r/GarageGym

I just moved and have a great big space in my Apartment garage to build a gym in, but I did not realize HVAC would be an issue until I started researching. I am in Houston with hot and humid weather. The garage is surprisingly not super hot even without a fan but I’m worried about equipment in general.. the bottom side edges of the garage are always open **a few inches on each side & ~1/2” up and down entire sides of garage door- pix below in comments. So, I’m not sure if I need a dehumidifier… or if I can handle the heat if it doesn’t matter? My washer/dryer are also in the garage (can’t move) w/some holes in wall for those - pics below.

Is this garage not a viable space for a home gym?
I have some pink ritfit plates, low quality random plate, amazon leg machine, bench, ritfit barbell & researching like a maniac for some sort of functional trainer.

For people who’ve had a garage gym / home gym for a while: what did you only realize after actually training in it week after week?

I’m curious about the practical stuff that’s hard to predict before you build the setup — heat/cold, dust, flooring, storage, equipment spacing, noise, lighting, plate changes, motivation, safety, family/roommate conflicts, or gear you thought you’d use more than you do.

I’m a designer trying to learn more about how people actually train at home, and I’m finding that the most useful insights are usually the unglamorous details people only notice after the setup becomes part of daily life.

What surprised you most after the initial excitement wore off?

As a 45 year old Canadian I've decided it's time to get serious. I need help deciding on a functional trainer, I'm thinking the Eonfit E3 would be all I need for years to come, but looking for help

Back story - a year ago I bought a cheap 100lb barbell weight set and bench cheap and a couple dumbbells on clearance to see if I could stick it out. My wife joined in shortly after and we now have dumbbells from 5lbs to 35lbs. Bought a Marcy 150lb capacity home gym from Costco, and find it's not doing it for us

So I've been digging and digging and get more confused the further I go. Bought a 260lb olympic bumper plate set on sale, got a 4' barbell, have a 7' coming, and now I've realized I'm not going to be curling using bumper plates so I need smaller weights, and that I'll need to buy another set if I buy a dual stack machine... So I decided to not jump into the biggest and most expensive piece of gear I plan to buy for years to come without getting feedback

My biggest hold back is shipping and exchange rate, and I know I'll never need pro bodybuilding gear, so I'm thinking budget should do for me

I'm thinking about these:

EonFit E3 for it's single stack system, but the Smith machine add-on looks like it will be annoying

EonFit E5 but then I'd need more weights (for balancing the weight stacks?) and I don't like how far back the Smith machine is (feel like it would make it hard for a bench to get all the way back)

Mikolo M4 again would need more weights

RitKeep Pmax 4750 but I really don't like the Smith machine safety posts being in the way of the trolleys

Lastly I can order a returned machine from Eonfit website, but think I'm safer ordering new from Amazon instead for customer support and for having all taxes and duties paid upfront, so if anyone has any experience with that I'd appreciate feedback on that too

Sorry for the length

I have a rogue S1 but I’m almost ready to move on from it. I’m looking for a power rack that has a pull up bar that would be sufficient for muscle ups and weighted pull ups as well as basic barbell lifts such as bench and squats. Ideally I don’t want to bolt the rack, I’d prefer to stack all my plates onto the rack if it offers storage. Probably also not willing to spend too much, REP looks like that have good equipment for their prices but i don’t know anything about them yet, I’d like to get everyone’s feedback. TIA!

Looking for the best options for J cups for my Fringe Sport Garage Series Squat Rack which is a 2x3 rack. I've been using the stock pair for a few months and they're already getting chewed up from the use Im putting them through. I know 2x3 is not the most high end squat rack type, but just wondering if anyone has good recs for high quality j cups that would fit this.

Im just starting my home gym. I've rounding out my first "tier" of my home gym with some conditioning options. I've been looking for a Bike ERG more than anything but with being on FB marketplace and have a budget of up to $500 because I saw a Bike ERG for $500 before on FB market and didn't buy... I'd like to stay around the $300 - $350 budget at most. I know I'm mainly going to see Assault, Rogue Echo's, and then a load of Schwinn air bikes.

I've found someone that will sell me their Assault bike for $350.... I kinda want to pull the trigger but I also have to figure a way to fit in my car lol and also drive 2 hours. Before I put in the money I've been curious on if it's even worth it?? I see so many Schwinn air bike for sale that I could afford and save a bit of money and they're closer to me....

So, are assault bikes really that much of an upgrade from Schwinn air bikes? I'm seeing a bunch of different Schwinn models.

Just invested in a few things to make a nice gym set up at home. What do yall recommend for daily wipe downs and deep cleaning that is good, but won’t damage equipment or electronic screens long run. Thanks in advance!

I’m a guy who values a clean organized space. I want to grab what I need when I need it without a whole process of moving another item and then reorganizing. I try and minimize my rest inbetween sets. Usually aim for about 30-45 seconds of rest excluding maybe heavy squats or bench. Currently have a peg board on my rack that works really well for things like lat pull bar and similar cable attachments. However I store my spotters and j cups beside the rack. Also looking into where to store my hex bar. Currently just leave a set of 45lb bumpers on it and roll it around out of the way. Things like leg holders and various bench attachments that I use 2-3 times a week but not every session are usually on the floor in a corner. Curious what others may be doing to solve storage/organization for larger items.

Hey folks, I’m looking for additional opinions.

I currently have PowerBlock dumbbells that adjust to 70lbs each, and I use these for just about everything. I don’t have a lot of room so I’d prefer not to use something as large as a full Olympic bar+ weights, as I’ve already got a hex bar that takes up a good amount of room. However, as I’ve been ramping up training lately, they really aren’t enough weight especially for dumbbell press, I’m doing a ton of reps (6-8 sets of 10-12 reps and I’m not feelinf as much as I think I should) and I’d like to have a good bit more weight.

I can get an expansion set from Powerblock to up them to 90lbs, and with the Powerblock bar, that goes up to 195 total. However I think that’s really only going to be enough for a relatively short time.

So I’m considering just biting the bullet and going for the Reppin 125lbs set or the MX 100s.

So a couple of questions: is there a bar attachment option for either the Reppins or MX? I didn’t see one when looking and that is something I really like about my powerblocks for preacher curls.

And are the Reppins good enough quality to justify the steep price/weight increase over the MX?

Thinking of getting Micro Gainz 1.25lb fractional plates. I have CAP Rubber Hex Ergo Dumbbells. At some point, I plan on upgrading to a nicer set of dumbbells like Rogue or Rep Urethanes.

I'm mostly paranoid about the metal on metal potentially scraping and eventual rust developing. Will the Micro Gainz eventually rust by virtue of using them and paint scraping off? What about potential damage to dumbbell handles?

Anyone use Micro Gainz long term can share their experiences on this?

Looking for something that will handle Olympic or 1-in plates, not looking to spend a ton of money but hoping for decent quality too. looking for recommendations. Took a quick look on Amazon didn't see anything that looked fairly sturdy, hoping to spend up to $200 or $300 or so. Thanks!

I was hoping someone could point me in the direction of what power blocks to get as I'm confused about the difference between them, such as Elite vs pro vs sport, steel vs urethane, ect. I wouldn't need more than 50 pounds per hand, so they don't need to expand beyond that; however, the sport 24 and 32 wouldn't be ideal as I use 35s often and up to 50 pounds occasionally. My husband may also use them and he has large hands and I read that some versions have a tighter fit in the grip so I suppose the roomier the better. Any advice would be appreciated!!

I have this metal weight tree, and it scratches the inside of my plates. It makes an annoying noise. I was thinking of covering the horn sleeves with something to protect my weight plates/stop the noise. Anyone have any ideas?

Hello everyone, I'm looking for suggestions for a compact rack that doesn't need to be bolted to the floor or mounted to a wall (room is small). Ideally it would be a 4 post cage, but I'm open to a squat stand sturdy enough for pullups and benching with spotter arms