(0:00) Intro
This was the last episode of the quarter, and we go over Hot or Not results so far this year, highlight new products released in Q1, quickly go over some of the top survey results, AND have a chat about the last three months’ podcasts. More info and charts are below as well.
The episode can be listened to on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
(0:42)Hot or Not Results in Q1
As a reminder, with the hot or not surveys, we are simply throwing up a picture on the Instagram Story and asking whether the product is hot or not.
We’ve asked about 86 items so far. So far, we’ve done plates, specialty strength machines, benches, and a few more miscellaneous items.
- In first place for plates were the Rogue Competition Plates at 90%. They were closely followed by Eleiko Weightlifting Competition Plates, Rogue Calibrated Plates, Rogue Machined Olympic Plates, and then REP Competition Plates. Most of the unique plates didn’t score as high.
- This week, the Concept 2 Rower eeks out a victory over the Rogue Echo Bike and the rest of the competition 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 Rogue LP-2 was the winner for specialty strength machines, but not 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 wasn’t too far behind either.
- We asked about 21 different benches so far. The REP AB-5200 narrowly beat out the Rogue Adjustable Bench 3.0.
The top 5 include:
| Rank | Item | Hot🔥 | Not🥶 | % 🔥 |
| 1 | Raw Clear Coat AB-5200 | 3,888 | 263 | 93.66% |
| 2 | Metallic Black Ab-5200 | 4,057 | 300 | 93.11% |
| 3 | Rep AB-5200 | 2403 | 225 | 91.44% |
| 4 | Rogue Competition Plates | 2810 | 304 | 90.24% |
| 5 | Rogue Adjustable Bench 3.0 | 2351 | 259 | 90.08% |
The Bottom 5 include.
| 82 | Force USA MyBench | 645 | 1857 | 25.78% |
| 83 | Massage Gun Holder | 1,114 | 3,320 | 25.12% |
| 84 | Concrete Plates | 543 | 2478 | 17.97% |
| 85 | Sport Bench | 291 | 1998 | 12.71% |
| 86 | Powerblock Pro Series Straight Bar | 449 | 4,040 | 10.00% |
(7:53) New Products Released
- REP ARES: selectorized cable and lat pulldown/low row rack attachment
- Xebex XT3 Sled: Torque Tank with additional features
- Titan Series Rack Mounted Leg Curl & Extension: A rack attachment that can be used for leg curls and extensions (as the name states)
- REP AB-4100: Feels like the little brother to the AB-5200
- Apollo Half Rack 3×3 11 gauge steel half rack: New beefy half rack from REP
- REP Cambered Swiss Bar: REP adds to the cambered options on the market with an affordable but versatile alternative.
- Force USA G10 & G15: Include interchangeable 2:1 and 4:1 pulley ratios.
(20:21) Top Survey Results from Q1
In 5 years, who will be the most popular equipment supplier for home gym strength?
- How did that change since this was asked in February of last year? REP made the biggest jump, but Rogue still owns a pretty big lead, as we mentioned above.
| Company | February 2021 | January 2022 | % Change |
| Rogue | 61.6% | 56.2% | -9% |
| REP | 12.6% | 21.4% | 70% |
| Amazon/Walmart | 18.6% | 13.0% | -30% |
| Other | 7.2% | 9.4% | 31% |
Which strength sport interests you most?
- Powerlifting is the #1 choice, but overall it’s a pretty diverse group.
How do you feel about tech entering the home gym space?
- The results were nearly identical to what we saw in July of 2021. With 49% voting neutral and only a combined 28% being either a big fan/keep me away, it doesn’t seem to be on the radar of most.
Do you typically follow a workout program, Do you pay for a workout program, and Do you have a 1:1 coach?
- Most are following some sort of program, a little over half of them pay for something, and then a total of just under 12% have a 1:1 coach.
Which specialty piece of equipment are you choosing first?
- With nearly 45% votes, the Functional Trainer beat out the GHD (24%), Belt Squat (18%), and Reverse Hyper (13%).
With cost in mind, who are you choosing to fill an entire home gym with?
- Rogue wins this by just a few over REP. They combined for about 77% of the votes.
Which rack accessory are you most interested in?
- The lat/low row attachment seems to be at the top when it comes to larger or premium rack accessories.
We have a few stats that tell us that most home gyms come in all shapes and sizes. In addition, they’re not necessarily in the ideal space.
- Nearly 2 out of 3 are around 200 square feet or less
- It’s pretty normal for someone to have a ceiling height that isn’t too big of an issue. Over 60% have ceiling heights of around 8 or 9 feet
- It’s likely that you’re not utilizing a full room for a home gym, and not using all walls.
Safety Squat Bar voted as the most popular Specialty Bar
(36:01) Summary of Podcasts from Q1
- As of this recording, we’ve released 29 podcasts in 2021 (10 before the year started).
- We talked with people like Garage Gym Lab, Jason Campbell from Surplus Strength, Joe Gray, the Chicken, Mark from Plate Snacks, Gluck, Jake Boly, Mike from Garage Gym Updates, and More.
- Also, founders like Kaevon from Bells of Steel, PRx Founders, Ashton from Freedom Fitness Equipment, Grant from Strength Co, and MORE
- We also will have 5 roundtables recorded by the end of this month.
(45:11) Top Clips
- (45:31) 35-pound plates from the first Home Gym Roundtable
- (54:08) A portion of the 2nd roundtable included a group of product inventors. We had the owners of Micro Gainz, Bridge Built, Kleva Built, AbMat, and Surplus Strength explain why USA manufacturing is so important to them.
- (73:41) Jason from Surplus Strength explained how the UPS is manufactured in episode #15.
- (84:30) The “Secret History of REP” with Ryan McGrotty.
- (94:25) The Shark Tank Story in an interview with PRX founders.
- (109:23) The invention of the Preacher Pad with Garage Gym Lab’s episode.
- (114:30) Grant from the Strength co explains why he discusses why he ultimately went all-in after seeing a market for Made in USA plates.