r/RepFitness

I'm planning a dedicated strength-training room that is exactly 2600 × 2600 mm (about 8'6" × 8'6").

The setup I'm currently planning is:

• REP PR-5000
• 30" depth
• 93" uprights
• 4-post
• Flip-Down Safeties 2.0
• standard J-cups
• REP AB-3000 2.0 FID bench
• REP Colorado Short Bar, 15 kg

The rack will be anchored to the concrete floor.

The short bar is an important part of the plan. I'm deliberately not using a standard 2200 mm / 7'3" bar.

The Colorado Short Bar is:

• 1829 mm / 72" overall length
• 1308 mm / 51.5" between the sleeves
• 226 mm / 8.9" loadable sleeve length per side
• 28.5 mm shaft
• 50 mm sleeves
• 15 kg
• rackable in the PR-5000

With an 1829 mm bar in a 2600 mm-wide room, if the bar is centered there is approximately 386 mm / 15.2" between each end of the bar and the wall.

The main exercises I'm planning around are:

• bench press
• back squat
• deadlift
• pull-ups

I can work out whether all of this physically fits from the dimensions. What I'm trying to understand is something different: is a gym like this actually practical and comfortable to use, or does a room this small become frustrating despite everything fitting on paper?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who have actually trained in an 8 × 8, 8 × 9, 9 × 9 ft or similarly small room with a full power rack.

Some things I'd like to understand from actual experience:

• Is roughly 386 mm / 15" of clearance between the end of the bar and the wall enough for loading and unloading plates without it becoming annoying?
• Is a 30" deep power rack reasonable in a room this size?
• How much clearance around the rack do you actually need in everyday use?
• Is positioning and moving the bench manageable?
• Are there normal operations or exercises that seem fine on a floor plan but become difficult once you actually start training?
• If you've used a similarly small home gym, what worked well and what would you change after living with it?

I'm mainly looking for first-hand experience rather than calculations. The dimensions tell me that the equipment can fit; what I don't know is whether the resulting gym will actually be pleasant to use several times a week.

If you have a similarly compact setup, photos and exact room/rack dimensions would be very useful.

Looking to get a curved treadmill and stuck between the REP Strive and Rogue Woodway Curve LTG.

While the extra sled functionality of the Strive is nice to have, I’m looking for a treadmill first and foremost and at £3,500 I would like something that will last me for 10+ years. The Woodway is a known quantity and will easily last that, while obviously the Strive is a very new product.

For those that already have the machine, how do you find the quality? Anyone had any issues so far? And with it being a more complex machine than the Woodway with the extra functionality, what do you see being potential points of failure?

It seems that REP themselves have less faith in their product, offering a 2 year belt warranty (compared to Rogue’s 3 years) and stating the belt will last a minimum of 2 years (as opposed to the Woodway’s claim of lasting more than 150,000 miles).

On the other hand of course the Strive just offers more bang for buck in terms of functionality and I’m particularly drawn to the adjustable running angle as I would want to use it for long steady pieces as well as intervals and sprints.