Slayer's Den

[01dragonslayer]

Home Gyms Beat Commercial Gyms​

Stop depending on a commercial gym. Here's why you need to build a simple home gym and how to do it.​

Build a quality home gym and you’ll never go back to a commercial gym. Not just because it’s more practical, but because you’ll get even BETTER results.

The benefits of training at home:

Most people don’t live next to a commercial gym. You’ll likely have to drive there. And while it might not be a long ride, it still requires more planning because you have to schedule it in more tightly.

If your gym is at home, you can go there whenever you have some free time. You can train early in the morning before work or when you come back home from work. Granted, you can do that in a commercial gym too, but ask anybody who has a family and full-time job about those 30 minutes you save.

And how about being able to take a leisurely shower at home before work instead of a rushed one at the gym?

If you have a busy schedule or family, you can segment your training too. At home you can do two or three training blocks of 20 minutes instead of a 60 minute workout (plus drive time) at a regular gym.

If you’re busy, it’s hard to fit an entire hour into your day to train, but most people can make time for a few 15-20 periods. Obviously, this type of segmentation won’t work if you need to drive to the gym every time.

For the hardcore lifters out there who like to include “extra workouts” on top of their main sessions, the ability to train at home makes that approach a lot more manageable.

Time management isn’t just about making your life easier, it’s about making more gains!

Let’s be honest, most of us go just a little too heavy when there are people around. Some will stick to “easier” movements to avoid looking foolish if they don’t feel strong or comfortable enough with a new exercise. How many people migrate to the leg press instead of a squat for that reason?

When you train at home there’s nobody to impress and no one to make you feel incompetent. You can focus on proper form and feeling the muscles doing the work instead of strictly on weight. You can take the time to learn and master a complex exercise with light weights without the fear of being judged.

I won’t lie. I used to use too much weight when people were around, and I’m still paying the price with a shoulder issue that prevents me from pressing heavy.

Also related to mindset: training at home is your “me time” because there are no strangers to disturb you. Just you and the weights. It’s your meditation.

There will be no Cardi B blaring in the background. No bros taking selfies in front of the dumbbell rack. No posse hogging the bench press for 45 minutes talking about their weekend and doing a set of tag-team bench press and upright row every four minutes. And if someone is curling in the squat rack, it’ll be you!

And you know what? If you actually like Cardi B you can make it as loud as you want. It’s your sanctuary, do as you please.


Having to wait for a piece of equipment takes me out of the zone. At one point, I had to design my workouts around exercises that nobody did so I could have a good flow during workout



If you train at home you’ll never have that issue, unless your two-year old son decides that he wants to “do like dad



This might not seem like much, but even minor stressors can accumulate and increase cortisol and adrenaline, making it more likely that you’ll have recovery and growth iss



Want to train on Christmas morning? During a lockdown? How about during a snowstorm? Not an issue when training at h



Many commercial gyms are closed on the big holidays and some won’t even warn you about it. So you get double the frustration of not being able to train and traveling to get there because you thought they were o



What if you work shifts and sometimes have to train at night or at 3 AM? Not an issue if you have a home gym. You can train any day, any time, and under any circumstan



The coolest thing with a home gym – at least when you’re passionate about training – is that you can design it to your liking. You can get the equipment you want for exactly the type of training you l



Here’s an example of one of my workstati




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You can see



Clubbells (from 6 to 12
Baseball bat and heavy bag (I strike the bag with the bat and also do carries
Macebell
Kettlebells
Earthquake Bar
Football Bar
A Duffalo Bar (or cambered bar
A Zercher/Front Squat Harness
A Foam Block (to do board presses by yourself
You won’t find most of these items in commercial gyms. But they’re among the tools I use the most in my own training



The cool thing now is that you have plenty of online stores selling quality training equipment, even the oddest implements. If you want to invest a little money, you can turn your gym into your own special heaven since it can be personalized for your preferences and go



Building your home gym over time is also fun and exciting. It’s a lot like when you were a kid and tried to save for that one toy you really wan



And you know what? The pieces of equipment that will make your home gym special are normally not super expensive. They’re just things that commercial gym owners don’t want to buy (if they even know they exi



When you train in a home gym and you’re passionate, one of two things (or both) will happen. Eit



You’ll become a master of the big basic exercises, developing really efficient technique, intra/intermuscular coordination, and body awareness
You become imaginative and innovative and come up with new methods or exercise variations to make the most of what you have
Either way, if you train seriously in a home gym, you’ll become much smarter about how your body works and how to stimulate it optimally



Most people in commercial gyms don’t have to do that because they rely on machines or they’re constantly moving from easy exercise to easy exerc



The only people who will have problems with home training are those who need a kick in the butt to get to the gym. For them, having their stuff at home can actually make it harder: “It’s right here. I’ll get to it later.” Or… “One more Netflix show and I’ll go do my worko



I call this the proximity factor. The closer and more accessible something is, the less likely you are to do it if you’re not motiva



The same is true for those who have no interest in learning how to master their body, don’t care about the mind-muscle connection, don’t want to learn what exercise tweaks will give them the best results, and would rather not work hard on their techni



Finally, those who go to the gym to see other people while making themselves feel good for “training” (but really it’s chatting) will not get what they want out of a home gym: social interact



But that’s not you, right? If you’re dedicated and driven, you’ll progress more from training at home and you’ll enjoy the ride a lot m




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Even with all those benefits, some myths persist. There ARE some drawbacks, but the real drawbacks, not the myths, really only affect those who aren’t truly passionate about training



When looking at the most awesome home gyms on “the 'gram” it’s easy to assume that you must be rich to have a home gym. In reality, you can get a functional set-up for a pretty decent price, especially when you factor in gym membership f



To be able to train properly and build a lot of strength and muscle, you essentially need a barbell, a rack, an adjustable bench, weights, and bands. Sure, that’s minimalist, but I got the job done with that set-up for a few years. It works. Heck, that’s pretty much what the guys from the 50s had and they got big and str



You can get a decent power rack for $600-700 (even less if you go the used route). For example, a brand new Rogue Echo rack will be in that range. You can get a more hardcore option for around $800 from EliteFTS with their Garage Line power r



For $300 you can get a new barbell of good quality if you shop with guys like Rogue or EliteFTS. It won’t be a world class Olympic lifting bar, but it’ll be better than most of what you find in commercial g



You can get a new adjustable bench for as low as $250-300, but I’d suggest spending around $500 for a higher quality opt



As for weights, if you go to a used gym equipment store or even buy new ones, you can usually get plates for $1 to $1.50 per pound. For most, 500 pounds of plates will be enough to start with. A good place to start is eight 45-pound plates, two 25-pound plates, four 10-pound plates, two 5-pound plates, and two 2.5-pound plates for a total of 465 pounds (with the bar weight that comes up to 510 poun



Then I’d suggest buying bands of various resistances. This should set you back $100 or less. That’s a total of roughly $2000-2



That’s not nothing, but that’s not rich man’s money either. And you’ll be able to save gym fees, time, gas, and frustration. From there you can gradually add other pieces as budget all



That can be the main advantage of a commercial gym over a home set-up. Objectively, it’s true that a commercial gym will have more options than even the best equipped home facility. And while that’s seductive, is it really bet



I will concede that once in a while, it’s nice to have a machine that allows you to isolate a certain muscle or give you a mental break from hard work on the barbell. But in many cases, having more options can actually do more harm than g



First, a lot of people shy away from honest work on the big basic barbell and dumbbell lifts. These are not only muscle and strength-building exercises, but also movements that help your capacity to move and use your body prope



To become a master of the primary movement patterns (squat, hip hinge, press, pull, lunge, and carry), the most important pieces of equipment are a barbell, weights, and dumbbe



“Yeah, but a commercial gym has those t



True. But the reality – and this comes from 25 years spent in gyms around the world – is that when provided with “easier” options, most people will replace a large part of the barbell exercises with machine work. And if you’re honest with yourself, you tend to do that more often than you care to ad



One of the biggest gyms in the world is in Montreal, and I’ve trained there more than a few times. And while it’s super impressive – literally every machine ever invented is in there – I could never get a great workout



Too many options can create confusion and make it hard to stick to your program. There’s already so much conflicting information floating around, making your workout choices harder. We don’t need even more confus



Listen, you don’t need fancy machines to get great results. In the 50s and 60s, before steroids were widely used, most of the training was done with free weights. And these guys built more muscle naturally than the true natural trainees of today. And they were a lot stronger



I’ve also worked in a few high-performance centers and most of them were built around a free-weight model. Normally, a leg curl and pulley station were the only machines we had. And I guarantee that the clients there got a lot more results than those training in the fanciest facilit



Why? Several reas



Too many options creates confusion, less confidence in the choices you’re making, and less consistency in your worko
Working with free weights forces you to develop more body control and mind-muscle connection. Machines do both FOR you. Those who have better movement control and mind-muscle connection get better results, period
I’ll use a golf example. Ball-striking legend, Moe Norman, once said that he envied those who were still trying to figure out the best way to swing the club. Why? Because experimenting and tweaking is the most fun and exhilarating thing you can do when training
The same thing is true with lifting. Learning to make small modifications to get a better response and improve your gains is the best part of training. At least for someone who’s serious about building muscle. Look at the best bodybuilding trainers. They’re geniuses at making exercise adjustments to milk out every drop of stimulation they can get. Vince Gironda, Charles Glass, and John Meadows are great examples of this. Obviously, machines take that part out of the equation



If you have fewer options, you’re forced to learn how to optimize every exercise you do. You become more intellectually involved in your training. You learn how your body works and how to get the most out of



Again, it’s true that big commercial gyms also have free weights. But in those gyms, how many people are doing th



Dead
Romanian Deadlif
Squa
Front Squa
Bentover Ro
Chin-U
Standing Military Pres
Not that many. And a good part of them are doing them half-assed



It’s easier to just do leg curls, leg presses, the hack squat machine, lat pulldowns, and Smith machine shoulder presses. I’m not saying these don’t work, but they’re inferior in many regards. And they’re certainly not necessary to reach your genetic potent



Unless you train at a hardcore gym like Westside Barbell, where everybody has the same goal and intensity, there are no benefits to training around people when it comes to performance or gains. And, in many cases, it can do more harm than g



Here are the potential reasons why you might want to train around peo



To gain motivation from people who drive
To be social and have a sense of communit
To look at (and even hit on) members of the opposite se
To get an ego boost from thinking that people are admiring yo
To have people who can check and correct your for
That’s it



Be honest. In how many gyms do numbers one and five happen? I mean, in most gyms people have such low training intensity that it can actually kill the motivation of oth



And how many people in your commercial gym would you trust for form adv



In most cases, those who have a hard time giving up commercial gym training are those who go there for reasons 2, 3, or 4. All three of these elements can either hurt your session or indicate a psychological issue that might need to be addressed if they lead to destructive behaviors like using steroids or becoming a stimulus add



Vince Gironda once said something to the effect of this: What separates those who get great results and those who don’t is singleness of purpose when training and a laser-like focus. Making the gym your social activity or your dating scene might be fun, but it’s not conductive to getting the most out of your worko



There are other drawbacks of training in a crowded



The equipment you need might not be available. You either need to do another exercise or wait. In both cases it can make your workout less effective. You either have to do a less effective lift or you get you out of your z
It can be hard to do supersets and circuits
Doing a lot of sets of one exercise can be problematic. People often get frustrated if you’re on the same piece of equipment for 20 minutes. I hate it when someone asks me how many sets I have left and then sits there and looks at me while he waits. That takes the wind out of my sails and I end up not doing all of my planned work sets
People can be annoying… and the gym seems to attract some of the worst of them. There are tons of articles on “gym clowns” for a good reason: they are everywhere. While a serious lifter will always do his best to tune out the idiots, the reality is that they can ruin your session
When you’re in good shape and know what you’re doing, you’re likely to get interrupted by other members for advice. Normally, I don’t mind helping people out. But if you only have 60 minutes to train, it can be frustrating to lose 10 of those to give advice to someone who won’t apply it anyway. Any workout interruption or anything that can distract you will hurt workout performance
When you train in your home gym you’re free to do what you want. You’re not being judged by anyone and you’ll never wait for any piece of equipment. It’s also an environment that’s a lot more conductive to staying focused and avoiding distractions



If you want to be entertained and have fun, sure, go to a commercial gym. But a serious lifter who focuses on gains should avoid distracti




Home-Gym-21000×409 132 KB
People assume they’ll have to do the same exercises over and over for the rest of their lives



Well, even if that were true, is it really a bad thing for gains? Most powerlifters, Olympic lifters, and lifters from the 1950s to 1970s used very few exercise variations. My own athletes essentially stick to the big basic lifts, same with a plan like Wendler’s 5/



Proper workout structure, programming, and progression is a lot more important than using the kitchen sink approach. It’s always better to be a master of a few things than passable in tons of st



But you know what? It’s not even true that you have few options in a home gym. Let’s look at our minimalist example above (barbell, rack, bench, bands). Here’s a list of some exercises. And this is actually a short list that doesn’t include micro-adjustments in position or more unorthodox moveme



Front/Back Squat Variations (altering bar position, foot placement, using bands, e
Deadlift Variations (altering stance, grip, rack, deficit, etc.
Romanian Deadlift Variations (toes elevated, bands added, etc.
Step-Up Variations
Lunge Variations (altering implement, bar position, direction, locomotion, etc.
Split Squat Variations (altering implement, bar position, bands added, etc.
Good Morning Variations (Zercher, etc.
Barbell Hip Thrus
Band Leg Curl (seated or on your stomach
Band Leg Extension
Bodyweight (or banded) Leg Extensio
Natural Glute Ham Rais
Chin-Up Variations (altering grip and grip width
Horizontal Row Variations (altering grip and grip width
Pendlay Row Variations (altering bar path and grip
Bentover Barbell Row (altering bar path and grip
T-Bar Ro
Upright Ro
Shrug Variation
High Pull
Band Pull-Apar
Band Ro
Band Upright Ro
Band Lat Pulldow
Band Face-Pul
Band Straight-Arm Pulldow
Barbell Pullove
Plate Bentover Lateral Rais
Bench Press Variations (altering grip, pin heights, incline etc.
Floor Press Variation
Neck Press Variation
Push-Up (various hand positions and bands
Banded Cross-Ove
Pullover Variation
Plate Flye (like dumbbell flye but with weight plates
Incline Plate Flye
Shoulder Press Variations (altering grip, behind the neck, etc.
Bench Press Variations (altering incline, grip, etc.
Push Press Variation
Javelin Thrower Pres
Z-Pres
Landmine Press 2 Variation
Muscle Snatc
Lateral Raise Variation
Front Raise Variation
Barbell Upright Ro
The triceps will be stimulated with all the shoulder and chest exercises mentioned above



Close-Grip Bench Press Variat
JM Pres
Lying Barbell Triceps Extension (various grips
Incline Barbell Triceps Extension (various grips
Standing or Seated Barbell Overhead Triceps Extensio
Band Triceps Pressdown Variation
Band Overhead Triceps Extensio
Close Hands Push-Ups (regular or banded
The biceps will be stimulated with all the pulling exercises mentioned earlier



Barbell Curl Variations (altering grip width and posit
Drag Cur
Gironda Perfect Cur
Karelin Curl (mixed grip barbell curl
Lap Cur
Jettison Cur
Band Curl Variations (reverse, hammer, etc.
Note that I didn’t include calf or forearm exercises, but these can also be done



This is simply to illustrate that even with only a bar, a bench, some plates, a rack, and bands, you have more than enough exercises for a lifetime of gains. If you add dumbbells to that set-up, you’ll essentially have a limitless supply of exerci



Investing in a home gym was one of my best moves ever. In my old house I had a minimalist set-up – power rack, bench, barbell, weights, and a platform – all in half of my garage. I trained there for a few years and got really str



When I moved into my new house, I had the garage excavated and built a more advanced home gym set-up. I invested that money because I couldn’t see myself going back to the gym and wanted a space that would allow me to do all the training experimentation that I wan



You don’t have to start with a fancy set-up. Gradually building a kick-ass home gym is part of the experience and almost as fun as the training and gaining! What are you waiting for?