The $100 Budget Home Gym Guide (w/ 4 Different Setup Options!)

In 2025, can you build a budget home gym with only $100? I think so...

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[mariagivens]

Would love a series of these. Like $500, $1, 000, $3, 000, $5, 000. And like a build out of what it would look like. Like maybe we don’t have 5k right now to invest in a home gym but a road map to that would be cool.

[HabaneroGymReviews]

I remember when I was in jail for Jay walking. These guys was filling up a trash can with water and I had no idea what they were doing . Turns out they were using it as weight and adding more water to get the progressive over load. They was literally curling a trash can full of water. Pure ingenuity right there

[Bertziethegreat]

TRX Straps: Expensive.

Harbor Freight moving straps: like $12

[FunFactOfTheDay]

For a cheap barbell during lockdowns I bought a galvanized 10 foot 1.75 inch pipe, drilled holes in it where the sleeves usually end and tossed some bolts in there to stop plates. Cost 27 bucks at the time, and has squatted 505 for a set of 3 without bending! For free plates, go to a car shop and ask for their old disk brakes - they come in pairs, so they'll be equal, and you can just weigh them and paint them. Wobbly, yes, but they get the job done just fine. I have 700lbs of them in my yard gym and they work beautifully. For collars on that weird bar size just buy those giant metal clothespin style clips from a hardware store for 5 bucks. Build a squat and bench rack out of wood, preferably free old wood from craigslist. Once you have more cash make sure to coat it so it doesn't rot - safety first! Then eventually buy a few pullies and make an upper and lower pulley system to go on your cage rack. Use a pipe as a pullup bar for one of the top crossmembers. Add a dip bar later if you want, and at the end of that add a piece of wood at a 45 degree angle on a hinge to make a standing preacher curl. You can also double up the usefulness if you workout with multiple people by simply making both sides of the rack squat and bench racks, which can be done unadjustable with simply an extra 4x4, or adjustable by drilling diagonal holes and using pipes with bolts in them as J-hooks. Total cost without the pulley system/trolley is probably 100 bucks after paint costs, and with the pulleys and cables and pipes for pullup/dip bars and a coating for the thing probably pushing 300 all in. Also for a bench I just used an old cooler reinforced with plumbers tape around the outside so it didn't bow out under load - benched 385 on that without it even flexing!

[nicholassanchez]

Ya we used to wrap books in sheets and then lift those, add or remove more books for different weights! Same way on deployment in Afghanistan, we used sand bags, pipes, rocks, logs, whatever we could makeshift to still lift! There's always a way to get it done!! Thanks Coop for the inspiring video, no excuses! I set up my tiny home gym in the hallway of my studio apartment and it works great!

[aghoover]

Sandbags and a pull-up bar. Maybe not $100 exactly, but you can get strong with these implements. I wish I did this over Covid.

[Finger_Lock_]

My recommendation:
- Doorway pullup bar (20 eur Dechatlon)
- Wooden gym rings (30 eur Dechatlon)
- 20kg Sandbag + sand (17 eur)
- Jump rope (3 eur aliexpress)
(you have 30 bucks for some dumbbells, parallettes or something of your choice)

I'd do a simple upper lower split.
For upper: pullups, dips, deficit push ups, triceps extensions, pelican curls, leg raises...
Lower with sandbag: Bolgarian split squat, one legged Romanian deadlift, nordic curls, pistol squats, single leg calf raises, step ups...
Jump rope and running for cardio.

[IAmBrandonH]

CAP sells an olympic barbell with weights at Walmart for like $89-$99. It comes with the bar, 2x25s, 2x10s, and 2x5s. For a total of like 100-110lbs with the bar.

[andrewwebster]

I love the budget oriented videos, and the fantasy ones (e.g. premium machines) only periodically

[isaiahwookey]

Here I am watching 2023 videos trying to find the products that have now tripled in price. Perfect timing

[CharlesLucky]

For $294, I got an adjustable bench and a pair of 135lbs Yes4All dumbbells for my small apartment and it's been awesome getting back in to it again

[johnwesley]

Liking the budget content as it feels more relatable. I do not have 1000s to splurge on a homegym, so this is right up my street.
With just a pull-up bar, rings and bands, you can get in decent shape if you are consistent.

[jasonmckinney]

Tell Sam I really enjoyed his interview on the “do you even lift” podcast. He was so informative and a joy to listen to. Hi GGR team!

[seanlowrey]

Furniture sliders are a few bucks at Home Depot. With them, you can do:

Reverse lunges
Bodysaw and several other anterior core variants
Assisted single arm pushups
Supine leg curls + several variants
Body weight pec flies

I’m sure there are many more people can think of. If you think you’re too advanced for this, try the single arm push up. The slider of the non-working arm moves out to the side in a fly-esque motion. It’s really just for stabilization. I find these to be more difficult than a 90lb dumbbell press.

[godsfilmmaker]

I would love it if you put together one of these and did a video for beginners on where to start

[korgrandi]

Before I bought my adjustable dumbbells I had empty gallons of windshield washer fluid or vinegar. I had a pair filled with water, and a pair filled with sand. I weighed them and those were my weights. I could do lunges, split squats, curls, situps, behind the head arm extension. Very versatile and ultra cheap.

[jonathanmcgowen]

Goodwill is another option. Sometimes people dump their old equipment there. My wife has brought home a few kettle bells from there really cheap.

[tonydichiaro]

Landmine with a beater bar. Used punching bag for cardio. At the beginning of the pandemic I filled empty plastic containers with playsand for additional weights. Playsand was $5 for a 50lb bag. My diy pulleys worked but not well. Ritfit sells on Amazon a $45 pulley system. All you need are weight plates and something sturdy to attach it to. It works well and includes a rope attachment and a basic lat bar along with clamps and a loading pin.

[DrHopeSickNotes]

Minimum set up is a pull-up bar (+ resistance bands) and adjustable dumbbells. Then a bench, then a barbell, then a rack. Save & buy in this order (ideally used); buying random cheap stuff in between is just a waste of money, and will just delay you getting the stuff you need

[MrEbilpirate]

Great point about local used markets - Standard 1" plates are everywhere.