garage gym review 2023

Home gyms are here to stay!

With so many different options for garage gym and home gym equipment, someone had to review everything to provide detailed information on the best equipment for the home gym community.

It is SURPRISINGLY hard to find a top 10 list for home gym review sites anywhere online, and even harder to sort between high quality sites and sites shilling for cheap Amazon products. We've included only the best gym equipment review sites anywhere online in this list. No "pay to click" websites offering cheap equipment in a "Top 10" list.

What's changed for 2024?

Now that this list has been established for several years running, there will be newcomers to the space and changes in rankings, see the list below for more! Also, more at the end of the article if you are interested in learning more about why websites like Garage Gym Reviews will no longer be featured on this top 10 list.

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WARNING
Not every garage gym review or home gym review site is trustworthy, as many sites are essentially spam, exclusively affiliated sites, or low-quality blog posts, trying to get you to buy the latest Nordic Track treadmill or Amazon basics barbell.

The sites in this top 10 list have been vetted for quality, personally contacted, and in most cases personally interviewed, to provide a brief description and summary of their own websites.

These pages are allowed to display a “TOP GARAGE GYM WEBSITES” badge on their pages for authenticity and credibility.

Top 10 Home Gym Review Websites for 2023

If you find a garage gym reviews website that displays this badge for 2024, but has not been listed below, and does not link back to our website for verification, please report the page here on our contact page.

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Without further ado, here's your Top 10 Home Gym Review Websites for 2024!

 

 

 

#1 Garage Gym Lab

Garage Gym Lab

Adam is BACK and better than ever this year, offering in-depth reviews of home gym equipment, as well as informational articles, interviews, and looks around other people’s home gym setups, Garage Gym Lab is an amazing, honest, and incredibly detailed gym equipment review site for people to check out who are on the hunt for quality pieces of fitness equipment for their home gyms.

Adam, who owns Garage Gym Lab, maintains the #1 spot on this list. Adam took a temporary hiatus from video content for a year or two while he redid the website and got his SEO and article content up to snuff. The website hasn’t lost any luster in the process. It’s extremely well organized, searchable, and the videos are extremely high quality. Adam also reviews a wide variety of different brands, unlike some of the other major reviewers (probably due to his reach in the community), and continues to give honest and transparent reviews.

Adam, who runs the Garage Gym Lab, started the website in 2017. In his words, he was sick of dealing with the madness that went with commercial gyms, as well as having no control over the way he trained himself that he decided to start his own home gym.

Fed up with paying premium prices for budget equipment, as well as dealing with large crowds, ridiculous rules, price hikes, and other issues, he began researching home gyms online and created the Garage Gym Lab.

We interviewed Adam on our podcast and discussed how Garage Gym Lab got started, his favorite equipment, and even did a home gym tour with him! Check it out here: 

 

 

 

 #2 Gluck's Gym

Gluck's Gym

Gluck's Gym jumped onto the home gym scene fairly recently, but was originally excluded from this list because we were unaware of his existence. Pretty sure Adrian, the owner, took that personally, because he crushed the content game and is now a serious contender for the #1 spot. Gluck's Gym now has 42k followers on Youtube and an incredible, almost cult-like following on social media built around Adrian and Wynie's winning personalities.

Adrian Gluck runs the website with his wife Wynie, and his sense of humor, approachable videos, well produced content, and honesty and transparency (see his Titan Fitness videos that got some flack) is absolutely huge. In a space full of fitness influencers who are peddling Nordic Track and Tonal crap, Adrian is a breath of fresh air. This guy is self-deprecating, hilarious, a great reviewer, and is building a behemoth of a site. He will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

He made some big organizational improvements this year, including layout, searchability features, a shop, and more. It is vastly improved compared to last year, and starting to rival some of the top sites on this list in terms of organization and content layout.

Adrian is building a long-lasting home gym review website that is rivaling others like Garage Gym Reviews and Garage Gym Lab.

 

#3 Basement Brandon

Basement Brandon

 

"It's a unique take on strength equipment as I'm one of the few reviewers who actively competes in powerlifting. In addition to equipment reviews I also focus on ways to get stronger through training programs, diet, and supplement advice." - Brandon

Brandon Campbell Diamond, also Basement Brandon, AKA Brandon Campbell Fitness, moves down from the #2 spot to #3 due to the breakout year from Gluck's Gym. However, this is not to minimize the work Brandon has put into his content and videos.

While Brandon has a website you can see in his bio, he operates more on Youtube and Instagram, dedicated to equipment reviews, with some of the best, cleanest, and honest reviews out there, I’d say you can find pretty much anything on his channel. We've included him on this list because…well…you can’t exclude him. He’s one of the best in the business.

Brandon is a hands-on reviewer, having competed and powerlifted for years. He blends training and gym equipment reviews seamlessly for experienced lifters and new lifters alike. Not only is his content absolutely flawless, the immaculate gym setup with white on black is an aesthetic beauty.

Basement Brandon is the perfect YouTube channel for home gym enthusiasts, powerlifters, and fitness fans in general. On the channel you will find videos on diet and nutrition, lifestyle tips, powerlifting tips, gym equipment reviews, training tips, and much more. His design aesthetic with his gym is 100% on point, with a white on black color scheme and superior editing that speaks to his breadth of knowledge on home gym topics, seamlessly producing videos in what appears to be 1 take.

With hundreds of thousands of subscribers, it’s clear that Brandon’s content resonates with the home gym community, which is why we’ve included it on our list.

Checkout our interview with Brandon on the FreedomCast podcast here:

 

 

#4 Garage Gym Experiment

Home Gym Headlines - Garage Gym Experiment

"With many guides at the forefront of the website, the website's goal is to simplify the buying experience for someone looking to start a home gym. These guides consider data from the community and years of experience building out home gyms. In addition, with nearly 10,000 subscribers, the blog serves as a way for many to stay in the loop on survey results, podcast episodes, new guides, product releases, reviews, and other information anyone who loves their home gym may want to see." - Jake, Garage Gym Experiment

Garage Gym Experiment is the OG. And Jake is FLYING back up this list to the #4 spot all the way from #6 in 2023. We gave him a really hard time in 2023 about his website navigation and organizational structure, but he's come back with organizational improvements, major revisions to the newsletter, and it's impossible to ignore the extremely successful Garage Gym Radio podcasts, HomeGymCon, and the amazing community Garage Gym Experiment has built over the years. This website is an absolute must-bookmark for 2024. The website is almost secondary to the massive community building he is doing on a daily basis.

Described as a platform dedicated to optimizing the home gym experience, it’s safe to say that Jake, who owns Garage Gym Experiment, has done precisely that – created a community dedicated to the home gym life. With Home Gym Con looming right around the corner, as well as multiple podcasts for the newly created Garage Gym Radio, and personalities focusing on just about every aspect of home gym life, Jake is really building a home gym empire that is exploding.

If you don’t already know, Garage Gym Experiment provides product reviews, surveys, articles, and other content dedicated to working out at home. What people have been especially impressed with when it comes to the Garage Gym Experiment, is the fact that the site itself is more like a community for like-minded individuals who all share the same passion for working out at home.

The website still needs updated navigation, better content organization, and easy access to everything from the Sunday surveys to the reviews on equipment and social pages, and it seems that Jake needs to hire an independent designer for the website, but the content and community is a big reason why he moves back up this list.

Checkout our interview on the FreedomCast podcast with Jake from Garage Gym Experiment here:

 

 


#5 King of the Gym

King of the Gym

"King of the Gym is dedicated to providing the most detailed reviews possible on popular equipment to help home gym owners pick the right pieces for their training needs, space constraints and budget. The goal is not only to delve into the nitty-gritty product details that other reviews may miss, but also to give advice and honest feedback that is actionable -- to make buying decisions easier." - Alex, King of the Gym

Alex with King of the Gym is only moving to #5 because of the changes with the top players this year. This is NOT to discount in any way on the content Alex is putting out. He keeps developing some amazing articles, including a comprehensive barbell comparison chart, new for mid-last year, and squat rack comparison chart. These allow you to see almost every power rack or barbell on the market, see knurling aggressiveness patterns, squat rack hole size, and more.

Started in 2009 by Alex, this website is a well organized review site dedicated to training, nutrition, and most importantly, gym equipment reviews for the everyday lifter.

The most impressive part of the website is how in depth each of the reviews are on each piece of equipment. Most reviews start out with an Amazon-style summary, star review rating, pros and cons, before proceeding to the main review.

While the Youtube channel is not as up to date as we'd like to see, the website is pretty slick and flawless. We love the in depth reviews, a staple of this particular website, and the unbelievable amount of time and effort spent on analysis. In a sea of short videos and short form content, Alex and King of the Gym stands WAY out from the rest. This website is a bit to those like TwoRepCave or Garage Gym Experiment in terms of style and type of data available.

 

#6 Two Rep Cave

Two Rep Cave – Gym Equipment Tips, Reviews and Comparisons

 

  "TwoRepCave offers detailed comparisons to help you narrow down the best choices for barbells, racks, benches, and other gym equipment, helpful lists of made-in the-USA equipment, and of course, testing out new and interesting products to see what you should get or avoid." - David, TwoRepCave

Two Rep Cave moves to the #6 spot with consistency and reliability in content, and the practical approach David has to articles on gym equipment.

Some of you may know the Two Rep Cave as the Adamant Barbell Blog, which is the name of the site/blog in a former life.

Founded by David Kiesling, Two Rep Cave aims to be the best home gym equipment evaluation website in the world. One of the most useful pieces of content on the website is a regularly updated page showing cross-compatibility with different power racks and rack accessories, an incredible bit of content for those looking for different squat rack accessories. It is a feature that keeps many users coming back to the website again and again for compatibility checks. David still responds to comments on this page!

Two Rep Cave's gym flooring page as another great source of information, particularly for the pro-tip borrowed from Alan Thrall on mending plates to keep your rubber floor mats from sliding apart during lifts.

The only feature of the website I would love to see improved is organizational in nature, similar to what you might see from Garage Gym Lab’s page around bench reviews, barbell reviews etc. The organization is definitely better than some websites on this list, but could be a bit more structured (feels almost like a forum in some regards).

Overall a great source of content, particularly for gym equipment.

 


#7 Gym Crafter

Gym Crafter - Helping you build the perfect home gym!

GymCrafter.com helps people decide not only what to put in their home or garage gym, but also strives to help them understand why. Founded by Tim Steward, a long-time garage gym enthusiast, Gym Crafter focuses on providing helpful information and reviews grounded in real world, practical experience. Tim believes that the key to aging and living well is a consistent fitness practice that is best achieved in a home gym.” – Tim, Gym Crafter

Tim maintains his #7 spot at Gym Crafter. Tim, the owner of GymCrafter, used lifting to get out of chronic pain and created a website dedicated to helping everyone get into lifting with a common-sense approach, down to earth style, and awesome gym equipment recommendations people will actually use and love. Tim has great recommendations, excellent content.

As far as the website goes, Gym Crafter site is built for the "everyman." This is awesome because he only reviews and writes about products that he has purchased and/or used extensively which he would more than happily spend his money on. This type of content is refreshing because you can tell from his reviews that he is passionate about what he is reviewing and that he truly believes in it.

The site is well organized, and no longer cluttered with ads! A great improvement!

Aside from equipment reviews, there are also sections dedicated to helping people plan their own home gym setups, train, and fill their home gyms, and maintaining their home gym setups.

We interviewed Tim on the FreedomCast Podcast to ask him about Gym Crafter, how his background and health issues got him started with the site, and did a quick home gym tour with him as well! Check it out here: 

 

 

#8 Flex Marks the Spot

Flex Marks The Spot - YouTube
"At FlexMarksTheSpot.com, Mark shares his personal insights and recommendations on the latest & greatest home gym equipment. Follow his journey as he tests and reviews various products, and get practical tips and entertaining content along the way." - Mark, FlexMarksTheSpot

Maintaining his #8 spot is Flex Marks the Spot, another newer reviewer to the space with a new logo produced by another reviewer on this list (Joe Gray)! Mark recently went viral for a leg press video where he showcased some strongmen from the Shaw Classic repping out a car on a custom leg press machine during the show. That video was featured on ESPN's social media page!

Although the video content is not as polished as some of the other reviewers on this list, the content is approachable, straightforward, and honest.

This website has seen vast improvements over last year with a very well organized and structured layout. He also has an “upcoming” section to showcase reviews that are in the works.

Right now the website is almost laid out like a shop, where each “product” in the store is a review. From racks and attachmeents to specialty bars and barbells, the list is growing, and a very cool concept!

 

#9 Home Gym Hacks and Reviews

Home Gym Hacks and Reviews

“At Home Gym Hacks and Reviews, I strive to provide honest and thorough reviews for home and commercial-grade strength training equipment. Additionally, I share unique exercises and equipment hacks to help home gym owners maximize the utility of their existing equipment.” - Home Gym Hacks and Reviews

Taking over the #9 spot for 2024, Home Gym Hacks and Reviews is a unique and newer reviewer to the space. This website holds a special place in our hearts because not only does this guy review new equipment, he has quite a few videos of used commercial grade equipment as well. He also loves Powertec, similar to our love for Body Solid.

The fact that Home Gym Hacks and Reviews continues to review used equipment is a wonderful and very unique niche in this review space. We hope he continues to keep this up, as we are big fans of used, particularly commercial grade, fitness equipment!

Home gym hacks and reviews moved up in this list, but the website is still pretty basic and needs some reorganization and searchability, to be able to find content more easily, although the website does show a lot of potential. A better and more searchable site would be great. As an example, to even get to his “about” section to figure out who this guy is, you have to go to the mobile version of the website and scroll to the bottom (avoiding the infinite scroll feature which keeps loading new videos).

Other than that, it’s great content! This website has a lot of potential, and hopefully even better things are coming in 2025!

 

#10 Gray Matter Lifting (Joe Gray)

Gray Matter Lifting

Joe Gray, owner of the website Gray Matter Lifting, recently came onto our podcast to discuss his sponsored virtual powerlifting competition for home gym owners worldwide. Joe runs his own website reviewing and assessing the best home gym equipment on the market today.

Joe takes a very different approach to his reviews. Rather than spending 1-2 weeks assessing the equipment and then reviewing it, a process which Joe believes is quite quick and a little disingenuous, Joe takes 6-12 months to thoroughly analyze and review the equipment he discusses on his website. This allows him to give it a full rundown, walkthrough, and vetting prior to any review.

From massage guns and lat pulley grips, to barbells and safety squat bars, the Gray Matter Lifting covers it all in both video and written reviews.

Joe also runs Garage Gym Competition, a worldwide powerlifting meet for home gym owners to compete and train in, with prizes for the top winners, as well as randomly distributed prizes for community participation.

Check out Gray Matter Lifting for honest, and thoroughly vetted reviews for your next home gym or garage gym setup.

We also were able to interview Joe on our FreedomCast Podcast, check out the interview in all its glory here!

 

 

 

A Note About Who Didn't Make This List

There were 2 websites that didn’t make the cut this year.

  1. Barbend is a website that has been bought by Pillar 4 Media group and is excluded on those grounds. More about Pillar 4 below.

  2. This last exclusion is the one everyone has been wondering about this entire article. Why has Garage Gym Reviews been excluded from this list?

    In recent years, Garage Gym Reviews was acquired by Pillar 4 Media group. Pillar 4 Media is a content making machine that owns websites like Sleepopolis, Sleep Advisor, etc.

    Over the past few years the content from Garage Gym Reviews seems to have started reflecting that content push, which is content for the sake of content, not for the sake of quality, transparency, or trustworthiness.

    Here's an example from past years: Rogue changed its affiliate structure to offer less money, and Rep Fitness changed to offer a bit more. You then saw a shift in Garage Gym Reviews content towards more Rep Fitness equipment reviews overall.

    This seemed a bit questionable. Further investigation led to even more questions about Garage Gym Reviews as information from different sources poured in about the impact they were having on the home gym community, how the Pillar 4 acquisition went down, and how the home gym community has reacted to the website on forums like Home Gym Reddit.

    When it looks like a review website starts to make business decisions that recognize, review, or promote certain companies, at the expense of others, based on who is paying, or what they are paying, people may start to question the legitimacy of the content. Again, because reviews are so subjective, this is a personal opinion, but one that seems to be shared by a lot of people in the home gym community.

    Every business needs to make money. But the way in which a website makes money matters a lot.

    For this, and many other reasons, we believe Garage Gym Reviews can no longer be trusted with reliable and high quality reviews, particularly for home gym equipment, and they have been removed from this Top 10 list.

 

Agree or disagree with this list? Let me know in the comments below! Like, comment, and share this content with your friends, and as always, checkout Freedom Fitness Equipment for any of your home gym needs!

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3 comments

Dave

Dave

Great list, seems like a fair call with GRR being excluded, it just comes across as a bit disingenuous these days. Companies that have pioneered the space of light commercial and home gym-optimised equipment and been around since the 90s like Bodycraft, Powertec and Body Solid are like nowhere to be found yet you got Rogue who pioneered overbuilt equipment for Crossfit boxes vs REP like they are the only games in town. Powerblocks and no longer favoured (one would guess one they have cut affiliate fees or something), the REP Ares is seen as some innovative rack attachment invention and push mega hard when it is pretty much a less featured rip on Bodycraft F730 Pro and they had these for quite some time on LF430RFT. 2021 flavour Jammer arms? Powertec lever gyms are far superior in functionality and no set up just throw one of those in your gym corner and go try to search any Powertec stuff on GGR zero!!

Travis

Travis

So you excluded GGR because they don’t talk enough about ROGUE and had more REP content? Coop even says it on the videos that he wishes he could review more Rogue but they’re sitting on their laurels and not releasing anything to be reviewed. If you’re gona talk shot about Coop, you better exclude everyone else because Gluck had a shitload of REP in his videos this year BECAUSE they are dishing out equipment left, right, and center. Further more, he always compares the REP equipment to Rogue’s as a standard to beat. When he reviewed their new bars he directly compared them to Rogue and explained how some of the bars were on par or fell short compared to the Ohio bars. Sounds like maybe someone has a gripe with Coop here…

Jon Doe

Jon Doe

Interesting take on GGR. One thing I think you overlooked though is that GGR isn’t the only site that had a lot more Rep reviews—all of them did. And it’s also because Rep actually put out a ton of new product that was well reviewed by influencers and just normal people on Facebook/reddit. Basically every website on this list has said Rep killed it last year. So I think it’s a questionable leap in logic to say GGR is now bought and paid for.

I think the biggest knock against GGR is how quietly that acquisition happened. No one knew about it until it was leaked. Coop should have been out front with it and explained exactly what changed and what he still has control over.

Garage Gym Lab I agree makes good content, solid choice for #1. Basement brandon also makes good content, but I would argue he’s gone off the deep end with custom everything and equipment that only appeals to the .01% of home gym owners. It’s just bougie for the sake of being bougie and a very difficult stretch to justify many of the purchases lately. Like his Williams Strength bench he compared to Rogue, I actually felt bad for Rogue because he talked about how much more stable the WS bench was with the huge spotter platform attached, but then compared it to his Rogue 2.0 without the spotter deck. Not apples to apples there.

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