maxopedia

To see the first installment of this series, click here.

To be totally honest, I have no clue how much money I have spent on purchasing weight lifting and exercise equipment. Some of it has been gifts, but I thought I'd like to put down how much I think a good specification for a very minimal space would cost.

Do you have space for an olympic bar? Can you put a mat down?

This is the most important consideration. It separates the small space from the truly small space. I will lay out the core of any small space home gym solution.

• space to do pushups/pistols + elevated pushups (feet on chair)

• wall and space to perform handstand pushups
• two sturdy chairs or stools for dips
• resistance bands, but not wussy ones, more like the ones at Jump Stretch or there is another brand, Iron Woody
  • a simple starter resistance band set from Jump Stretch would be 1 mini band $12, 1 monster mini $16, and 1 light band $22 - if you are not a strong lifter, you probably don't even need the light band right away unless you want to use it for leg or back exercises (pairs of bands are very nice but not needed) $28 - $50
• olympic dumbells - anywhere from $15 + shipping (what I paid on ebay I think) to $83.91 (affiliate link)
  

• olympic plates - fifty cents to a dollar a pound at most sporting good stores, sometimes plates are on sale estimated $20-150
• if you have space for an olympic bar, I highly recommend getting a combo deal like this olympic bar and 300 lb weight set for $178.91 plus shipping
• physical therapy balls can be an excellent way to bring in new exercises - power lifters actually recommend doing various dumbbell exercises on top of a PT ball for increased hypertrophy and strength - here's an affiliate link to exercise balls that would be about $15 after shipping
• a pull-up bar is an excellent cost-effective solution and can be put in any space with a door this is a friend's pull-up bar that he recommends - GoFit Chin-Up Bar $18
• one important thing - if you do not have a long bar to do dead lifts with, you will have to devise many more resistance band exercises that target muscle groups located in your back

bottom line: small budget, full body workout

• requires space for pushups/pistols and handstand pushups
• already has suitable chairs/stools for dips
• pull-up bar $15 (I paid $14 at target for my crappy one)
• resistance bands - mini + monster mini from Jump Stretch $28
• olympic dumbbells + clamps/collars (we'll split the difference) ~$40
• sixty pounds of weight for said dumbbells ~$40
• exercise ball (makes some existing exercises harder like the dumbbell press, and adds new exercises) $15

Total: $138, which is less than half a year at most gyms

bottom line: most exercises for a strong lifter while maintaining high value

• space for bodyweight exercises (dips, pistols, pushups, handstand pushups)
• pull-up bar $15
• Olympic 300 lb. weight set $200
• thick rug or ideally a rubber mat to lift on (usually you already own a thick enough rug) ~$20
• Olympic Dumbells $40
• resistance bands - 1 light, 1 monster mini, 1 mini $50
• exercise ball $15
• curl bar $30 - I really like these for skullcrushers!

Total: $370 - a year's membership at a lot of gyms these days

It would be nice to have a bench included in this setup, but that requires a lot of space. Bench is also largely not needed if you have access to dumbbell presses, particularly on top of an exercise ball.

The only thing I would add to this setup if I had the space would be a power rack, which I would buy a a nice adjustable weight bench for. Of course, these items balloon the cost of the home gym by over 130 percent! They are worth it for the exercises (squats + bench) along with the safety factor they provide. They can also be used in conjunction with resistance bands for all sorts of power-lifter craziness.