I get it. A home gym can become very expensive very fast. But if we ignore social media, YouTube and mega nerds like me for a second, there are plenty of unconventional and solid ways to build out your home gym on a tight budget. Here are my nine favorite budget tricks for home gyms. Two are more generel and seven are very specific.

BUY USED Fitness Equipment!

This seems obvious. But I often get so excited about new and cool products that I tend to forget about the used market for longer periods of time. When I then actually go to the used market I can pretty often find what I was looking for used. However, that was not the case during the big equipment shortage during the pandemic. But at least here in Denmark, the market for used gym equipment has recovered a lot these last 2 years. I am now able to pretty regularly find pretty good deals on everything from weight plates to hacks squats machines.

Apart from saving money, the used market is also more enviromentally friendly. And it allows you to test a concept without breaking the bank. Say you are considering af leg press hack squat combo. But you are not sure whether you would ever really use the hack squat. Buy a functionaly solid but cheap used combo machine. If you never use the hack squat, you can now sell the used machine at a minimal loss and instead look for a dedicated leg press.

Sleep on it

I also fall for this one. But remember! You are not in a rush to finish your home gym. It is easy to forget the journey and only focus on the end goal. Take your time to consider whether you really need that item you are about to purchase. Sleep on it. Save it in a tab in your browser for a couple of weeks, and see whether the you still want it after you have cooled down.

Chain Storage for Pulley Handles (10-20 Euro)

Peg boards are almost the standard for storing pulley handles and accessories. But a good and solid peg board can quickly cost around 100 euros. A very cheap alternative could be a simple chain and some cheap carabiners hanging from a wall. This is a good solution for people starting out their home gym and for people who don’t own a stupid amount of attachments (like me).

Car Tire Storage System for Bumper Plates (20-90 Euro )

When I first started out my home gym, I was finishing my education and had very little disposable income. So I really considered storing my bumpers in a storage system for car tires. These are usually very cheap and they will often have a loading capacity of 200-300 kilos per shelve if loaded uniformly.

However, I think this is best suited for bumpers plates, and you should choose a rack with somewhat thick steel crossmembers. Since steel plates distribute their weight over a very little area, I would be concerned that 20 kg steel plates would bend/contort the crossmembers over time.

Bicycle Rack for Plate Storage (10-50 Euro)

This is another really cheap way to start storing your bumpers in an orderly fashion. These can often be found used for very cheap or even for free. And they work great for outdoor storage, since they are usually made for outdoor use. You can use it as it is or add wheels to it (see picture below).

Simple Pulley System (60-70 Euro)

Ceiling attached plate loaded pulley system are not the most enjoyable to use. But they are very affordable. And you can improve them a lot by adding another second pulley to your ceiling, so you can get more distance between yourself and the loading pin. This allows you to train more safely and to achieve more vertical pulling. But the two pulleys will also make the loading pin and plates move less as you lift them up and down.

Mini-Platform that Fits on a Shelf (0-75 Euro)

This is an incredible simple DIY project that has been described in a seperate article. Its main selling points are that it can fit on a shelf and that you can potentially make it for free. I always save rubber mat scraps and leftover wood, so I was able to make it with stuff I had lying around. I used this exact platfrom for deadlifting in a spare bedroom for 2 years.

Simple Full Width Deadlift Platform (100-130 Euro)

This platform is used by one of Denmark’s top powerlifters, who also also happens to be a homegym entusiast. He has deadlifted >300 kg on this very simple and space saving deadlift platform.

All you will need is one piece of 1×1 meter 15 mm thick plywood and three 1×1 meter 15 mm thick rubber mats. You then cut all of the above into equally sized 1×1/2 meter pieces. Then you place two pieces of rubber mats as the bottom layer. Followed by a layer consisting of your two pieces of plywood. Finally you finish it of with an additional 2 layers of rubber mats using your last 4 pieces of rubber mat.

DIY Chalk Bowl (10-20 Euro)

This DIY project can be finished in less than 30 minutes and has previously been described in a seperate article. But the main thing you need to know is that online pet shops sell stupidly cheap metal feeding bowls in all shapes and sixes than can easily be transformed into awesome chalk bowls that fits your exact space and needs.

I hope this was useful!

Best regards, Thomas