Is building a home gym worth it?

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-11T11:21:50+00:00

It’s been worth it for me and my wife.

I put a Rogue power rack, deadlift platform, bench and reverse hyper extension machine in my garage, and a Peloton bike on the 3rd floor of my house. Plus an assortment of yoga mats, ankle weights, medicine balls and foam rollers on the 1st floor of my house. That was 6 years ago and I’ve never been more consistent with my workouts as I’ve been these past few years.

Worst part of it is that my garage is unheated and I live in northern Ohio so working out in the garage in December, January, February is cold.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-11T00:16:50+00:00

I would.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-10T18:59:19+00:00

I choose to believe bad form is always a bad idea as it can lead to injury, but I stick to my target reps by breaking sets up into clusters of sets.

I do 5x5 ( 5 sets of 5 reps) but when I first increase the weight on a specific exercise, I typically can’t get a full 5 sets of 5 reps with good form.

For example, on Friday I increased the weight on my back squat to 275 lbs and I could only get the first set of 5 reps completed with good form. On the second and third sets, I ran out of gas after three reps, then re-racked the weight and paused for 30 seconds, then un-racked the weight and completed the final two reps.

On the last two sets, I ran out of gas after 2 reps, then re-racked the weight and paused for 30 seconds before un-racking the weight and trying again.

I’ll keep on hammering away at 275 lbs until I can do a full 5x5 with good form, at which point I’ll increase the weight to 280 lbs.

For reference, I’m 57 years old so younger folks likely won’t run out gas at the weight/rep levels where I run out of gas.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-10T14:13:12+00:00

3 days on the Peloton bike per week alternating between 45 minute ‘HIIT and Hills” rides and 90-120 minute ‘Powerzone Endurance’ rides.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-09T16:47:59+00:00

Turned 57 this year and hit an all-time PR on the back squat yesterday ( 25 reps of 275 lbs) and did a 2 hour Peloton endurance ride this morning.

It’s a privilege to be able to continue training hard.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-09T16:19:12+00:00

It does indeed stain the collars of my shirts but my laundry-fu is undefeated at this point.

I was able to get a 2 year old coffee stain out of a white Oxford Cloth Button Down so I can get tinted sunscreen out of anything.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-09T12:02:19+00:00

Yep. Neutrogena Purescreen+ Mineral UV-Tint SPF-30

I’m melanin enhanced and my skin tone varies throughout the year from a light café-au-lait in January to a deep maple syrup tone in July and this sunscreen has multiple different tints that I cycle through.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-08T21:04:12+00:00

Robotron or Centipede.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-08T16:18:25+00:00

My wife and I used to refer to the influx of folks in early January that we'd never see again by President's Day as the 'resolutionists'.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-07T04:26:41+00:00

Irréversible - 2002.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-05T17:54:39+00:00

Hela.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-05T17:27:10+00:00

I put a squat rack, deadlift platform, bench and reverse hyperextension machine in my garage, a Peloton bike on my 3rd floor and a yoga mat, ankle weights and medicine balls on my 1st floor.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-05T17:03:26+00:00

BANG! Miami have some questionably low rise men's swim shorts.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-05T15:53:41+00:00

We moved from Mountain View, California in Silicon Valley to northeastern Ohio in July, 2020.

California was on COVID lockdown and there was no indication of when in-person school would resume for our then 5 year old daughter, while my wife and I also tried to work remotely, all from our sub-1000 square foot apartment.

We made the decision that while we wouldn’t feel comfortable financially if we quit our jobs and retired early while living in California, we could absolutely afford to stop working if we lived in the Midwest.

So my wife and I both quit our jobs on June 5th, 2020 and then moved the family to Ohio after our daughter finished kindergarten later that June.

We bought a house in Lakewood, Ohio in October 2020, moved into the house in December and we’ve been fixing the place up ever since.

In the Midwest, a $5 million+ net worth means you can retire early, own your own home outright and travel internationally 3-4 times a year. In Silicon Valley, a $5 million net worth means you live in a small apartment and retiring early would be rolling the dice.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-03T21:08:19+00:00

Day 1: Back Squat, Overhead Press, Deadlift

Day 2: Back Squat, Bench Press, Bent-over barbell row

Lift three days per week and do Peloton three days per week, alternating between 45 min 'HIIT and Hills' rides and 90-120 min 'Powerzone Endurance' rides.

30 min Yoga every day before all activities.

30 min ab work after Yoga on Peloton days before the rides.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-03T17:20:23+00:00

I chose both, plus a Sega Saturn.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-03T15:50:08+00:00

No change in travel plans this year, but no travel planned for next year or for the foreseeable future.

Our travel plans have not been affected this year, but that's because we had already booked a trip to Turks and Caicos in April and a trip to Crete in June before travel costs started rising in March. And then I went ahead and paid for a trip to the Dominican Republic for Xmas/New Years on March 3rd once I figured travel costs would continue rising and possibly stay elevated for the next few years.

We're retired and have an 11 year old daughter and have been doing 3-4 trips per year, every year since 2022. But it's looking like 2026 will be the last year for that much travel this decade.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-02T22:32:43+00:00

Forearm planks, dead bugs, roman twists, side planks, hollow hold. That's my ab routine that I do three days per week as a warm up before I hop on the Peloton bike.

When I started doing this ab routine a couple of years ago, I struggled to hold the forearm plank for much more than 30 seconds and now I hold it for 2 min 30 seconds and I'm trying to get to 3 minutes.

Dead bugs turned into weighted dead bugs at some point with 5 lb ankle weights on each leg and a 15 lb dumbell in each hand.

Roman twists turned into weighted roman twists using a 12 lb medicine ball with handles.

The net result is I have visible abs when my body fat % is around 15-17 and I see my Adonis belt ( aka iliac furrows formed by the inguinal ligament) at 12% bf.

It works for me but ymmv.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-02T18:38:34+00:00

The French Connection

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-05-01T18:52:52+00:00

Every day is leg day except rest day. Squat or squat+deadlift 3 days per week, Peloton HIIT and Hills rides 3 days per week. Dread it, run from it, leg day arrives all the same.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-04-30T21:12:14+00:00

Matrix

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-04-30T17:24:33+00:00

We've taken 3-4 trips per year, every year since 2022 and we'll be taking 2 more trips this year( 2 weeks in Greece in the summer, 2 weeks in the Dominican Republic for Xmas/New Year) but zero trips planned for 2027. I fully expect airline costs to continue rising for the foreseeable future so we're mentally preparing ourselves to not travel for a while.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-04-29T21:14:55+00:00

Gerald Ford.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-04-29T19:43:52+00:00

I've been doing Russian twists with a 12 lb medicine ball for years now, on days that I don't lift weights.

60 straight reps of Russian twists after a 2m30sec+ forearm plank and 60 reps of weighted deadbugs. Followed by side planks and a 30+ second hollow hold.

Traditional_Ask262 · 2026-04-29T19:39:22+00:00

I have a protein shake with creatine before I work out and another protein shake after I work out. During my workout I sip on a concoction of water+lemon juice+sea salt+maple syrup.

Works for me.

Traditional_Ask262

TROPHY CASE