The home gym movement has grown dramatically over the past few years, and the quality of equipment available to everyday athletes has never been better. Whether you have a spare corner of a garage, a dedicated room, or just a stretch of driveway, you can run nearly any WOD from the HomeWODrx library with the right gear.
This guide breaks down the equipment we recommend at three budget levels — starter, mid-range, and full build — with notes on what each piece unlocks in your training and what to look for when buying.
How to Think About Home Gym Purchases
The most common mistake people make is buying too much too fast — or spending on specialized gear before they have the basics. We recommend a tiered approach: establish a foundation first, then add pieces as your training demands them.
Three questions to ask before any purchase:
- Does it unlock new workouts? If a piece of equipment opens up 20+ workouts in your library, it's high-value.
- Is it durable? Budget equipment that fails after six months costs more in the long run. Buy quality once.
- Does it fit the space? A 7-foot barbell needs clearance. A pull-up rig needs height. Measure before you buy.
Starter Setup (~$300–$500)
This setup lets you run a huge range of bodyweight and light-load workouts, including most benchmark Girl WODs at lighter weights and many Hero WODs with appropriate scaling.
- A single 35lb or 53lb kettlebell (or one of each)
- A doorframe pull-up bar or wall-mounted pull-up bar
- Jump rope (speed rope preferred)
- Gymnastics rings or a set of resistance bands
- An 8–10lb medicine ball or wall ball
Kettlebells
Cast Iron Kettlebell
The single most versatile piece of equipment for home training. Swings, cleans, snatches, goblet squats, Turkish get-ups — a good kettlebell workout can hit every major movement pattern. Start with one heavy bell (53lb for men, 35lb for women) or a pair at moderate weight.
Browse kettlebells on HomeWODrx →Pull-Up Bar
Wall-Mounted or Doorframe Pull-Up Bar
Pull-ups, ring rows, hanging knee raises, and kipping work all start here. A doorframe bar is the cheapest entry point; a wall-mounted bar is more stable and better for kipping. If you're serious about the sport, go wall-mounted from day one — you'll be glad you did.
Browse pull-up options →Mid-Range Setup (~$800–$1,500)
Adding a barbell and bumper plates to your setup opens the Olympic lifting section of almost every WOD database — cleans, deadlifts, thrusters, overhead squats. This is where training starts to feel like a real gym.
- Olympic barbell (men's 45lb / women's 35lb)
- Bumper plates (at least 155lb total for men, 105lb for women)
- Horse stall mat or rubber flooring (3/4 inch minimum)
- Plyo box (20/24 inch)
- Adjustable dumbbell set or fixed pair (35s and 50s)
Barbell
Olympic Barbell
Not all barbells are created equal. For functional fitness, look for a bar with good whip for Olympic lifts and knurling in the right spots for both clean grip and snatch grip. Rogue Fitness makes some of the best barbells available — the Ohio Bar is a trusted choice at a mid-range price point that will last decades with proper care.
View barbell recommendations →Bumper Plates
Bumper Plates
Unlike iron plates, bumpers are designed to be dropped safely — essential for Olympic lifting in a home gym. Start with enough to reach your working weights for most benchmark WODs (155/105 as a target). Get a weight collar too; it makes loading and unloading much faster mid-WOD.
View plate recommendations →Full Garage Gym (~$2,500+)
At this level, you can run the entire HomeWODrx workout library without substitution. This is the setup that makes your garage look and feel like a proper training facility — and makes it genuinely hard to justify a gym membership.
- Pull-up rig or squat rack with pull-up bar attachment
- Concept2 Rower or Echo/Assault Bike
- Additional barbell and full plate set
- Wall ball (20/14lb) + rope for double-unders
- GHD machine (optional but high-value for core work)
- Rings, parallettes, and ab mat
Concept2 Rower
Concept2 RowErg
The gold standard for rowing in functional fitness. The Concept2 is reliable, widely used in competitions, and provides accurate monitoring for calibrated training. It's not cheap, but it's the one piece of cardio equipment you'll never regret buying. Used units are regularly available and still perform excellently.
View cardio equipment →Squat Rack / Pull-Up Rig
Squat Stand or Power Rack
A dedicated rack gives you safe barbell squatting, a stable pull-up bar, and (with attachments) a dip station and ring anchor. Rogue's Monster Lite series is popular with serious home gym athletes for its modular design — you can add components over time as your training evolves.
View racks and rigs →What About Recovery Gear?
Training hard enough to need Hero WODs means training hard enough to need recovery. A few items that are worth adding at any budget level:
- Foam roller — standard tool for myofascial work post-training
- Lacrosse ball — for targeted pressure on stubborn spots (lats, glutes, calves)
- Pull-up/gymnastics tape — hand tears are a rite of passage, but they don't need to end your training week
- Wrist wraps and a lifting belt — once loads get heavy, these protect you from avoidable injuries
Final Thoughts
You don't need everything on this list to start. Pick the tier that matches your budget and space, and build from there. The most important thing is that you have what you need to train consistently — a great workout with a kettlebell beats a skipped workout waiting for the perfect rig to arrive.
Use the Smart WOD Builder to filter by your available equipment, and you'll never run out of good training options no matter where you are in your build.
Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, HomeWODrx may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend equipment we'd use ourselves.