10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Home Gym…

Oh my goodness, that tip about buying 10lb increment fixed dumbbells with magnetic plates is such an awesome tip thanks Mr. Coop

kind of adding to what coop said but so far the best thing i've done to my home gym is personalize it with flags and banners and stuff. Adding your own vibes to your own space is one of the main benefits of owning a home gym and even something as small as putting up a made up gym logo on the wall really motivates me to spend more time in my gym

Small tip to add: don’t make shelves an afterthought. Get a few of those relatively cheap metal shelves you build yourself from Home Depot. As you collect attachments/collars/belts/etc., you need a place to toss it so it doesn’t clutter your floor. They ain’t gotta be tidy, but it makes the space feel bigger.

Another one I’d add: plan out your space. It’s much easier to move equipment on a piece of paper or a computer than after everything is assembled. I used Rogue’s Zeus tool to plan out my whole gym layout before installing anything and it saved me a ton of time and headache. Even if you don’t plan to buy from Rogue, it can give you a good idea and relatively easy way to plan things out before investing a lot of money in your equipment.

One of my favorite things I added to my gym was LED lighting strips that I installed around the perimeter of my room. Putting on the color changing lights just kicks my brain into beast mode and helps me focus on my lifts.

Safety Tip— if you are going to perform ANY type of dynamic movement (olympic pulls, snatch, etc) MAKE CERTAIN your flooring can not give way. I have seen rubber tiles slide out of place because they were not secure. That’s a great way to have lots of weight make you do the splits and crack yo head wide open. Safety first ladies and gents. I post this because you are my people and we looking out for each other. :)

It sounds like a lot of these issues wouldn't exist if you came to the dark side...the finished basement

Three years ago I started off with a squat rack with pull-up bar from Fringe, spotter areas (a must have per Coop), dip accessory, Rogue Bar, generic (affordable) bumper plates. I used this setup extensively. Then I added a TRX setup that I attached at the pull-up bar. I’ve since added an eyebolt to the rack (through one of the lower holes) that I use for my TRX Rip Trainer and battle rope. I bought a ply box off market place. During the past Black Friday I added Kettlebells. The point is…I agree with Coop, build the gym over time with well thought out equipment that you’ll use.

WOW Best Coop video in a while, some real BANGER ideas that people should hear about. Versatility is the spice of life and spice of home gyms. And You def. can dip your toes by keeping your local gym membership and making sure you actually use the home gym and like it.

One of your tips (#9?) hit the nail on the head. I care about the aesthetics of the rest of my house - so it’s not unreasonable that I will also care about the aesthetics of my home gym. Mine is in our finished lower level. I took care with the paint choices and flooring and layout and I enjoy being in there. Next, my son and I are going to install strip lights to up the cool and fun factor.

Great vid coop! Back to basics 👏

I have Bowflex adjustable dumbbells, a Bowflex adjustable bench, a Bowflex adjustable kettlebell, the barbell dumbbell add-on, a bunch of bands, and a mat. I get really good workouts and I don't have tons of equipment. Also, a friend got me a 15lb medicine ball to warm up with.

Flooring tip: get double stick carpet tape (from hardware store) to keep your stall mats or other flooring from moving.

This ended up being exactly what I wanted. youtube.com/post/UgkxP26Tir6n60vUkdtn4mbwhRO8cwuJQ… I get the flexibility of multiple dumbbells without taking up the space of a whole set. I have a very small spare room that these and a bench fit perfectly into. Like others mentioned the size of these are a little bigger/longer than traditional weights so they aren’t the perfect solution for everyone. However, if you're looking for a flexible and space saving design for a home workout I’d recommend these.

Lots of good tips Coop. My advice is don't rush your home gym. We did just that mainly because of covid. We converted our unfinished basement and have been using it for about two years now. It functions great thanks to a lot of the info from this channel, but it's a bit dark and kind of depressing. I really wish we would've finished the area first. Now we have to tear everything down, move it all and probably buy a gym membership for a month or so just so I can make our gym a lot better to be in.

I would say to point #4 is in order to determine where to spend the most $$ write down and prioritize the most important things that will last the longest and will have the most usage, such as the power rack, barbell, cardio equipment. Don't be afraid to go the cheap route initially with other items that don't last as long or are pretty ubiquitous, such as bands, weights, storage, etc.

Your videos are very helpful and thank you for all you do.

Here’s a point I wish I would have followed. If you have the room, don’t buy a wall mounted rack. Having a free standing rack that can be moved around provides flexibility to change things as your needs may change.

Great advise! I put together my home gym about a year ago and I love it!

I love watching every video Coop puts out