TeenBodybuilding.com - Bryan Locke - Designing A Home Gym!

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B Complex vitamins are an important part of maintaining energy.

There are several advantages that make working out at home more productive than going to a local gym.

Designing A Home Gym

There is a direct relation between your muscular gains and the gym at which you train. A poor gym usually develops poor results. Im not talking about the quality of a gym's equipment, but more less the gym's overall atmosphere. There are several advantages that make working out at home more productive than going to a local gym:

1. A home gym is open 24 / 7 / 365.
2. There is no waiting around for equipment.
3. There is no crowd to get your ego going. You choose who enters your gym.
4. No shitty music. You play whatever, whenever and however loud you want it.
5. You can let all your evil emotions flow for self motivation. IE: swearing, grunting, etc.
6. All your supplements, water and food are just a few steps away.
7. You can train barefoot, shirtless and you don't mind practicing poses in the mirror.
8. The money saved in membership fees can go towards upgrading equipment.

The list goes on and on. Now, I'm not saying that public gyms are shit. No doubt they have the social aspect going for them, but if that's the reason you're there then don't expect amazing gains. When I enter the gym its all about business. I go in, do my shit, and get the hell out. None of this talking and socializing bullshit. For me, anything that strips workout intensity must be eliminated immediately. That is the reason I made the choice to go with home training. I think you'd be surprised at how much better home training is. Training at home may be for you, and then again, it may not be. It's a decision I definitely haven't regretted.

Home Gym Requirements
Area: The floor space required for a home gym is directly associated to how advanced you plan on becoming. My gym, which is fairly advanced, is stationed in an 11x10 foot area in my basement. Basements are ideal for home gyms since the floors can support the heavy weights and equipment.

Bench: This is a no brainer. It is a basic piece of equipment that is absolutely required. A decent bench should be well built, be able to at least incline, if not decline, and have a leg attachment. The padding should be thick and should be the appropriate width. An appropriate width should support the back and ensure the shoulder blades do not dig into the edges and cause un-necessary discomfort or even injury.

Squat Rack: A squat rack is the ideal piece of equipment to purchase. A good quality squat rack should have adjustable height uprights, a lat tower/low cable pulley and an incline/decline free moving bench with a leg attachment. It is the most effective type of bench to build an advanced home gym around.

Cast Iron Weight Set: Cast iron is the ideal weight plate material. If you buy the cement filled plastic plates, be prepared to re-invest a year or two down the road due to shattered cement. A few hundred pounds will do, but the more the merrier. If you are looking to put together an advanced home gym, I would also suggest investing in some of the larger plates (15s, 25s and 35s).

Chin-Up Bar: A chin-up bar may be used in place of a lat tower station. A gym which includes both a chin-up bar and lat tower would be ideal.

Calf Block: A calf block is a block of wood approximately 1 - 2" high and is used for doing seated calf raises. The calf block should be wide enough to support both feet at shoulders width.

Training Log: A training log is essential for tracking your workout progress. A simple note book will be good enough. Keep track of the number of reps, weight used and basically anything else important during the workout.

My Personal Home Gym Checklist: