This was my home gym from September 3, 2003 – May 20, 2005.

As I progressed with my training, I knew that my equipment was seriously holding me back. I had even resorted to tying dumbbells to the bar because I needed more weight than the set I was using had. This was a very stupid thing to do, don’t try it. I almost killed myself, and my wife almost killed me when she found out what I was doing. Not only were the dumbbells unstable while tied to the bar, the bench was not rated for that kind of weight and it felt like it was going to collapse at any moment. I remember thinking to myself, “wouldn’t it be ironic to do all this work, get in great shape and then die because I was too stupid/cheap to not invest in quality equipment?”

So, with the creaking bench fresh in my mind, I decided to update my equipment. I knew that all the equipment I needed was going to take up a lot of room, so I decided to turn the “junk” room into a dedicated home gym. Once I decided what to do, I made a plan and got right to work.

First I cleaned out the room, then I painted the walls, then I ripped up all the carpet and replaced it with protective rubber flooring and, finally, I put up a bunch of large mirrors on one of the walls. For the equipment I purchased a Powertec Power Rack, a 300-pound Olympic barbell weight set, a weight tree, and a Powertec utility bench.

TOUR: