The Best Investment I Ever Made

The video above shows a good portion of my home gym setup, but it was taken a while back. Since then, I’ve added quite a few new attachments/handles etc... that aren’t shown here. While the core equipment is still the same, my collection has grown to include even more options for training variety and customization. What you see in the video is most of what I had at the time, but it’s definitely evolved.

Forget the sports cars. Forget the race builds, the turbo kits, superchargers, the dyno sheets. I’ve owned them all—highly modified machines that cost me hundreds of thousands over the years. And looking back, every dollar I spent on those cars was for show. They sat in garages, turned heads for a moment, and then collected dust. Temporary joy, expensive noise, and zero return on health.

The best investment I ever made wasn’t a car. It was my home gym.

I built it piece by piece:

• A really nice functional trainer with adjustable pulleys and a built-in Smith machine  
• An Olympic barbell paired with over 450 pounds of plates for heavy compound lifts  
• PowerBlock Pro dumbbells with both a straight bar and an EZ curl bar attachment  
• Long resistance bands and short resistance bands for mobility, activation, and creative loading  
• Every top-tier cable attachment I could get my hands on  
• Kettlebells, medicine balls, landmine attachments—you name it

The possibilities are endless. I can do landmine presses, rows, pulldowns, pressdowns, curls, overhead presses, lying presses, rotational work, rehab movements, and anything else I’d dream up in a commercial gym. Except now, I don’t wait in line. I don’t share equipment. I don’t adapt my rest periods around someone else’s pace. I control the environment, the music, the lighting, the tempo—everything.

And that control matters. It means I train with intention, not frustration. I don’t compromise my workout because someone’s texting between sets or camping on the machine I need. I don’t rush my rest or extend it out of politeness. I train when I want, how I want, and I get results.

If you get creative with the right attachments and adjustable cables, you can replicate nearly every movement pattern in existence. And with the Smith machine built into my functional trainer, I’ve unlocked dozens more exercises that are safe, stable, and joint-friendly. Add in the resistance bands, and I’ve got scalable tension for warm-ups, prehab, and even overload work.

The total cost of my setup? Probably under $10,000. That’s everything. And I’ve used it more than anything I’ve ever owned in my life.

This isn’t just about fitness. It’s about value. It’s about investing in something that pays you back every single day—in strength, in energy, in longevity. It’s about choosing tools that serve you, not toys that impress others.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t enjoy life. But if you’re spending money on things that sit idle while your health declines, you’re trading long-term well-being for short-term ego. That’s a bad deal.

My home gym makes me feel better, move better, and live better. I see it every day. I use it every day. And I know I’m getting my money’s worth—not just from the equipment, but from the results.

If you’re thinking about investing in your health, skip the showroom. Build your sanctuary. Your body will thank you.