Introduction
Jake recently shared his first six home gym purchases if he had to do it again, and we also spoke about them on the podcast. Jake’s first six lists would give you a fantastic set-up, and while I might exchange one or two of those items, I would also like to make a list with a much lower budget in mind.
So, here is my list of the first six home gym purchases while staying under $1,750 in 2022.
- Rogue Ohio Bar (boneyard)
- NEXO Matte Black Bumper Plates (GGE10 saves you 10%)
- REP PR 1100
- REP AB 3000
- Titan Olympic Rings
- Lat/Low Row Attachment from REP
#1: Barbell
The all-mighty barbell should be the first thing you add when building out your home gym, and Rogue makes some of the best barbells available. The Rogue Ohio Bar is a great multi-use barbell that you can use for dynamic Olympic lifts and the big three power lifts. There is no need to buy this thing at full price, especially if you are on a budget. Visit the boneyard and grab a functionally perfect bar that suffers from minuscule cosmetic flaws. If you read some boneyard reviews, you will find that most people struggle to find the flaw in their boneyard bar. I did.
*Items in the boneyard go in and out of stock relatively quickly. Therefore, you’ll likely have to play a bit of a waiting game. You’ll find the Ohio Bar in the 28.5mm section.
Ohio bars in the boneyard typically go for around $225, but for the sake of arguments, we will call it an even $250.
#2: Plates
Bumper plates may limit the amount of weight you can fit on the bar, but they don’t limit movements. For most of us, we may never fill a sleeve to the max anyway. This is why my 2nd purchase will be a set of bumper plates.
A 260lb set of Matte Black NEXO Bumper Plates from Strength Depot comes in at $499, but using the code GGE10 will save you 10%. These are likely the best value plates you’ll find on the market now.
*If you are a powerlifter and need or prefer iron, jump on the used markets, where you can usually find iron for $1 a pound.
#3: Rack
A rack does not need to cost you more than your mortgage payment. It would be easy to spend more than the cost of this entire gym on a rack when the truth is you don’t need to. The PR1100 from REP is a rack that Jake and I have both had (and I still use). It has a capacity of over 700lbs, which is plenty enough for most lifters. It also gives you good upgrades when you’re ready to add a cable set-up.
With free shipping from REP, the PR1100 will cost you $379.
*The Titan T2 is another rack I have used and is also a good option. It gives you more add-ons. Those add-ons can be used on the PR1100 minus the use of the extra safeties.
#4: Bench
You have a bar, weights, and a rack. Next up is a bench. The REP AB 3000 is a bench I have owned for six years. It has survived three moves, a hurricane flood, and daily use. You won’t be able to store it vertically, but in every other aspect, it will get the job done. They’ve since upgraded it, and it appears to be an even better version.
I’m glad I spent a little more upfront on an adjustable bench rather than settling for a flat bench.
#5: Rings
You are missing out if you are not currently using rings or have never used them. Rings are an easy addition to any home gym. They provide everything from easy mobility warm-ups to challenging pump-educing finishers. All of this, and they are incredibly affordable.
A set of rings from Titan will cost you $45.
#6: Lat/Low Row Attachment
it f this truly is a ‘first 6’, then you are probably coming from a commercial gym, and a cable set-up is something that most of us are used to. BA cable attachment like this can bring you many accessory movements that give you something else besides your body or the barbell to lift. y putting this in your gym, you bring in so much versatility that you didn’t have before, and you do it with a small footprint.
The attachment for the 1000 series racks costs $259.
Total Cost
The goal was to stay under $1,750. The gym mentioned above came in at $1,705. This is not only a gym that remains within our budget, but it is something that you can’t use out. This is a complete setup, even if you don’t end up adding to it. There isn’t much you couldn’t accomplish with this as your home gym.
No stall mats?
Stall mats made Jake’s top 6, and while I find them important and recommend getting them, you don’t necessarily need to start with stall mats. This is especially true if you go with bumper plates. I would probably go easy on the bar slams until you get them in.
Level Up
While this equipment could last you a very long time, f you ever get to the point where you want to improve your set-up, the resale value of everything listed is high; if it is well taken care of, there should be no reason you couldn’t see at least a 60% return on these items.
Picture a world where you bought the $2,000 power rack but didn’t have room in your budget to get a bench or enough weight to use it. You would struggle to get complete lifts in your space, and there is a likelihood that you end up not lifting in your home gym. On the flip side, if you buy a $400 rack and enough equipment to get full workouts, you could continue to lift and save. Then, when you are ready, you could sell the rack for around $300, upgrade, and your training would never skip a beat.
Buy once, cry once works, but not when you are on a budget.
Conclusion
In a world where the price of home gym equipment continues to go up, it is hard to imagine a complete set-up for under $1,750, but it is possible. With social media, you are able to get a peek into some of the nicest home gyms with price tags that push in well into the tens of thousands of dollars range. While they are amazing to see (and owning a gym like those would be amazing), they are not necessary to train at home. You can lift on a budget, and having a home gym can be affordable.
Jake and I often disagree on the question: Do you save money by owning a home gym? While I believe most people continue to build, expand, and upgrade, staying content with a gym like this, will save money in the long run.
Using a manageable number like $50 a month, you can estimate that many people spend around $600 a year. If you lift in this gym without adding to it, you can have all of the items ‘paid off in 3 years by canceling your gym membership.
Fair warning though: most home gym owners already know that once you start building your home gym, it can quickly become a never-ending addiction.
Get more tips as you build out your home gym by reading The Home Gym Guide.
Many good points in this post. I’ve had a home gym since about 1998. Bought a Body Solid rack and lat attachment. Best Body Solid adjustable bench and an Oly set with 300lbs of weight. Of course I’ve added to it including fixed and adjustable dumbbells, rings, and several specialty bars including hex deadlift from Rogue.
I splurged / replaced the original POS Oly for a Rogue Ohio Power Bar, and several other Rogue specialty bars. One thing I will say, EVERY time I grab one of my Rogue bars you can just feel the quality that went into it. For people who are on a budget I would like to remind them that a year from now they won’t remember what they paid for a Rogue, or other good brand, but they will know if what they got is crap. As a 64 year old man I learned the hard way and over time that you should always buy your first choice tool, knife, guitar or whatever. When you buy good stuff it lasts forever AND it does better work and feels better. Over time I also added another 300lbs to the iron.
My point is that I may or may not have saved any money over time but I think I did. No way I paid over 12,000 for 20 years of working out at home ($660/year X 20yrs). But the REAL benefits are it doesn’t take 30 minutes of travel and getting set up time on the front end, I NEVER have to wait for people using their phones to vacate a rack or bench, I can workout in whatever I want and listen to great music and I can do all this when I want.
So, yeah, over time you save money as I must have but the time is the real issue. It’s harder to skip a workout at home when all you need do is tie your shoes, drink your pre and turn the music loud.
Hope this helps and BTW enjoy your posts tremendously.