While going to the gym is a great habit, creating your own home gym can be a worthy, time-saving investment. By adding items ...

two safety pins for heavy bench and squat days, as well as a pull-up bar on the front of the rack. Its overall footprint is relatively small at 120-by-81-by-32 inches once fully assembled.

At most gyms, there’s a cylindrical pad on the floor somewhere near the squat rack. (If it’s not there, check the Smith machine.) When I first started squatting, I needed that pad on the bar ...