this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2026
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Fitness

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So most of us are pretty firmiliar with the concept of home gyms. What I'm building is a bit different. I'm building a "small 1 bedroom apartment gym".

This has some differing challenges. For example, when I looked for a bench press a few months ago, I COULD have spent a few hundred dollars on a really solid built bench with no give. But in a small apartment gym the first and most important question is "where am I going to put this?"

And in my case, I bought a bench press at the end of December, which appears to no longer be on amazon anymore. But I found this one which looks identical just to give you an idea of what I went with. Just imagine this, with no logo printed on it. I swear this company just bought the one I have, and printed their logo on it. Otherwise mine looks exactly the same.

So, you can see how it folds up.

Well now I've got an oppertunity to buy either this machine for $75. Condition is said to be "as new as possible".

Or I could buy this machine for $575. Condition is listed as new.

There's a $500 gap between the two, but it looks like I could put either one under my bed.

Is there any reason I don't get the $75 one? Or is the total gym THAT good, that it justifies an extra $500?

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[–] Matty_r@programming.dev 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

If possible, sign up for a gym for a few months to a year, to get an idea on what sort of stuff you want to do. Building out a gym can be a big commitment, and expensive.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I'm joined to a gym. Problem is, it takes an hour to get there, and 45 minutes home.

[–] Matty_r@programming.dev 1 points 11 hours ago

Yea that sucks, but you use the gym for your big stuff - squats, bench, deadlift, machines etc. Then at home you have the small stuff i.e bands, kettlebells, yoga mat, bosu ball, etc - stuff that can be used for bodyweight exercises.

Go to the gym twice a week, then do other bodyweight, core, and hypertrophy stuff at home for the other 2-3 days.

Still - start going to the gym more often and try different stuff there to get an idea on what you like.

[–] bluGill@fedia.io 1 points 17 hours ago

Do you need anything? Bodyweight exercise can get you a long way. In bodyweight training they will tell you start with a pull up bar. Then get a squat rack with free weights if you have the budget/space. Some will tell you to get rings instead of or with a pull-up bar. There is no complete agreement, but in general the advice is you don't need anything other than the above unless you are doing a competition that you need to practice for.

Of course the real problem is you never said what you goals are. There is a big difference between enough fitness for good health; looking good for their girls/guys; and winning competitions. That is a start of different lines that could be your goal, but is by no means a complete list. The more important thing to note is sometimes the above are in conflict and so you can't have all 3 and sometimes can only get 1.

[–] workerONE@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

If I were you I would buy a squat rack like this https://www.roguefitness.com/sml-1-rogue-70-monster-lite-squat-stand-1

You can do a lot more than squat with it, bench press, shoulder press, dips if you get an attachment, hold onto it for lunges and one leg Romanian deadlifts, you can hang from the bar with your feet suspended and do bodyweight rows

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Maybe I'm not seeing it, but does this thing fold up?

[–] workerONE@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

This one doesn't fold but lets you do bench press. But you already have a bench, this one folds up https://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-rml-3w-fold-back-wall-mount-rack and others too https://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-rigs-racks/wallmounts

[–] howrar@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Do you need either of those? What are you looking to do that you can't do with your current setup?

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I mostly don't have a setup. I have a pair of powerblock dumbells stage 1, and a red circle thing you stand on, and pull resistance bands. I also have a yoga mat I haven't figured out what to do with yet.

Oh, I guess you could also count my WiiU which has WiiU Fitness, and a little step counter attatchment. I should start using that. But thats it.

[–] howrar@lemmy.ca 1 points 17 hours ago

With a bench and adjustable DBs, already have most muscles covered. The biggest gap I see is vertical pulling, and this pulley thing does cover it somewhat, but I'd be wary of any piece of equipment that has way more moving parts than necessary. You can get the same thing out of a pull-up bar with resistance bands, assuming this is something you care about. Alternatively, if you have a place to hang them, you can also get some gymnastic rings. Those would be much more space efficient and gives you access to exercises that are very similar to the pulley thing you're looking at.

But more importantly, I suggest that you figure out what you want to do first before making additional purchases.