5 Simple Garage Gym Upgrades (What to buy after the essentials)

What’s up, Fringe Fam? Jason is back and he’s going to run us through 5 different upgrades for your home gym. These are the things we think you should invest in after the essentials. These items are really going to take your garage gym and your workouts to the next level.

Landmine attachment

Why a landmine attachment? Because, it’s likely you already have a barbell, a bench, some plates, and a rack to work with. These are typically the first 5 things our garage-gymmers go for when building out their first gym, and a landmine is the perfect next-step because it allows you to utilize those items in a completely different way than you're used to, and opens the door for a whole host of new workouts and movement variety.

Landmine attachments are super versatile and can attach right to your rack or rig, or set in a stack of bumper plates. Landmines are good for single-arm overhead pressing, single-leg deadlifts, rows, improving balance, muscle stability, and building a strong core. If you're looking for even more out of your landmine attachment, check out our double landmine attachment. This accessory is awesome for Viking presses, floor pressing, double overhead pressing, front squat variations, and so much more.

A Specialty Bar

Because you already have a barbell, you might consider a specialty bar. Something like a curl bar, a multi-grip bar, or a short axle bar might be an awesome addition if you’re looking to get your guns blazin’, but we also carry power bars, Olympic weightlifting specific barbells, a buffalo bar, a fat axle bar, a trap bar, you name it.

Investing in another barbell that isn't a typical Olympic-standard barbell gets you into the specialty bar realm to really up the ante in your workouts and increase variety in your everyday movements. A specialty bar is another great upgrade for your home gym when you've already covered the basics.

When you've added a specialty bar to your home gym, you're looking at movement additions like EZ bar curls, shoulder shrugs, and all the bro-stuff you can imagine.

Slam Ball

What’s so special about a slam ball? It’s just a ball with a heavy weight in it, right? Exactly. Our slam balls can be used just like a medball, but if you're looking for one instead, check this out), slammed on the ground, or over your shoulder and it won’t break on you. You can do carries with it, Strongman work, or whatever exercises you think might need a little extra weight.

Our slam balls come in sizes as light as 6lbs and up to 150lbs. This is an awesome tool for you to use for a HIIT workout. If you need some cardio after you finish your strength workout, you can use slam balls to do just that. You can use our slam balls to work on explosive strength, or pick up the 150lb pound ball and carry it as long as you can. Whew!! That’ll get your heart pumping.

Slam balls, also offered in sets, are an awesome, versatile option for an upgrade to your home gym.

Strength bands

The next item we recommend to upgrade your home gym is our strength bands. Bands are super simple, but can do so much for you. 

If you need help with pull-ups, you can use bands for assisted pull-ups. If you want to develop strength in other areas, strength bands are a simple way to mix things up.

If you need to work on mobility, stretch the bands and they’ll stretch you. Seriously, they’re great for mobility. 

If you are running out of bumper plates (we can help with that OR you can invest in some resistance bands to switch it up) and you don’t have enough because you’ve gotten that much stronger, you can apply bands around your bar to make your workout much harder.

Bands allow you to add more resistance, accommodating resistance for you powerlifters that like to add bands to your training, or if you’re looking to progress in a lift or pull-ups, bands can help.

We offer regular rubber strength bands along with our new latex-free version, which is just as strong and stretchy as our regular rubber strength bands. We carry a variety of sizes to suit your strength band needs, from 1/2" red bands for extra, extra light resistance/assistance, all the way up to 4" dark red bands for extra, extra heavy resistance assistance. Wondering what you might use an extra heavy band for? Check out this blog featuring our recommended heavy-band workouts.

Our strength bands also come in sets so you can cover every inch of your resistance band needs. Our mini bands are great for activation work, prehab/rehab, and more.

Dumbbells

Dumbbells are a big investment, a super hot commodity right now in the garage gym world, and they can be costly. They come in sizes ranging from 3lbs to 100lbs. Our most popular set, 5-50lbs, is a perfect fit for upgrading your home gym. You can do many, many things with dumbbells.

For our CrossFitters or powerlifters, you might want to consider going up to 100lbs. For you bodybuilders, strongmen, and powerlifters again, you might consider also going up to 100lbs in dumbbells.

Dumbbells are a great investment, and an incredible addition to your arsenal, but they do take up a lot of floor space in your gym. We do offer a floor-space-saving storage option. Consider that, but dumbbells also allow for a host of different workouts than you can get in with a barbell or other equipment to really maximize your gains.

All of these items are super versatile and allow for some killer workouts that you’re not already seeing on a daily basis. If you’ve already invested in the garage gym basics, here’s where to start to upgrade your home gym further. If you have questions about what equipment would be best to upgrade your garage gym, let us know in the comments below, send us a message on our site, or send us an email at team@fringesport.com. We would be thrilled to help you get your maximum gains on and we promise, we won’t steer you wrong ;)

As always, upgrade your gear, and lift heavy, lift happy :)