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The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
The Home Gym How-To
How to set up a no-frills, simple, inexpensive home gym for use with this program
I’m a big fan of working out at home. This system was actually developed on an inexpensive old rusty home gym, and in this guide I’m going to quickly show you how it
was set up, what equipment is necessary to get optimal results, and how to get started
piecing together your own inexpensive home gym.
This guide assumes you are familiar with gym equipment, and know what looks and
feels “right”. I am not going to go into deep specifics, but rather just outline the home
gym set-up I put together inexpensively (from used sources) that works very well with
this program.
http://www.hollywoodphysique.com/access/?page_id=2827
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The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
Finding it cheap
I’ll start this off by telling you: I can, with almost completely certainty, guarantee you
that there are LOTS of people living nearby you who have good weight equipment
they’re desperate to get rid of and that you can pick up at ridiculously low prices.
A lot of people buy this equipment thinking they’re going to use it every day… then after a week or two, they’re done with it completely. It’s now just a waste of space to
them, and they’re just desperate to get rid of it.
Beyond even weight equipment, this includes treadmills, which are ideal for Incline
Walking sessions. People regret ever buying them and will do anything to off-load
them.
All the equipment I picked up I got through craigslist.org, but just look for any kind of
local classifieds to pick up this stuff. Don’t even be worried about putting up “WANTED” ads, even if they’re just pieces of paper tacked to your local gym’s bulletin board.
When people see that someone actually wants to take away their annoying home gym
equipment, they’ll be ecstatic and contact you pretty quickly.
When I wanted to pick up a treadmill, I posted a “wanted” ad in craigslist and got ten
responses on the first day from people desperate to get their treadmills out of storage.
In other words, you’re doing a lot of people favors by taking this stuff away from them,
and you should be able to get it all pretty cheap.
What kind of weight equipment should you get?
Do NOT purchase a Bowflex or other “all in one” home gym. They are poor quality and
will NOT work with this system. Save yourself the hassle!
There are only two general “classifications” of weight equipment you should be looking
for:
1. Olympic
2. Standard
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The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
I recommend getting Olympic weight equipment (benches, weights, bars, etc) because it
is more common and what I used to develop this system. “Olympic” weights (and
equipment, like the 45 pound Olympic bar used for benching/squatting/etc) are those
that are most commonly found in gyms across the world, and “Standard” are far smaller and lighter.
Remember, though: you will not be needing lots and lots of weight for this program! The goal
in Hollywood Hypertrophy Training is to exhaust your muscles with lighter weights in
a very short amount of time, and you will NOT be aiming to set new 1-repetition-maximum records or lifting super heavy weights.
So the small collection of plates and weights you get with whatever weight set you pick
up will likely be enough on its own, although many people sell used weights fairly inexpensively as well if you do need more.
A tour of my home gym
So here’s a quick tour of my home gym. I’m going to show you the equipment I bought
and that I use, and this should give you a good idea of what will do the trick on this program. (I will also suggest, later in this guide, substitutions for exercises that require
“fancier” equipment that doesn’t have a place in an inexpensive home gym.)
The equipment:
Two Olympic-sized benches, with 330 pounds of weights between them. One bench is
used for squats and the other for the wide grip neck press. I set them up this way because a) it was cheap to get two, b) I had the room for them, and c) it’s more convenient.
One bench also has a preacher curl station attached to it (which was originally meant for
leg presses, I believe). The plates include: two 45 lbs; two 35 lbs; four 25 lbs; four 10 lbs;
four 5 lbs; four 2.5 lbs.
http://www.hollywoodphysique.com/access/?page_id=2827
Page 3 of 13
The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
Two adjustable “standard” dumbbells with clips. These are just cheap pieces of metal
where I can slide on weights and then use a cheap clip to hold them closed. Again, I
rarely use dumbbells heavier than 20 pounds on this program, so this is the ideal solution. These came with one of my weight sets, but can be found relatively inexpensively
brand new in sporting stores as well.
Two curling bars. Mine are both EZ-curl bars (not straight bars) and, to be honest, I’d
prefer straight bars – but I took what I got. Most bench sets come with these, and each
curling bar I have came with each bench set I picked up.
http://www.hollywoodphysique.com/access/?page_id=2827
Page 4 of 13
The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
Home-made dip bar. I’ve performed dips stationed between two laundry machines before, I’ve performed them on two chairs… really any two sturdy surfaces, separated
properly, are perfect for dips. In this case, though, I wanted to make my own “adjustable width” V-dip bar and made this one with about $60 of PVC pipe. (Instructions
are coming soon for this.) If I had extra metal piping laying around, I would have used
that instead – but buying it new was too expensive.
http://www.hollywoodphysique.com/access/?page_id=2827
Page 5 of 13
The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
Treadmill that has adjustable incline. I got this used for $75 and probably could have
gone even cheaper. Any treadmill that a) feels comfortable and b) has adjustable incline
will do the trick. I prefer to walk uphill outside for my Incline Walks but I use the treadmill at night and when the weather isn’t so nice.
http://www.hollywoodphysique.com/access/?page_id=2827
Page 6 of 13
The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
Random weights donated by friends. You know how I mentioned that most people are
desperate to get rid of their weight equipment? This goes for your friends as well. When
people found out I was putting together a home gym, I kept being offered old equipment they weren’t using. I got a small collection of random weights and plates that no
one wanted this way. Do I use them all the time? Not really. But keep your eyes peeled
for this when piecing together your own home gym. Really, most people are absolutely
desperate to get rid of their extra equipment.
http://www.hollywoodphysique.com/access/?page_id=2827
Page 7 of 13
The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
Weight belt. This is the kind that has a chain hanging off it that you can sling weights
to, and costs about $15 brand new. I use it specifically for donkey calf raises, but it is not
absolutely necessary.
Pull-up bar. I have old metal piping outside that I use for pull-ups. If I had to buy something, I’d get an inexpensive doorway pull-up bar.
What’s the minimum equipment you need?
So here’s a quick tour of my home gym. I’m going to show you the equipment I bought
and that I use, and this should give you a good idea of what will do the trick on this program. (I will also suggest, later in this guide, substitutions for exercises that require
“fancier” equipment that doesn’t have a place in an inexpensive home gym.)
The equipment:
Two Olympic-sized benches, with 330 pounds of weights between them. One bench is
used for squats and the other for the wide grip neck press. I set them up this way because a) it was cheap to get two, b) I had the room for them, and c) it’s more convenient.
One bench also has a preacher curl station attached to it (which was originally meant for
leg presses, I believe). The plates include: two 45 lbs; two 35 lbs; four 25 lbs; four 10 lbs;
four 5 lbs; four 2.5 lbs.
http://www.hollywoodphysique.com/access/?page_id=2827
Page 8 of 13
The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
Two adjustable “standard” dumbbells with clips. These are just cheap pieces of metal
where I can slide on weights and then use a cheap clip to hold them closed. Again, I
rarely use dumbbells heavier than 20 pounds on this program, so this is the ideal solution. These came with one of my weight sets, but can be found relatively inexpensively
brand new in sporting stores as well.
Two curling bars. Mine are both EZ-curl bars (not straight bars) and, to be honest, I’d
prefer straight bars – but I took what I got. Most bench sets come with these, and each
curling bar I have came with each bench set I picked up.
http://www.hollywoodphysique.com/access/?page_id=2827
Page 9 of 13
The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
Home-made dip bar. I’ve performed dips stationed between two laundry machines before, I’ve performed them on two chairs… really any two sturdy surfaces, separated
properly, are perfect for dips. In this case, though, I wanted to make my own “adjustable width” V-dip bar and made this one with about $60 of PVC pipe. (Instructions
are coming soon for this.) If I had extra metal piping laying around, I would have used
that instead – but buying it new was too expensive.
http://www.hollywoodphysique.com/access/?page_id=2827
Page 10 of 13
The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
Treadmill that has adjustable incline. I got this used for $75 and probably could have
gone even cheaper. Any treadmill that a) feels comfortable and b) has adjustable incline
will do the trick. I prefer to walk uphill outside for my Incline Walks but I use the treadmill at night and when the weather isn’t so nice.
http://www.hollywoodphysique.com/access/?page_id=2827
Page 11 of 13
The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
Random weights donated by friends. You know how I mentioned that most people are
desperate to get rid of their weight equipment? This goes for your friends as well. When
people found out I was putting together a home gym, I kept being offered old equipment they weren’t using. I got a small collection of random weights and plates that no
one wanted this way. Do I use them all the time? Not really. But keep your eyes peeled
for this when piecing together your own home gym. Really, most people are absolutely
desperate to get rid of their extra equipment.
http://www.hollywoodphysique.com/access/?page_id=2827
Page 12 of 13
The Home Gym How-To | The Hollywood Physique for Men
12/16/11 9:11 AM
Weight belt. This is the kind that has a chain hanging off it that you can sling weights
to, and costs about $15 brand new. I use it specifically for donkey calf raises, but it is not
absolutely necessary.
Pull-up bar. I have old metal piping outside that I use for pull-ups. If I had to buy something, I’d get an inexpensive doorway pull-up bar.
Exercise substitutions
Some of the exercises in the Visible Muscle Isolation Method require cables and pullies
and equipment that I don’t include in this home gym.
So here are the substitutions you should make:
Lat pull-downs becomes pull-ups. (These are more difficult than pull-downs, but
are largely used to prevent muscle imbalances – the lats are not a vital part of this
program. If they get too hard, try performing them as “negatives” – where you
jump up and assist yourself to the top level, then lower down as slowly as possible,
essentially only performing half the movement.)
Low pulley pulls become bent-over rows.
Rope pull-downs become skull crushers.
All calf movements become donkey calf raises.
Edit
http://www.hollywoodphysique.com/access/?page_id=2827
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