Building a Home Gym in the Garage

Having a home gym is very attractive idea for anybody who likes to regularly exercise at home. Home gym has many benefits when compared with commercial gyms. In the home gym, one can exercise whenever one wants, there is no time lost trafficking, there is no time lost waiting for some other guy or girl to finish, there are no gym fees, it can be accustomed to personal needs etc. On the other hand, home gyms require space and money to buy and maintain.
Money for home gyms many consider to be the main problem, but in the long run, you are actually saving money because you are not paying monthly gym fees, you don't spend any money trafficking etc. So, when building a home gym, consider purchasing equipment little by little, month by month or even quarterly or annually.

Cardio Equipment
Depending on your personal preferences, cardio equipment can be in the form of expensive, but durable and sturdy treadmill or elliptical, or if you have ordinary bike, you can purchase a bike stand for just a fraction of cost of good treadmill or elliptical.
Home foldable treadmills cost less, especially self-powered models, and they are great choice for people who prefer walking as the form of low impact, low intensity cardio.
If you have good, heavy rope for rope jumping (and enough high ceiling), you have all necessary equipment for good cardio workout. Ordinary rope can be purchased in any hardware store for cheap.
If you like Martial Arts, good punching bag will build your strength, stamina and burn fat tremendously. Punching bag can be used as warm-up, as main workout, or to burn extra calories after main workout. Note that if you have never used punching bag, it is highly recommendable to find someone to show you how to actually punch.
To save space, punching bag can be stored away and mounted when required.

Exercise Equipment
Pull-up bars can be wall mounted, ceiling mounted, part of dip station or squat cage, doorway mounted etc. Simple pull-up bars are cheap and reliable – fix them somewhere on the wall and use them for great back and biceps workouts with various pull-ups and chin-ups.
With just a few items – bike stand, rope, punching bag and pull-up bar – one can make great full body workout that will increase strength, stamina, increase muscle mass, burn fat etc. And in the case of circular workouts, even full-body workout doesn't have to last more than 60 minutes. List of exercises that can be done using such equipment is rather long: cycling, running, walking, rope jumping, bag punching and kicking, various push-ups, various squats, various pull-ups and chin-ups, burpees, various abs exercises etc. As one can see, plenty of these exercises are bodyweight exercises and even if you are gym rat, don't underestimate them.
Next piece of equipment that one should consider for home gym are dumbbells – variable or adjustable dumbbells with proper stand. Variable dumbbells save space and even money in the long run when compared with ordinary dumbbells, but their initial price is relatively high.
Note that with the pair of adjustable dumbbells only one person can exercise at one time – with modern variable weight dumbbells this is not great issue, since weight can be changed often in just a few seconds. Variable or not, dumbbells are great for many exercises and it is nice to have them.

Variable bench is often next piece of equipment to be purchased. This bench must be capable of several decline and incline positions and of course, flat position. When buying a bench for home gym, it is good to choose a bench which have a stand for barbell and extension for leg exercises (for quads and hamstrings). Such benches cost little bit more, but in the end, they are worth that extra money.
After bench, one needs good, solid barbell with some weights according to your needs. When considering weights, choose weight plates with rubber coating. Rubber coating prevents rust to occur, they are much quitter when used, protects walls and plates from getting damaged etc. Also, consider weight stand to store your weights and some rubber mats to put around your bench – your floors will last longer.
As one progress, squat rack is next to be obtained – it requires space and strong floors, but for various squats, it is a must have equipment.
On the other hand, if you don't have much room for various weights, bars, barbells, racks etc., and you just need 'something' to work out on, consider all-in-one home gym exercise machine. There are several types of them and most of them look like medieval torturing devices, but in the end, they get their job done. Just don't expect levels and type of resistance as if you are working out with regular weights.

 

Home Gym Maintenance
Maintaining a home gym is rather easy. Each exercise machine must be maintained as recommended by their manufacturer. This often includes lubrication, changing pulleys, cables, batteries and similar.
Good AC unit is required for keeping proper temperature and humidity levels. Be sure to regularly clean air filters on your AC unit, since filters decrease amount of dust and other airborne particles in the gym.
Strong vacuum cleaner with various cleaning attachments for reaching corners and tight areas is great thing to have. Such vacuums doesn't have to cost much and can be a general home vacuum, like ordinary Shark NV356e or any similar vacuum cleaner. Once a week, clean entire area and if you have time, clean the equipment with wet, disinfecting wipes. Maybe this sounds too much, but clean home gym is more pleasant environment for regular workouts than a dirty one.

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Metabolic Training: The Workout

Metabolic training is about getting the “biggest bang for your buck,” but is often misinterpreted as “work out until you puke.” The true definition of metabolic training is doing exercises that are geared toward improving the capacity of certain energy systems—in other words, almost anything! But metabolic training, in the traditional sense, is likened to interval training—bouts of harder work followed by important rest intervals. Metabolic training not only has the benefit of being fun and taking less time out of your day, but this type of training also increases one’s capacity for high-intensity exercise, offers a longer “after burn” (burn more calories AFTER your workout is finished), increases production of testosterone or growth hormone (helps maintain muscle mass while still burning calories), and enhances the ability to move more functionally.
So what should be one’s overall goal with metabolic training? Safely completing a large amount of work in a short amount of time.

The Workout

The exercises below use many muscle groups and can be very high intensity. To ensure safety, regressions are listed for each exercise. Be sure to respect the rest intervals so that the anaerobic energy systems are always challenged!
Warm-up: 30 seconds of each at an easy-to-moderate intensity:
-Body-weight Squats: Warm-up those hips by challenging your range of motion while squatting.
-Alternate Leg Runners Stretch With Opening: Open up your hip flexors and rotational muscles by placing both hands on the inside of your front leg in a deep lunge. Reach the outside hand toward the sky, trying to create as much distance from one hand to another, while continuing to hold the runner’s stretch.
-Arm Swings (Forward and Backward): Loosen up your shoulders for the pressing and pulling movements to come.
-Lateral Lunges: Begin in a wide stance with toes pointed forward. Place one hand directly on top of the other in front of your body to brace your core, and sink your hips side to side.
Workout: Perform each exercise for 30 seconds at the highest intensity you can safely maintain. Follow the exercise with a 30-second rest and then move onto the next movement. After your warm-up, the metabolic training workout will take 10 minutes. For more advanced levels this workout can be repeated twice after a five-minute rest break.
Squat Jump

While maintaining perfect squat posture, explode off of the ground with both feet, making sure your knees are bent upon landing. (Regression: speed squats with no jump)
Kettlebell or Dumbbell Renegade Row

Maintain a solid plank position (no saggy hips!) and create a wide base of support with your feet. Alternate rows from one side to another with minimal rotation. (Regression: perform a hand plank with arm and leg raises)
Lunge Switch Jumps

Lower down into a stable lunge with both knees bent to 90 degrees. Squeeze your glutes and explode off of the ground, landing in the opposite lunge position. Use your arms for added height and intensity. (Regression: alternating leg step-back lunges)
Kettlebell Single-arm Squat Push Press

Begin with kettlebell in racked position. Sink your hips down and back and then stand with intensity while thrusting the kettlebell straight up to the ceiling. Repeat on the other side after 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds of rest. (Regression: single-arm kettlebell or dumbbell press)
Kettlebell Hard Swings

Select a challenging yet safe weight and initiate your swing with the hips. Brace the core and squeeze the glutes on the top of the swing and maintain a good hip hinge on the bottom. (Regression: dumbbell straight-leg deadlift)
Medicine Ball Wood Chops

While lowering down to your squat, lower the medicine ball to the outside on your left knee. As you extend at the knees and hips, drive the medicine ball up to the right, bracing the core and squeezing the glutes on top to avoid an arched back. After 30 seconds on this side, rest for 30 and repeat on the other side. (Regression: seated medicine ball twists)
Skater Leaps

Push laterally off of the left foot and land on the right with a soft knee bend. If possible touch the floor with your left hand. Instantly explode off of the right foot onto the left with an immediate knee bend, touching the floor with the right hand. (Regression: side-step touches)
Battling Ropes Side Slams

Hold the battling ropes in an overhand grip, beginning on the left side of the body. Lift the ropes up and over an imaginary fence in front of you and slam them down on the right side of your body. Repeat in the other direction while maintaining a solid hip hinge.

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