Official Home Gym Building Thread

Soldato
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Considering recent events it has made me wonder how much money would be saved or lost by building a home gym instead of a membership....
I thought of it that way before I got mine (years before covid) but then I realised its more than that. I think being able to go when you want at any time, know that its mere seconds away and that your on your own with no distractions pays for itself really. It absolutely helped my motivation working out as before the act of travelling to the gym was a good excuse to not go!
 
Associate
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Has anyone done an upfront cost to membership outlay? I am presuming pricey startup but once equipment bought then it will repay itself sometime..... I guess its also not just the price of a gym membership but also commute costs to be compared with.

I guess its fine if only weights/machines but space is an issue if you do a lot of HIIT too like ropes/cables etc?

I guess the worse combo is home gym and having a gym membership for things you can't fit. Its either all in at home or all in at offsite gym...?
 
Man of Honour
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Has anyone done an upfront cost to membership outlay? I am presuming pricey startup but once equipment bought then it will repay itself sometime..... I guess its also not just the price of a gym membership but also commute costs to be compared with.

I guess its fine if only weights/machines but space is an issue if you do a lot of HIIT too like ropes/cables etc?

For me it pays for itself in just over 3 years (that was with a pricey Nuffield subscription). I’m already a year in. To be honest I couldn’t put a price on the convenience of having my own equipment.
 
Soldato
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Has anyone done an upfront cost to membership outlay? I am presuming pricey startup but once equipment bought then it will repay itself sometime..... I guess its also not just the price of a gym membership but also commute costs to be compared with.

I guess its fine if only weights/machines but space is an issue if you do a lot of HIIT too like ropes/cables etc?

I guess the worse combo is home gym and having a gym membership for things you can't fit. Its either all in at home or all in at offsite gym...?

My last reply to you (post 3160) compared gym membership cost to a home gym setup. Depends how many memberships you are paying for and how many months/years you want to compare it for.

Then there are the benefits others are mentioning - less time travelling, fuel costs, go at your own pace etc.

For me I also save being around people who may carry covid. At the gym I was in I didn't see many people washing their hands after using the toilet - regardless of what they went for :eek:
 
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My last reply to you (post 3160) compared gym membership cost to a home gym setup. Depends how many memberships you are paying for and how many months/years you want to compare it for.

Then there are the benefits others are mentioning - less time travelling, fuel costs, go at your own pace etc.

For me I also save being around people who may carry covid. At the gym I was in I didn't see many people washing their hands after using the toilet - regardless of what they went for :eek:

Hmm I know my level of paranoia to wipe everything down before and after has reached new extremes...
 
Soldato
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With respect to cost, it's worth considering that you now own the equipment as well - you can always sell down the line to recoup most of the cash, making it almost certainly cheaper than a gym membership long term (so long as you can afford the initial outlay and don't need that cash for other purposes)
 
Caporegime
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My last reply to you (post 3160) compared gym membership cost to a home gym setup. Depends how many memberships you are paying for and how many months/years you want to compare it for.

Then there are the benefits others are mentioning - less time travelling, fuel costs, go at your own pace etc.

For me I also save being around people who may carry covid. At the gym I was in I didn't see many people washing their hands after using the toilet - regardless of what they went for :eek:

I agree with you and to expand on what you wrote; while cost saving is always important, I think people are doing things wrong if they are setting up a home gym only for 'cost reasons'.

Setting up a home gym is about having the equipment to train with whenever you want it and specially tailored to your needs. You can train when you want, however long you want, without needing to go through the rigmarole of travelling to a place, getting changed, waiting for things and all of the other inconveniences public gyms bring. Also as you say, I never trust other people's hygiene. Other people are just gross, especially other guys.

The most important thing is that you know how to use the equipment safely and I recommend anyone building a home gym (who doesn't have any or much experience with the equipment) gets a few personal training sessions to learn how to do the basics correctly. :)
 
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Soldato
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The most important thing is that you know how to use the equipment safely and I recommend anyone building a home gym gets a few personal training sessions to learn how to do the basics correctly. :)

I would also recommend anyone with their own home gym to remember to always use safety bars/pins where possible especially if you are training alone.

It would have taken 5 years to break even for me when comparing gym membership and a home gym which seemed worth it at the time. Dropped down to under 3 years since my wife also decided to cancel her gym membership and workout at home. Luckily got most of the equipment prior to all the prices rocketing.
 
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Some great advice here. I've been training many years so aware of safety. I think it might be wise to wait awhile to see what happens with prices my only concern would be having space for some equipment like ropes.

I think a lot also depends on how far you travel to gym, how busy it is etc, more people more risk.

How have people felt going normal gyms during the pandemic etc or going back?
 
Soldato
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I would have gone back to a gym if I hadn't started my home gym. Now I have I love it and only want to add to it really.

The point about selling your equipment on when you're done is a really good one too.
 
Associate
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Nice setup, can i ask where you got the pulley/cable machine from and if you don’t mind me asking how much was it ? Just got the M3 rack myself, well built piece of engineering :)
Thanks, the cable machine is from extreme fitness. It has a 100kg stack, and 32 adjustment points via pushpin, it was £1399. Link below
https://www.extremefitness.co.uk/extreme-fitness-single-cable-adjustable-pulley

The M3 rack is really good, by far the best value rack for the money, and better than many more expensive racks.

Fantastic space - is that a double garage? Very jealous, it's so hard fitting everything inside a single one!
Thanks! Yes it is a double garage, it's actually a temporary setup while an outbuilding is being constructed for my gym stuff. I still need to put in a leg press, quad extension, and calf raise.
 
Soldato
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Really struggling to find a decent pulley machine for lat pulldown and cable curls.
Was about to press the button on the Mirafit M200 rack and add the cable system to it for a total cost of around £550 but apparently the top cable can only be pulled directly down, it isn't designed for say face pulls or overhead tricep extensions.

I'll keep looking. Don't want a cheap one, but also don't want to spend any more than £300ish if possible for a simple compact system that works with oly plates.
 
Associate
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Really struggling to find a decent pulley machine for lat pulldown and cable curls.
Was about to press the button on the Mirafit M200 rack and add the cable system to it for a total cost of around £550 but apparently the top cable can only be pulled directly down, it isn't designed for say face pulls or overhead tricep extensions.

I'll keep looking. Don't want a cheap one, but also don't want to spend any more than £300ish if possible for a simple compact system that works with oly plates.

what about the M3 version that's stand alone as well, its due Q3, i have the M3 so am biased, but either way fits into your price range if your happy to wait, i do like the one Squidward has but after spending on the M3 not sure i can get it passed the Boss at the moment, but i might try :)
 
Caporegime
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I would have gone back to a gym if I hadn't started my home gym. Now I have I love it and only want to add to it really.

The point about selling your equipment on when you're done is a really good one too.

Outwith a pandemic. You are lucky to get 20% back of your initial outlay.

I sold like 2 grands worth of gear a year before the pandemic for like £350. This was a top power rack plus the attachments, commercial bench, etc.

During the pandemic of course I sold everything else I had for 3 times what I had paid for it. Selling £5k worth of stuff for £15k.

Also home gyms will never match a commercial gym for range of equipment. There's just so much choice available at a commercial gym at home after you have a power rack you won't have space for much more unless it's a double garage. Even then I know someone who built one in a double garage and he still went to the gym as well as having a set up at home and he spent a lot of money on his home gym. He had around £5k in dumbbells alone.

That's the other thing people who think a home gym takes 3 years to breakeven probably have the bare essentials and nothing more.

I can go to a commercial gym and I have at least 6 different types of cardio machines on offer. Weights it's probably into 30+ different machines and then you have free weights with a full rack of dumbbells to use.

You also then have access to swimming pool, steam and a sauna.

As for people comparing costs and then adding something small like commuting costs into the mix. I'd ask if your gym isn't local to you and within 5 minutes why? Have you considered the costs of running your home gym including insulation, heating, air con/fans, etc? It's not just free after the initial outlay. A treadmill can use a lot of power up especially if running for 10k every other day.

Building a home gym should never be about saving money.

Dare I say. The £5-£10k I spent. Had I just invested that instead. It would pay for my gym membership with its gains.

Obviously if you are going for a small set up with limited use then sure it's cheaper but it's going to also be boring and dull to use as well. I feel once you travel to a gym that's 99% of the battle over you are there now you have to workout. Having one on your doorstep you can always say I'll use it tomorrow and not bother. For example my mates home gym he is the only one who uses it and it's a large family home. Nobody else bothers with it and they go to classes and commercial gym instead.
 
Soldato
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