Official Home Gym Building Thread

Mike1983 said:
Just started phase 1 of my gym build. Clearing the garden ready for a new outbuilding. Will probably create a build log in home/garden forum.
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Will it be a brick or wood building? Make sure you get plenty of head room, I've just finished insulating my shed 16 x 12 and its great but lacks in headroom, I can't fit a cage in or do a over head press stood up. I'm more then happy with what I've got but would have liked it a few feet higher.

Did my fist 5x5 workout on Sat morning and it felt great just walking back in the house and jumping in the shower, instead of having to shower, get changed and drive home. :D
 
Thanks for the "heads up" sorry for the pun.....

Getting it brick built, asked the architect to specify at least 2.7m ceiling which should cater for chin ups on a 2.3m tall rack by my maths. Planning work not starting until 2 weeks time so I'll be having a chat to see what I can get away with.

And yes I used to hate the whole hassle of gym logistics. Sometimes it could take me up to 5 minutes just to get through the reception check-in process at my gym. Can't wait for this to be done.
 
Got a couple of nice additions to the home gym. First a new barbell:

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it is really a pleasure to use - really fast spin, great knurling for a super feel. As well as being all black for extra good looks :)

And an air assault bike

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I have a love/hate relationship with this thing - 4mins of tabata on it is enough to leave me gasping for breath. A great complement to the rowing machine. (It also meant I had to sell the elliptical - good riddance to it!)
 
ronski said:
.....I have a love/hate relationship with this thing - 4mins of tabata on it is enough to leave me gasping for breath. A great complement to the rowing machine. (It also meant I had to sell the elliptical - good riddance to it!)
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Hello

Could I ask why you got rid of your eliptical in favour of this please?

I was thinking of getting a cross trainer so interested to hear opinions, pros / cons etc. I currently use a Cybex "arc trainer" and a Concept 2 rowing machine to cover my cardio needs.

Does that bike work you better / harder than a cross trainer? Are the arm resistances adjustable etc?? Or maybe not adjustable but "firm" like a cross trainer.

Also, can you comment on the build-quality / things you may think could fail after hard use?

Thanks

Mike
 
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Mike1983 said:
Hello

Could I ask why you got rid of your eliptical in favour of this please?

I was thinking of getting a cross trainer so interested to hear opinions, pros / cons etc. I currently use a Cybex "arc trainer" and a Concept 2 rowing machine to cover my cardio needs.

Does that bike work you better / harder than a cross trainer? Are the arm resistances adjustable etc??

Thanks

Mike
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Hi Mike,

First up - I felt that a bike would "complete' my range of cardio gear along with a treadmill and the concept 2. In terms of intensity then the air bike is a different league harder than the elliptical. All out sprints on the air bike are possible in a way that you simply can't do on an elliptical (I have spent more hours on an elliptical than I care to remember)

The resistance on the bike works in the same manner as the concept2 - i.e. the harder you work the more resistance you get as opposed to setting any "levels" i.e. you can just hop on and start going though there are a number of intervals and timers you can set to i.e. tabata, calories for time or intervals

As always it will depend upon yourself and needs - try a bike like this if possible and see if it is for you.
 
Thanks Ronski.

Currently looking at YouTube videos, looks pretty good, a lot more compact than a cross trainer too. Certainly something I'm going to consider further.

I edited my post by the way, probably as you was typing your reply... Please can you comment on build quality / anything you think may go wrong in the future?

Thank you

Mike
 
No worries Mike.

a note first on the arms - they are firm like a cross trainer. Interestingly with this bike there are pegs on the front wheel allowing an arm only workout should you be so inclined.

Build quality wise it is all fairly solid - nice thick chain driven mechanism and seat, arms and pedals all look they will take a beating - I would advise taking your time to assemble it properly. I had a few of the big gym guys over recently and they all gave it a good blast without anything happening to the bike.

During my research - I came across the schwinn airdyne ad6. I would certainly not recommend that particular product. I had the opportunity to try it and the build quality and sturdiness was no where near as good as the air assault bike.

As you say the bike is considerably smaller and to my mind a bit more versatile with leg only, arm only, leg and arm options.

In hindsight if I was building the gym again - I would go for cardio gear in this order -

1. Concept 2 Rower
2. Air Assault Bike
3. Concept 2 Skiierg
4. A treadmill (I prefer running outside but Dubai weather isn't always suited for this:) )
 
Thanks for your time Ronski, that's excellent feedback.

Been watching a load of videos / write ups and think I'm pretty much sold on getting one of these now in favour of a cross trainer.

Here's the floor plan of what I'm currently planning

 
Mike1983 said:
Thanks for your time Ronski, that's excellent feedback.

Been watching a load of videos / write ups and think I'm pretty much sold on getting one of these now in favour of a cross trainer.

Here's the floor plan of what I'm currently planning

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Looks like a great plan! How much headroom are you putting in? What flooring are you going for? Some storage space/area planned?

I like the fact you have good amount of floor space in the centre this is really key and will give your gym the most amount of flexibility/usability
 
ronski said:
Looks like a great plan! How much headroom are you putting in? What flooring are you going for? Some storage space/area planned?

I like the fact you have good amount of floor space in the centre this is really key and will give your gym the most amount of flexibility/usability
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Thanks.

Architect coming round in 2 weeks to discuss specifics but I'm hoping to get away with at least 2.7m ceiling height which by my reckoning will allow chin ups on the rack I wish to get.

Regarding flooring, I want full rubber throughout, at least 15mm and ideally in large sheets as opposed to tiles. Horse stall matting comes recommended for this apparently.

Regarding storage, I've not considered this other than the following

1) the rack I will be getting has integrated plate holders.
2) the dumbbell and kettle bell sets come with racks.
3) I could place the boxing gloves on the base of the strike tube.

Do you think I'll need something else?

Thanks for your feedback.
 
Hi Mike - 2.7m would be good for as you say chin ups and possible over head movements with the barbell.

I have mixed feelings about horse stall matts. They are without doubt fantastic value for money and extremely hard wearing. I originally went for these in my gym. The issue I had with them is that they do not make a perfectly square fit when laid together - meaning there were quite visible gaps between them and gave the gym a less than desirable finish to my eye. They also had an overwhelming rubber smell that did not dissipate after 4 weeks - I find myself particularly sensitive to it and it would put me off going in there and working out hard to inhale what I felt were sulfuric rubber fumes.

They are however great for outdoor use when I pull the concept 2 outside.

In the end I went for 1m x 1m square rubber interlocking tiles that I got for about 15 pound a square meter and have been perfect in their fit and finish. Hard wearing and far lower odor I am really pleased with them.

If I had a larger budget I would have splurged on something like duraflex or pavigym flooring but what I have now is more than adequate

As for storage you will probably want some hooks or shelves on the walls for towels, water bottles, weight clips, weight belts skipping ropes, gloves etc - maybe it's just me but there is loads of paraphernalia that I ended up accumulating.
 
This is really good advice, thank you. Really didn't consider the possibility of having a heavy rubber smell from the flooring.

Following your previous feedback I'm now looking at fitting a Skierg into the plan, they look pretty good. Think that would be more beneficial than a punch bag.

I do however have an idea in mind to get some custom heavy duty shelves / rack to store the kettlebells vertically to free up some space and could even still fit a bag in there.
 
Mike1983 said:
This is really good advice, thank you. Really didn't consider the possibility of having a heavy rubber smell from the flooring.

Following your previous feedback I'm now looking at fitting a Skierg into the plan, they look pretty good. Think that would be more beneficial than a punch bag.

I do however have an idea in mind to get some custom heavy duty shelves / rack to store the kettlebells vertically to free up some space and could even still fit a bag in there.
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Ah very good. I would recommend the Mark II Skierg with the green handles it is a vastly improved ergonomic feature than the original. The skierg is an unforgiving bit of kit and can make a mess of people in a very short space of time.

As you are building from scratch - you might want to look at wiring in tv, wifi and speakers :)
 
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Any recommendations for floor protection, at the moment I do dead lifts etc straight from a first floor flat, carpeted concrete floor and if I drop it I'm almost certain it would cause damage, any suggestions on how I can protect it or at least reduce the chance of damage.
 
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