CrossFit Home Gym Essentials According to the Best Athletes

Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen a number of big names in CrossFit move to training at their homes. I think this is because it allows these athletes train on their own schedule, reduce commute times (especially when training 2-4 times a day) and not disrupt training at their local box. These reasons seem to fall in line with why most people switch over to training from home. Though the big names in CrossFit can probably afford any equipment they want, they’re still limited by space (and maybe budget). Just like everyone else, they need to be smart with their equipment choices. A number of elite CrossFit athletes are now sharing their thoughts on the essential equipment for a CrossFit home gym.

I think we’ll see more and more of the best CrossFit athletes move towards training at home or in private facilities as a result of the changes in our world in early 2020. This migration will only help those of us training at home. The elite athletes will continue to share their essential equipment needs and companies will take notice. Hopefully, this leads to the companies improving their understanding of garage gym training needs – and better, more affordable equipment will soon follow.

If you’re looking for inspiration for your home gym then you should check out my absolute favourite minimalist home gym that is perfect for CrossFit.

Read More: Build your home gym for less than $400

CrossFit Equipment You Need According to Mat Fraser

I find it hilarious that Mat Fraser works out almost 100% of the time in his own garage. The world’s best CrossFit athlete (or tied with Tia Toomey) trains alone and doesn’t really leave his house.

He lives in Cookville, Tennessee which is home of CrossFit Mayhem. Any given day at Mayhem (or Rich’s barn) you can find Rich Froning, Haley Adams, Chyna Cho, Scott Panchik, Tasia Percevecz and other elite CrossFit Games athletes. But instead, you can find Mat in his garage.

A while back Mat posted an Instagram story about the most essential home gym equipment for CrossFit. I’m not very good at technology and didn’t know how to record it but can give you the low-down.

First up, Mat said you need either a Concept2 Bike Erg or an Assault Bike/Rogue Echo Bike.

Obviously, aerobic conditioning is a key component to success in CrossFit. Having a piece of equipment to get in all of your aerobic work is absolutely necessary.

I feel like the Concept2 Bike Erg (which you can get from Rogue here) has taken over the CrossFit Landscape the past couple years. Everyone seems to be on the bike erg – and most people are crushing kilometers on road bikes too.

Unsurprisingly, Mat also says you need a good barbell and bumper plates.

Mat’s background is in Olympic Lifting. He was a national level lifter before a pretty serious back injury. No wonder he makes heavy barbells move like a hot knife through butter.

Fraser is sponsored by Rogue so his barbell and all his plates are Rogue. It seems like he has the Rogue Olympic WL Bar. It’s certified for international competitions and is as good of a weightlifting barbell as you can get.

A number of his plates have the CrossFit Games logo on them. These plates are usually available to purchase in the days following The Games. They are the Rogue LB Competition Plates.

To really get strong, Mat says (and I agree) that you need a squat rack.

Straight up, if you want to be strong – and good at CrossFit or weightlifting – you need to do heavy squats. You need to invest in a squat rack for your home/garage CrossFit gym.

Mat Fraser’s squat rack doubles up by allowing him to do gymnastics movements as well. The pull up bar and dip attachment add some versatility to his modified rig/squat rack set up.

It appears that Mat has a partial section of Rogue’s Monster Wallmount Rig, plus the Monster Matador Hanger dip attachment.

Read More: 5 do-it all home gym barbells that fit your budget

Kristi Eramo O’Connell’s Home Gym Necessities

Kristi Eramo is slowly building up a great YouTube channel that mixes work out footage with nutrition help and coaching advice. I have really enjoyed getting a glimpse into her training and life over the last few months.

She has a super bubbly personality and seems like she would be a ton of fun to train with or just hang out with. Almost entirely because of her YouTube channel Kristi Eramo is now one of my favourite CrossFitters.

Kristi started building her home gym about 6 years ago and has slowly added more pieced over time. These are her absolute necessities for a CrossFit Home Gym.

Kristi Eramo’s number 1 recommended piece of equipment for a CrossFit home/garage gym is a sandbag. Sandbags are such a versatile tool for a home gym. They don’t take up much space, are relatively cheap and can be used to strengthen any part of the body.

Need to train legs? Hug your sandbag and do some squats.

Want to do some full body work? Take your sandbag from the floor and throw it over your shoulder.

Posterior chain needs some work? Grab your sandbag and rip some RDLs or good mornings.

There’s a reason that sandbags made it into my list of top home gym equipment for less than $100.

If you want to work some strength, Kristi recommends a barbell and some bumper plates. In their garage gym she and her husband have the Rogue Bella Bar and the Rogue Bar 2.0. They also have a mixed bag of bumper plates that they’ve been adding to their collection over the past few years. Most of their bumpers look like the Rogue HG 2.0 bumper plates with a couple Colour Striped LB Training plates added in.

Eramo also says that her garage gym wouldn’t be complete without a huge whiteboard hung on the wall. Her work for the day is written on the whiteboard before each session. Having a whiteboard makes things easier when you are mid-workout and your brain stops working. All you have to do is look up to see what’s next.

Kristi Eramo’s Other Home Gym Suggestions:

  • Dumbbells and kettlebells: Kristi and her husband have a few random dumbbells and kettlebells kicks around. They search out deals on their equipment and add a dumbbell or kettlebell at a time – so they have some mismatched equipment (not in pairs).
  • Moveable squat stand: Obviously, squatting is a huge part of CrossFit and strength training in general. The Eramo-O’Connell’s have a hand-me-down squat stand from their old gym. Squat stands are sweet cause you can store them away in a corner and pull them out as needed. I love the Rogue SML-2 Squat Stand. You can find cheaper alternatives on Amazon or at Walmart but they’re not going to be safe and you’ll end up buying a squat stand from Rogue anyways – may as well do it right the first time.
  • Ski Erg: The Concept2 Ski Erg is a huge change of pace from traditional aerobic training (cycling, running, rowing). It taxes the upper body and midline a lot more. As a result, it’s nice to have at home to switch things up. You can always go for a run or bike ride outside – but it is tough to replicate the movement of the ski erg if you don’t have one.