Need to Build a Home Gym

[Brackish]

Boys will be going to school this year, and their schedule will no longer allow me to lift in the school weight room. This means I can either quit lifting, or I'm going to have to buy/build myself a home gym. I like the look of Rogue stuff, but they seem to be pretty expensive. I'm never going to be competing, so I probably don't need that level of equipment. Looking for suggestions regarding good, middle of the road, racks/bars/weights, etc. Thanks!

[James]

I got some $400 bolt together rack off Amazon years and years ago and it's fine. I've racked 460 ( I think) in it at squat height pretty hard and it wiggled a little but never looked like it was going fall over.

I don't think they sell the one I have anymore but there's one on there that garbage gym reviews did a video on that looks close. Seemed positive about it.

Rogue has a scratch and dent where you can get OPBs some times.

[5hout]

I have 2 Boneyard (Rogue scratch/dent bars) and I love them. Highly recommend.

On the back of (iirc) @Wilhelm 's idea I improved my cheap bench (no safeties) with ToughBuilt - Sawhorse with 2x4 Support Arms 1100 LB Capacity - Heavy Duty Construction with Fast Open Legs and Easy Grip Handle - (TB-C500), they make great safeties and let you buy a cheap crap bench off craigslist and feel ok about it.

I built my own squat rack, terrible idea. I love the size, but can't bench in it (easily at least), adjustment holes are too far apart and the safeties bend if you fail heavy.

Tractor supply mats are cheap, huge and durable as all heck. I'd do those for a gym floor without a question. The small goes away, eventually.

[omaniphil]

I got a Titan Fitness X2 short rack and a rack extension to allow me to keep plates mounted on rack, and still be able to bench/squat inside the rack easily without bumping into anything. I also bought the lat tower extension which allows you to do seated rows, lat pulldowns, etc.

X2 was $365
X2 Extension was $180
Lat Tower was $255

The welds aren't the prettiest, but the rack is pretty solid and best of all cheap. I don't know if they still have those great prices, what with all the trade disruption from China, but I'd sure at least check Titan out if you're looking for something cheap and sufficient.

I also got a Stainless Ohio Power Bar that was a boneyard bar for $275. I can't find any imperfections on it, so I feel pretty good about that one. The bar is beautiful, and is just as shiny as the day I got it 3 years ago.

[psmith]

I wouldn't underrate Rogue as a value proposition if you're in the US, especially for bars (boneyard bar crew checking in, and there's really very little available anywhere that isn't a total turd for less than a boneyard bare steel OPB at $220ish shipped) and plates (deep dishes have really nice specs and the sets are great value for new iron, and the cheaper bumpers are nothing special but priced competitively.). Homegrown Lifting also has very reasonable prices on crumb bumpers, shipped. All that stuff is MiUSA, too (except for the glossy Rogue cheap bumpers.).

I've heard reports of bad QC on Titan stuff, but all their equipment I've used has been just fine, and their racks and specialty bars are in fact significantly cheaper shipped than almost anyone else except no-names on Amazon. The CAP OB-86 has a history of being the cheapest bar one would want, and at $120ish it might have been worth it over Rogue Boneyard, but at $150ish, meh.

[FredM]

After 3 years of not having a real piece of cardio equipment (I occasionally used my wife's elliptical) I finally bought an Echo bike -- and I have no idea why I waited this long. If general fitness is the goal, my short list would be:

1. Barbell
2. Plates
3. Echo bike
4. Rack
5. Bench

And would just do SGDLs or muscle clean/snatch to lunges or split squats until I could afford a rack. And banded pushups until I could buy a bench.

If you don't care about American made, I agree with others that boneyard Ohio or boneyard OPB is still the way to go for the bar. You're spending like $50 more for a massive increase in quality of lifting life.

For plates I'd check out Bells of Steel machined plates. I have Strength Co and Rogue Deep Dish but, again, if you don't care about made in USA I think those are probably the best bang for your buck on the market right now. Unless you're really into oly lifting you can skip bumpers.

I have an infinity rack and get pretty annoyed at Rogue's lack of support for it. What little attachments they were making they've discontinued. So if you're looking to save money there I think Titan is probably the way to go. Coop/Garage Gym Reviews did a strength test recently on the Fitness Gear rack you can get from Amazon for $300 (was $200 before his stellar review lol) -- seems like a pretty safe bet if you don't care about attachments now or in the future. But unlike Rogue, Titan makes attachments for all their racks, so if you decide you want to "upgrade" down the road, Titan is the best value for sure.

On the bench, definitely go Rep. Now they they've announced free shipping I think they're the best value by a lot. Whether you get a FB 4/5000 or a AB 5000 is dependent on whether you want/need an adjustable bench.

[psmith]

After 3 years of not having a real piece of cardio equipment (I occasionally used my wife's elliptical) I finally bought an Echo bike -- and I have no idea why I waited this long. If general fitness is the goal, my short list would be:

1. Barbell
2. Plates
3. Echo bike
4. Rack
5. Bench

And would just do SGDLs or muscle clean/snatch to lunges or split squats until I could afford a rack. And banded pushups until I could buy a bench.

I like the Echo bike, but I've found that the wide pedal placement bothers my knees a bit if I try to log serious volume. I'd probably make do with running, hiking, and irl cycling and buy at least a cheap set of stands before springing for dedicated cardio equipment; ymmv of course.

[FredM]

After 3 years of not having a real piece of cardio equipment (I occasionally used my wife's elliptical) I finally bought an Echo bike -- and I have no idea why I waited this long. If general fitness is the goal, my short list would be:

1. Barbell
2. Plates
3. Echo bike
4. Rack
5. Bench

And would just do SGDLs or muscle clean/snatch to lunges or split squats until I could afford a rack. And banded pushups until I could buy a bench.

I like the Echo bike, but I've found that the wide pedal placement bothers my knees a bit if I try to log serious volume. I'd probably make do with running, hiking, and irl cycling and buy at least a cheap set of stands before springing for dedicated cardio equipment; ymmv of course.

Yeah I haven't tried to log serious volume. I think it might be the most efficient tool out there to get warmed up though. And probably one of if not the best HIIT machines in existence. I use it for 5 min warmups and HIIT mostly. I've done 15 min LISS and found it only slightly worse than a normal/nice exercise bike for that.

In other words, it's super time efficient for cardio/heart health and paired with some band mobility helping me finally avoid injuries that have kept me from making progress for over a year.

[Allentown]

@FredM curious, I haven't looked in a few months but I thought they made all the same attachments for Infinity/4"x3" that they make for the 4x4 Monster? Isn't the Infinity a 4/3?
I know some of the wilder/less important attachments were only for Monster (plate loaded swing arm shoulder press things, for example) but they USED to have like a dozen 4x3 attachments for everything I could have possibly dreamed up?

I'm still planning on replacing my Airdyne and locally fabricated cage with and Echo and R-3.

[FredM]

@FredM curious, I haven't looked in a few months but I thought they made all the same attachments for Infinity/4"x3" that they make for the 4x4 Monster? Isn't the Infinity a 4/3?
I know some of the wilder/less important attachments were only for Monster (plate loaded swing arm shoulder press things, for example) but they USED to have like a dozen 4x3 attachments for everything I could have possibly dreamed up?

I'm still planning on replacing my Airdyne and locally fabricated cage with and Echo and R-3.

If you go to the infinity attachments filter 2/3rds of it are generic/non bolt attachments now. I don't remember everything you used to be able to get but I wanted safety straps this year and they don't seem to make them anymore (I remember they used to). I'm also peeved they don't make sandwich cups because the rogue J cups did a number on my old bars (which I've sold now because I'm kinda anal about these things). Basically you can get a dip matador (I have one) and spotter arms (have those) and plate storage. If you want attachments beyond that you're either buying Titan T3 attachments (I literally did this with their roller cups, and am considering the safety straps) or ordering/building custom. So I can't in good conscience recommend Rogue Infinity racks to anyone. I love Rogue and if/when we move I'll probably sell my Infinity and buy a Monster Lite -- but if you're looking to save money on a rack and want the "support" you'd expect from Rogue, I'd probably go Titan or Rep Fitness.

[Statist]

I got a Titan Fitness X2 short rack and a rack extension to allow me to keep plates mounted on rack, and still be able to bench/squat inside the rack easily without bumping into anything. I also bought the lat tower extension which allows you to do seated rows, lat pulldowns, etc.

X2 was $365
X2 Extension was $180
Lat Tower was $255

The welds aren't the prettiest, but the rack is pretty solid and best of all cheap. I don't know if they still have those great prices, what with all the trade disruption from China, but I'd sure at least check Titan out if you're looking for something cheap and sufficient.

I also got a Stainless Ohio Power Bar that was a boneyard bar for $275. I can't find any imperfections on it, so I feel pretty good about that one. The bar is beautiful, and is just as shiny as the day I got it 3 years ago.

The x-2 is great, particularly for the price I paid. Unfortunately it has been discontinued. The x-3 looks to be a solid rack but the prices are relatively higher than they used to be so may be worth the bump to rogue prices.

[Allentown]

Huh, yeah, like I said I haven't looked since mid-pandemic but lots of their R/Infinity attachments are gone. But they still sell the R4/R6...

Supply issues? But you would think it would just say out of stock.

[damufunman]

I'm wondering if Titan prices them out of the 2"x3" range. I suspect people go with the 2x3" tubing due mostly to cost, so Rogue can still charge a premium for 3x3", as those customers are less price sensitive and will stick with Rogue over Titan.

[Allentown]

I'm wondering if Titan prices them out of the 2"x3" range. I suspect people go with the 2x3" tubing due mostly to cost, so Rogue can still charge a premium for 3x3", as those customers are less price sensitive and will stick with Rogue over Titan.

I want the 2x3 because I kept hitting the plates when re-racking on the 3x3. I'm sure if I used it more often it would happen less, but I've got like 10 years on my current 2x3.

[damufunman]

I'm wondering if Titan prices them out of the 2"x3" range. I suspect people go with the 2x3" tubing due mostly to cost, so Rogue can still charge a premium for 3x3", as those customers are less price sensitive and will stick with Rogue over Titan.

I want the 2x3 because I kept hitting the plates when re-racking on the 3x3. I'm sure if I used it more often it would happen less, but I've got like 10 years on my current 2x3.

Well, yeah, I'm the same. Are there that many people for whom this is a big factor?

[FredM]

I'm wondering if Titan prices them out of the 2"x3" range. I suspect people go with the 2x3" tubing due mostly to cost, so Rogue can still charge a premium for 3x3", as those customers are less price sensitive and will stick with Rogue over Titan.

I want the 2x3 because I kept hitting the plates when re-racking on the 3x3. I'm sure if I used it more often it would happen less, but I've got like 10 years on my current 2x3.

That's a good point. I always forget about that. Maybe I won't replace my R-3 after all lol. Especially when my main bar is the 20 kg OPB...

I think @damufunman is right though -- I doubt the market is that huge for the 2x3 just cause it has more clearance. I'd guess Rogue just doesn't sell enough of the infinity attachments to justify keeping them outside of the big ones most people would buy (spotter arms, dip bar). I kind of wonder if the bigger market for the Infinity racks is smaller time gyms that wouldn't buy the attachments anyway as opposed to garage gyms.

[Dutch]

If you live in Europe or Australia, I would have a look at ATX equipment. It's German made, affordable and high quality. I bought two squat stands, a powerlifting bar and a bench from them and am very happy with my purchase.

[mgil]

@Brackish, reality is that Rogue is kinda middle of the road price wise and is probably your best option if you want accessories (specifically if not buying them now).

Legend makes good racks and is competitive with Rogue on the 3x3 stuff. Wright Equipment looks to make interesting stuff, but it’s a bit more than Rogue, iirc. EliteFTS is ridiculously expensive. Then you move into 7 gauge stuff and prices really explode ($3,000 rack to start).

Nonetheless, I’d probably stick with USA made stuff mainly due to quality of manufacture as well as some level of consistency wherein you can buy stuff later and it will mount without issue. This might’ve been an issue on earlier Titan stuff. Not sure about now.

Another option for Asian-made equipment but with a bit higher level of QC is Rep Fitness. You can get a solid 3x3 rack from them for under $900 and pick your paint color. Typically better overall fit and finish than Titan.

[Brackish]

@Brackish, reality is that Rogue is kinda middle of the road price wise and is probably your best option if you want accessories (specifically if not buying them now).

Legend makes good racks and is competitive with Rogue on the 3x3 stuff. Wright Equipment looks to make interesting stuff, but it’s a bit more than Rogue, iirc. EliteFTS is ridiculously expensive. Then you move into 7 gauge stuff and prices really explode ($3,000 rack to start).

Nonetheless, I’d probably stick with USA made stuff mainly due to quality of manufacture as well as some level of consistency wherein you can buy stuff later and it will mount without issue. This might’ve been an issue on earlier Titan stuff. Not sure about now.

Another option for Asian-made equipment but with a bit higher level of QC is Rep Fitness. You can get a solid 3x3 rack from them for under $900 and pick your paint color. Typically better overall fit and finish than Titan.

So, you think I should go with a full rack as opposed to a squat stand then? I was half considering the squat stand (smaller footprint and cost), but then I would deciding not to do any of the add ons later like a pulley system for lat stuff, triceps, etc.

[damufunman]

@Brackish, reality is that Rogue is kinda middle of the road price wise and is probably your best option if you want accessories (specifically if not buying them now).

Legend makes good racks and is competitive with Rogue on the 3x3 stuff. Wright Equipment looks to make interesting stuff, but it’s a bit more than Rogue, iirc. EliteFTS is ridiculously expensive. Then you move into 7 gauge stuff and prices really explode ($3,000 rack to start).

Nonetheless, I’d probably stick with USA made stuff mainly due to quality of manufacture as well as some level of consistency wherein you can buy stuff later and it will mount without issue. This might’ve been an issue on earlier Titan stuff. Not sure about now.

Another option for Asian-made equipment but with a bit higher level of QC is Rep Fitness. You can get a solid 3x3 rack from them for under $900 and pick your paint color. Typically better overall fit and finish than Titan.

So, you think I should go with a full rack as opposed to a squat stand then? I was half considering the squat stand (smaller footprint and cost), but then I would deciding not to do any of the add ons later like a pulley system for lat stuff, triceps, etc.

I think main benefits of squat stand is possibly portability and cost. Minimal difference in footprint vs a 24" deep full rack, and a rack can better use attachments.

ETA: yeah, rogue squat stands are 48" deep https://www.roguefitness.com/sml-1-rogu ... quat-stand
So unless individual stands, a power rack can take up the same or less space.