In November, Angela and I had finally had enough of the big box gym and the crowds that come with it. We bought an elliptical machine for our living room and decided it was time to purchase some weights and get out of our gym memberships. This decision has turned out to be one of the best things we’ve ever done.

We thought about the types of exercises we like to do, looked around at the various equipment manufacturers and made some decisions about what to purchase. We ended up going with Rogue Fitness because of their reputation, the fact that their equipment is made in the USA and the overall quality of their ordering experience. Here’s what we got (pictures then a list):

• The Rogue Bar
• S-2 Squat Stand with Fat/Skinny Pullup Bar
• Matador (Dip Attachment)
• Flat Bench
• 6 45LB Steel Plates
• 4 24LB Steel Plates
• 2 10LB Steel Plates
• 4 45LB Bumper Plates
• 2 24LB Bumper Plates
• 53LB Kettlebell
• 35LB Kettlebell
• 2 4’x6′ Rogue Gym Mats (Rubber with Diamond Plate Pattern)

We asked for a custom quote on the equipment and shipping and everything came out to about $2,300. Rogue Fitness was super helpful the entire order – I can’t recommend their stuff enough and they have some pretty awesome promotions going on all the time.

In the end, this change was well worth the investment. We canceled our $80 a month gym membership, don’t have to drive 15 minutes to the gym and back every day, don’t have to put the mileage on the car and (most importantly) don’t have to mess with the assholes who inevitably ended up disturbing our workouts.

I seriously couldn’t be happier and Angela couldn’t either. If you do any weightlifting (and are serious about it) I can’t recommend building a home gym enough. Ours takes up a space about 10′ x 7′ x 9′ (wide x deep x high) and we never feel cramped. Unless you’re hitting the same amount of weight I do, you can probably drop a few of the 45s off of your order and have enough to last you for the rest of your life. From an economic standpoint it is such a huge win (if you use the stuff) and from a piece of mind standpoint I couldn’t be happier.

To show how happy I am, here are some pictures from our latest workout: