn’t see that number drop as well.
The comparison below looks at the amount that voted these statements as issues then vs. now.
2/14/2021
Highlights
- Massive amounts of home gym space does not exist for most, so larger specialty pieces are of the premium.
- The Multi-Grip Pull Up Bar is the Favorite.
- People are way more likely to sell their used equipment on Facebook Marketplace over other platforms.
- More were interested in the Fray Lat Pulldown/Low Row System than the new REP Omni Rack and Endless Rope from Torque.
- More are interested in a set of real dumbbells vs. adjustable options.
- Over half would be interested in a rack setup where you could start and stop on demand without a spotter’s intervention.
All Results
There are a lot of strong people out there. 37% say they would be interested in a rower that provides more resistance than your classic Concept 2 Rower.
Larger specialty items such as a Reverse Hyper, GHD, Functional Trainer, Leg Press, etc., are premium products for home gym owners not just because of the price. Many do not have room for these more pieces. Only 42% say they even have the space for two or more, while nearly a quarter can’t fit any. The most popular response with 35% of the votes was one.
When asked what pull-up bar people are most interested in, multi-grip is the winner with 55% of the votes. In second was the straight bar (41.5%), while the Globe Grip Bar was a distant third (3.6%).
Facebook Marketplace is the go-to place to sell your used gym equipment. When asked where you’d most likely post it for sale first, the Marketplace made up 69% of the votes. Let Go/Offer Up were in a distant second, while Craigslist actually came in last.
Rep recently released the Omni Series as its new line of racks. When asked about the level of interest in this, 17% voted high, 28% voted medium, 35% voted low, and 21% said they know nothing about it. Overall, it’s pretty spread out, but an overwhelming appetite for this doesn’t exist right now.
The same question as above was asked about the new Endless Rope from Torque. This received a similar response with a little less interest. 13% voted high, 26% medium, 48% low, and 13% know nothing about it.
The Lat Pulldown/Low Row from Fray with a weight stack performed much better than the two products above. 30% went with high, 34% medium, 32% low, and only 5% said they know nothing about it.
Next week, we’ll ask about this Plate Loaded Option from Titan.
Regular or Strongman Sandbags? This one was VERY CLOSE. Strongman beat out the standard sandbags by less than a percent. About 27% say they do not know the difference.
58% say they would be interested in a rack setup where you could start and stop on demand without a spotter’s intervention. Below is the XPT Half Rack, which does just that.
A 5-50 set of dumbbells or any Adjustable Dumbbell of your choice? 64% went with the full set of dumbbells.
Lastly, if you were interested in a set of adjustable dumbbells, would the potential money saved or space saved be more important? This was as close as it gets, with 50.1% choosing the spaced saved option vs. 49.9% wanting to save some money.
1.31.2021
85% of survey respondents work out at least four times a week, with 56% doing 4-5 workouts in a typical week. This statistic would be helpful to compare with people who need to travel to a gym. Nevertheless, those answering these surveys are working out quite a bit.
Last week, 52% said they have purchased gym equipment from a retail store. This week, 86% said they have purchased something for their home gym online and 53% on Amazon.
40% plan on going to a gym after they and others receive a vaccine. That’s not much higher than the 30% last week who said they are already going to a gym other than their “home gym.”
Which one? GHD or Reverse Hyper? 63% said GHD.
Only 12% are more likely to buy a barbell because of a cool name.
Which one are you choosing if you could only have 1 – an Air Bike, Rower, Stationary Bike, or Treadmill? A rower and air bike made up about 2/3 votes, with the Rower (36%) being the winner. The stationary bike came in last with about 11% of votes.
Level of Interest in Premium J-Cups? More said that they did not know what J-Cups were than voted “High.” Overall, there is moderate interest, with the highest vote-getter being “Medium.”
There was slightly higher interest in “Premium Barbell Clips/Collars” than J-Hooks, and a lot more knew what they were.
Most are watching very little or no TV when working out. 61% voted never, and only 11% are watching more than half of the time.
That is all! Thanks for the participation! These insights are extremely interesting and being used by others to advance the industry.
1.24.2021
Even with much more in stock, 57% say they are still having difficulty finding the equipment they need. We’ll ask soon to see what people are waiting for. You can check out what’s in stock here.
What’s worse? Cold Winters 🥶 or Hot Summers 🌶️ for the home gym? 68% voted for cold winters. The way you respond to this question probably depends on where you live.
52% have purchased gym equipment from a retail store. Another follow up question about how many have purchased online will be asked in the next survey.
Just 30% are currently going to another gym besides home gym right now. This is similar to the last time this question was asked in September (32% said yes).
61% sacrifice storage for the rest of the house to have a home gym. Space is limited for most and it usually eats into some of the space you’d typically store other household items (maybe even your car). More struggle with actually finding space for gym equipment than actually filling it. This sign from Garage Gym Lab portrays it well.
60% consider themselves an athlete.
Of these 3 options (lat/low row attachment, jammer/iso arms, belt squat), which Power Rack Accessory are you most interested in? The lat/low row attachment won this one relatively easily, gaining nearly 37% of the votes. About 29% said they were not really interested in any of them.
For example, here is the Lat/Low Row Attachment for the 5000 Series from Rep.
What’s the #1 reason you train? Physical Health 👉 Mental Health 👉 Look Good 👉 For a Competition/Race. Most of us are just out here trying to live a longer life and stay sane!
What % of your home gym was bought used? Nearly 2 out of 3 have at least something bought used, but less than 30% say that more than a third is used. Therefore, most have something that was bought used, but most stuff in their home gym is actually new.
Workout times vary a bit, but the majority are doing it sometime in the afternoon. Only 23% are those working out first thing in the morning.
1.17.2021
How does the majority feel about monolift attachments? Overall, there is not a ton of interest. There were nearly 2 times more votes for “IDK what those are” vs. “High Interest”. The most popular response was “low interest,” with over 40% of the votes.
57% said they’d be willing to pay more for plates made in their country. How much more is the real question.
For Americans looking, here are a few options that have been in stock recently:
- Kabuki Iron Plates
- Most plates sold from Rogue are not Made in America, but here are some that are: Deep Dish Plates, US-Mil Spec Crumb Bumper Plates, and Rogue Bumper Plates by Hi-Temp.
True or False? The softer the bumper plates, the better. Only 20% say true.
48% are repping at least one flag/banner in their home gym?
Most plan on adding to their home gyms in the next 90 days. Only 28% voted “probably or definitely not” when asked if they would add to the home gym within this timeframe. Most home gym owners are building it out one step at a time, making sense.
How often do you have more than 405 lbs. on the bar? 495 lbs.? About half of survey respondents never put more than 405 pounds on the bar, and 3/4 never have more than 495. This was asked because there is a good amount of banter about the width of bumper plates. However, does it matter if most aren’t filling up the bar anyway? Does a barbell need to be the standard size it is today?
The level of interest in reading reviews for the home gym is quite high. 73% either voted high or very high, with just a total of 8% voting low.
Sunday Survey Discussion – What’s your favorite home gym hack?
There are some helpful responses, but also some truly wild ones in the post below. Some notable ones include:
- Leaf blower
- Change plates or carjack rather than purchasing a deadlift jack.
- Chains as weights
- Landmine Hacks (with tennis ball or towel)
- Numerous ways to turn what you have into a GHD
- The post comments below are worth taking a look at!
1.10.2020
Who Wins? Rogue or everyone else? 69% voted for Rogue, which means others have quite a lot of catching up to do. This question was also asked in December of 2019, where Rogue received 67% of the votes. There were 5x more votes this time around.
Which Rack Accessory are you most interested in (landmine, plate storage, dip attachment, and wall ball target)? The landmine is the winner, with plate storage only a few percentage points behind when it comes to these 4 rack accessory options.
Would you even consider a rack that doesn’t have 5/8 inch or 1-inch holes? 4x voted no rather than yes, and 21% didn’t see why that would be important. Last week, it was discovered that most preferred racks with 1-inch and 5/8 holes so that it’s compatible with popular lines from several companies.
When it comes to Thompson Fatbells, 40% say they’ve heard of them. Then, of those that said they have heard of them, 39% would consider purchasing.
The level of interest in Rogue Deep Dish Plates is not that high. This comes as somewhat of a surprise. These are made in America, from the most popular company in the country, have good reviews, and very good looking.
Bumper or Iron Plates? Bumpers win this one easily with 2.2x more votes. Only 9% went with “whatever is cheapest,” so most had a preference.
What’s tougher? Clearing space for gym or Filling space with gym? 79% say that it’s more difficult to find the space for that gym equipment. This is a question that has been asked several times during these surveys, and they have always produced a similar result.
Sometimes you just have to give up that parking spot…
81% think it’s okay for a tv to be in a home gym. Regardless, your house, your rules.
Mile Time, Fran Time, Deadlift, or Bench? What would you rather improve the most? You get a good sense of who is answering these questions by the responses to this question. Deadlift (40%) and Bench (34%) lead the way.
Lastly, the Sunday Conversation is in the IG post below. Over 700 explained their favorite benefit of owning a home gym. Highlights and Trends Include:
- Overall, convenience was mentioned the most.
- More Freedom
- Being able to have the family around. Not only does it set a good example, but you don’t have to leave your kids to go to the gym.
- No Commute/Gas Saved.
- You can control the music and play as loud as you want.
- No waiting on equipment or trying to find a squat rack.
- No More Excuses.
- You’re able to invest in the equipment YOU want.
- Always Open.
- Close to the kitchen.
- No judgment.
Whether you go to another gym or not, you can’t beat the perks of having your own gym. A home gym is for everyone.
1.3.2021
Most survey respondents do not spend much time working out in the great outdoors (probably because they don’t have good sunglasses – ha.. ha..). 52% workout less than 2 times a month in the open air and just 14% get a workout in over 15 times.
What type of dumbbells should I get is a common question home gym owners ask themselves. When asked between a pair of adjustable dumbbells and 2 pairs of any size hex dumbbells, it’s a toss-up. The 2 pairs of hex dumbbells (any size) is the winner with 51% of the votes.
What’s your hole preference on a squat rack? Nearly 38% do not understand why it’s important, but the #1 response was 1-inch holes. This aligns with the Monster Line from Rogue and 5000-Series Racks from Rep. 1 inch holes received over 2x more votes than those with 5/8 inch (Monster Lite and 4000-Series Racks).
Below is an example of what 1 inch vs. 5/8 inch looks like. It may be overkill, but it’s the current preference of home gym owners.
Most are not wearing a weightlifting belt for all of their lifts. About 60% of survey respondents wear a belt when lifting less than 25% of the time. 70% claim to own a weightlifting belt, though.
About a quarter plan on selling some gym equipment on the used marketplace in the next 6 months (Craigslist, FB Marketplace, etc.). 42% say no, and about a third is up in the air.
There is quite a bit more interest in a motorless vs. motorized treadmill. With a total of 23% with high interest, that’s 73% higher than “high-interest” voters for a motorized treadmill. About 10% said they didn’t know what “motorless” meant, while just 6% didn’t understand what a “motorized treadmill” was.
An example of a Motorless treadmill is the Assault Air Runner.
83% voted protein shakes (like Muscle Milk) vs. 17% protein bars (like Quest Bars).
With 37% of the votes, Powerlifting wins in this battle vs. CrossFit (29%), Oly Lifting (10%), and Bodybuilding (25%).
