Going to the gym is a hassle, and with our busy lives, it’s hard to go routinely to achieve fitness goals. That’s why I decided to just move the gym into my home by creating a home gym in my garage. Of course, space is limited, but I do have enough space for some equipment. Since space is limited, I decided to focus on upper-body workouts. To see the biggest gains, most people would agree that the upper-body muscles to target in descending order as follows: (each muscle’s relative size is also shown based on this article)
- Delts / Deltoids (shoulders) – 380 cm3
- Tri’s (triceps) – 370 cm3
- Pecs / Pectoralis Major (chest) – 290 cm3
- Lats / Latissimus Dorsi – 262 cm3
- Traps / Trapezius
- Bi’s (biceps) – 143 cm3
Dumbbells / Free Weights
Almost all exercises can be done using dumbbells or free weights, which don’t take a lot of space. However, I personally don’t like dumbbells or free weights because
- it’s hard to lift heavy weights with them
- they are more dangerous than using machines, which makes you opt for lower weights
- it’s harder to balance them and use proper form compared to using a machine
- they are not as comfortable to use compared to machines
- you are limited to maybe 100 lbs per dumbbell
Machines
I find resistance machines way more enjoyable and safer to use, but they can take up a lot of space. Fortunately, there are some options that are designed for home gyms. Following are the machines I have and my opinion about them. They all accept 2″ Olympic plates.
Bicep Curl and Tricep Extension Machine
Website (cheaper on Walmart.com)
This machine works well for working your biceps. It accepts 2″ Olympic plates. It’s not as comfortable to use as similar machines that use stacked plates. However, those machines are much more expensive.
This machine can also be used to work your triceps, but it’s uncomfortable to use it for that.
I use this machine to work my triceps, but I use a dumbbell. I sit backward and do tricep extensions as shown below.
Chest Press Machine
Website (cheaper on Walmart.com)
This chest press machine works very well. You can incline the bench to train your upper chest, but it’s a little less comfortable in that position as your lower body is lower to the floor. The manufacturer claims you can use it to also do situps, but it doesn’t work well at all for that purpose.
As this machine is called a chest press machine, it primarily targets the chest. However, it also works the triceps to some extent. However, don’t expect much work on your triceps. A seated dip machine does a much better job for that.
Seated Dip Machine
Website (cheaper on Walmart.com)
When the handles are turned in and your back is against the back cushion, this machine primarily targets your chest.
When the handles are turned in and your back is leaning forward parallel to the machine’s arms, it primarily targets your triceps.
Deltoid and Shoulder Press Machine
Website (cheaper on Walmart.com)
This machine works well for training your side and top muscles of your shoulder.
2″ Olympic Barbell with Collars and Stand
Barbells work well for doing shrugs to work your traps. The stand makes it easy to add/remove plates. The clamp collars secure the places well.
Incline Close-Grip Bench Press
Unlike the regular incline bench press, which targets your upper chest, the close-grip version targets your inner chest and triceps. In order to get better efficiency from this exercise, it is recommended to do high repetitions with low weights instead of lifting too much weight.
Rubber Olympic Plates
I bought mine after Black Friday, so I got a deal. 2 x 10 lbs, 2 x 25 lbs, and 2 x 45 lbs for $168.
Training Routine
Since you should work the same muscles on consecutive days, I work each muscle 3 times a week with one rest day. This is the schedule I follow.
| SUN | ARM & CHEST DAY Incline Chest Press (4 sets) Incline Close-Grip Bench Press (4 sets) Seated Tricep & Chest Dip (4 sets) Seated Overhead Dumbbell Tricep Extension (4 sets) |
| MON | SHOULDER DAY Shoulder Press (4 sets) Shoulder Lateral Raise (4 sets) Barbell Shrugs (4 sets) Seated Bicep Curls (4 sets) |
| TUE | ARM & CHEST DAY Incline Chest Press (4 sets) Incline Close-Grip Bench Press (4 sets) Seated Tricep & Chest Dip (4 sets) Seated Overhead Dumbbell Tricep Extension (4 sets) |
| WED | Rest |
| THU | SHOULDER DAY Shoulder Press (4 sets) Shoulder Lateral Raise (4 sets) Barbell Shrugs (4 sets) Seated Bicep Curls (4 sets) |
| FRI | ARM & CHEST DAY Incline Chest Press (4 sets) Incline Close-Grip Bench Press (4 sets) Seated Tricep & Chest Dip (4 sets) Seated Overhead Dumbbell Tricep Extension (4 sets) |
| SAT | SHOULDER DAY Shoulder Press (4 sets) Shoulder Lateral Raise (4 sets) Barbell Shrugs (4 sets) Seated Bicep Curls (4 sets) |
For each muscle, I follow this schedule:
| Set #1 (warmup) | 1 minute |
| Rest | 2 minutes |
| Set #2 | 1 minute |
| Rest | 2 minutes |
| Set #3 | 1 minute |
| Rest | 2 minutes |
| Set #4 | 1 minute |