A garage gym is an avenue for you to freely customize your workout setup, blast your own music playlist, and set your training hours. Also, this allows you to easily squeeze in extra workouts or simply break a sweat whenever you feel unmotivated to move. 

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Garage Gym Essentials

Building a garage gym may be time-consuming and initially quite expensive. Despite this, know that such an investment is going to be worth it as this allows you to save more cash on gym membership, long drives, and other fees.

If you’re new to the fitness landscape, it would be best to examine and ensure that you buy versatile gym pieces to accommodate various moves and exercises. You may start with quality, basic pieces, and, then, move your way up once you’ve improved your stamina. 

Regardless of your gym space, you can definitely create a setup using the gym devices that are essential to you. These might include the following:

1. Barbell

A key versatile piece of equipment for your garage gym is the barbell. It may appear like it’s the simplest looking gym piece, nonetheless, you can repeatedly use this to perform squats, bench presses, deadlifts, overhead press, military press, curls, rows, and the like. 

Likewise, barbells can be the most efficient way to challenge your strength, grow muscles, and do crossfit at home. You can even add more plates to each side if you already feel comfortable with the current weight that you’re lifting. To save up space, you can also hang your barbell on the wall.

Moreover, there are various types of barbell that you can choose from. For the majority of gym-goers, an Olympic barbell is regarded the most durable piece compared to a regular barbell. It also offers additional features and is longer and heavier than regular, powerlifting barbells.  Additionally, as you purchase this type of barbell, make sure to choose a high-quality brand that will last you a long time. 

However, if the Olympic barbell is too heavy for you, you can settle for a lighter one instead. This includes, but isn’t limited to, a women’s Olympic bar and/ or fixed or pre-loaded barbells. The latter is preferable and regarded beginner-friendly for some as this has a shorter diameter, which is easier to hold. It usually weighs less than 35 pounds, which makes it an excellent option for people who prefer to move around during their workouts.

2. Plates

Along with your barbell, weight plates are crucial because they influence nearly every lift and move that you’ll be performing in your space.

Before hopping into the nearby fitness shop, firstly, decide on the type of material you want your plates to be made of. For instance, you may choose between an iron or a bumper plate.

If you're into powerlifting, iron plates are a good option. Typically, these are cheaper compared to other types of plates. However, know that these may cause more floor damage and can be, at times, noisy when used. On the other hand, if you want multifunctional plates, bumper plates may be a suitable option for you. These are usually safer for your floor, if you're not using them on a platform. However, bear in mind that rubber may tend to release some type of odor, which can be quite cumbersome. 

Regardless of your preferences, both plates can be effective in helping you increase strength, boost fitness stamina, and make you feel confident in your own weight room.

3. Ketteleballs

In addition to your barbells and plates, a kettleball is a must-have purchase that only takes up less space in your gym garage. This is a gym piece that may also be used in replacement of dumbbells or other weights. 


Depending on your preferred type of kettleball, it would be great to stick only to one piece. For beginners, you can decide between a 12-or a 16-kg kettleball. Regardless of your weight preferences, kettleballs, in general, may help you perform supplemental range of movements—squats, suitcase lunges, flutter kicks, triceps presses, and so much more—that can promote strength and mobility in your training sessions.  The numerous movements you can perform using just one piece of equipment is amazing. 

Apart from this, exercises done with a kettleball may help you slim down and get toned in the long haul.

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Final Thoughts

Apart from the aforementioned basics, learn to identify and prioritize the other gym essentials that you deem crucial. To help you avoid purchasing unnecessary equipment, examine your training program and create a list of fitness devices that you’ll be using repeatedly. 

Through your own private space, exercising and staying fit at home have never been this convenient and motivating. Ultimately, a garage gym is such an effective way to stay consistent and to instill discipline into your workout sessions. Definitely a win!