What’s good guys? 12/14 we kick into WBF Season V: 73024752 which is going to be the craziest shit we’ve ever done here. Somehow in 2019 I had the foresight (read: dumb luck) of outfitting my homegym before all of this crazy lockdown shit. To those of you who lift in commercial gyms, I’m praying you guys can continue to get in there and kill it. Today’s article is for anyone who has built or is considering building a homegym. It isn’t just buying gym equipment and stuffing it into the garage. You see a lot of videos and articles about the pros of a homegym, but there are cons.
Just because you’re lifting at home doesn’t mean we attack the season any differently. We are still expected to all our lifts. We are still expected to do the cardio (DO THE CARDIO!) We are still expected to get in that gorilla walk mode. In fact, I’ve actually found that when you have a homegym, you have to get yourself in the zone MORE than if you were going to a commercial gym.
When you get up at 4 am, drive or walk to the gym, by the time you get there its on. You’re there anyway, get the most of it. When I first started out lifting at home, things were very much the same, but over time you can slack off. That couch is calling your name after you’ve been killing yourself. Not having to change, throw on a coat and drive to get back “home” can be a real test. Hell, even just waking up to your alarm in the morning, you have the choice of staying in bed for an hour, or lifting. Just because your commute is down the stairs to the garage, doesnt mean you get to sleep in. Sure you’re tired and its 4 am and you’re going to be groggy. What I do is I wake up, piss, brush teeth and get my gym clothes on. Next to I sit in my kitchen and down 32oz of water. I find that this knocks the cobwebs of sleep loose enough to get me pumped to go lift. In a sense I’m creating the “commute” time I would have had if I went to a commercial gym.
Another aspect to consider is that a gym should be open, clutter free and clean feeling. If you have a ton of crap in your garage or basement where your power rack is, its not going to make you want to lift there. I carved out half of a 2 car garage for my gym. No boxes, kids stuff or anything go on that side. Its for lifting and cardio. Its my area and I keep it nice and clean. Yes, I wipe dust off the plates. Yes I touch up chipped paint on my bench. Its important to have things in a nice, clean, working order to get you to want to be in there.
Now that i’ve primed you on the shit qualities of having a homegym, I can talk about some of the benefits. Obviously right now, I’m not affected by the lockdowns. I dont have to wear a mask in my garage. A con was how easy the commute was, but its also a pro. Not needing to fire up the car to go lift is great. I dont have to share or wait for equipment, and if there is something specific I want, I just get it. Overall, having the iron accessible to me all the time hasnt really changed how I lift. I set time to do it, just like before and get it done. Another pro is the investment itself. You own all of this equipment, so not using it will eat away at you
I’m not trying to sway you one way or the other. The weight in the garage and commercial gym both weigh the same. (except bumper plates, fuck you bumper plates) You can build a physique the exact same way in both places. Where you lift matters less then how committed you are to making yourselves into gods.
-J. Nyx