The Most Effective Garage Gym Setup

When I was in college I lived at home for my first two years. While in high school I had a gym membership, I convinced my dad to get a squat rack for the garage after I graduated. I cancelled my gym membership and from that point on my workouts were from 5-6AM Monday through Friday in that garage. My workouts became limited to only a squat rack. While the gym had always given me a plethora of machines and workout areas, that garage forced me to rethink what I had been doing. I didn’t even have dumbbells!

I know, first world problems.

Anyways, after I moved out of my parents house I had to buy a gym membership again but I never forgot the convenience of my dads garage. Despite being so limited I felt as though I was more free to get fit than in a regular gym. I have not been able to make a garage gym again but I have been watching a lot of garage gym content. Seeing all the amazing ways people have been designing their home gyms has caused the wheels in my head to turn, and so I have decided to add my two cents.

Of course the most effective garage gym will be what aligns with your goals. If all you want is a place to do cardio or CrossFit then your gym will look different to mine. My goals are pretty typical for most late twenties males in my demographic: be as lean as as strong as possible. I believe that this setup will cover 90% of enthusiasts out there.

My garage gym consists of 3 pieces:

1) The Squat Rack- Whether you choose a half rack, a full rack, or a simple squat stand you cannot go wrong. Having the pull-up bar is essential to me and if you are going to by throwing around big weights then perhaps the full rack is the most ideal.

2) Weights- Pretty obvious and though I thought about just including it with the rack (who is going to have a rack without weights? They are almost mutually exclusive) the type of weights you purchase are important. My favorite weights would be olympic bumper plates. Of course, any cast iron set will get you strong and put you on the right path of strength training. There is a point of diminishing returns with your weights but having a set that you can pass onto your kids is worth thinking about.

3) Stationary Bike- This one is the most controversial. My answer for the often neglected cardio for the strength training/body building types. After years of avoiding any cardio I have discovered that the assault bike (or Air Bike or even a rowing machine you can take your pick) is the best way to house an insane HIIT workout machine in your garage. Two 20 min workouts a week on one of these machines and you will destroy your fat loss goals in no time.

So that is it. My most effective/simple garage gym set up. I of course have an order of importance for following equipment. After the assault bike I would look into buying some dumbbells and a kettle bell or two but really everything else can wait. The glory of having a squat rack at home is that you can shamelessly curl in it all day long. Paired with an assault bike I cannot imagine a more complete setup for most people’s goals.

Big thanks to the YouTube channel Garage Gym Reviews for inspiration!