HOLIDAY
GIFT GUIDE
GIVE THEM A GIFT THEY’LL LOVE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON by John Greaves III 1
Gift Shopping Tips for People Who Know People Who Are Home Gym Owners It’s almost that time of year again when people search frantically for last minute gifts for people they know. If one of those people happens to be a home gym owner, I promise that they’d love to get something for their gym. Unfortunately, gift ideas for home gym owners isn’t something you can Google (I’ll prove that later in this article) and if you’re not a home gym owner yourself, you’re either a loss about what to do or you’re reading this because someone who IS a home gym owner shared this with you, so take this as an intervention of sorts. I asked our contributors as well as the prominent home gym equipment reviewers for gift ideas and their responses are below. They’re separated according to whether you’re shopping for a new home gym owner, someone who is adding to an existing home gym or someone who uses their home gym to train others. Joe Gray Moderator of r/Home Gym on Reddit and founder of the Garage Gym Competition on Instagram Beginners I’d grab bands. Isell Fitness has some cool ones with the pounds listed on them :
Someone who already has the basics: Wall control Peg Boards Without a doubt these are the easiest way to expand your gym options, clean up storage, and upgrade the look and of your gym.
I have a blog post where I recap my experience with this after a year of use and the recommended parts/ pieces I think you should get when you purchase yours. Read that here. Backup Option Micro Gainz plates. My wife uses them regularly for her percentage bases programming, and my daughter uses them all the time when she decides to lift weights.
Backup Option Bands from literally any other retailer. EliteFTS also has bands and a chart showing the different pound equivalents.
Shawn Donaldson Host of the Strength and Leadership podcast and founder of the Morning Lifter blog as well as Bare Steel Equipment 2
Beginners PowerBlock Dumbbells When I reflect back on creating my gym, there were three basic things I bought. A half power rack, a barbell with weights, and PowerBlock Dumbbells. They are still one of the original pieces of equipment from over 4 years ago when I started. It shows the durability and how important they are in my own training. The space saving ability and the options for other handle attachments makes this my number one choice for someone in a gym - especially if you are limited on space.
than the bigger brand name bars. The bar is rated at 190,000 tensile PSI and you can select Cerakote sleeves or silver. They are also made in the USA.
Currently, PowerBlock is experiencing high order volume, so these may be more difficult to find direct. However, Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace have many options for someone looking in a pinch. Read my review on them here.
Someone who already has the basics: BATL Cerakote Bar The BATL Cerakote Bar is a great choice for someone either looking to upgrade an old barbell or looking for their first. The knurling is strong and provides solid whip. The color options are also very extensive, and the bar is already cheaper than most of the cerakote bars you will find. These bars are usually completed in 2-3 weeks but are also in constant production and have become more readily available
Adjustable Lever/Jammer Arms Available from Bells of Steel Lever or Jammer arms have become my most used accessory item lately. These are a must have to any power rack and can double or triple the amount of usable work within the same footprint of your power rack. Some examples of what you can perform with adjustable lever arms include: * belt squats * shoulder press * chest press * leg press * leg extension/curl * rows To see how I use my own set of lever arms, check out my lever arm tutorials here.
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Babatunde Awoyinka Fitness writer
stock, IronMind Enterprises.
Beginners An appropriately sized kettlebell you can find these on Amazon and in the beginning brand doesn’t really matter. Once a person becomes more experienced, they’ll start to identify their favorite brands. Back Up Any type of storage solution, hooks/hangers, barbell holder, plate tree Someone who already has the basics: Plate loadable pulling sled
If You’re Training Others Gym clock with remote, stop watch, built in programs like Tabatas (I have a generic one off of Amazon) Back Up Option: lots of bands or warm up tools (foam rollers, mats, lacrosse balls, etc) Mat Woods Powerlifter/Online coach Here are my top two picks for a gift wish list for home gym owners:
Back Up Option Carrying implement preferably loadable farmers walk handles (or sandbag, heavy slam ball). You can find some sandbags at Rogue Fitness or if they’re out of 4
Beginners Duffalo Bar made by Kabuki. Not too specialized of a bar, this bar can be used for squats, good mornings, presses, loaded carries, and the list goes on. Next to a traditional power bar, this should be the next bar on the wall.
something for everyone at every budget and footprint consideration. For someone with a Barbell set and a rack, I’d recommend an adjustable bench for a variety or pushing and pulling movements I personally really like all of Rep Fitness’ adjustable bench offerings. High quality and pretty feature-rich at good prices. The Zero Gap AB-5000 is particularly good if you care about the decline position. (these have a 21 day shipping delay so put in your order ASAP to make sure the bench gets to the lucky recipient on time!) Honorable Mention I’ll throw an unconventional tool in there and say the Sanddune stepper. Very versatile and doesn’t take up much space. Great for rehab, prehab, conditioning, strength prep, and sensory. Someone who already has the basics: Posterior Chain Developer made by EliteFTS. This machine takes the place of several separate pieces that are typically found in some home gyms. Replaces the following pieces GHR, back extension, leg curl machine, and more. The variations are endless with this machine! Adam Hensley Founder of the Garage Gym Lab blog For the home gym owner who seems to have it all For someone who has a complete setup, I’d recommend a cable piece of some kind to add more variety. Body-Solid, Powertec and Rogue Fitness all sell versions of this product and each of these brands has a solid reputation. The Rogue Fitness version is available either as a standalone piece or as a version that can be mounted to a power rack. Someone who already has the basics: For someone who has a bar and some plates, I’d recommend a rack of some kind, be it a squat stand, half rack, or full rack depending on space and budget. With so many options out there, there’s
Before You Go Here’s What NOT to Get Remember when I said, not to Google home gym gifts? The list of mediocre gift ideas below is why. It’s not that these gifts are as bad as an ugly tie, it’s that a serious home gym owner is likely to just smile politely and set your gift down to gather dust. Wireless Headphones This is a perfect gift for a person who doesn’t have a workout buddy and one who workouts to music. Verdict: This would make sense if the person you’re shopping for works out in a public gym. Unless your 5
home gym person normally works out at a time when they don’t want to disturb the rest of the house, they’re likely to just turn on some Bluetooth speakers since picking your own music is a perk of having a home gym. Fitness Tracker This gift is perfect for home gym owners who like to document their training. When buying the tracker, put into consideration the lifestyle of the person. For instance, if the person likes weightlifting or running on a treadmill, find a device that can track those activities. You can also find one that is water-resistant, has a music player, and also sends notifications. Verdict: Not too bad. But a gym timer would be a LOT better! A Stay-Put Waist Belt for Those Who Are Always Near the Phone A waist belt is ideal for home gym owners who always bring their phones with them. Whether it’s for making emergency calls or texting a workout buddy. The running belt should be water-resistant and stretchy to fit keys and a large cell phone. Verdict: Again, this is advice for someone who ISN’T at home. I don’t need a stretchy belt to hold my phone if I’m in my own house. There are shelves all over the place or I can just set it on the floor since I don’t have to worry about anyone taking it. A Personal Blender for Those Who Love Smoothies Getting healthy is a combination of eating right and exercising. Making smoothies can make eating healthy, more fun, and home gym owners can enjoy the benefits of having a personal blender. Verdict: I might like a blender, but I’d LOVE a new kettlebell or a gym banner from my favorite brand. A Water Bottle You cannot go wrong with a water bottle because hydration is the key to a healthy life. There are many designs that you can choose from. Some keep hot drinks for twelve hours and cold beverages for twenty-four hours. Verdict: You can DEFINITELY 6
go wrong with a water bottle for someone who probably already has A TON of them lying around! Even if your home gym person doesn’t already have several water bottles, it’s not because they’ve always wanted one but just couldn’t find the right one at Wal-mart. Don’t give water bottles as gifts to someone who can just grab a cup from the kitchen which is likely only a room or two away. Jumping Ropes Jumping is good for toning and burning calories. This gift will help the person improve his/her balance and coordination. When choosing the rope, find one that is compact, easy to use, and adjustable. Verdict: Maybe. But since your home gym person is likely training on a hard garage floor, they’d probably prefer a set of Battle Ropes which are also good for burning calories but don’t bring sore calves, and the risk of ruptured Achilles tendons along with them. Cooling Towel This is ideal for those who exercise and live in hot environments. It is made of evaporative materials to absorb water and for the person to stay fresh for extended periods. The cooling towel will lower the body temperature of the person during workouts. Verdict: So will buying them a fan for their home gym and so will them going in the bathroom and just taking a shower after their workout since they are after all, at home. Headbands There is nothing worse for a fitness enthusiast than having sweat roll down into their eyes during a training session. It makes them lose concentration; it isn’t very pleasant and causes eyes to burn. This is why headbands are ideal gifts for both men and women who are into fitness. Verdict: The Seventies called because they want their headband back. it isn’t very pleasant and causes eyes to burn. This is why headbands are ideal gifts for both men and women who are into fitness. Verdict: The Seventies called because they want their headband back.
Quick and Easy Gift Ideas to Buy for People Who Are Home Gym Owners By John Greaves III Gifts are an essential part of developing loving and healthy relationships. Giving the right gifts shows how much you understand and care for your loved ones. Most people when they think of a home gym think of the weights and other gym equipment but they often forget about all of the little things that make home gym ownership easier over the long haul. Below are some of the best, often overlooked, gift ideas for home gym owners, most of which you can find at your local home supply or electronics store. If you decide to go with the online gifts, remember to order them in advance. Last-minute orders may take longer to arrive, or you may find that the items are out of stock especially as people scramble to find fitness equipment during lockdown quarantines.
have a workout buddy and for one who works out to music. Bluetooth speakers allow you to lose the headphones which is important if you want to keep an ear out for the kids in the next room but still enjoy your music. You need to decide what you need in a Bluetooth speaker based upon what sort of home gym it is (indoor or outdoor, barn vs garage, etc.) and go from there. Amazon carries a wide variety of Bluetooth speakers, but the important things to remember are durability (what if a weight hits it, water proof, what if a drink spills on it and dust resistance if it’s going to be in a garage, shed or barn).
Buy Locally Whiteboard This gift is perfect for home gym owners who like to document their training. Of course, many people prefer to use apps that include the entire workout but a whiteboard is still nice because it allows you to glance up to find out how many reps, sets you have left as well as what’s coming up next. That’s a big deal if you’re doing a circuit style workout where you’re doing multiple exercises in a row. You can find simple whiteboards at the local school supply store or on Amazon.com ranging in price from $22 to $57 with free Prime shipping included.
Wireless Bluetooth Speakers This is a perfect gift for both a person who doesn’t 7
GEARS
garage, a space heater is a BIG deal! The garage especially is prone to drafts from the cracks around garage doors. A relatively small space heater can make the difference between skipping a workout because it’s too chilly and sticking to your exercise routine during the winter months. Space heaters can be electric, kerosene or propane so check your state and local ordinances to see which are allowed in your area before purchasing a heater. You also want to make sure that you have one that won’t tip easily, especially if you have young children or dogs. Buy Online
Leaf Blower A leaf blower doesn’t often come to mind but if your loved one has a gym in their garage, barn or back porch, they will very quickly learn to hate leaves in the Fall. Even if you live in an area that doesn’t have a lot of leaf fall, like say, Nevada, they can still use it to help keep the dust at a minimum. There’s nothing like rolling up the garage door and just blowing the dust and leaves outside before a good workout session!
Space Heater For home gym owners who train in a basement or 8
Wall Timer Home gym workouts can be huge time savers but with so many home gym owners training in the morning before work or on their lunch hour for telecommuters, a wall timer allows you to workout and keep track of time. The best ones also give you the ability to time your rest periods, and they’re great for something like a boxing or kickboxing workout because they’ll keep track of your round as well as your rest period and how many rounds you’ve done. Popular brands include: Rogue Fitness which now has a Home version of their Echo Timer, and Gymboss. The attractive thing about Gymboss timers is the clip on some of their models which make them portable enough to take outside if you’re running intervals or other cardio based workouts.
Weck Method RMT Ropes Jumping rope is good for toning and burning calories. Unfortunately, it’s not very knee friendly. RMT ropes are growing in popularity because they offer a great, low impact way to burn calories in a small space without requiring any jumping. There are several free tutorials available on YouTube and elsewhere. You could make your own rope by grabbing some rope from the local home supply store, but premade ropes are high quality and may be more durable. This gift will help improve his/her balance and coordination. We like the ropes from Weck Method because they’re cost effective and the perfect thickness, to not beat you up while you’re getting the hang of rolling.
Garage Door Screen This is another thing that most home gym owners overlook. If you workout in your garage in the
summer, you’re likely to have the garage doors rolled up to keep it cool and that means your loved one is bound to have mosquitos and other flying pests coming in through your open garage door. Anyone who thinks is isn’t a big deal should experience getting stung by a bee or bitten by a mosquito when you’re already sweating your way through a tough workout. Not fun. So, a garage door screen is an easy way to keep the doors open and the bugs outside! We’ve been using the LIAMST Life Magnetic Door Screen for Double Garage Doors which retails for $55.98 on Amazon the last time we checked. It’s reinforced fiberglass with a magnetic center closure so it snaps close after someone walks through it. Takes about 15 minutes to hang the first time, about two minutes to put up and take down each day or you can just leave it up. This is a gift that your loved one will thank you for multiple times this summer! Get it on Amazon.
Spud, Inc. Econo Triceps, Lat and Low Pulley Combo At $206 this combo is a great replacement for most of the cable machines at the local public gym. A home gym owner can use this combination for too many exercises to list here. It should say something that not only do most home gym owners include some sort of cable attachment, whether DIY or the original product from Spud, in their home gym. You could purchase these separately but that’s not very cost effective because your loved one will find that they need to do less rigging if they have everything all at once. Get it on the Spud, Inc website.
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How I Built the World’s Best Backyard Gym It took a bunch of years, forty to be exact, but my little piece of heaven, Plate City Gym, is a marvel to behold, and it is all mine. I did not set out to build the world’s best backyard gym. But that is what I did. Let me tell you about it and how it came to be. A Long Time Ago . . . My obsession with weightlifting equipment began in 1969 when I was thirteen years old (to save you the math, I am 64 years old). That was the year my dad gave me a 110lb Roberts Barbell weight set. I still have every plate of that original set. From the start, I loved the sound of metal clanking against metal. I loved the flexibility of changing weights and exercises, of lifting when and as long and hard as I wanted. When I left home at the age of 20, I took my clothes and that weight set. My first job was working for a pest control company and occasionally I would come across a set 10
of weights piled loosely under a carport. When I did, I always asked if the homeowner wanted to sell them. The answer was almost always yes. A twenty dollar bill was usually enough to make the purchase and to secure their help loading them with a smile on their face. During the early 1980s, my coworkers and I lifted in a little 13 x 15 building behind my house. There was hardly enough room for the three of us to turn around in there, but we enjoyed it and lifted hard. We started calling the place Plate City Gym because I had acquired so many weight plates. It was during this time I learned that the local company, Leflore Steel, would sell us cold roll steel bars at any length we desired. They would even weld stops on them. So the collection continued. The Down Years and a New Beginning In 1986, I answered the call to preach and went back
to school before beginning my career as a teacher/ pastor in 2004. I dusted off my weights and begin lifting again even though I was now overweight and my workout partners from the ’80s had all gone their separate ways. It took a while, but the next level for Plate City and my fitness began when one of my community college coworker joined a gym and offered to sell me his weight set. I jumped at the chance, and for the first time in my life, I owned a set Olympic weights! The novelty of the new weights added a boost to my workouts, a pattern that I noticed over the years. Whenever I acquired something new, I could not wait to get to the gym and try it out. Not long after that, I discovered Play It Again Sports in Jackson, Mississippi. Play It Again Sports quickly became my favorite, because they sell used workout equipment. My wife and I take a trip from the delta to Jackson several times a year to shop, eat out, and just get away from home. That’s how I Every time we made the Jackson trip, I always purchased a few pair of plates at nominal costs. Besides plates, I bought bars,tubing, dumbbells, kettlebells and battle ropes form Play It Again Sports. I was in there so much, they called me by name when I walked through the door, but they always left me alone to rummage through the weight plates. Every time I purchased something new for the gym, I found that my lifting was charged with a new enthusiasm. Since I worked out alone, anything that kept me juiced up was worth a few dollars in my view.
A local school here in Greenwood, Mississippi was upgrading their weight room last year, and they filled the back of my truck up with weights. “Twenty bucks,” the man who loaded me said. Feeling guilty at such a low price, I gave him forty. He then asked, “You want some mats?” I got a few free mats. Meanwhile, Leflore Steel was steadily building me stuff. They built attachments, an offset bar for extended range bench presses, a Swiss bar, and welded barbells in five pound increments from 30 to 75 pounds. Finally, I had to just stop looking at Facebook Market Place because I not only had all I needed, but I had way more than I had a place to put them. They covered the ground of our backyard, and filled an outbuilding.
The First Explosion I thought Play It Again was the bomb until Facebook Market Place came out. Have mercy, have I found some things there. One morning, I answered an ad and came home with 450 pounds of plates at the cost of only a few dollars. I secured a lat pull down/Smith machine through Facebook, a heavy duty leg press/ hack squat machine, a bench and a rack, and a seated calf raise machine. Also, I picked up some 100 pound plates, a safely squat bar, benches, and change plates out the wazoo.
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The Second Explosion The second explosion came as I found out about Titan Fitness. Like many people today, I have become somewhat taken with the sport of strongman. Titan offers the person like me, who has a limited budget, the opportunity to acquire things I could never get any other way. From Titan, I purchased an eight-inch log, a Husafell stone, a slam ball, a reverse hyper machine, a duck walk apparatus, and farmers walk handles. I especially love the farmers walk handles, and I hope to write an article on that in the future. The New Home For years, I lifted outdoors, on grass. The little building that housed the original Plate City, got turned into an office when I began to preach and to work on a PhD. Lifting outdoors is OK, except when it rains. There are other problems to boot: cold, heat, mosquitoes, and lighting. About a year ago, my wife and I began looking for a new home. Our house was old, in need of lots of repairs, and the neighborhood had deteriorated and was steadily getting worse. To my surprise, one of the requirements my wife set out was that the new house had to have a backyard big enough to house Plate City. She even suggested that I pour a slab and cover it with one of those portable carport tops. Cha-ching! Thank you, Jesus! On the first day of May 2020, we closed on our new home. Slowly we moved in and made the changes we wanted to create the place we could live out the rest of our lives in. I hired a worker who built an eight-foot privacy fence and put in a 20 x 25 slab. I would have gone larger, but that was what I could afford. Then I got the top put on it. The Current Inventory Currently, Plate City has a hack squat/leg press machine, standing and seated calf raise machines, two benches, a rack, a Viking press, a deadlift station, a squat rack, dumbbells for 5 to 65 pounds, welded barbells from 30 to 75 pounds, a keg, a duck walk apparatus, a 100 pound slam ball, kettle bells, farmers walk handles, a log, a ton of Olympic plates, a reverse 12
hyper machine, and a ton of one-inch plates. In addition to that, I have two sleds, one home made from a tire and one made of iron by Leflore Steel and an eighteen wheeler tire for flipping and hitting with a sledge hammer. Also, I have a treadmill, and Swiss bar, three Olympic bars, and a TRX system. But, you protest, your weights are a little light. Dumbbells only to 65? Hey, I am not a body builder, and I am not a powerlifter. I am a small man, an old man, and I’m an endurance athlete. All the gym stuff is for general health, enjoyment, and cross training for marathon swimming. Now I can work out in the rain. I was recently counselled to close the gym in and add an air unit, but what I have is what I could pay for. As far as the heat and the cold go, I have always dealt with that. Besides, this is such an upgrade that I am as happy as a dead pig in the sunshine. I have not seen a better backyard gym on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. I have a solid and level slab under my feet instead of uneven grass and dog doodoo. I am protected from the sun. (In the Mississippi summer sun, bars and plates can get so hot you can’t touch them.) I am sheltered from the rain. There is no reason that weather can make me miss a session of lifting unless a tornado come along. The first thing people ask when they see my Plate City is, “How much money do you have in all this?” My answer is, “I do not know.” I don’t, but it is not as much as it looks because I got so much of it at rock bottom prices. Besides that, I would rather
spend money on toys that keep me healthy that to spend it on medicine because my health is failing. At 64, I am thankful that I do not have a single prescription. Lessons What can be learned from the world’s best backyard gym? One lesson is that small changes add up over time. For forty years, I have been building this gym sometimes a single pair of weight plates at a time. Now the collection is truly impressive. Another lesson is that your health and mine is worth the investment. Don’t be afraid, or feel guilty for investing in your body. If you don’t you will be paying the physician and pharmacist instead. All my friends my age do exactly that. And finally, if you build your own gym, a pandemic will have little to no effect on your ability to work out. I never gloated during the COVID-19 shutdown, but I was awfully relieved that I owned my own gym that no one could close. If you are ever in Greenwood, Mississippi, look me up. You can work out with me free of charge in the world’s best backyard gym. I will even take you out to sample some of the local cuisine.
We have some places here that have been featured on the Food Network. Good gym, good food, good company. What’s not to like? Zane Hodge is a 64-year old endurance athlete from Greenwood,Mississippi, who along with Pee Wee, a 25 pound Mountain Feist, owns and operates Plate City Gym. He teaches Bible along with Film, English Composition and Literature at Mississippi Delta Community College. His hobbies include swimming, running, and lifting weights. Follow him on Instagram @zaned.hodge and YouTube at EndangeredSwimmer, Zane Hodge
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