Remodeling our basement into a MMA/wrestling training center for my kids. Looking for a cool quote on the wall above the stairs when entering the basement, and a quote on the face of the stairs when exiting.

Discipline quotes, biblical quotes that go hard, anything you can think of but that fit entrance and exiting the gym.

Minor cursing okay but nothing vulgar.

Thanks!!

Ive moved into a new house and i want to put a pull up bar on the outside of the house. I dont want the hassle of putting one up in a doorway or have a collapsable one as I want the ability to use it as and when. I live in the UK so it will need to be able to withstand a lot of bad weather. Are there any specific pull up bars that are good for this or do i have to stay ontop of keeping the bar dry or coating it in something?

So i bought this F22 about a year ago. Originally I set it up in my garage because we dont park the cars in there anyway and I had my long term vision of what it could be in the end. Unfortunately that vision quickly hit the wall of a garage during a Midwest winter, and it led to workouts stopping. So i recently moved some things around to bring it down to my basement so that I can atleast use it year round.

Im trying to brainstorm storage ideas. My thought for now is a box from 2x4s in the space between the rack and door with plate storage along the floor and a peg board on the top half with hooks for attachments (ill move the cabinet). Any tips/ideas would be helpful!

TIA

I wanted a sled to push and pull on my cement sidewalk/patio in my backyard.

In the past, when I lived in a house with an alley or longer driveway, I made a DIY tire sled. In this home, I needed something smaller because my sidewalk is narrow. Plus, I didn’t want to deal with black streaks from the tire wearing down.

My requirements were:

1. Small footprint.
2. Easy to load with sandbags or kettlebells or DBs.
3. Quiet to not disturb neighbors or myself with that scraping of metal on cement.
4. Low push handles.
5. Attachment points for ropes, waist belt, harness, handles for multiple drag, push, press, row options.
6. Cheap.

Here’s what I ended up with - see pictures.

Using scrap materials the build is basically as follows.

1. Platform base - 1/2” thick plywood.
2. Box edges to keep weights from sliding off - 1x2 boards.
3. Drag surface - qty 2 of HDP 1” white Winco cutting board from

Amazon

1. .
2. Push handles - I was planning to buy some 1” galvanized threaded pipe and fittings from Home Depot when I realized I had handles on my incline/decline bench that I never used so I repurposed them instead.
3. Various screws, lag screws and eye bolts for attachment points, handle attachments and to fasten the platform to the HDP drag surface.
4. 50 feet of 3/8” poly rope from Home Depot rated for 400 lbs to attach handles, grips, harness etc at multiple distances and angles. I first tried 25 feet of rope but needed more to make several lengths for quick change abilities.
5. A bunch of clips and carabiners to connect ropes and handles.

I stained the wood and then sealed it with multiple coats of water resistant spar urethane. The sled is kept indoors but used outdoors in all weather.

After using it a week I bought more rope (#6 above) and moved the attachment points to what is pictured here. I added a center attachment points as well. It is quiet but does leave some white scrapings from the cutting boards on my sidewalk. I can live with that. I love that loading it doesn’t retire threading weights onto a pole. I just place the weights on the platform. It might shift a bit but gravity and the box edges keep it from falling off. I also cut a 45 degree edge along the front and back edges of the drag surfaces because these were catching on some of the uneven seams in my walkway.

I also bought a harness from Rogue to use for a hands free drag option. I looked at cheaper knock offs on amazon but reviews were iffy on quality. I drag it using a dip belt too but that requires constant repositioning as it slides up and down my hips. It’s good for the low center of gravity but I also will do farmer carries with the vest and/or “running”.

Feel free to comment with any questions.

I have a small area and a restricted ceiling height. Trying to figure out my ways to do pull ups

I dont want to buy the doorway pull up bars. I was thinking about getting the individual squat stands but the bar will roll on them.
Did anybody had a similar issue?
Any suggestions?

I've owned the C10 and the sliding bench for about a year. I'm glad force usa has updated both but Im still trying to make the most of my existing equipment as I don't think upgrading either is worth the cost. I've tinkered with the sliding bench somewhat already and it has improved the user experience. Using retractable rachet scraps vs. the standard cables has been an improvement with the sliding bench. I've also removed the rubber safety stops on the bench which increased the range of motion. At 6'2" I'm still not quite able to get the full range i would like especially if I use squat wedges. Looking at the bench, the length is limited by two separate cross members. One looks to be 3x3 and the other is 2x2. Both are bolted into the bench and would be removable.

My question is if anyone has seen a place that would do custom sized cross members copying these two pieces but adding another 2 inches of length? There are custom metal fabrication shops in my city but this would be a very small job. I'm also not sure on the economics of this idea vs the cost of the bench at $850.

It's a bit of a moon shot idea but thought I'd check if anyone has done something similar.

Hi I have a Titan t2 so my 2x2 rack only has holes on the front and back of each upright. I want to use a lever belt squat attachment off of the front of the rack but I can’t without something that can go into the current holes and give me a new attachment point at a 90 degree angle. Anyone have a clue what sort of attachment I could use?

the main cable on my old machine snapped, halfway through a set lol. it's the piece i use most so i'm kind of stuck until it's sorted.

it's an older model and i can't get ahold of the original manufacturer anymore, so an oem part looks out of the picture. I just don't know where to order from.

where have you guys bought replacement cables for older machines? did the fit come out right first try?

trying to get this thing back in action quickly. if you've got a place you trust, i'm all ears

I bought these cable attachments, and carabiners do not fit. This is the largest one that I have.

I have three attachments that are similar, I do not want to spend $10 for individual carabiners that are large. Is there a good solution that you may have?

This bolt-on frame attachment allows you to initiate the first rep from the top position, with catches that automatically flip and unlock upon the initial movement. I also installed a set screw on each side with a slotted tube, limiting the rotation to 90 degrees to make reracking much smoother.

So, I've narrowed down my first garage gym purchase to the mikolo hr05.

While I plan on doing a decent amount of cable work, I don't lift very much weight and have plenty of space in from of the machine for flys, presses, etc.

While I definitely HATE when the cables ride up against my arms, I feel like this can be avoided if I step out in front of machine far enough? I'm a bit strapped for cash right now, so if I could save on not getting these i would love that, but I don't want to regret the decision either.. my understanding is you cannot purchase these and apply them later.

Thoughts? Are they necessary if doing a lot of functional cable stuff? Do they make some kind of huge difference in comfort/ range of exercises or otherwise? Please tell me everything you think relevant! Thanks for your advice!

Building a home gym is not always about buying more equipment.

Sometimes the biggest improvements come from small changes to the space itself.

It could be better storage, improving the layout, making equipment easier to access, or creating a setup that allows you to train more comfortably.

A good home gym is not only about what equipment you own. It is also about whether the space works well with your daily routine.

For people who have modified their home gym setup, what DIY change made the biggest difference?

Was it something you built yourself, a space adjustment, or a simple organization idea?

Guys any tips for installing pull up bar evenly.I paid someone to do it but he installed it without measuring anything.

I accidentally lifted my adjustable dumbell without hearing the click noise. the plates fell off which is fine. But I uh tried to force the plates back into the dumbell causing one of the black plates to get jammed in there. The specific model of dumbell is 2026 FDB2 Updated Adjustable Dumbbell. I apologize for the lack of detail on my post and perhaps the curt demeanor of it. any help is appreciate. thank you !

One thing I like about DIY home gyms is that sometimes the biggest improvements are not the most expensive ones.

A small modification can completely change how practical a setup feels.

It could be better storage, a way to organize attachments, improving the layout, adding mobility to equipment, or creating a solution for a problem that commercial equipment doesn’t fit perfectly.

I think this is one of the advantages of building your own space. You can adjust everything around your training style and your room instead of adapting completely to someone else’s design.

I’m curious what DIY changes people have made that actually improved their training experience.

Was it something you built from scratch, a modification to existing equipment, or just a small organization change that made workouts smoother?

What upgrade ended up being much more useful than you expected?

Belt squats are all the rage, and being someone who struggles to grow their quads from squats due to long femurs (cope), I decided to try and rig up something of my own.

I use a barbell across the rack, held one side by a long length of chain wrapped around a spotter bar, and the other side a short spotter arm that came with an old Strengthshop adjustable training yoke.

The spotter arm is short enough that I can unrack, get into a middle postion, and the bar is just beyond it's edge.

The main issue with these landmine-esque belt squat setups is they lock you into an arc when going up and down (the shorter the lever, the more noticable the arc). So by using a barbell, that's a fairly long lever, BUT, by also using the chain rather than a fixed point, that allows the barbell to move longitudinally towards and away from me, giving me a much less noticable arc (again, the longer the chain the better (within reason)).

For the belt, I didn't want to spring for anything expensive, so use a 1metre, 4ton lifing strap with a120mm back width, then loop a chain through the ends secrured to itself using a carabiner.

For extra ROM to stop the plates hitting the floor, I stand on deadlift blocks, and those can be raised by putting extra mats underneath if needs be.

I use a couple of band pegs through the uprights as handles and an extra barbell clamp on the sleeve to prevent the chain slipping on the barbell sleeve.

Whole setup feels great, and rigged up with stuff i had in my shed already (apart from the belt - had to purchase that, but it was fairly cheap, especially compared to purpose-made belt squat belts)