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.
That’s it!
Thanks to all for your feedback and for taking the time to read or listen.