Home gym
A private training space at home, from a garage rack to a fully equipped room
Weights, racks and cardio machines kept where you live. No drive, no queue for a bench, no audience. A session that starts a minute after you decide on it tends to happen, which is why people build one for consistency as much as privacy. Setups run from a bar and plates in a garage to rooms that rival commercial gyms.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Cal NewportDoes it
Computer science professor · author of Deep Work
Weights go in the garage gym the family built during COVID, 45 to 50 minutes before dinner. He calls it a psychological handover from work to family time, and says the fixed slot forces him to stop working on time.
Source: Huberman Lab podcast transcript: Cal Newport - Chris BumsteadDoes it
Bodybuilder · Six-time Classic Physique Mr. Olympia
His private gym runs to roughly 3,000 square feet, and he walked through the whole thing on camera in April 2024. There is no flat or incline bench press in it; the power rack covers those lifts. He said he wanted the room to feel like a real gym rather than equipment crammed into a space, and framed the spend as money put into something that makes life better.
Source: BarBend: Chris Bumstead Gives a Full Tour of His Personal Gym - Cristiano RonaldoDoes it
Footballer · Portugal captain and five-time Ballon d'Or winner
Trained through the 2020 lockdown in a gym at home and shared video of a session in May that year. Goal, writing from what he posted, says he had a home gym and specialist equipment there, and names dumbbells, a leg extension machine and an exercise bike among the kit.
Source: Goal: Cristiano Ronaldo in lockdown, training, haircut and diet - Dwayne JohnsonDoes it
Actor and former WWE champion · The Rock
Trains in a private gym he calls the Iron Paradise, and confirmed to Oprah that a 40,000-pound mobile version travels with him to film sets. He calls the gym his anchor and the place he finds solitude. To Esquire, via Men's Health, he added that his gyms are hot, sweaty and dirty and rarely have a bathroom, which is his explanation for the water bottles.
Source: WW: Oprah's 2020 Vision Tour with Dwayne Johnson, full transcript - Sam SulekDoes it
Bodybuilder and YouTuber · Spring Bulk gym vlogs
His garage holds a hack squat, sled leg press, pendulum hip press, Arsenal chest and pullover machines, a cable station and a stationary bike, with kit stacked on scaffolding to make it fit. The leg corner he calls the dungeon.
Source: Fitness Volt: Sam Sulek Reveals Inside Look at His Private Garage Gym Setup - Greg DoucetteRecommends
Coach and IFBB pro · Harder Than Last Time
Thousands of home gym products do nothing for a physique, he says, so the book lists the few he thinks earn their space alongside workouts that need none of them. Waiting until the gear arrives is, in his framing, just a way of not starting.
Source: gregdoucette.com: The Home & Hotel Hypertrophy Handbook - Pavel TsatsoulineRecommends
Strength coach · StrongFirst
Centuries of experience, he writes, say that a barbell, a power rack, a few kettlebells and a pull-up bar cover most ambitious training goals. Part of his argument is about waste: buy quality bells, look after them, and they will outlive you.
Source: StrongFirst: The How and Why to Green Strength Training
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under fitness or productivity.
- Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Action camera
Small waterproof camera mounted to a handlebar, chest or helmet
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Apple Watch
Apple's wrist computer for activity, sleep and notifications
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Daily minimum workout
A floor you never drop below: 20 minutes of movement and recovery on your worst day
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 4 recommend it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Batch cooking protein
Cook a week of chicken, lean meat or fish in one session so protein is always to hand
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Temptation bundling
Only allow yourself something you want while doing something you avoid
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 1 recommends it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Can't Hurt Me
David Goggins's memoir: abuse, obesity, three Hell Weeks and the tools he built on the way
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it, 1 has discussed it
Gear entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.