[Ag6502]

My home gym: A guide for anyone wanting to set up a gym at home!

I used to be an avid gym-goer before covid, and the national lockdowns shut down the gym I used to visit. I was disappointed and wanted to find a way to continue my fitness journey at home. Initially, I tried to get into callisthenics, but I found that it could compare with the feeling and results of free weights (for me at least). Thus started the long journey of researching various home-gym products to create a set up on my terrace that would satisfy me.

Here are some pros of setting up a gym at home:

• No travel time
• Not having to plan your day around your workout
• Not having to share equipment or wait for anyone else
• Significantly shorter (or longer!) workouts while also being able to help around at home
• Being able to play your music
• Freedom to work out with your family and friends at no extra cost
• Not having to worry about the state of the world outside!

Some negatives I have noticed are:

• Will probably not have access to all the fancy machines and dumbbells of a commercial gym.
• Other members at home might find the banging of plates annoying!

Overall though, I feel like it is a decision that has greatly benefitted my life, and as an investment, it will pay for itself in 2-3 years!

In this guide, I will detail my set up and then provide my recommendations for different budgets.

My set up:
I knew from the start what I wanted. I wanted to focus on basic barbell compound exercises and assistance work using a pulley system and resistance bands/rings.

I created a wishlist as follows:

• A power rack with safeties and a high/low pulley combo
• A 20kg Olympic barbell
• A 4feet EZ Curl barbell
• A 5 feet Utility bar
• ~200kg of Olympic weights
• An adjustable bench
• A couple of pulley attachments
• A pair of loadable Olympic dumbbells
• A couple of resistance bands and loops
• A set of gymnastic rings
• Some thick rubber mats as a base

I was not interested in picking up a cardio machine as I have a great cycle that I use when I need to get some cardio in.

All in all, this setup might sound pretty minimalistic. Still, surprisingly you can do almost any movement and hit all muscles effectively while only taking up space the size of a power rack!

After getting my list in place, I started searching to acquire the items at a reasonable rate. Initially, I checked Amazon, Olx and other online sites but did not find anything to my liking. I stumbled across some Indian brands which make high-quality products, but I found them expensive for my budget. Nonetheless, they are great companies and have good reviews; I would recommend their products if you can comfortably stretch your budget as it is the option that will give you the least hassle. Do check their products below (I am not sponsored by them in any way)

• BullrocK Fitness
• Challenge Barbell
• USI

I soldiered on, trying to find a more suitable option.

IndiaMart, the saviour:

Eventually, I came across IndiaMart on a Google search. IndiaMart is a large platform that connects buyers to suppliers of almost anything in India. I saw many gym equipment suppliers and made lots of calls and enquiries to get a good deal for myself.

The major expenses were the power racks, barbells and weights. I sourced all my weights from one supplier as I was very particular about having the 10kg and 20kg plates as bumper plates and the rest as steel. I also did not want any tacky designs but rather preferred plain colour coded plates. The rest of the equipment I sourced from another supplier. Most of these suppliers are from north India, so I had to ask them to ship it to my place.

Overall Costs:

Weight plates:

• 6x20kg
• 4x10kg
• 8x5kg
• 4x2.5kg
• 2x1kg
• 4x0.5kg

Total = Rs 32,090 (~150rs/kg shipped)

Rest of the equipment:

• Power rack: 23,000
• Olympic Barbell: 3,000
• Bench: 7,000
• 5 feet utility bar: 2,500
• EZ curl bar: 2,200

Total = Rs 45,948 (shipped)

Rubber cow mats(6 feet x 4 feet @ 100rs / square foot)

2 pieces = 5000 (including delivery charge)

Miscellaneous accessories = 5000

Total Overall Cost = Rs 88,038

The full setup!


I paid through IndiaMart for both these orders as the sellers demanded prepayment, and I wanted some sense of security. Indiamart charges a ~2% commission, and therefore I paid slightly higher, but I did not mind. I had to keep following up with the suppliers, especially after making the payment, to ensure that they were getting the work done and shipped it on time. Still, it took about two months for everything to come as initially, they forgot to send a piece of the power rack. I first told the supplier that I had not received a part, but due to slow responses on his part, I registered a complaint with Indiamart, and after that, he seemed to send me my part almost overnight. Funny how that happens!

Thoughts and impressions:
The weights I ordered were of decent quality. The bumpers were rubber-coated, but they leak colour if they get wet. Although the 20kg plates are solid and weighed precisely 20kg, the 10kg plates are very flimsy and can even bend! They also weigh closer to 9kg than 10kg. The smaller steel plates are great, and I have no complaints about them. Overall after about eight months of use, I can see some wear and tear on the plates, but they get the job done well.

Here you can see the flex in the 10kg plate


Closeup of the bumper plate and landmine, notice it leaking colour on my deck.


Closeup of the smaller plates and the loadable dumbbell I bought from Amazon



The power rack and pulley system work great. The rack itself looks pretty sturdy and is well built. It does not have the same finesse as one in a real gym, but it feels solid and dependable. The pulley system took a bit of effort to install because it had got slightly bent in transit, but after a few minutes of hammering it out, it fit. The action is a little rough and lacks smoothness, but it seems reasonable enough. The rack does not mind upwards of 150kg of weight on the j cups and safeties; I will update this once I get stronger. I’ve tested the pulley system up to 80kg, and it works fine with a bit of flex in the mechanism, but I restrict myself to around 65-70kg usually as I don’t want to break it inadvertently. The pullup bar is very sturdy and can hold a combined weight of 120kg+ easily. The rack also came with a landmine attachment, but I find it useless and have never actually used it.

The fit and finish of the rack are much better than the rest of the products. J hooks are a bit tedious to use, though.


Here is the top half of the pulley system


And here is the bottom. This allows for both high and low cable movements.



The adjustable bench was a disappointment. It is too narrow for me and seems oddly tilted to the right. The fit and finish were terrible, and even the padding felt awful. I could not even set the bench to a fully flat position as it is poorly made and slides from the position, something I found out in the middle of a bench set! I have attached pictures of the same so that everyone can get a better understanding of this. I tried to contact the seller, but he has since stopped responding to my calls and texts. I have just been using it on the second-lowest rung, and it seems stable enough. Overall I would say I am unhappy with the bench, and for a similar price, I could have gotten a much better, branded bench.

This is the flattest the bench can be. Notice that this is on the second rung. If I try to use the last rung, it collapses when weight is put on it and becomes a declined bench


The uneven, narrow backrest


Shoddy cushions and the obstructive design



The barbells were also a bit disappointing. The 7 feet Olympic barbell was rusted when I opened it from the package. The knurling is very poor and offers little grip, but it is workable. The collars spin decently, but the action is not smooth, and they are not appropriately secured. A couple of times, the screws securing the collars to the shaft has flown off, forcing us to put it back and tighten it by hand! The 5 feet utility bar has the same issues. The EZ curl bar is slightly better, but it is uneven in shape and still has poor knurling. The Olympic bar weighs approximately 18.5kg instead of 20kg, and I have tested it up to loads of 160kg, and it was completely fine with no noticeable flexing or bending.

The poorly secured collars


A view of the uneven EZ curl bar



The Horse / Cow mats are perfect as a base for the power rack and an area just in front of it to deadlift. They soften the impact and make sure your floor stays protected but do not compress under your feet when you perform a movement, thus ensuring you remain stable and planted. I highly recommend them as they are readily available in most cities (you can use Indiamart to search for some suppliers).

The mat keeps your floor safe and gives your feet grip as well.



I also got some other accessories from amazon; a pair of USI clips to keep the weight in place, a weighted pull-up belt, a powerlifting belt, some resistance bands, and some cable machine attachments. I am satisfied with these as well.

My lifting belt, I would highly recommend this; it is a USI model. Also, note the safeties of the power rack. They are solid steel and can support upwards of 160kg.


Advice from my experience:

If I could do it again, I would have bought a different bench and some better barbells. Do not be scared to splurge a bit on these items. Almost all of your interaction would be with the barbell, so it makes sense to get a high-quality one. You will also use the bench a lot and should ensure it is comfortable, safe, and adjustable. Decathlon has an excellent basic bench that I have tested in their store.

A barbell without rust and actual knurling would be much more enjoyable to use.



I would also strongly advise rubber bumper plates instead of steel plates because steel plates make much more noise and are more damaging to flooring (they are denser after all).

It also makes sense to get 2 7feet Olympic barbells. I find myself wishing for 2 barbells to do supersets and multiple exercises simultaneously, but I am forced to use the 5feet utility bar. I would recommend 1 nice bar from BullrocK and 1 beater bar from a supplier. The quality difference will astound you. This is going to be my next upgrade!

The power rack should also have a multi-grip pullup bar as they are much more flexible than a standard bar. J cups that are easy to remove and put back are also very convenient.

A multi-grip pull-up bar will net you lots of variation. I prefer neutral grip the most. If you plan to set up in an open space, be sure to also line the top with some pigeon spikes, as I have done. Otherwise, your equipment will be covered in pigeon poop in no time.


The most important thing is to call multiple suppliers and keep enquiring! Ask for pictures and videos of the product. The best case is to go there in person and ensure that your work is done according to your taste. Sure, this is time-consuming, but you will end up with a much cheaper product that you love!

Recommendations for different budgets:

1. Rs 1,000
   At this level, I would recommend sticking with callisthenics movements and the great outdoors. An open resistance band and a cheap pullup bar are great ways to get into shape and will easily fit your budget.
   
2. Rs 5,000
   I would recommend more varieties of resistance bands; open loops, bands with handles, etc. I would also recommend a pair of gymnastic rings that will significantly improve your strength and stability and open up many new exercises. You could also pick up the sand-filled weight kits on amazon, but I do not like their quality and would not recommend them.
   
   The versatile rings with a view from my terrace
   
3. Rs 10,000
   At this level, you can pick up a set of steel dumbbells along with the bands and gymnastic rings.
   
4. Rs 25,000
   You can pick up a squat stand and adjustable bench along with a barbell and some cheap weights. The quality will not be that great, and you will not be able to buy much weight, but you never know what kind of deals you could score. Do check with local gyms in your area that might need a little cash to stay afloat! You could also start looking at multigyms at this level, but I am not a big fan of them and would take a barbell any day.
   
5. Rs 50,000-Rs 75,000
   You can get a setup similar to mine. Be sure to hunt for the best deal and the highest quality products. Loadable dumbbells make more sense than buying individual sets!
   
6. Rs 1,00,000
   The sky is the limit! You could have a gym complete with a cardio machine and whip everyone in your family into shape. Just be sure to stretch your money and get everything you desire.

Okay, and that is a wrap! Do let me know if anyone has any questions, and I will try to answer them. I hope my first in-depth post will be helpful to someone looking to get into shape

Mods, please let me know if I have made any mistakes or flouted any rules. I apologise in advance.

Ag6502

[ast.ggn]

Originally Posted by Ag6502

My home gym: A guide for anyone wanting to set up a gym at home!

Excellent post. I had similar setup for myself few years back and I managed it quite cheaper eg: got lucky with a used power cage from Olx, bought cast iron plates from Jalandhar (lot cheaper than rubber coated ones, used thick mats for floor protection). I spent around 30k in all, if I remember correctly. My best progress in the amount of weight lifted was during those years. The part I liked about training at home is that there are no distractions, you can train anytime you want and as long as you want. On negative side, you have access to limited resources (equipment) as compared to a commercial gym.

Thanks for sharing.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Ag6502

My home gym: A guide for anyone wanting to set up a gym at home!

Thanks for sharing, Ag6502! Moving your post to a new thread, and it will also go to our homepage .

I also have a home gym setup with a treadmill, exercise bike, single stack gym and dumbbells etc. Primary reason for home gym = convenience & consistency. It helps me to workout almost everyday (except for the mandatory rest days between exercising).

Will strongly recommend to anyone who has the space.

[deathwalkr]

Nice setup!

My home "gym" consists of a pair of 5kg and 7.5kg dumbbells

[bblost]

I love this setup and thanks a lot for such a detailed thread.

If I had this kind of space, would love to do this. The only addition I can think of for this setup is monkey bars.

[lordtottuu]

Having a home setup has been a godsend during the lockdowns. Plus, when you've been working remote for well over a decade, learning to work between workout sets is the first thing you do.

My main problem is that I don't have safe enough flooring for dead lifts (and the subsequent drops). I'm super concerned that I'm going to end up wrecking the floor that I've given up on dead lifts, which is a pity.

How're you home gym-mers doing dead lifts?

[Jattitude]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thanks for sharing, Ag6502! Moving your post to a new thread, and it will also go to our homepage .

I also have a home gym setup with a treadmill, exercise bike, single stack gym and dumbbells etc. Primary reason for home gym = convenience & consistency. It helps me to workout almost everyday (except for the mandatory rest days between exercising).

Will strongly recommend to anyone who has the space.

GTO, you need to get a power rack a shown in the picture above. That'll change your perspective towards training. I got my home gym done in May 2020, pretty similar to the one as shown above and I have been wondering why I didn't think of this earlier. It makes complete sense for someone with space and is a regular gym goer who can workout alone to get such a setup at home.

Originally Posted by Ag6502

My home gym: A guide for anyone wanting to set up a gym at home!

I used to be an avid gym-goer before covid, and the national lockdowns shut down the gym I used to visit. I was disappointed and wanted to find a way to continue my fitness journey at home. Initially, I tried to get into callisthenics, but I found that it could compare with the feeling and results of free weights (for me at least). Thus started the long journey of researching various home-gym products to create a set up on my terrace that would satisfy me.

Ag6502

Your setup looks gorgeous! I got a similar setup done in May 2020, with the only difference being a squat rack instead of a power cage. As compound lifts are all that matter to me, it made complete sense to invest in such a setup in my spare room. Has worked out well for me to date. I'm certain most cities will have a local fabricator who can fabricate a decent squat rack/ power cage for much less than a branded product and maybe with better raw material.

Originally Posted by lordtottuu

Having a home setup has been a godsend during the lockdowns. Plus, when you've been working remote for well over a decade, learning to work between workout sets is the first thing you do.

My main problem is that I don't have safe enough flooring for dead lifts (and the subsequent drops). I'm super concerned that I'm going to end up wrecking the floor that I've given up on dead lifts, which is a pity.

How're you home gym-mers doing dead lifts?

Hi! You can stick 40 density foams to thick (maybe 20mm) rubber mats and drop the weights on those. Should cushion the impact.

[TorqMaster]

Nice thread. Thanks for starting this up.

Personal question :
What is a good exercise cycle and an elliptical for someone looking to lose weight. Should be good enough for a 120KG adult.

I am used to full size flywheel ellipticals in the gym. Bought a smaller elliptical at home which works like a bicycle (pedaling motion) >>hated it>> used it to hang towels>> went back to the full size gym.

Now gym is not a convenient option for me

[ajayc123]

Hey Guys, I am also planning to purchase an elliptical in the next one month. Any recommendations / links would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

[nvldvr]

Good to have a separate thread on this topic.

I also set up a gym at my home in 2014, with a Power Rack, bench, Olympic bars and weights. I had got the power rack made through a fabricator myself, based on some research on design of the rack that I had done then.

Attaching the link and few pics of the same for reference.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ml#post3518256 (Bodybuilding - Exercises and Supplements)

[handsofsteel]

One essential equipment I would recommend to all is a water rower (mind you, not an air rower/resistance band rower).
There's no other cardio exercise (apart from swimming) which exercises the whole body. A 10 minute session is good enough to burn enough and more calories. The equipment is available from a variety of reputed manufacturers, both Indian and foreign, can be stowed away easily.

[iamitp]

I too have setup a home cardio station with the Domyos EL-900 from Decathlon plonked in front of my LG OLED C7 55" TV. I weight around 120 KGs (183 cm) and this is the only affordable Elliptical Trainer which could bear my weight. The movement is very smooth with a sufficiently heavy flywheel and long strides. It also features a phone charger and a companion app for even more detailed info. The only con is the squeaking noise that comes from dust accumulated on the rails. There is no real solution to this noise apart from regularly cleaning the rails and lubricating with some silicon oil. I have been happy with Decathlon's service who did attempt to solve the issue thrice and offered to exchange the machine.



https://www.decathlon.in/p/8607432/e...-900-connected


My girlfriend also bought their Rower 500 and has been pretty happy with it.



https://www.decathlon.in/p/8487893/g...rowing-machine

The other product I strongly recommend is Spinway Ultra Heavy resistance band. It really is 'ultra' strong and durable and can easily substitute a pulley machine for trip pulldowns/face pulls/bicep curls.




https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The only other piece of equipment I'd love to have are adjustable dumbells. However, Bowflex's easily run upto 50K.

[PrasannaDhana]

Nice set up there.

In my opinion, these would be enough for a home gym

1. Power rack (or just a basic squat rack)

2. An Olympic barbell

3. An adjustable bench

4. Weight plates and dumbells



Being a person who tried working out in my home in my early twenties, I must also admit that there is no contest between a proper commercial gym and a home gym when it comes to pushing your limits.

The sheer variety of stations, almost unlimited weight plates (try doing 200 kg deadlifts at home), a lot of isolation exercises to choose from, keeps you away from boredom. I love those full size mirrors too, which somehow is very hard to set up at home, specially in multiple directions.

Add sauna/nutritionist's availability and so on.

An average gym fee is 1k per month in tier II cities, and average cost for one to put up a home gym is 50-100k. Even financially, commercial gyms make more sense.

To set up a home gym and consistently work out there takes quite some discipline!

[Axe77]

What a fabulous thread and for an average Mumbai resident, mostly enviable and a pipe dream.

For others posting here, it would be nice if you could post pics of your setups as well. Would be nice to see everyone’s set up through pics.

[carthick1000]

Having your own gym has some major advantages:
1. Being there for you 24 X 7. This helps in being consistent and disciplined.
2. Works out much cheaper than going to a gym. Saves time (to travel), money and not have to wait for equipment.

From an overweight obese teenager (~118kgs and 185cm tall) in 2005, to a disciplined lifting and running 34year old now (90~100kgs and 193cm tall). I prefer to combine both cardio and resistance training whenever possible. If it is spring and fall, I combine running and lifting. If it is winter or summer, I will only be lifting. When I travel for work, will be using the gym facilities at the hotels and will bring my running shoes just in case, if the gym is not adequately equipped. The 3 important things that keep me healthy :

1. Discipline to workout, eat right and rest well

2. Good quality running shoes

3. Power rack with safety catch and weights upto 150kg

In 2016, when when we moved to a house with an extra room/attic/loft with permanent stairs on the top floor (In Dutch it is called Zolder), me and my wife decided to let go of our gym memberships (€30/month per person which adds upto €720 for both of us per year) in exchange of a home power rack setup. Surprisingly, it costed even less than our yearly gym subscription. We bought the power rack and Olympic barbell, used. And simply bought some new cast iron weight plates with heavy duty rubber floorpads for deadlifting. For the past 5 years, this has been our go-to gym rain or shine, snow or wind: