How to Build a Home Gym on the Cheap | The Art of Manliness

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[–] • 0 pt

I already did this years ago, here's what I did.

The bar is shit, the sleeves literally bolt on and unscrew themselves with use. Definitely the first thing to upgrade if you're going to stick with it, as a bar is one of the places you don't want to skimp on. The weights are also smaller than standard. 15 inches I believe, instead of 17.72″ that is standard. Not really a problem, though. You'll probably be picking up other plates elsewhere that will be standard size. Most people actually just wait for this to go on sale, and throw out the bar immediately, because as far as price per weight goes, this is a great deal, even without the bar. Usually you can expect to pay almost $1 per pound.

For the power rack, has some pretty cheap power racks, that always seem to be on sale. Pretty convenient. I highly recommend buying one of the lat pulldown cable attachments. I didn't when I bought mine, and regretted it enough to get one later. Save money and get the bundle.

For the bench, I went fancy and pretty expensive, as like the bar, the bench is where you absolutely do not want to cut corners. You can get a flat bench with absolutely no bells and whistles if you want, they'll be very sturdy for little money. But myself, I wanted something capable of inclining and declining, and I paid the price for it. I personally got a Body Solid FID46, it does everything I wanted it to do, and has leg attachments for leg day. I'm very happy with it. However, it looks like there are now other benches that do the same thing for cheaper on the market now. Shop around.

Now, you're into it, and have decided you want a nicer bar. is pretty much the place to go for bar shopping, and expect to pay around $300. You will not be disappointed.

For the floor mats. I could have bought the overpriced deadlift platforms on sale everywhere, but instead I went to my local farm supply, and bought rubber horse stall mats. Buy some plywood boards, throw in some elbow grease, and you can have a very nice deadlift platform for dirt cheap. Use more of the horse stall mats in the squat cage if you like to protect your floor and give your feet some added grip.

I already did this years ago, here's what I did. [Dick's Sporting Goods has a 300 pound weight set for under $200.](https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/fitness-gear-300-lbolympic-weight-set-16fgeu300lbstwth7brb/16fgeu300lbstwth7brb) The bar is shit, the sleeves literally bolt on and unscrew themselves with use. Definitely the first thing to upgrade if you're going to stick with it, as a bar is one of the places you don't want to skimp on. The weights are also smaller than standard. 15 inches I believe, instead of 17.72″ that is standard. Not really a problem, though. You'll probably be picking up other plates elsewhere that will be standard size. Most people actually just wait for this to go on sale, and throw out the bar immediately, because as far as price per weight goes, this is a great deal, even without the bar. Usually you can expect to pay almost $1 per pound. For the power rack, [Fitness Avenue](https://www.fitnessavenue.ca) has some pretty cheap power racks, that always seem to be on sale. Pretty convenient. I highly recommend buying one of the lat pulldown cable attachments. I didn't when I bought mine, and regretted it enough to get one later. Save money and get the bundle. For the bench, I went fancy and pretty expensive, as like the bar, the bench is where you absolutely do not want to cut corners. You can get a flat bench with absolutely no bells and whistles if you want, they'll be very sturdy for little money. But myself, I wanted something capable of inclining and declining, and I paid the price for it. I personally got a Body Solid FID46, it does everything I wanted it to do, and has leg attachments for leg day. I'm very happy with it. However, it looks like there are now other benches that do the same thing for cheaper on the market now. Shop around. Now, you're into it, and have decided you want a nicer bar. [Rogue Fitness](https://www.roguefitness.com/weightlifting-bars-plates/barbells) is pretty much the place to go for bar shopping, and expect to pay around $300. You will not be disappointed. For the floor mats. I could have bought the overpriced deadlift platforms on sale everywhere, but instead I went to my local farm supply, and bought rubber horse stall mats. Buy some plywood boards, throw in some elbow grease, and you can have a very nice deadlift platform for dirt cheap. Use more of the horse stall mats in the squat cage if you like to protect your floor and give your feet some added grip.

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