A BOAT LOAD of New Home Gym Equipment

Gray Matter Lifting

We have Pipeline Voting Results, new equipment, HomeGymCon updates, and a lot of cool stuff this newsletter. Getting back from HomeGymCon I am REALLY excited about a number of things. So lets dig.

BootySprout Pro Review

I dropped the BootySprout Pro review last week. This was damn near a year of testing to get this to where I wanted. BootySprout told me they had attachments coming, but they never arrived. So I ended up just moving forward and putting it out there.

This is our current go-to for Hip Thrusts. But it isn’t perfect.

HomeGymCon

I decided to write down our experiences from attending HomeGymCon this year. Overall, it was awesome. And we are already looking at attending in 2026. My wife just booked her time off, and she was looking at accommodations in Louisville.

But, I don’t think EVERYONE should attend. Probably not too crazy to think that this trip can get expensive REAL quick. And unless if you have a way to make some money on it, make it a family trip, or write it off somehow (we did all 3), then it can be a burden for anyone outside of driving distance.

New Releases

I am really excited about a couple of items coming to market, so much so that I put together a few initial write-ups on them. You can find those here. The Leg Developer from Dialed Motion and REP Fitness are both at the top of my list for items to put to the test very soon.

ANCORE Pro

I chatted with the ANCORE team at HomeGymCon and they decided to send over one of their units for a review. This is awesome, because I’ve been asked OVER and OVER about how the ANCORE compares to something like the VOLTRA Is. It is considerably less expensive, but also less powerful.

FreeMax Weight Releasers

These were one of the more creative items at HGC that I saw, that I wasn’t expecting to see. I took home a set for review, and then quickly realised that they cost $500!!! I’ll be tinkering and testing these for the next few months, but I’ll be shocked if I can ever see $500 being worth it.

Pipeline Results

All of you voted in the past 6 months for what you wanted to see me tackle next. The two winners by a long shot, were the Nutrition For Garage Gym Powerlifters, and Creating a Sustainable Workout Plan At Home.

So I’ve added those to the pipeline to begin working on. I’ve got ideas to pull in my diet coach, some of the GGC coaches, and have some ideas already running around in my head. These should be fun projects to tackle.

Next Round of Pipeline Voting

We are going to do things a LITTLE different for the next half of the year. I put together an initial intake survey. Fill it out to let me know what you are thinking. This will help me with all kinds of content planning over the course of the next year.

Anyone who enters will have a shot at winning their choice of a new shirt from my Merch Store. 5 winners in total. Must be submitted by end of day, July 31st.

Why Do I Do This?

I get a LOT of inquiries for reviews. In fact FlyBird wants to send me all of this stuff:

• Flybird Bench: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DNYSJ8W

• Sportsroyals Power cage: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXDZX29M

• Sportsroyals pull up tower: https://www.amazon.com/Sportsroyals-Station-Strength-Training-Equipment/dp/B0BFWVXY32/

• Feierdun Dumbbell: https://www.amazon.com/FEIERDUN-Adjustable-Dumbbells-Connector-Kettlebells/dp/B0C2T9S8FD/

I got a request for a Leg Press this week… and I’ve had about 5 treadmill requests as well in the past month. Some items are easy to say no to. And some I’m honestly just not sure. Some of my favorite articles and videos over the years have been based on YOUR requests. So I’m here to get your ideas, so I can make some cool stuff happen.

Whats New In The Community?

I got a chance to hop on the Powerlifting For The People podcast earlier this month with Coach Gaglione. If you don’t recognize him, he used to train Larry Wheels!

MAIAK-GO > Freak Athlete ATOM

The MAIAK-GO which was going to be the big time competitor to the VOLTRA, has seen a tremendous amount of delays. At this point they are close to a full year behind schedule. But Freak Athlete recently jumped in, partnered with the team, and are pushing it forward. Benji let everyone know in their Facebook group that I would be one of only two early testers. You can see more updates in this Facebook post.

Porter PhysEd REVBar Pre-Sale

You know I am a cable attachment junky. I got a chance to chat with Matt Porter at HGC and try out the REVBar. This is going to be a fun one. And it is currently on pre-sale. Grab one at the lowest price it probably will ever be.

Garage Gym Competition

The Fall GGC is on the way, officially 14 weeks out. Hopefully you have your calendars marked and ready to rock.

Sponsor Highlight

I’m a home gym OG. I’ve been lifting at home, exclusively, since 2013. Pre-COVID is enough to often garner some looks by itself. But what about someone who has been building their home gym for over 20 years? Crandall Fitness has been in the home gym game longer than anyone I know of, and they take that knowledge and experience, and put it into the products and services they offer.

Prize Announcement

Crandall is back for another year of GGC Sponsorship, giving away FOUR of their camo barbells in each event. You can choose 15kg or 20kg, as well as the color. These come in Cerakote, so you know they’ll be ready for any environment you lift in.

Athlete Spotlight

r/HomeGym

My dude Adam from Garage Gym Lab should be cooking on his AMA by the time this hits your inbox. So make sure to hop over and ask him all the good details.

2026 AMA Planning

Yep, I am already planning for 2026 AMAs. I’ve got a list I am working with, looking at about ~20 AMAs for the year. In the Pipeline Voting you can let me know who you want to see do an AMA next year. Content creators, equipment manufacturers, whatever it might be.

Upcoming AMA

I got a chance to talk with Push n Pull Fitness. And this was a really cool one. They are doing an AMA in a few weeks, definitely one you need to check out.

One Last Thing…

I have a project set for end of the year, where I want to re-do the Gray Matter Lifting homepage. Not the entire website, just the main landing page. If anyone out there is a website designer, specifically has skills in that DESIGN realm aspect, hit me back.

I like to pay people that do good work and are in the community, so this would definitely be a paid job. Just reply to this email and let me know.