5 Creative Ways to Build a $500 Home Gym

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Welcome to Home Gym Club! Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:

• Coop shows you 5 ways to build a home gym for $500

• Reviewing the Iron Bull Rubber Hex Dumbbells

• Breaking down the 75 Soft Challenge

• Plus: The best New Year’s fitness sales and other can’t-miss holiday deals

Watch Party

5 Ways to Build a Home Gym For $500

In one of his latest videos on the Budget Gym Co-Op channel, Coop opens with a gut-punch reality check: the exact $500 home gym he priced out five years ago now rings up around $1,500! However, the idea that “you can’t build a $500 gym anymore” is flat-out wrong.

In this episode, he lays out five different $500 setups built around how you actually train—bodyweight/calisthenics, dumbbells, powerlifting, hybrid athlete, and his own “if I had to start over” blueprint—so you can mix, match, and steal the best value pieces for your space.

The best part: this isn’t just a shopping list—it’s a full-on, value-focused strategy. Think pull-up bar + rings as the foundation, bands and a weight vest to scale difficulty, smart “budget hacks” like warehouse deals and DIY options, and a final do-it-all setup that squeezes versatility out of every dollar (with a nod to finding used plates to stretch your budget even further).

If you’ve got $500, a blank space, and a creative mindset, this is the playbook for turning all of that into a budget-friendly home gym you can be proud of.

Test Drive

Iron Bull Rubber Hex Dumbbells Review

We’ve come a long way with the best dumbbells: From the cast-iron fixed dumbbells of yesteryear’s iron paradises to space-saving, home-gym-friendly adjustable dumbbells, there’s something available for just about any training space and budget.

While the team here at Garage Gym Reviews typically recommends adjustable dumbbells for a home gym, there’s something about the classic look and feel of a traditional dumbbell with a hexagon head that some folks just need in their garage gym.

Enter: the Rubber Hex Dumbbells from Iron Bull Strength. 

With a knurled, straight handle and rubber-coated heads, these dumbbells look and feel great—all while helping protect your gym floor from errant drops and scuffs. In this hands-on review, we’ll take a deeper dive into these dumbbells to see which home gym owners we’d recommend them to (and who may want to look elsewhere).

Trainer’s Corner

What Is the 75 Soft Challenge?

The holiday season is one of the toughest times of year to stay consistent with health and fitness. Between travel, parties, comfort food, and packed schedules, even motivated folks tend to fall off the path a bit, making New Year’s resolutions feel overwhelming before they even begin.

That’s where the 75 Soft Challenge comes in.

Unlike extreme programs that demand strict diets and grueling workouts, 75 Soft focuses on the basics that actually stick: eating mindfully, moving your body every day, drinking more water (and less alcohol), and feeding your mind with daily reading. It’s simple. It’s flexible. And it’s designed to build momentum—not burn you out.

Think of 75 Soft as a “soft opening” for your New Year’s resolutions. If you’re ready to navigate the holidays without hitting the reset button in January—and want to unlock a stronger, healthier version of yourself in 2026—this might be the challenge you’ve been looking for.

GGR Deal Zone

Welcome to the Deal Zone, where the gains are BIG, and the prices are LOW. Each week, the GGR squad tracks down the best sales and promos on everything from strength and cardio equipment to supplements and recovery tools so you can stay on top of your game without breaking the bank.

We’ve rounded up the best deals we could find all year long, and with 2026 right around the corner, we’re here to set you up for success with the best New Year’s fitness sales—plus our other favorite holiday deals.