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Plus, it’s now live on YouTube (highlighted below)!
(4:30) Overrated or Underrated?
8 items/topics were asked about (listed below). More details include:
- With nearly 63% voting overrated, 6 post racks were actually pretty easily seen as the most overrated item on this list.
- Home Gym Hacks and DIY Projects were viewed as the most underrated. Each had over 70% voting underrated.
- The rest of the voting is below.
| Topic/Item | Overrated | Underrated | % Overrated |
| 6 Post Power Racks | 2,039 | 1,200 | 62.95% |
| Westside Spacing | 1,470 | 1,572 | 48.32% |
| Adjustable Dumbbells | 1,632 | 1,979 | 45.20% |
| Stainless Steel Barbells | 1,423 | 1,927 | 42.48% |
| Specialty Barbells | 1,215 | 2,287 | 34.69% |
| Owning Multiple Barbells | 1,194 | 2,470 | 32.59% |
| Home Gym DIY Projects | 1,023 | 2,410 | 29.80% |
| Home Gym Hacks | 990 | 2,405 | 29.16% |
This survey was also done last year. What are some key differences?
- Specialty Barbells were seen as overrated by 27% more people in 2021. Thus, more people see the benefit in owning them this year.
- The two most overrated items this time around (6 Post Power Racks and Westside Spacing) saw pretty big changes from 2021.
| Topic/Item | 2022 Overrated | 2021 Overrated | % difference |
| 6 Post Power Racks | 62.95% | 53.60% | 17.45% |
| Westside Spacing | 48.32% | 40.90% | 18.15% |
| Adjustable Dumbbells | 45.20% | 48.90% | -7.58% |
| Stainless Steel Barbells | 42.48% | 41.70% | 1.86% |
| Specialty Barbells | 34.69% | 47.40% | -26.80% |
| Owning Multiple Barbells | 32.59% | 33.40% | -2.43% |
(13:28) How do you usually listen to audio during home workouts?
- This isn’t really a shocker. Almost 2 out of 3 are typically listening with a speaker and headphones make up another quarter of the votes.
(14:43) Do you typically read “expert reviews” before most gym equipment purchases?
- While 63% do say yes, this is down from 70% from the prior year.
(15:51) What would you rather see before purchasing (2 expert reviews or 5 consumer reviews)?
- With 34% voting for expert reviews it’s down a few percentage points from last year when 38% said they’d rather read expert reviews last year.
(19:20) Have you heard of the Garage Gym Competition?
- Up from 28% when voted on a few weeks ago.
(19:54) Are you running some sort of business out of your home gym?
- While most people in this world are not even considering it, it’s important to note that about 8% answering these surveys are running a business out of their home gym.
(20:19) Do you have some sort of pulley system in your home gym?
- A pretty decent amount of people have some sort of pulley system in their home gym. With 57% voting yes, it’s a decent amount pp from 47% voting this way last May.
(23:15) Favorite Home Gym Hacks (Sunday Survey Conversation)
- “Once you get enough equipment, your wife never notices new stuff.” – Crandall Fitness
- Turning functional trainer into a belt squat a few different ways.
- Cheap ways to perform landmine movments. Tennis ball, for example.
- Propane heaters.
- Amazon pulleys with some other tools for pulleys system.
(27:55) Favorite DIY Projects for Home Gym (Sunday Survey Conversation)
- Many mentioned DIY projects to get the gym in shape. For example, @homegymhangout said a wired in garage heater. Others said getting it insulated.
- DIY deadlift platform was the most popular answer.
(32:52) 2022 January Hot or Not Results Summary
Highlights for the year so far include:
- The Concept 2 Rower eeks out a victory over the Rogue Echo Bike and the rest of the competition this week with 87% 🔥 votes. The Echo Bike beat out the Rower in 2021 by a few % points, so is this the new #1 cardio item for home gym owners?
- The GHD wins agains the Reverse Hyper and 2-1 Combo (Reverse Hammer). They all came in between 68% and 75%. Over 70% voted 🔥 for the Scout Hyper, which was a few % points higher than reverse hyper.
- The Powerblock Pro Series Straight Bar was the biggest drop🧊, down 37%. This received the lowest score in 2021 as well.
- Raw Clear Coat AB-5200 hit a score that may not be topped this year, just under 94%.
- All four colors of the AB-5200 were asked about. The Red and Blue were decently behind the other options that landed at the very top of the list.
- The Rogue LP-2 was the winner, but not by a ton. A similar product from Titan was just behind it, which isn’t too shabby being half the cost. The LP-2 also takes 24-32 weeks to ship right now, which seems crazy! The other single pulley stack weight system from Fray (pictured below) wasn’t too far behind either.
- 2 out of the 3 functional trainers (Rep FT-5000 and Red Functional Trainer via Fray) scored above 75% with the Nemesis Functional Trainer scoring below 50%.