Progressively Building a Killer At-Home Weightlifting Gym

The key to building muscle boils down to forming a consistent habit. The equipment can be helpful but having the perfect set up in the beginning shouldn’t be a show-stopper. Here’s a quick guide to building from essentials to a complete set up for a home gym.

The idea here is to slowly buy over time so you don’t break the bank, you learn what you want to get out of lifting, and you prove to yourself you can adopt a lifelong habit. Too many people have a giant pile of unused costly equipment taking up space.

I’m a big fan of Facebook Marketplace, Amazon Warehouse, and using Slickdeals to just watch for deals and grab as they happen.

Philosophy of Building Muscle

I really think the more classic lifting philosophy with simple time-tested movements is best. Really focus on the big 4 compound lifts: squat, bench, overhead press, and deadlift. There are useful “accessory” exercises (e.g. bicep curls or tricep pushdowns) but there probably aren’t more than 20-30 total exercise movements you need. Frankly sometimes I just involve them to keep things interesting and fun.

I would aim to lift 2-4 times a week. Consistency beats intensity every time.

If you are a highly disciplined person and can set a day / time and stick to it you can fly solo. Most people don’t have that capacity. Having a lifting partner is a great idea for accountability and sticking to it long term.

You should learn the concept of progressive overload and with every session aim to either add more weight, more reps, or a harder / more stimulating variation. Track what you lift!

Besides just failing on the consistency front most people fail to progress because they don’t push themselves hard enough. You have to learn to appreciate the pain of pushing close to failure. Without the muscle being stimulated to rebuild you will not add muscle. Sounds simple but people forget that and take the easy route.

You don’t need fancy diets or supplements. However, getting enough protein is key – ideally you need to get 0.7-1grams of protein per pound of body weight to support good muscle growth, but don’t stress it. Using whey protein to supplement your protein levels can be helpful but again, don’t obsess. At some point Creatine may be useful to aid the journey but that and all the supplements are totally useless if you don’t have a solid rhythm built. Don’t let them be a distraction. They are a helpful aid and not required.

1. Dumbbells ($250-500)

We’ve previously written on the multitude of excellent exercises you can do with just dumbbells. There are exercises like benchpress, squat, and deadlift that all have fantastic dumbbell equivalents. Starting out you’re not likely going to outgrow the benefits and need the barbell equivalent for 6 months to 1.5 years (depending on how much you train.

I prefer dedicated dumbbells verse adjustable. Find a nice set off Facebook Marketplace or you can get something like a set of Hex Rubber dumbbells from Walmart or Costco, maybe even with a rack included. More on that in our article on dumbbells.

$1/lb is a good deal. To start I would get pairs in: 15,20,25,30,35 at a minimum. That would be 250lb.

2. Bench ($100-200)

3. Rubber Mats ($60-120)

Working on just on a hard surface like concrete is brutal over the long run. Get something that can help cushion just a bit.

The most popular option are the 4×6 horse stall mats from Tractor Supply. They can usually be had new for $40-50 each. At 3/4″ thick they offer plenty of cushion. I would encourage hosing them off and letting them air outside for several days. The initial rubber smell is strong.

Avoid the soft puzzle foam pieces as those tend not to hold up over time and give too much cushion. There are more durable puzzle variations that may work, you just don’t want something spongey.

4. Bar ($40-250)

Numbers 4,5,6 on this list are closely tied together. You can get some benefit buying them slowly separated by time but ideally these are all bought close together because they all need each other to do the big compound lifts.

You need an Olympic bar. These usually weigh 45 lb. They are made to hold weight plates with 2″ diameter hole.

It may be tempting to go with the cheaper 1″ diameter “Standard” bar and weight plates but this isn’t a great path longterm. Much harder to deadlift with.

You can find a cheap bar on Amazon or Walmart for $40-60. CAP, BalanceFrom, or HulkFit are good value brands in general.

A high quality bar can be in the $200-400 range. At some point this might be a nice upgrade but I’d say prove to yourself you are in it for the long haul first. Rogue has the “Boneyard” with discounted bars but they are still around $200.

I’d go for a bar with a minimum weight limit of 600lb. Not that you will lift that much but once you start getting into the high 200lbs the bar will have a pretty distinct bend to it when you lift otherwise.

5. Olympic Weight Plates ($250-500)

This is one of these categories where you could get a small set and buy more weight as you start to max out what you have. 250lb is a good starting set, 370 would be better.

Go for rubber ones, not iron. It is much easier to deadlift with them.

If you have the money, Rogue and Rep are two really good brands for plates but there are some nice basic options from BalanceFrom / Walmart (see Slickdeals).

6. Squat Rack / Cage ($200-400)

The squat rack / cage becomes the heart of your gym. It is the platform from which you: squat, benchpress, overhead press, do pull-ups and dips, and then can add accessories to like cable machines for pull downs.

I’m a big fan of this squat rack from HulkFit / BalanceFrom (same company I believe). It is a great value-priced option in the $200 range that you can add to over time. It is the minimum I would go in terms of solidness. Don’t bother with anything flimsier or without 4 posts.

Sometimes you can buy this as a complete package with items 7 and 8 below already part. That is nice and may give you a small discount over buying separate but the initial cost is higher.

If space is at a premium, there are some really neat cage options out there that fold against a wall like this SharkTank one or these ones from Rogue. The downside will be they are usually pricier and you normally can’t add options 7. and 8. below.

7. Pull Down Cable Machine + Accessories ($130-250)

This is an add-on to your squat rack. It will allow you to do movements like: lat pulldowns, tricep pushdowns, curl variations, and back-building cable row variations.

You can use the Olympic plates on this to dial in the resistance. Another good reason for an abundance of plates.

You’ll also need some handles to go with it but sets can be found fairly cheaply on Amazon. I’d buy handles like these:

8. Cable Crossover Accessory ($250)

This one is getting into un-needed / luxury territory. At this point you may have been lifting for a few years. Its primary use is cable crossovers for building the chest. It can help replace or be an alternate to the more risky flys on a bench.

Again, you can use the Olympic plates on this to dial in the resistance.

Bonus items

Final Word

That was a lot to digest! Just start at the top though and think of this as a long haul endeavor.

If you take the low-end costs of everything I listed (including bonus items) it only comes out to about $1600. If you consider a gym membership is usually $50 / month, and then the cost and time for travel, the investment cost pays for itself in about 3 years. I’d even recommend spreading these purchases roughly over 3 years. At the end of acquiring it all you get to keep it and it even still retains value if you ever sell any!