PK Weighs In: What are the Garage Gym Essentials?

Hey! PK here. When you're starting to build out your garage gym, it can be overwhelming with the amount of information out there on what you should start with, what you need, what you don't need, etc.

Let's talk about TRUE garage gym essentials.

Over the years, there's been many times where I've mentioned garage gym essentials. I've even deemed a few things to be most essential above all other things.

But, how can we say what's truly essential gear to build out a garage gym? My mind has changed on this matter over time, and I've come to a condensed conclusion.

I'll explain.

Let's take a step back in time for a moment, to this video linked here

In the video linked above, which was posted nearly 4 years ago in 2018, my essentials were a barbell, bumper plates, a pull-up bar, a squat rack, kettlebells, and a sandbag trainer.

I'll admit, this list was a little lofty for just "essentials" although some of those items still made the top of my list.

But, this list is what I believed to be totally essential at that time in the Garage Gym Revolution to have in your arsenal to get jacked.

I even said that, word for word, in the description of that video: "Learn about what you need to include in your arsenal to get jacked."

Do I necessarily believe all of these items in that list are crucial to have at your disposal to reach your goals?

Not anymore.

If you've been around for a while, you'll know my love for the sandbag trainer.

A sandbag is SOOOOOO underrated.

A sandbag trainer is not only underrated, but extremely versatile, easy to manipulate to you, your level of strength, your goals, and the movements you're performing with it, easy to pack up and travel with, and can be cheap to fill with more weight.

A sandbag is an all-around A+ investment for your garage gym in my book, but while underrated, a sandbag trainer is not necessarily one of the most important items to me anymore.

Don't get me wrong.

I still LOVE a good sandbag workout and believe everyone should get one for themselves at some point, but a sandbag trainer no longer sits super high up on my list of utmost-important-garage-gym-gear.

A barbell and bumper plates, unfortunately, fall under that "not-so-essential-at-first" category too.

Again, don't get me wrong.

We founded Fringe Sport on our One Fit Wonder bumper plates and Wonder Bars, so you know I'm all for an amazing barbell (or several) and a great set of bumper or iron plates in your arsenal.

They're just not always super practical at first.

In terms of purchasing a squat rack, it doesn't really make sense to do that without a barbell and bumper plates if you're going to use it for the pull-up bar only, so in certain instances where the barbell and plates are the issue, I'd argue that you can forgo the squat rack for the time being, and invest in a pull-up bar that can be fastened to some studs in your wall or ceiling instead.

Let's fast forward to 1 year ago, in 2021.

Here's where the truth (well, my truth anyway) started to come out about what's truly essential, and I make a pretty good argument for the gear I mentioned in the above video if I do say so myself.

After all these years of being in the business of garage gyms, gains, and making great equipment, I've pared down my list of necessities when starting your own garage gym.

This paring didn't come from no longer believing in all the equipment I mentioned in the first video, it came from more experience, more time in an insane industry to be in during a world-wide pandemic, and from helping YOU, the Fringe Fam, start and build the garage gyms you needed during a time when supplies and equipment for gyms were few and far between.

I realized that our Fringe Fam and those joining the Garage Gym Revolution during this time needed a way to continue their fitness journey, and fitness equipment, even on our site, was super hard to come by.

It was insanity.

Because of that, I knew that getting ALL of that equipment that I used to believe was necessary was going to be nearly impossible and would leave most of our customers frustrated and missing crucial pieces they'd need to continue to improve their life through strength in a dire time to focus on health, wellness, and physical improvement.

That's where my mind-change came from.

It wasn't because I'd changed my methodologies or my interest in bumper plates and barbells and squat racks and sandbags, but out of true necessity.

Some might argue it's actually better, and less overwhelming, to suggest just two things to our customers when they're looking to start a garage gym journey of their own, instead of 6.

So, my two VERY practical necessities to start a garage gym are just these two things: a kettlebell and a pull-up bar.

You can get wildly creative with just those two items, and get strong and fit as hell using just those two items too.

No need for fancy, flashy, or excessive equipment purchases when you're first starting.

Trust me.

A kettlebell, a pull-up bar.

That's it.

Do you agree? Disagree? Would you swap in or out any different items?

"Necessity" truly means something different to everyone, so you don't have to listen to me.

I highly recommend, though, that you consider a kettlebell and a pull-up bar if you're looking to start your own garage gym journey.

These two items don't take up a ton of space, can be mounted into studs in a wall or ceiling, and a kettlebell is easily stored and transported, too.

Let me know what you think about these two things as necessities in the comments below.

I'm interested to hear what you've got to say, Fringe Fam.

LHLH,

PK