Garage Gym Essentials For Full Body Workouts
What equipment do you need to build the perfect home gym?
There are so many benefits to having a home gym or garage gym. The convenience of training whenever you want, without checking the opening hours or worrying about parking. Never any need to travel to your gym. The music is your choice and your choice only. You’ll never have to deal with annoying people hogging the mirrors or taking selfies in the squat rack.
And the kit in that gym? It’s everything you’ve ever wanted.
Once you start thinking about kitting out a home gym, you realise the vast range of options. Should you go with barbells and dumbbells, or a multi gym? Do you want free weights or machines? Should you leave space to add kit in at a later date, or is the pressure on to get it right first time?
Full Body Training In A Home Gym
Having a home gym means you can train more often. That doesn’t mean you have to do mammoth 90-minute sessions every day. But it does mean you can tick the training box 4+ times a week. And research tells us that training frequency is the most important factor in making progress.
Put simply, the more often you can stimulate a muscle, the better.
If you can train 4+ times a week in your home gym, consider doing full body sessions rather than body part splits. Full body sessions mean you’ll be able to train key muscle groups every time you train, and you’ll make better progress in less time.
Here’s what we think everyone needs in a home gym
#1 Barbell and plates
It’s difficult to train without a barbell. Think of all the exercises which need a barbell – squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, bent over rows, cleans, snatches…the list goes on. Get the best barbell you can afford. But any barbell is better than no barbell at all. For plates, decide between bumper plates and metal or coated plates. And don’t forget there are a lot of exercises you can do using the plates as standalone bits of kit.
#2 Pullup bar
A good pullup bars add so much scope to your home gym. Pull-ups and chin-ups are fundamental bodyweight moves which can be progressed with added weight. Plus pullup bars don’t take up much space. Our Portable Pullup Rack can even be collapsed down fully (no tools needed) if you need to store it out of the way.
#3 Squat rack
A good squat rack will have pride of place in your home gym. It’s not just for squatting in, either. Think front squats, rack pulls, shrug, bent over rows, overhead presses and
A squat rack means you can start exercises from an elevated position and stay safe. Without this, you’ll be limited to what you can send over your head by yourself.
#4 Kettlebells
A few kettlebells will add a lot to your home gym. Kettlebells can be used for strength, conditioning, circuits, or a lightning-quick training session that hits the entire body. Light kettlebells are great for high rep work or dynamic moves, and heavy bells are good for carries and loading work.
#5 Power tower
Our Power Tower advanced pull up rack is a must for any home gym. It allows you to do a full body workout on one bit of kit. Think pullups and chin ups, dips, press ups, knee raises and leg raises… and lots more! Combine it with resistance bands, push up stands, or paralletes for even more exercise choice.
#6 Parallettes
Parallettes are small but mighty – you can do so much with them. Train a number of bodyweight calisthenics moves and build upper body straight with these little bars. Great for planche training, handstands, handstand press ups, planks, L-sits and all that impressive stuff!
