The Internet is a beautiful place. With the likes of r/HomeGym and r/MaleLivingSpace we get a glimpse into some of the most beautiful, well-designed houses and home gyms in the world. When I saw this post by u/peterreis I had to reach out to him to see if I could highlight one of the nicest garage gyms I had ever seen. Hopefully this gym will inspire you to step up your home gym design. A beautiful home gym will make you want to spend time in it. And this should lead to improved fitness gains.
Big shout-out to u/peterreis for letting me walk you through his garage gym. The gym includes some pretty sweet DIY work, great planning and a minimalist vibe that I love. Plus, he was super generous with explaining his equipment choices and storage systems.
Read More: Home Gym Essentials – the equipment you need
The Garage Gym Design
Having the above garage/studio in your back yard definitely puts you ahead of the curve when it comes to creating a beautiful space. However, you can still have a well-designed, multi-purpose garage …even if the exterior doesn’t look like this garage.
The key is to start your home gym design process with a few simple concepts:
- How much room do you have?
- Does the space have to be multi-purpose?
- What vibe are you looking for?
This garage gym answers those questions pretty clearly. The gym space itself is a single-car garage size that serves multiple purposes (gym, storage, hobbies, parking a car). And I would classify the vibe as minimalist and “clean”.
Using the Garage as Intended – to park a car!
Life is a bit different in the Bay Area vs. where I live in Canada, but nonetheless I feel like a garage gym should still be able to fit your car in it. This garage building has a ton of space in it. However, it only has a single garage door and one parking stall for a car – which happens to overlap with the “gym” portion of the garage.
Our friend Peter designed his garage gym so that he can still park his car inside when needed. You may notice the minimalist Rogue squat rack mounted to the wall.
This Rogue RML-90 SLIM rack extends only 15 inches from the wall it is mounted on. The low profile nature of the RML-90 SLIM means you can fit a squat rack and a car in a single stall garage without having to move equipment or fold a rack away.
Flooring
Garage gym flooring is a hotly contested subject matter in the home gym design world. In this case, simple horse stall mats are used to clearly delineate the gym space from the rest of the garage.
Stall mats can be found at stores like Tractor Supply or Lowe’s for relatively cheap. Or you can check out similar mats on Amazon here.
You want some kind of rubber flooring to protect your subfloor, in this case the concrete garage floor. Dropping heavy weights repeatedly on concrete can cause damage, which is expensive to repair. Your bumper plates, dumbbells (and your joints) will hold up much better when dropped on rubber vs. concrete floors as well.
DIY Shelves and Storage
The sweet shelving unit across the back wall is a DIY job to hold gym equipment and other supplies.
The shelf surfaces are 2″ x 4″ framed shelving anchored into studs. Because they’re anchored at 3 walls they are able to hold a couple hundred pounds.
The vertical supports are 4″ x 4″s that are notched on their backside for the shelves to fit into. The 4″ x 4″s are actually free standing but their notches make them secure and allow them to support the weight of the shelving.
As a whole, the shelving unit looks sleek and adds to the aesthetic of the space.
Design your own home gym using Rogue’s Zeus Gym Builder by clicking here.
Minimalist Garage Gym Equipment
It is pretty clear that this is a minimalist garage gym. The equipment was picked with intent – each piece serves a distinct purpose, from the Rogue Echo Bike to the speciality football/multi-grip bar and the Rogue RML-90 SLIM rack.
It is so, so important to have the right equipment for your space and your preferred workout style. So many people rush out to buy ALL the equipment when starting a home gym. Instead, you should buy a few key pieces of equipment to get you started. Then as you spend more time working out you can identify the missing pieces that you can gradually add to your space.
Being intentional with your purchases will save you money and keep your home gym looking clean.
Dumbbells, Barbells and Bumper Plates
Rogue Ohio Bar
The Rogue Ohio Bar is a classic barbell for a home gym. With bronze bushings, dual knurling marks and a nice whip, the Ohio Bar can be used for any type of lifting – whether it is CrossFit, powerlifting or Olympic lifting. Because of that, its a perfect “one bar fits all” type of purchase.
Straight up, the Ohio Bar could be the only barbell you’ll ever need for your home gym.
Adjustable Dumbbells
It’s tough to tell which type of adjustable dumbbells are hiding in the back storage area of this gym. They look like the Bowflex SelectTec 552s (available on Amazon). Adjustable dumbbells are a no-brainer purchase in my mind. They give you the flexibility to do all types of lifts, from accessory, small muscle work to heavy presses and lunges. In the case of the 552s, you have the option of having them weigh anywhere between 5 lbs and 52.5 lbs – without taking up much space at all.
Another great option for adjustable dumbbells are the PowerBlock EXP Dumbbells, which you can check out here.
Bumper Plates
There are not a ton of bumper plates in this gym but u/peterreis can still get his heavy lifts in. He has the Rogue HG 2.0 bumpers.
The HG 2.0’s are thicker than competition style bumpers but come in at a much more reasonable price-point. Plus the HG 2.0’s are a step up in durability from the original HG bumpers and have a bit less bounce to them.
Unless you are competing in weightlifting, these are the perfect home gym bumper plates.
Squat Rack and Bench
This gym showcases the minimalist Rogue RML-90 SLIM Rack. The squat rack looks similar to Rogue’s folding racks but the RML-90 SLIM doesn’t actually fold against the wall. Instead, the RML-90 SLIM extends just 15″ from the wall when assembled. It takes up such little space that it doesn’t need to fold away.
Add in the 3″x3″ 11 gauge steel uprights and the optional pull up bar and it is no surprise that the RML-90 SLIM is a go-to choice for minimalist, small-area gyms. The rack looks unreal and can handle years of heavy abuse.
Other Low Profile Squat Rack Options:
- Rogue R-3W Folding Rack
- This rack only sticks out 5 inches from the wall when folded up, making it perfect for gyms that also have to serve as a garage
- Rogue S-4 Squat Stand
- These are free standing squat stands that can be easily moved out of the way, but have a 26″ x 22″ footprint – so they do take up a bit of space
Cardio Equipment
Peter has a couple of options when it comes to traditional cardio equipment.
First up is the Rogue Echo Bike. This is a great option for those that like to hammer short, intense efforts. Personally, I have a love-hate relationship with the Echo Bike and other fan-resistance bikes. They suck your soul out of your body during your intervals, but make you feel great afterwards.
Peter removed all the decals off his Echo Bike, which makes it look very sleek and clean. He’s the first person I’ve seen do this and I would definitely do the same if I had an Echo Bike.
Instead, I have an indoor cycling trainer. Click here to learn more about indoor cycling trainers and how they compare to spin bikes.
There’s also an all black Concept 2 Rowing Erg in this well outfitted gym. Rowing is a key component to a lot of CrossFit WODs so it makes sense to have an erg if you’re doing CrossFit workouts. The erg is well suited for both long, low-intensity type training and for shorter, high intensity intervals. For this reason, I would suggest a rower if you were to only get one of the Echo Bike or Concept 2 Rower.
Read More: Home Gym Essentials – the 4 things you should invest in first.
Accessory Equipment
On top of the great “main equipment” choices, we also see some stellar accessory type equipment in this beautiful gym. The choices and storage keep the gym minimalist in style but maximize the functionality of the space.
Most noticeable are the Rogue wood gymnastic rings suspended from the ceiling. The high ceilings allow for a nice length to the straps, and therefore an ability to get a nice swing when doing kipping movements.
We also see some metal plyo boxes, similar to these ones from Rogue, hiding in the storage area. These can serve two purposes: first as boxes to jump onto or over to improve plyometric ability and power. Secondly, they could be used for exercises like step ups, rear foot elevated split squats and box squats.
Personally, I would probably not use metal (or wood) boxes for high box jumps. I’ve seen too many people lose the skin off of their shin on unsuccessful jumps. Instead, I would opt for some foam boxes like these from Rogue or these available on Amazon.
Next up we have a multi-grip (or football) bar hanging on the wall. These bars are great for those that have shoulder issues. Having the ability to change up your grip from the standard overhand or underhand grip when doing presses or rows can be a god-send for shoulder health.
These multi-grip bars, like the MG-3 from Rogue, also allow you to hit different muscle fibre areas than a normal bar. This can lead to more complete muscle development and strength. Since these bars are the same length as a regular bar, they’re also the right size for pressing or rowing out of a rack.
Finally, an often overlooked but necessary expense is a plate storage system. Nothing is worse than having to search through a pile of plates to get to the ones you need. Having your bumper plates organized by weight is simple with storage systems like this from Rogue or this less expensive option on Amazon.
Final Thoughts
Quite honestly, this is the most visually appealing home gym I have ever seen. It is clean, simple and well-organized – on top of being very functional. Obviously, we don’t all have the space and natural light to design our home gyms to look like this one, but it can still serve as inspiration.
We should all be intentional with our purchases and make sure we feel a sense of pride every time we enter our home or garage gym.
If we enjoy the space then we will be more likely to spend more time in it. And if we spend more time in our gym, we’ll probably be more likely to reach our goals.
Happy lifting!