Rogue Fitness Home Gym On A Budget of $2450
Overview
The gym has been somewhat og a sanctuary for me for as long as I can remmeber. The first time I stepped foot in a gym, I was maybe 11 or 12, after somehow convincing my mom to let me play football in high school. Being a kif who was overweight, that place gave me a sense of power that I’ll admit has become somewhat akin to an addict chasing a high. Fast forward now 20+ years, I’ve finally decided to build the foundations of my sanctuary at home. This set up was on a tight budget as I was trying to keep out of pocket expenses really low, since a large chunk was expensed through my job’s wellness benefit. So in total, this entire setup cost around $2450 and some change. Lets dive in!
Squat Rack
Item: SML-2 Rogue 90" - Monster Lite Squat Stand - Single 1.25" Pullup Bar
Price: $500 (USD) (price includes spotters and bench)
Looking through Rogues options for squat racks. They don’t really do a good job of clearly explaining the differences between the various options. I was going back and forth on the SML-2 and the S2, so I had to reach out to customer service just to get a base understanding of what I was buying into.
The SML-2 is part of the monster line that uses the a 3”x3” tubing versus the S-2 (infinity family) that uses the 2”x3” tubing. TL;Dr the monster line has more accessories than the infinity line. I ended up opting for the SML-2 90”, because of the accessories including having the option to expand the rank into a half rack using the separately sold conversion add on. The SML-2 unit I purchased ships with the pull up bar at 90 inches; I added the plate storage stands to store plates at the base for more stability when doing pull-ups.
Rogue Utility Bench 2.0
Item: Rogue Flat Utility Bench 2.0 - Premium Textured Pad
Price: $195 (USD)
Looking back this was one of the toughest decisions I made in this purchase. Rogue benches are insanely expensive compared to what you can find elsewhere on sites like Amazon, and while I’m not much of a bencher, Kristin, my girlfriend is. I opted for this bench mainly because of the quality. Compared to previous versions, the 2.0 bench has a polyurethane rubber coating that just works with our outdoor setup. If it rains I don’t have to worry about the foam internals rotting or mildew smells. At some point we’ll spend a bit extra bread on the nicer adjustable benches, but until then this should do the job.
Safety Spotters
Item: SAML-24 Monster Lite Spotter Arms
Price: $175 (USD)
Safety spotters have to be the most underrated most versatile accessory. Sure they can prevent getting crushed by a shit ton of weight, but if you don’t have jerk blocks or don’t have a full power rack, you can use these for weightlifting or rack pulls. They may be pricey at $175, but the added safety and versatility is well worth it.
Gymnastic Rings
Item: Rogue USA Echo Rings Set
Price: $65 (USD)
You really can’t go wrong with a pair of gymnastic rings, so many different uses from rows, dips, incline pushups. I opted for the plastic rings since the rack is outdoors and wouldn’t deteriorate if they get wet. It’d be great if the rack was a bit taller to use with muscle ups, but it’s not that big of a deal since I can sub bar muscle ups if they are ever programmed.
Barbells
Item:
Boneyard 28MM Training Bar - Various Coatings
Boneyard Rogue 25MM Bella Bar 2.0 (Raw Shaft w/ Raw Sleeves)
Price: $195 (USD) (price of each barbell)
The rogue boneyard cannot be beat in terms of affordability and quality. For a long time I considered buying an Amazon bar, and while there are plenty of decent up and coming brands, Rogue’s quality just can’t be beat. The only reason why these bars are cheaper are because of minor flaws that do not impact performance. But for $70 discount on a 28MM Training Bar (retail - $265) and a $40 discount on a Bella 2.0 Bar (retail - $235) is worth the trade of cosmetic blemishes and bushing color that no one pays attention to.
Other Stuff
Weight: We already had about 170 pounds in weight and an extra training bar so we purchased the 260 pound weight package add on with the squat rack. This is probably another limitation on our current setup, since 430 pounds doesn’t leave a lot of room for increasing weight when two people are working out.
Item: Rogue HG Bumper 2.0 - 260LB Set
Price: $595 (USD)
Dumbbells & Kettlebells: Dumbbells and kettlebells are another limitation we have. We have 10, 15, 25, and 35 lbs. plus an Onnit .5 pood primal bell. Again not a whole lot of flexibility here, so we will definitely need to add more weight over time since again if two people are working out they can theoretically only use one dumbbell if they need the same weight.
NCFit Workout Mat: I originally bought this mat in 2019 when the pandemic kicked off and was probably one of the best value items I ever purchased. You can throw this thing down anywhere and it provides more than enough cushion to protect your knees from getting banged up on concrete if you’re limited on space. You can also use this as a yoga mat for mobility work. I think this was discontinued, however Rogue sells a very similar mat that uses the same construction as the games level flooring. Item: Rogue Individual mat Price: $95 (USD)
Trying to squeeze out a home gym setup for $2450, was quite the task, is it doable? Yes, but be prepared to add additional items over time and be willing to sacrifice to really only be buying the essentials.
Note: this blog post will be a living post and I’ll be adding new items over time that I’ll be updating this post with.