#034 Building Your Home Gym

Welcome back to the 34th edition of the Boats & Logs Lifting Club. I really appreciate you being here. We are the based fitness community that focuses on mastering the basics instead of getting lost in the details.

Today, we will discuss how to build your home gym, depending on your budget and needs. Starting with <$150 and going to well above $10,000.

I hope you enjoy this newsletter.

But before we start, here is a quick overview of what’s coming next. Are you interested in a topic I should cover in depth? Just send me a message, and I will consider adding it.

• June 23rd: Hydration Guide

• June 30th: Testosterone Guide

• July 7th: June Q&A

• July 14th: Bodyweight training

Ressources & Goals

When it comes to a home gym everybody has their own understanding of what a home gym is. Some may want a home gym that can rival a commercial gym and are willing to spend a lot of money on putting a home gym together. Others may be happy with a little bit of equipment that allows them to get a quick workout in if they can’t hit the gym that day.

Generally, there are two components that decide what kind of a home gym you get: Your resources and your goals. Your resources are determined by (i) how much money you want to spend and (ii) how much space you have available. Your goals are defined by the ambition of how much muscle you want to build.

And while you could say that the space and money you need increase together with your goals, you can achieve a very impressive physique on a rather low budget, and only a fraction of all lifters really have to invest in more equipment to progress further.

But let’s get into it.

The Quick Workout (Level 0)

Most people would probably not call it a gym, but you can actually start with a very small investment of <$150.

For that money, you can get a pull-up bar and some resistance bands. Pair these two tools with various bodyweight exercises, and you have a solid foundation for a very low-budget home gym.

If you are a beginner, this is enough to make your first gains and get into lifting, but also, if you are a more advanced lifter, it can make sense to have these basics at home.

Because, let’s be realistic. There will always be some days when we just don’t have the time to drive to the gym, work out, and drive back home. Every now and then, we have to skip a workout because we can’t make it.

But if you have some basics at home, you can still work out. This workout is not necessarily about growing your muscles but simply staying in the routine of working out and providing at least some stimulus to the muscles.

So, if you are planning to build a home gym, you should invest in a pull-up bar and resistance bands.

The Basics (Level 1)

The first level is already sufficient for most. You will have a total investment of a few hundred dollars but will get a ton of value from it — so much so that you don’t need a gym unless you are planning to compete or want to get very advanced.

I’m speaking of investing in adjustable dumbbells and an adjustable bench on top of the Level 0 investments. But why dumbbells over machines or a barbell?

The case for buying dumbbells instead of machines is quite easy and obvious. While I love machines, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them for your home gym as they (i) are quite expensive and (ii) require a lot of space while only training one muscle.

I also prefer adjustable dumbbells over barbells and weights for multiple reasons. First, they simply require less space than a barbell because if you go the barbell route, you will also need the squat rack. And besides requiring more space, it is also more expensive. Lastly, dumbbells are more versatile than barbells and allow for a greater number of different exercises, which makes them an awesome piece of equipment for your home gym.

Dumbbells, bench, pull-up bar, and resistance bands may not sound like much, but that does them injustice. You can get really far by training with these tools. Just out of my head, a few exercises that come to my mind: Pull-ups, push-ups, dips, bench press, shoulder press, lateral raises, rows, curls, triceps overhead, Bulgarian split squats, lunges, Romanian Deadlifts…

Nearly endless possibilities to train!

Realistically, what holds you back most is that you may start to get bored of these exercises after some time and start to skip working out because it is not fun anymore.

But other than that, trust me: You can make a lot of gains with the Level 1 equipment.

Expanding (Level 2)

If you already have the Level 0 + 1 equipment, have found joy in training at home, and have some additional budget and space, the next step would be to invest in one (better two) cable towers.

If you already have dumbbells, you don’t need a cable tower, but it is nice to have one as it allows for more variety of exercises and a better resistance profile for some exercises.

Besides being a good addition to your workouts, cable towers are also great for a home gym because they don’t require a lot of space. It may be a little bit more expensive to buy a quality cable tower but if you get lucky you may find a pre-used one you can get for cheap.

However, level 2 is also the stage where you can get a bit more experimental and buy equipment based on your needs.

If you are into barbell exercises and have enough space, you could get a barbell rack and weights. Another option is to get a cardio machine. Both of these things are obviously not necessary. You can do cardio by running outside, and the barbell is not necessary if you already have dumbbells, but if those things are fun to you. It might make sense to buy them.

But there is a diminishing value (in terms of muscle growth) for the amount of money you spend. While dumbbells are rather cheap and provide a ton of value for muscle growth, adding a cable tower adds less additional muscle growth while being more expensive. Going beyond that and adding additional machines or cardio machines will get even more expensive and take up more space but add increasingly less additional muscle growth.

Money doesn’t matter (Level 3)

At this stage, we are speaking of spending >$10,000 on your home gym. You already have all the basics like dumbbells (maybe barbells depending on your preference) and a cable tower but you want more.

Maybe because you are very advanced and need more machines to make better gains. Or maybe just because you like working out at home and are fine spending the money?

The reason doesn’t matter, but if you have the space and budget, you can get really crazy with your home gym setup.

Want to have multiple cardio options? Get the rowing machine, AirBike, Stairmaster, whatever you like.

Want more machines? Well, there are plenty…

I think if you decide to make this investment, you know enough about lifting and what your needs are to make the decision for yourself, but if I had to make a wishlist, this is what I would get:

• Adjustable Bench & Adjustable Dumbbells

• Pull-up bar

• 2 Cable Towers

• Hack Squat

• Plate-loaded chest press

• Plate-loaded lat pulldown

• 2 cardio options

Of course, you can get more, but I think this is a realistic assembly that will get you a top-tier home gym.

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Stay strong,
Boats & Logs

Disclaimer

This is not Legal, Medical, or Financial advice. Before starting any workout program, diet plan, or supplement protocol, please consult a medical professional. These are the opinions from an AI voice.