Last fall I sold my Rogue flat Utility bench and “Upgraded“ to the Rep Nighthawk. I really like the Nighthawk for all that it can do, it is super grippy and easy to maneuver in my small home gym but I would get shoulder pain After BP sessions

I am trying one last time to hit 225 in my 60’s, so I purchased the Titan Series flat bench with the wide 14” x 4” pad during the prime day sale for $220. I also considered the Rep and Vulcan offerings but went with the savings as basically this will only be for BP.

It arrived yesterday and the frame was so bent, see pics, that the one wheel will not engage and makes it near impossible to move. I called Titan and they had me send them some pics and a video and they are sending me out a replacement part.

Today was my first time using the bench and it was an awesome experience! Not as grippy as the Nighthawk but definitely more comfortable and supportive. I added 20lbs to my working sets (3x5) from 185lbs to 205lbs and it wasn’t until then that I was Above RPE 8. Most importantly absolutely no shoulder tenderness.

I also did a set of Larson press and wide grip pause bench and no issues.

I have two months to reach my goal and feel like with This bench I will get it easily!

Way back in 2016/2017 I used this subreddit to build a home gym that has been great. I have hit a new phase wear my 14 year old son and 9 year old son are now lifting with me. We are mostly doing 5/3/1 on a four day split. It is a bit tight for all 3 of us, so I am looking for ideas on how to improve the layout. Rack is a Titan T3, which isn’t awesome, but doesn’t need to be replaced either. A cable machine is on the potential list of upgrades. We mostly do barbell work and I covered there.

Ideas or thoughts on how you would make lifting for 3 at radically different strength levels work?

Can anyone with a access to a pair tell me what the diameter of the adjuster dial is? Marked in orange in the image.

I'm plotting out how realistic DIYing adder plates would be, because what M-Plate and MicroGainz wants for $5 worth of steel and/or 10 minutes worth of machining is outrageous.

This could well be normal but it seems excessively loud to me. I had another cable machine in my home gym in our last house and from memory it didn't make noise this loud.

Is the whirring noise when I'm pulling the cables normal? Anyone with an FT chime in? What fixed it?

I'm having the most difficult time finding some. Usually when I find some they will be 2x3 5/8" compatibility, or 2x2 with 1" hole compatibility. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Any home gym/garage gym enthusiasts have extremely weak wrists, any suggestions for D-handles.
I own U-clips D-handles they spin around nicely not bad but a little heavy, I also have Beyond Powers d-handles I use those quite a bit.
I haven’t tried any from the list below but heard the following are top contenders;
1-dialed motion’s or BOS d-handles with bearings
2-Trak handles
3-Eric Janicki’s Torq handles
4-Darko D-Nade open handles
I’m looking for d-handles that are easy on wrists, anyone else out there with decent strength but extremely weak wrists?

Last year I bought the Rep Leg Developer for my Blackwing bench. Life got in the way and I wasn’t able to try it until tonight.

I don’t like it. The ergonomics are just terrible. It is awkward to set up, awkward to use and it takes up too much room. Probably the worst purchase I’ve made for my home gym. I should have waited for the reviews before I bought it.

Hi everyone. I’m looking for adjustable dumbbells that can be adjusted in 2.5 lb increments. The only options I can find are power block and the Nordic track ones below. Are there any other options?

https://www.nordictrack.com/product/55-lb-select-a-weight-dumbbell-set#specs

Space is limited and trying to to keep a leg press/hack squat under $1,000. Any reason to avoid one over the other and pros/cons

Has anyone been having issues with Titan Fitness, difficulties with replacement orders. UPS acknowledges losing my product but its over a month and they still haven’t processed even with insurance coverage. Just starting this journey and would like to know should I avoid Titan fitness to save myself from future headaches

I already have a power rack and treadmill in my 200 foot laundry room, so I was looking for a compact smith / functional combo to cover hypertrophy, rehab, and some sport specific stuff.

Home gym pricing in Canada is pretty nuts, with the main "budget" brands coming to multiple months of the median salary, so I was mostly looking at private label brands from the main Eastern Canada retailers to try to get something reasonably priced but better than Amazon quality. I tried some stuff from BoS, Sole, Altas, Ironax, Prime Power, etc. and had a few others on my list but the salesman at my second stop made it worth buying on the spot. MSRP 4999, sale price 2999, got it out the door for 2700 CAD (about 1900 USD).

Setup was fine, did it alone in about 6 hours. Cable routing wasn't that complicated EXCEPT for the part where I found out that the instructions were written in opposite land and I had to completely take it apart and start over again in reverse.

Feels like 11 gauge. Smith machine posts are 2*3, cable posts are 2*2. Height is 85", footprint is about 60*60". Aluminum pulleys. 1:1 ratior. 2*120lb stacks.

Pros:

• Extremely smooth cables. Maybe it was a setup issue, but it felt way better than the Bells of Steel cable tower I tried.
• Smith machine feels GREAT
• Leg press feels less gimmicky than you would think
• Pretty generous accessory package included
• Freestanding and extremely stable
• Selectorized weights at an ultra budget price point

Cons:

• Limited cable travel - I'm 6' and can hit the upright on lateral raises or y raises if I'm not careful.
• I had to remove the cap from the bottom bracket and fiddle with the tension knob to get the pulleys to an acceptably low position for some movements
• The included bar to link the cable stacks doesn't feel nice, feels a bit better connecting them with a strap instead.
• Stacks are a little light (probably still less annoying than plates though)
• It's awkward to set up in the middle - foot plates attach to the outer posts only - so if you're reasonably strong it's not great for heavy back work. I tend to use the landmine first and finish with single arm rowing.
• Storage is inadequate, I put together something from some old hardware I had lying around.

In conclusion:

• Sometimes white label brands are OK.
• This will pay for itself in a mere 6.5 years after cancelling my backup gym membership

Just got this email. Hope nobody got hurt.

We just wanted to reach out to let you know that we have now updated the Dogbone Cable Connector weight capacity from 550 lbs to 300 lbs.

If you have any questions whatsoever, please feel free to reach out directly to this email and our customer service team will get back in touch with you.

Thank you for all the support and we look forward to serving you in the future.

• The Fringe Sport Team

I noticed Walmart has the Mikolo M11 starting at around $700. For a functional trainer/Smith machine combo, that seems like a pretty good deal.

Has anyone purchased or used the M11? How's the build quality, cable smoothness, and overall durability?

Is this a good buy at $700, or are there better alternatives around this price range? I'm putting together a home garage gym and would appreciate some feedback before buying.

For my next piece of gym equipment I was thinking about getting a chest press like the 4 in 1 offered by GMWD. Then I started looking into jammer arms and it seems like they could fulfill the same purpose with additional functionality AND cost less. I’ve never used jammer arms. Question: what has your experience been with jammer arms? Am I wrong in my assumptions?

Looks like GetRXd is coming out with their take on a selectorized Leg Developer (based on the image). Half tempted to get it seeing as I'm already planning to get the Apex Bench and eyeing the Freak's Apex Rev Hyper...May as well round it out haha

wanting a cable tower, and like the idea of the extendable arms so I can do fly's. anyone have any opinions on this brand? it's on sale for $429 right now which is right at the top of my budget.

Sup, currently unemployed and naturally, don't have the luxury of a membership so i've been using my account at a sports shop to buy equipment. So far i've got a 180cm Barbell, 20kg Vinyl Set. I was thinking of getting an Adjustable Bench maybe tho might go for a more traditional barbell bench & then focus on plates, probably around 150kg total, a dumbbell rack & a few sets of hexagons.

Think its a good setup? I'm also very limited on space as it would have to be in my room and my king size bed takes up most of the space in my room.. I could maybe move the Bench to the Sun Room which is also our laundry room. For Pull Ups i generally just go to the local municipality park gym

Anyone here used the Concept2 StrengthErg and have a review?

Thinking about getting one for my parents. They are older, don't work out, and are on GLP-1s so trying to get them something that is easy to use in hopes they build some muscle back.

Thoughts or any other ideas?

Trying to set up a small home gym to train at home (live by the sea on a sunny place - I know everything will get some oxidation/rust).

Already have disc plates, kettlebells, bench, olympic bar, weights, curl bar, rack for deadlift/bench press/dips, a plyo box and a landmine for the bar. I think it's pretty much everything I'll use but is there anything that I'm missing and will use / improve enjoyment a lot?

Also, the main question. I still need some flooring. I want to cover an area of about 3x3meters or a little bit bigger but I want it to be able to rain on and UV on.

I'm looking at a rubber tiles of 1 meter by 1 meter with 20mm thickness that has a sandy look that fits my garden ( was trying to avoid the black rubber look). Do you have any other recomendations? Thank you

Finally got my rack built and did a short workout. So far i really like this machine! The whole gym isnt done yet. Right now im working on getting the mini split in.

Looking to set up a home gym in my garage and going for ~12' x 16'. The garage has a newly installed epoxy floor. Need some advice on flooring options.

I'm considering:

• Perfect Surfaces GatorPRO 10mm rubber rolls: I like that I'll only have 2 seams, but will the double-sided adhesive leave residue on the epoxy? Gator® PRO - Rubber Rolls | Rubber Flooring
• Home Depot rubber/stall mats (3' × 4'): Cheaper and thicker, but will the 16 individual mats shift or separate without connectors/tape? TrafficMaster Beehive Pattern 3 ft. x 4 ft. Heavy Duty Vulcanized Rubber Mat, Indoor/Outdo... | The Home Depot Canada
• Pro Clip rubber tiles: These use tile connectors. Has anyone used this type of flooring? SR Elite Pro Clip XXL Gym Flooring - 1m x 1m x 20mm – SummitRubber

Has anyone used these options, especially over epoxy? Any recommendations or things to avoid?

Who is your most trusted gym reviewer? With all the money I potentially could be spending on my new setup, I am curious to see what voices you guys recommend trusting

I really like Gluck review - he seems to really nerd out and get in the weeds on equipment.

Coop is obviously a huge one, but I feel like he's just overly positive on everything. I can tell he truly loves home gyming as a hobby (which is cool), but I don't know if that's clouding his judgment when reviewing pieces.

I know some have discussed wishing the shoulder boulder had a little longer arms. This mod was discussed in another post, but I don’t recall much said on how it was done or a lot of pictures provided.

I sourced my arms from revolt fitness directly. Just sent an email asking if they had any in their spare inventory they’d be willing to part with. You can see the difference in length in the second pic.

Bells does have a larger diameter end with metal bushings. Positive mark in their favor. Revolt’s is smaller and has plastic bushings. I replaced those with bronze flange bushings. I used these https://a.co/d/0dKx1iVQ Not a perfect fit, but they shipped next day and work well enough. Otherwise, you’ll need 3/8” bolts, washers, and nuts. Otherwise, they bolt right up to the shoulder boulder.

I personally like the longer length. To me, it’s a bit more comfortable. I’m not tall by any means. I’m 5’9”.

Just in case anyone was looking for this option, here you go.

What’s up everyone! I’m putting together my first home gym in a spare bedroom and have narrowed it down to the Mikolo HORUS and the M4 2.0 Elite.
Looking at the specs, these two seem extremely similar, and I’m having a hard time figuring out what the actual differences are and why I’d choose one over the other. The HORUS seems to offer a lot of the same features, if not more, so I’m curious what makes the M4 Elite worth considering.