Pros & Cons: Lifting rack in house v. garage

[Sherry Gay]

I have a Monster Lite Rack ordered. Initially I figured I'd stick it in the garage but now I'm wondering if it would be better in an extra room. The house is 50+ years old with a crawl space foundation. The garage is on a slab, not climate controlled, and every now and again it floods in a heavy storm (only enough to seep under the platform).

I figured I'd ask and see what considerations others have worked through making this decision.

[Steve R]

Putting it in an extra room is fine if the room is big enough. A barbell is a little over 7' long and it's good to have a couple of feet clearance on each end to load it. You can make a platform for deadlifts that will protect your floor. It will be plenty loud on a wood floor but it will not harm the floor as long as the platform is thick and all the wood below is sound.

Most people with garage gyms don't have room for gym equipment inside the house.

[Gerald Boggs]

I also have an old house (100 +) I've been using my back room for tool and equipment storage. After a few years, I notice the floor was sagging in the middle. Now have jack studs in the crawl space.

[danomite!]

A quick inspection in the crawl space and a few extra supports is cheap insurance. A platform will spread out the weight over a larger area.

[Sherry Gay]

I was thinking of the floor and the ceiling height but hadn't thought of bar length. I may need to position it differently. Thanks!

If you had it to do over again, would you put the stud jack under it from the beginning? Or just put it somewhere else altogether?

[PuliMorgan]

I was thinking of the floor and the ceiling height but hadn't thought of bar length. I may need to position it differently. Thanks!

Not only the bar length, you need to consider some free space on either side so that you can comfortably load the plates onto the bar.

[Gerald Boggs]

I would have put the jacks in at the beginning. My shop is dirt floored and anything out there will rust, so the back room is my only good storage area.

[drcube]

I just recently moved, and my gym went from my bedroom to a garage (also I worked out in the old garage before moving it into the bedroom). So I have experience with both. The bedroom was cramped. My gym took up basically all the space that wasn't my bed and dresser. It was a tight fit to get my weight tree in there in a place where I wouldn't bang the barbell on it during squats and bench presses. Adding and removing plates from the side of the bar closest to the wall wasn't straightforward but I got used to it. But it sure was convenient. I almost always just worked out in my boxers. And the A/C was nice to have in the summer. And I had no problem with floor damage using a three layer plywood platform. If anything it protected the wood floor from scratches that the rest of the floor got. I wasn't lifting what most would consider "heavy" though. 300-350lb deadlift, tops. Another consideration is ceiling height for presses. I had nine foot ceilings. Much shorter and it wouldn't have worked. Measure your height plus your arms all the way overhead and add half a 45lb plate. That's the minimum height you need, and hope you don't decide to invite any taller buddies over to use your gym.

Now my first priority is getting a mini-split A/C in the garage. I'd just use a window unit, but our garage windows are stupid narrow and a window unit won't fit. I figure if I'm going to cut a hole in the wall anyway, I'd rather do it for a mini-split rather than a window unit. Climate control is crucial. My barbell requires more maintenance because of the humidity. I oil it after the workout most nights, after brushing chalk out of the knurl. Also, working out in the heat and humidity sucks. Working out in the freezing cold is even worse, but my garage does have a heater so I don't have to worry about that this year. Ultimately your decision will come down to space: do you have the space for your platform, rack, weights and accessories? Is there headspace for pressing? If so, gym inside. Unless your garage has A/C and heat in addition to plenty of free space, in which case it's probably the better option. Or do what I did, workout in the garage, suffering through the heat, in hopes that you can get an A/C installed in the very near future. I do have a heavy duty industrial fan for now, but it isn't as nice as A/C and it drowns out my music.

[Eric Schexnayder]

I have a Monster Lite Rack ordered. Initially I figured I'd stick it in the garage but now I'm wondering if it would be better in an extra room. The house is 50+ years old with a crawl space foundation. The garage is on a slab, not climate controlled, and every now and again it floods in a heavy storm (only enough to seep under the platform).

I figured I'd ask and see what considerations others have worked through making this decision.

Can only speak as someone who has exclusively worked out in the garage. If I could move my gym inside to an extra room, I would do it in a heartbeat.

The heat is a killer in the summer (I live in Texas). Winter not so bad after warming up in a hoody. Now, the heat is not the problem per se as I have learned to manage it, but it keeps my workouts to being only late at night after it has cooled down somewhat.