My Recommended Equipment

I’ve been working as a College Strength Coach for over 20 years, and I’ve had a garage gym setup, in one form or another, for the same period of time. I can’t begin to count how many different barbells, bumper plates, medicine balls, etc I’ve tried out over the years.

I’m creating this page as a simple, to-the-point guide to help anyone starting (or adding to) a home gym cut through the thousands of options out there to what works and will hold up over time.

For each category (barbell, rack, etc), I’m sharing 3 options:

  • Best of the Best
  • Best Value
  • Best Budget

Each option is pretty self-explanatory.

Best of the Best is the top of the line regardless of cost. What is the best option that exists, period?

Best Value is where I would guess most of us operate. What is the best option out there I can get while also being mindful of my finances?

Best Budget is where I operated for most of my 20s. What is the cheapest option I can get that isn’t going to tear up or fall apart in six months?

Now, full disclaimer time. Some of these products I’m an affiliate for. Some I am not. If you make a purchase that I am an affiliate for I’ll make a couple bucks. All I can say is that everything on this page is my honest opinion, regardless of whether I’m an affiliate or not.

Barbell

Best of the Best: Uesaka Training Bar

This is the bar I currently have in my garage and one of the biggest splurges I’ve ever made. Totally worth it.

Best Value: Rogue Bar 2.0

Great bar at a great price. Good spin and performance for Olympic lifts and holds up great over time. At the time I’m writing this, you can get a Rogue Bar 2.0 for under $300.

In my opinion, this bar is the sweet spot for a high performing bar at the lowest possible price point.

Best Budget: Cap Barbell

Cap Barbells may not be the best performing barbell you can buy, but if you need a bar on the cheap that will do the job and not crap out on you after a year, then Cap is a solid choice.

I always keep a Cap Barbell around that I can use for certain lifts or activities where I can beat the crap out of the bar and not worry about tearing up one of my more expensive bars. And take a beating they can.

Rack

Rack Specs can be overwhelming. I did a guide breaking down what they all mean here.

Best of the Best: Rogue RM-6 Monster Rack 2.0

This is the type of rack generally found in college weight rooms. 3×3 11-gauge steel. Fully customizable. Looks amazing and will be the only rack you’ll buy in your lifetime.

Best Value: Titan T3 Rack

I always thought you had to have a 3×3 rack because that’s what we always had in a college weight room. Took a chance on this rack and it is a beast. Would recommend to anyone in the market for a rack.

For the price (especially considering Titan ships free) it’s almost impossible to beat.

Best Budget: Fitness Reality Power Cage

Ideally, the T3 rack is really as cheap as I would suggest someone going for a home gym. I think it’s too important of a piece of equipment to not spend the money to get something quality.

Having said that, if you’re trying to squeeze every last penny out of your budget, I get it. I’ve never personally used this rack, but I know a couple of people who have a Fitness Reality rack and they’ve given them positive reviews.

Bumper Plates

Best of the Best: Uesaka Training Plates

Uesaka and Eleiko are neck-in-neck for the best bumper plates you can buy. I’ve seen both last two decades in a college weight room. In a garage gym, you’ll pass them on to your grandkids.

Best Value: Rogue Black Training Plates

Credit where credit is due, Rogue makes some really good bumper plates. These plates are a little cheaper than their competition plates and going with black (still have pops of color and look sharp imo) saves you a few extra bucks as well.

These plates will perform great for anyone wanting to incorporate Olympic lifts in their training.

Best Budget: Homegrown Bumper Plates

At the time I’m writing this, you can still get these plates for $1/pound, which is crazy cheap. Great for anyone doing general lifting or CrossFit-style workouts. I beat the crap out of them for over a year and they held up great for me.

Best Flooring

Best of the Best: Plae Achieve

This is the type of flooring that you’ll find in college weight rooms. If you want top-of-the-line flooring for your home gym, this is it.

Best Value: Regupol Aktiv

This is a slightly more budget-friendly alternative to Plae flooring. You’ll find Regupol flooring in many high-end facilities across the country, including collegiate weight rooms.

It’s an amazing option for a home gym if you have the budget for it. It will look amazing, perform great and hold up for an extremely long time.

Best Budget: Horse Stall Mats

If Plae and Regupol is out of your price range, then Horse Stall Mats are a tried and true option for a home gym. They’ll need to be aired our properly (they come with an incredibly awful smell), but they’re tough, durable and will do the job.

I don’t have a link to this one. Find your nearest Tractor Supply Company, Northern Tool or Rural King. You’ll save yourself a ton of money by getting them locally. Make sure to get 3/4″ thick mats if you plan on dropping bars and dumbbells.

Medicine Balls

Best of the Best: Dynamax

I’ve used Dynamax Medicine Balls in college weight rooms my entire career and have watched them withstand an absolute beating. It’s also the brand I currently have in my own garage gym.

Best Value: Rep Fitness

A couple of years ago, on Cyber Monday, I bought and tested out 10 different medicine balls. As you would expect, some performed great, some not so much.

Out of all 10, I thought the Rep Fitness ball was by far the best performing ball priced at under $100. It was firm and held its shape after repeated throws, drops and slams.

Best Budget: Prosource Fit

If you’re not planning on being rough with your medicine ball – no slams, no hard throws against a wall – this Prosource Fit ball will do the job.

However, if you’re going to use your med ball… aggressively?… then I would highly suggest spending a few extra bucks and getting a Rep Fitness or Dynamax. Cheaper medicine balls can, and will, tear up on you quickly if you’re slamming and throwing them a lot.

Adjustable Dumbbells

This section is a bit different from the rest because there are only two brands of adjustable dumbbells that I trust, PowerBlocks and BowFlex. Adjustable dumbbells have a ton of awesome benefits – cost-efficient, space saver, etc. However, if the mechanism that adjusts the dumbbells breaks, you have very heavy paper weights.

I lean toward PowerBlocks more simply because that’s the brand I have the most experience with, having owned my own set for a long time.

Best of the Best: PowerBlock Elite

With PowerBlock, you can buy a set ranging from up to 50lbs all the way to 90lbs. I’ve owned a set of PowerBlocks for over a decade now, and they still work great and I’ve had zero issues with them.

The amount of space you can save is a gamechanger for any home gym.

Runner Up: BowFlex SelectTech 1090

I’ve never owned a set of BowFlex SelectTechs but I have used them many times and have friends who own a pair and love them.

Last note I’ll leave is price-wise, both sets are almost identical.

Bike

Best of the Best: Rogue Echo Bike 3.0

I recently purchased a couple of these for our weight room. They are absolute BEASTS! You can tell they are exceptionally built to last and they work amazingly.

Best Value: Assault Airbike

Assault Airbikes are a great bike that run a little cheaper than the Rogue Echo Bike (they do have more expensive models but I don’t have any experience with them).

We have a couple of Airbikes in our weight room right now and while you can tell they’re old and have taken a beating, they still work great.

Best Budget: N/A

There are a ton of cheap air bikes you can find on Amazon. However, I’ve not used any of them so don’t feel comfortable recommending any of them.

Belt

Best of the Best: Inzer Forever Level Belt 13mm

In the world of powerlifting and lifting belts, Inzer is king. They call their belts Forever Belts for a reason.

They’re made impeccably well and are built to last.

Best Value: Warm Body Cold Mind Nylon Belt

I used a thick leather belt for years and, honestly, thought I was going to hate this nylon belt before I tried it out.

Boy, was I wrong.

I absolutely love this belt. It’s been my go-to belt now for going on two years.

The rigidity of the belt has held up. The Velcro has held up. Support is great and my favorite part is that no matter if I’m up or down a few pounds, I get a perfect fit every set. I never have to worry about being ‘in between’ notches.

Best Budget: Warm Body Cold Mind Nylon Belt

Yes, this is the same belt I just gave for Best Value. At the time I’m writing this, the WBCM Nylon Belt is $35. You’re going to be hard-pressed to find a good belt any cheaper than that.

Lifting Straps

With Lifting Straps, what pair you choose shouldn’t come down to price. Almost every pair of lifting straps on the planet fall between about $15 and $25 – and a good pair should last you a long time.

Instead, what pair you choose should be depend on what type of lifting you do. General use (and most beginners) = lasso strap. Olympic weightlifting = closed loop. Powerlifting = figure 8.

Best Lasso Strap: Warm Body Cold Mind Cotton Lasso Straps

Best Closed Loop: IronMind Sew Easy Straps

Best Figure 8: Serious Steel Figure 8

Coming Soon…

  • Bench
  • Tech
  • Wrist Wraps
  • Lifting Shoes