Why I Built a Home Gym

Lou Smith
Feb 24
3 min read

Spoiler: I didn't leave because I hated the gym. I left because life got too complicated to make it work every day.

The Real Problem Wasn’t the Gym—It Was the Friction

I still have a membership. I still go. But if you’re balancing a career, a family, a dog that needs walking, and a morning that somehow has to contain all of it—you know exactly how fast the "gym window" slams shut.

My morning used to be a choreographed dance: wake up, walk the dog, eat, drive, train, drive home, shower, start work. On paper, it fits. In reality? One meeting runs long or one traffic light stays red, and the whole morning unravels. If you miss the morning, you’re stuck fighting for a squat rack at 5:30 PM during the post-work rush. Suddenly, your 45-minute session turns into 75 minutes of waiting and reracking, and dinner gets pushed to 9:00 PM. The friction was killing my consistency.

The "Tall Guy" Tax on Training

There’s also something people don’t talk about enough: Standard gyms aren't built for 6'6" levers.

Most selectorized machines—leg extensions, lat pulldowns, and pec decks—have fixed pivot points. When your limbs are longer than the machine's intended "average," you can't align your joints with the machine's axis correctly. This doesn't just feel awkward; it puts stress on the wrong spots and reduces how well the movement targets the muscle.

Furthermore, for a tall guy, moving between machines isn't a minor walk—it’s a logistical event. When a program calls for a leg curl in one room and a leg press in another, the time it takes to rerack, walk over, and adjust a machine that wasn't built for your wingspan blows your rest window completely. It turns a focused 45-minute session into a 75-minute marathon.

The "Studio" Factor

As a professional cinematographer for over 10 years, I also had a creative problem. Filming content in a commercial gym is a headache. You’re constantly worried about being in someone’s way, setting up tripods in high-traffic zones, and apologizing for just doing your job. It kills the creative flow.

I needed a space where I could train, film, and review gear without feeling like an inconvenience to everyone around me. The Long Game TV needed a headquarters.

How it Actually Happened

My wife and I set three priorities: a minimal footprint, a space she’d actually be excited to use, and a setup where I could still make real muscle gains. A bulky, room-consuming power rack was a non-starter for our 16' x 10' space.

We landed on the Tonal as our anchor—wall-mounted, versatile, and zero floor footprint. But the project didn't feel "real" until I painted the garage and laid down the first horse stall mats. Something about seeing the floor done and the walls fresh turned the garage from a storage unit into a place.

After five weeks of hunting on Facebook Marketplace, I finally scored a CENTR RUNR treadmill for half the retail price. The Tonal is on the way. A wall-mounted belt squat and a compact leg sled are next.

The Goal: Removing the Barriers

I’m not building a "hardcore" dungeon; I’m building a high-performance system designed for a 6'6" frame. I wanted morning sessions without the commute and afternoon sessions when my body is actually fueled and ready to perform—not running on 6:00 AM fumes.

I’m building a space where my wife wants to train, I can make progress, and the "Long Game" can finally be filmed.

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how I’m programming for a 6'6" frame?

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