A full-scale free weight home gym made in a four-and-a-half-tatami room wooden house
[Introduction]
In recent years, there has been a global trend towards setting up home gyms with solid commercial/competition-grade equipment rather than cheap household equipment, and the rise of manufacturers of professional free weight equipment, mainly selling to individual customers, such as the US company ROGUE FITNESS, can be said to be riding on this trend of the times.
Influenced by this global trend, the number of people in Japan who are installing professional free weight equipment in their home gyms is steadily increasing.
When I (Manager Kamino) built a gym in a room in my apartment in 2011, equipped with racks and barbells for competitive weight training, I had never heard of a home gym equipped with similar professional free weight equipment.
However, nowadays (2022), many people are building such professional home gyms in their homes, and it feels like they are no longer at all uncommon.
[The need for authentic free weight equipment suited to Japanese wooden homes]
However, one problem that arises when building such a full-fledged home gym is the unique Japanese environment regarding where to build it.
In Europe and the United States, especially North America, the world's largest fitness market, home gyms are generally built in garages or basements that are fairly spacious and have floors that can withstand a large load.
Large, sturdy Western products, as well as Asian products made for the Western market, are designed with sizes and specifications that are suited to the home gyms of Westerners.
There is data that shows that more than half of the population in Japan lives in detached houses, and most of those houses are made of wood.
The load-bearing capacity of the floors of a wooden house is lower than that of a reinforced concrete apartment building, and the size of the room that can be used for a home gym is generally around 4.5 tatami mats to 6 tatami mats at most.
In the future, the number of people in Japan who are setting up home gyms with commercial and competitive grade free weight equipment, as seen in Europe and the United States, will likely continue to increase.
However, to achieve this, we feel it is essential to expand our offering of equipment for the Japanese market that is planned and designed by domestic companies that are familiar with the home gym scene in Japan , rather than simply offering Western products or products for Western markets.
From the feedback we have received from many customers, MBC has come to feel a strong need for authentic free weight equipment suited to the unique housing conditions in Japan, namely the installation of home gyms in the four-and-a-half to six-tatami mat spaces of wooden homes, where space and floor load capacity are limited.
Accordingly, in practice,
・Compact and highly expandable rack
・Olympic shaft with a shortened sleeve
・Compactly designed bench
・Plate storage that is easy to use even in small spaces
We have developed original products such as:
On this page, I would like to write about the things you need to be careful about and the recommended equipment when building a full-fledged home gym in a wooden house, including my own experience of building a home gym in my own home.
[Space required for a home gym in a wooden house]
First, let’s explain how much space you need for a home gym.
(1) Minimum required space
When building a home gym using the compact free weight equipment we sell, the minimum space required is approximately 220 cm wide and 180 cm deep .
The dimensions of a four-and-a-half-tatami room vary depending on the standard, but a larger one is approximately 270cm x 270cm, while a smaller one is approximately 250cm x 250cm.
・About width
If there is a gap of 15cm on each side of the barbell, it is just possible to change plates. If you are using a 190cm short-sleeved barbell, the minimum width of the room you need is 190cm + 15cm + 15cm, which is 220cm.
If you are using a standard size barbell that is 220cm then the minimum width of the room you need is 220cm + 15cm + 15cm, which is 250cm.
If there is little room on either side, it is important to choose a thin plate.
・About depth
When using a squat stand for bench pressing, the minimum required depth is about 180cm.
With a height of 180cm, the bench can be placed in the appropriate position, and although the legs may become cramped depending on the user's height and form, bench pressing is still possible.
(The image below is of the home gym I built in my previous home. In the photo, I have set up a 148cm base for the squat stand on a 180cm deep rubber mat. In this position, I can bench press at 172cm tall, but if I stretch my legs out, they go off the edge of the mat.)

(2) Ample space
Ideally, it should be at least 250cm wide and 200cm deep.
・About width
To smoothly change plates, you will need about 30cm on either side of the barbell.
If you are using a 190cm short sleeve barbell, the width of your clearance room will be 190cm + 30cm + 30cm, or 250cm.
If you are using a regular size barbell that is 220cm, the width of the room you have will be 220cm + 30cm + 30cm, which is 280cm.
・About depth
When using a squat stand for bench pressing, it is ideal for the depth to be at least 200cm (depending on the user's height) taking into account leg space.
(The image below is a home gym I created in a 250cm wide room. By using a 190cm short barbell, there is enough space to change plates.)

[Equipment suitable for home gyms in wooden houses]
In wooden houses, it is important to first keep the total weight of the equipment down and use a simple structure in order to reduce the burden on the floor.
For now, let's get rid of the idea of needing everything and think about equipment in terms of subtraction rather than addition.
First, consider the minimum configuration required to perform the training you require.
The equipment you will need for free weight training in your home gym includes the following:
1. Rack
2. Bench
3. Barbell
4. Plate
5. Barbell collar
1. Rack
The top priority for the rack is that it is lightweight and compact, so a squat stand is the basic structure.
MBC's original rack can be converted into a larger rack by adding parts at a later date.
2. Bench
We recommend something that is lightweight, compact and can be stored upright.
3. Barbell
Choose from the regular size of 220cm or the short sleeve type with a shorter overall length to suit the size of your room.
MBCPOWER sells short-sleeved barbells with a total length of 190cm, developed in collaboration with GYMWAY of Taiwan, which are perfect for home gyms.

4. Plate
It's best to limit the amount you need to the bare minimum, not have extra plates, and only buy more when you run out.
Considering noise reduction and safety in case of being dropped on the floor, we recommend bumper plates or coated plates.
Considering the compatibility with short-sleeve barbells with short plate attachment parts and ease of holding in small spaces,
Bumper plates or coating plates that are thin and easy to hold would be suitable.
5. Barbell collar
We recommend that you choose a barbell collar based on the weight of your training. In particular, one-touch type collars have a high degree of retention strength proportional to their price, so if you are training with heavy weights, we recommend one-touch collars from manufacturers such as ELEIKO or ROGUE, or handle-type collars from GYMWAY.
[Example of actual equipment configuration]
The centerpiece is a squat stand that can be used with an adjustable bench.
This setup is centered around the rack and bench mentioned above, and allows you to perform squats, bench presses, incline bench and chin-ups.
It is simple yet versatile and can be used for a wide range of activities.
Composition centered around training combo rack
The workout is centered around a combination of a squat stand, bench prop, and competition flat bench.
ELEIKO sells this rack configuration under the name Training Combo Rack , which combines functionality similar to that of a combo rack with the expandability and economy of a squat stand.
This configuration is aimed at those who place particular emphasis on the two exercises of bench press and squat, and the addition of bench props makes the ease of bench press at the same level as a competitive combo rack.
Compared to the competitive combo rack, it omits two features - the "jack" and the "in-rack" - but these are features that are rarely used in a home gym anyway, so this is not a disadvantage.
The MBC Squat Stand above can be freely customized with various optional parts .
By adding a deadlift silencer attachment to the base, you can perform deadlifts without a jack and with reduced noise and vibration.