5 Essential Items to Start Your Home Gym

We get it. Making the leap from the commercial gym to the home gym is a tough decision for a lot of people.

Having the convenience of every piece of equipment at your fingertips is tough to let go. But if you're sick of the lines, the commute, and the bros crowding the water fountain talking about their last bench PR, you're at the point of consideration.

The thought of having a home gym may become more and more appealing as you weigh all the pros and cons.

Without breaking the bank, how do you ensure you'll still get be able to get kick-ass workouts without being limited?

Here is a list of the 5 essential items to help you get your home gym started:

1. Olympic Barbell

An Olympic Barbell is the staple of any home gym. It'll be the focal point of your upcoming workouts - whether it's squats, deadlifts, curls (yes, you can now curl the barbell in the squat rack), skull crushers, shoulder press, etc.

As we like to put it, 45lbs. is 45lbs., so if you're looking to pursue general fitness, then investing in an economical barbell is a no brainer.

2. Bumper Plates

You need some weight to load on that barbell in order to scale your progress. Whether you are a competitive Olympic Lifter who likes flashy plates, or a general fitness athlete who's just looking to add a little weight here and there, there are great options with Competition Bumper Plates or Crumb Rubber Bumper Plates.

3. Mobility Bands

The hidden gem of any home gym. We have tons of videos testing out and demonstrating movements in our Home Gym Hacks video series. These generally consist of exercises that you can perform using only mobility bands.

With a little imaginative improvisation, you can perform a lot of the same movements the commercial gym cable machine offers.

Check out our channel to find some inspiration!

4. Squat Rack

This is our bread and butter, and if you're not looking to break the bank, we have the options you're looking for.

However, as Coop from Garage Gym Reviews puts it, "Buy once, cry once." This phrase is thrown around the home gym community and reflects the simple fact of doing your research up front so you buy quality equipment that you're happy with ONCE, and not have to shop around twice because of low quality or shoddy manufacturing on your first pick.

We focus on our American Made folding squat racks that compliment any home gym perfectly, being able to fold them into the wall when not in use so you have all kinds of room for activities. For any person looking to start a home gym, the PRO or Profile Folding Squat Rack is going to be the one for you.

5. Wall-Mounted Pullup Bar

Pull-up Bars can be used for a variety of other different exercises above just pull-ups. Down the road when you decide to invest in a pulley system, the wall mounted pull-up bar makes a great anchor for this device. And looking back at Number 3, you already have your mobility bands if you aren't quite the "expert" at pull-ups just yet.

You're probably thinking, "what about the dumbbells, and the dip bar, and the bench?" and the list goes on. Remember, these are the essential items to START your home gym. With these 5 pieces of equipment, you can target just about every body part with multiple different exercises.

Once you start to work out in your home gym, you'll realize what matters most to you and prioritize your acquisitions from there. But to start, these 5 items will get you off the starting block to begin your home gym endeavor.