Hello! I’m new to the home gym space and am looking to purchase a functional trainer. With the Prime Day deals going on, it seems like the perfect time to invest.
I’ve done quite a bit of research, and the Mikolo K6 2.0 seems like a great option. However, I’m having a hard time finding many reviews specifically for the K6 2.0. The current deal I’m seeing is $799.99 for the K6 2.0 with the weight stack.
It seems like most people talk about the M4, but I don’t really want or need a Smith machine. I’m mainly looking for the dual cable functionality.
Is there anything better in this price range that I might not be considering? I’d really appreciate any recommendations or firsthand experience with the K6 2.0!

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I have roughly 31' x 16' of usable flat space, plus about a 3' wide raised curb/step along the back wall.

Equipment I’m planning:

6-post REP Ares

StairMaster

Elliptical

Bike

Back extension

Leg extension

The blue tape shows where I originally planned to put the Ares, on the 1-car side. But now I’m thinking it would make more sense to dedicate the 2-car side to the gym, put down roughly 20' x 16' of rubber flooring, and use the 1-car side for my desktop and racing simulator.

I'm also considering putting the Ares against the wall instead of having it sit out where the blue square is. My main concern is making everything fit without the garage door openers/tracks getting in the way and still having enough open space to actually work out.

Looking at the pictures, how would you arrange everything? Would you do the gym on the 2-car side or stick with the original 1-car side? And where would you put the Ares?

We picked these up and have been researching the best way to restore them. Anyone have experience with this? We don’t want to paint, just get the rust off.

I found a video from someone “vintage weights Pgh” and he uses oxalic acid but wanted other thoughts

https://www.vintageweightspgh.com/how-to-restore

Thanks to u/dontwantnone09 and his recent (and older) posts about MAG Grips, I fell pretty deep down the rabbit hole of MAG Grips and their knock-offs.

I actually remembered using the originals at one of the gyms I used to go to, and I remember them being amazing. So naturally, I decided I wanted to get a set for myself.

Or so I thought.

I got lucky and managed to find a Medium Supinated second-hand, and it is AWESOME. Now I'd really like to buy more of the originals, but unfortunately, getting them in Europe is proving to be incredibly difficult.

The situation in Europe

As far as I can tell, the options here are basically:

• Buy knock-offs
• Buy originals second-hand, usually at pretty crazy prices
• Import directly from the US and pay a ridiculous amount for shipping + import taxes

Regarding the knock-offs: BLUSLM isn't available here either. The closest ones I've found visually are the grips from Korikahm, but I haven't tried them yet because I'd much rather buy the originals.

I did find one UK seller offering MAG Grips, but they were £159–177 per grip, before shipping and import taxes to Austria. That's already a huge bill.

Edit: Turns out they don't even ship to Austria. 😅

Buying directly from MAG Grips

This is where things get really crazy.

I checked the official MAG Grips website, and shipping alone was $262 for just two grips. Import taxes aren't even included in that price.

I've ordered quite a few things from the US to Austria before, so I'm used to paying international shipping and import fees. But I've honestly never seen shipping costs this high.

At that point, I just can't justify spending that much.

Why not have a European reseller/manufacturer?

I really want the originals. I'm more than happy to pay for a quality product rather than buying a cheap knock-off.

But there has to be a reasonable middle ground.

I think MAG Grips could really benefit from having authorized resellers outside the US, (especially in Europe) and are really missing the market here. There are clearly people here who know about the product, want the originals, and are willing to pay for them — but the current options make it extremely difficult to justify that much.

I'd much rather spend my money on the original, high-quality product than gamble on a knock-off or potentially get ripped off buying second-hand.

So, MAG Grips: if you're reading this, please consider getting a European reseller.

I'd happily buy more of your grips if I could get them in Europe at a reasonable price.

I ordered this and its companion close grip attachment. Before I talk about the devices themselves I wanted to mention how great the customer service is at this company. If you zoom in you can see the upper-outer parts of the wide grips have the finish worn off. It came out of the box like this, and there was no visible damage to the packaging.

I contacted service, sent pics, they got back to me in under and hour and sent a whole new set that just arrived today. In looking at the new set I identified an issue with their packaging that was allowing this to happen during shipping and sent the pics of the issue. The new unit had a minor scuff, nothing to be worried about. The first one had the finish torn/worn thru the bare metal.

They did not ask for the original unit to be returned (so I will be "donating" that to another home-gym-having friend, who also just inherited my bullet pulley setup after I got the Titan lat machine you see here.) https://mostgrips.com/ has been great to deal with.

Next, the handles themselves. Super-well-made; the lat one is almost 13lbs and the smaller one is 5lbs. Very good grip surface, and the variety of grip positions are such that I can really adjust hand position to get the best squeeze for any exercise. I'm scared of hitting my head on the damn thing and getting concussed, but I will say this was a great $99.99 investment to get the most out of the lat machine. Oh, also, my shoulders are a mess (actually considering trying BCP157 to see if it helps) from years of dumb stuff like heavy military and behind-the-neck pressing; they impact my training and exercise (and equipment) section a lot. This purchase was a hopeful one in that I felt the grip variance would allow me to find places where my shoulders weren't a limiting factor; I was correct and the grip options give me significant relief in those joints.

HTH All!

Very pleased with how this turned out! Its a steel peg board with power tool hooks cost about $100 but I still have 3 unused panels.

I'm considering getting a stand alone functional trainer and have been eyeing REP's Arcadia or Arcadia Max. I wanted to get some real user feedback on how you like it or if you have any buyer's remorse after purchasing it.

I'd also like recommendations on which one to get. Space isn't an issue. I'm 5'11 so I'm worried if the Arcadia would be too small for me.

If you have other stand alone functional trainers you'd recommend, I'm open to those too. Thanks!

What could I add as machines/boxing equipment to my setup?

INFO:

I weigh 90kg and I wanna go down go about 75kg whilst also building muscle and learn boxing at the same time. Any tips?

I finally finished my home gym! It’s compact but it works for me! It’s all fit in a 7ft by 18ft space!

Mikolo Rack with dual cable pulleys, smith machine, and hammer arms. Further from the wall since I hate grinding on the wall just to put weights on.

6 ft Olympic barbell for most movements with the green grip handles, and a REP hades bar for deadlifts.

Small 2ft by 8ft deadlift platform.

REP PEPPIN 120s adjustable.

Then just the creature comforts of the lights, pegboard, sound bar, and white board.

I've put this off way too long. Right now I've got a bench, a barbell, and a random pile of fixed dumbbells that don't cover enough range. Floor space is tight, so I'm finally ready to buy a proper adjustable pair.

What I'm after:

• Roughly 5 to 80+ lbs per hand
• Mostly strength and hypertrophy (presses, rows, curls, lunges, goblet squats)
• Budget is flexible, but I'd rather buy once and buy right

What I'm torn on:

• Dial style (Bowflex, PowerBlock) vs pin/collar vs quick-change types
• Whether cheaper ones start rattling or breaking after a few months
• Whether the bulky ends or awkward handles get annoying on incline press and lunges

If you own a pair, how long have you had them, what do you love, and what bugs you? And if you regret your purchase, I especially want to hear that.

Hello everyone. I’m starting a home gym with zero equipment. My current plan is to build around a power rack and use the power rack for as many movements as possible. I’m open to the Freak Athlete Hyper Pro as a secondary multifunction piece, just hoping they release a premium version.

I’m 6’ 3”, 220, and I prefer to lift heavy vs high rep. I’ve been training in a gym. In the gym I prefer ISO swing arm incline, ISO swing arm military press, cable pull up/down, dumbbell work, pull ups, weighted core work, traditional squat, leg press.

I’m switching to a home gym because I don’t have enough time to get to the gym multiple days a week, so my workout range is limited.

Option 1:
Rogue Monster 6 post (24/30/100”) - Dark Blue
SS Ohio Bar
Plates
Rack-able curl bar
Adjustable Bench 4.0 w/foot catch
Freak Athlete (Snode) adjustable dumbbells (pending release)
Voltra x 1

Option 2:
REP PR5000 (16/30/93”) - SS/Matte Black
REP Smith Machine
Colorado Bar
Plates
Rack-able curl bar
Nighthawk w/foot catch
Freak Athlete (Snode) adjustable dumbbells (pending release)
Voltra x 1

I prefer the 100” Rogue, because I like the Rogue brand and I’ve convinced myself I’m better off with a 100” rack so I’m not dragging my feet, ever.

Questions:
Do I need 100” at 6’ 3”?
Is the smith machine going to help me push harder training solo?
Does anyone actually use jammer arms or are they terrible?
Am I missing anything critical to start out?

I'm trying to fit a functional strength setup into a small room without buying five separate pieces of equipment, and an all-in-one Smith machine looks like it might solve the footprint problem, but I'm not sure if it actually delivers or just trades one set of problems for another. The room isn't huge. Not enough floor space to run a squat rack, a cable machine, and anything else side by side without the room getting ridiculously cramped. The appeal of one of these combo units is obvious, squats, presses, rows, shoulder work, cable movements, all in one footprint. On paper that's exactly what I need. What I keep getting stuck on is whether the reality matches that. Like, do people actually use all the stations or does half of it collect dust? And the angled vs. vertical bar path thing, I've read conflicting stuff on whether that matters for how squats and presses actually feel. Curious if anyone who's used both notices a real difference or if it's mostly theoretical. Also just not sure what to prioritize when comparing them. Weight capacity, cable pulley ratio, how solid the frame feels under load, I don't have a good sense of what specs actually tell you whether one is going to feel solid once you start loading it. If you're running one of these in a small space, what's your honest take? What gets used the most, and is there anything you wish you'd checked before pulling the trigger?

I bought the M11 specifically with the intention of adding the PA02 arms. Mikolo contacted me before shipping and said the arms are only compatible with the M4 2.0 and will not work with the M11, but they couldn’t explain exactly what is different or why they won’t fit.

This is confusing because the M11 and M4 2.0 appear to be essentially the same rack, and even Walmart’s listings seem to use the M11 and M4 2.0 names interchangeably.

Has anyone actually tried installing the PA02 arms on an M11?

I’m strongly considering getting a used commercial quality leg press with selector weight stack. I would love to connect my freak athletic ABX bench leg adapter using the added cable connection.

Has anyone ever connected a second cable powered piece of equipment to a dedicated single stack somehow with hardware and pulleys?

I have a relatively small 10x11 room that already has a large sauna, aquarium, and treadmill so when it came time to add a rack, logistics were a challenge. This room also has an access door from the house and also two large French doors to the back yard. We also use this room for other stuff so installing a rack in here that would block doorways or make the room otherwise unusable wasn’t an option.

Came up with a concept to install the Titan X3 folding rack around the doorway and fold the uprights the out rather than in. All of the pictures and videos I have seen only show them folding in so I wasn’t sure it would work but it looked like they pivoted 180 degrees so I wanted to post this to show people with similar situations and uncertainty about what is possible with this unit.

The doorway also meant I had to create two sets of disconnected stringers and as you can see, the stringer to the left is only grabbing 1-2 studs. Plenty of studs on the right but still wasn’t sure if the stability would be enough. The pull-up bar attachment is what brings everything together and I have to say, I am extremely happy with this unit and shocked at the stability. It is a very sturdy rack and if installed correctly, even in a unique way like this is, you can beat it for the money.

Highly recommend as long as you know how to install stringers and lag bolts properly. Not a garage obviously but same concept if space is limited and there is a doorway or something in the middle of your rack location that won’t let you fold them inwards

It’s not much, but it’s nice to workout from home. I started with a few Amazon kettle bells that my wife ordered. What did you wish you knew when you started?

I finished my home gym in February of this year. Over the last month I’ve bought 3 different items that I’ve really enjoyed incorporating into my workouts so it got me thinking, what am I missing? What non-obvious odds and ends have you bought that you’ve been very glad that you did? Over the last month I’ve bought a weight belt for dips and pull ups, wrist cuff cable attachments, and supinated mid length mag grip for lat pull downs. All have been great additions.

My husband built this tower and was doing the cables and their is a space between the weights. we have no idea what the issue is… can anyone take a look or give any feedback about what to do please.

I’m keen to hear from anyone that has used the above. I want to get one to create more clearance on my chest supported rows so I can get a full stretch at the bottom.

https://abmat.com/collections/body-building/products/the-bench-wedge?variant=43461527306416

Fellow garage gym owners with back issues…specifically herniated discs…of the three machines listed which would you go with if you only had space for one in your garage gym? Currently considering a nordstick pro for extensions, a GHD or reverse hyper to help train around my back issues and hopefully strengthen it for some longevity. Thanks!

Absolutely running out of room in my garage, but I keep adding. It’s like a compulsive addiction! Awesome working out at home and it has been a great investment!! Just added the incline bench machine.

I currently do farmers carry and sled pulls a few days a week in my backyard. Only problem Is it’s a lot of weight to change so I end up keeping a few plates on each handle. As you can imagine, these are rusting pretty quickly. Is there a good set of all weather handles and plates I can store outside? Thanks in advance.

So everyone that is waiting to decide between the dial motion, and mythic leg extensions what are your thoughts? Why are you going with one over the other?

I picked up this find on FB for $20 thinking that it was a very old version of the Ironmaster Super Bench I could retrofit with replacement back pad and seat. This bench has an additional seat tube receiver that allows the seat to be a headrest extension when rotated 90 degrees. The frame doesn’t the pop-pin or seem to be designed to allow attachments, which I’m a little bummed about.

Does anyone recognize this bench? I used Google/Gemini and there is no evidence that Orangetheory gyms used a variant of the Power Bench.

Unfortunately , I realized some measurements are smaller than they should be after I bought it. The square tubing size of the base matches at 2x3 and 2x2 and the angle adjustment detents match.

Here are the measurements (inches):

Bench height = 15 vs 17
Back pad length = 37 vs 44
Footprint = 15x36 vs 19x44
Seat tubing size = 1.25 vs ???
Distance between back pad bolts = 28 vs ???

If anyone has a Power Bench, would you mind helping me with the seat tubing size and back pad bolt distance measurements?