At Home Gym Equiptment

I'd also say stay away from the Smith Machine. If you are interested in having the pull down feature, the same company also makes a power rack with the pull down station.
http://www.bodysolid.com/Home/GPR378/Body-Solid_Pro_Power_Rack
Adjustable Dumbells are always awesome. You could also hang gymnastic rings or a TRX suspension trainer from the top of that power rack. I also recommend checking out this rack in person. In my search for home fitness equipment, I have seen some wobbly racks and I am glad I didn't purchase them. Anything by Rouge is awesome and fairly easy to assemble. Their customer service is also top notch.
http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-rml-3wc-fold-back-wall-mount-rack-custom-color-edition

What you buy for a gym depends on what your goals are but you can buy A LOT of more versatile weight lifting equipment for the cost of a Powerline Smith Gym ($2.75k retail but it's available for "only" $1.1k on one site I looked at).

Here's a link to a pretty good article posted in the MFP Blog about what you should consider buying w/a particular amount of $ to set up a home gym:

http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/guide-building-home-gym-budget-infographic/

This info should be useful in giving you ideas of what to buy. You can also save a lot of money by buying things used on Craigslist.

To give you an example of what's possible, I have a very well equipped home gym, which includes a power rack, 2 standard barbells (1 Olympic Pendlay and 1 Hampton Power), a Rogue multigrip bar, 2 Rogue Farmer's Walk carriers, a T-grip bar, an EliteFTS Safety Squat Yoke bar, a landmine bar holder, a deadlift jack, over 1K pounds in bumper plates, a pair of adjustable Gold's Gym dumbbells (50# each) plus the stand,over 1k pounds in Olympic bumper plates plus various other steel plates and fractional plates, a weight vest w/75# of weights, a GHR and Sissy Squat stand, an adjustable Cybex bench, 2 plate racks and a 9 barbell rack.

Bought most of this equipment used or retail at a discount and it all fits in the single stall in my 3 car garage. Never bothered to add the cost of all this stuff up but I'd guess around $2-3k which about 1/2 the retail cost.

The Powerline Smith Gym you're thinking about buying would pay for about `1/3-1/2 of the equipment that I have and you could set up a pretty nice gym for that kind of $.

We have adjustable dumbbells, a cable machine, barbells, plates, ketttlebells, TRX system, resistance bands.
No power cage/rack though, which is something I would love to have one day.

Powerblock dumbells are much better than the Select Tech. I wouldn't go Smith machine either. I just bought a squat rack on Amazon and an Olympic set from Dick's. Everything cost less than 400 bucks. A pullup bar is a good idea as well although most squat racks already have one.

singletrackmtbr wrote: »

sardelsa wrote: »

We have adjustable dumbbells, a cable machine, barbells, plates, ketttlebells, TRX system, resistance bands.
No power cage/rack though, which is something I would love to have one day.

I found a 1000 pound open design squat rack on Amazon for $190. It doesn't have to be a dream.

It's not cost.. it's space and height unfortunately! Thanks though I will check it out because eventually we may move

TRX

I love my Powerblock adjustable dumbbells - worth the money. They also make adjustable kettlebells.

singletrackmtbr wrote: »

I won't hijack the thread except to say I'm in it for life, and I got a thousand pound power rack for a fifth of the price of the monster lite you're showing here. Got a 300# olympic set for I can't even imagine how much less than the comparable from rogue.

My bar is cheap and will need replacement, the rest of it will last a long time.

Again, I love Rogue, but to suggest that it's the only option if you're serious is nonsense and will deter the less knowledgeable who want to buy this gear but don't have thousands of dollars. My goals and priorities are to get absolutely shredded and strong, and still have some money left in my bank account.

Werd. I wonder how Arnold did it without Rogue.

I admit I have a Rogue Ohio bar and it's nice, but I probably didn't even need that; I just had extra cash lying around at the time. Prior to that, I had a cheap bar from Amazon that worked perfectly for me for over 2 years. Was I throwing around hundreds of pounds? No, but I think plenty of people who lift way heavier than I do can do so without Rogue equipment. I'd buy it if I had disposable income because it looks pretty...but I don't have disposable income.

To the OP, I would not buy a smith machine. The best money I ever spent was on a half cage with pull up bar, olympic barbell and plates, and some dumbbells. I also have a few resistance bands I use regularly for pull ups. I did not purchase any of this until I had been going to a commercial gym for a while and knew I was going to stick with the program, but was sick of battling strangers for equipment.

jennybearlv wrote: »

samhennings wrote: »

jennybearlv wrote: »

A rack, bench, and barbell set will take you far.

Exactly where I would start. And if possible a cable machine as well

My only regret is not buying a rack with a cable or option to add one. I have my rack in a 10 x 9 bedroom and can't find the room for a stand alone cable machine. I'd relocate to the garage, but not parking my truck in the snow is the most awesome thing ever.

You'd be surprised what you can accomplish with bands attached to the top of the rack.

singletrackmtbr wrote: »

. . . Rogue makes great stuff but is definitely for people without a budget. There are plenty of other options out there that won't break the bank.

Agreed.

The main problem w/Rogue for me price-wise isn't so much the MSRP but the cost of shipping and sales tax which can almost double the price of an item.

So, I've only purchased a few things directly from Rogue and what Rogue gear I've got I bought used off of Craigslist.

I say get the Trx suspension and some resistance bands and sign up for the beach body on demand. It works great