What should I get for MMA workout room

All I can say is "Wow". I am used to other site forums where I ask something and I get ignored or mocked. You all have been EXTREMELY helpful. I will be posting pictures Tuesday( I will be on vacation until then) of the before I start the conversion.

I think I will go for the Lowes puzzle mat at first to get things rolling, and then upgrade later. As far as going through walls, i was looking into velcro mats for the walls. I have one high window so that is a non-issue, but I am sure we will encounter some collteral damage.

The popular outlook is that a throw dummy isn't needed, so I can scratch that, and put that money elsewhere. I will likely get a freestanding bag stand so that it is movable for grappling. I learned in Jiu Jitsu takedowns always require more space then you think they will.

Keep the suggestions coming, and I will keep everyone updated.

For those wishing they had more space, move to Texas, the space for the dollar here is unreal!
 
If you want a bag, I would get a hanging bag. However, this depends on your ceiling. If this is a basement or room with exposed/able structure to hang a bag, hang it in the center. This will enable you to work the bag properly. It is possible to take down a 130lb bag by yourself, but putting it up requires help. Since you would be taking it down to grapple, you would have help at the ready.

There are obviously downsides to the hanging bag, and it may be impossible if you do not wish to mar the ceiling of a normal bedroom. That would require a freestanding bag or nothing, and I would probably just shadowbox "with power" (Bas voice), and use the money allocated for the bag to buy premium Thai pads, grappling mat, and just upgrade your essentials (wraps, bag gloves, training gloves, headgear, etc).

I have never seen a workable standing bag, especially for your circumstances. Most of them will tip over or move around your room with every strike. The best one I ever used was about 6' tall and allowed every strike, but the base was somewhat wide, which prevented tipping as well as hampering footwork. It probably weighed 300+, so mobility is even more of an issue than the hanging bag.

When you start making your choices for bag, gloves, mat, etc, post them on here before you purchase. It is highly likely that you will receive advice that will save you money and ensure you get good gear.

Also, as far as forums go, the Training Sub forums (Diet, Strength, Conditioning, Gear) are among the best on the internet in their respective categories. The percentage of knuckle-heads is low compared to knowledgeable, and if you get a consensus on something, it will be solid.
 
Ok, so here are a few pics. I stated before that the area was finished. I was in fact mistaken. As I was down there today doing some touch ups on the wall, my girlfriend said, "Didn't you order puzzle mats for just off the mat area?" I was so busy with the painting, wiring of lights etc that I somehow overlooked the fact that I never received a shipment of puzzlemats to go just in front of my mat area, under the Step Machine, Heavy Bag, etc. It's too late to call today, but I'll be doing that in the morning.

Anyway, here are a few shots taken with my cell. You can tell my garage slopes down a bit, as the mats started out perfectly placed under the wall pads and by the end there's almost a foot of difference. You can't really tell much when on them, just visually. I haven't decided if I'll stagger them so they are all flush with the mats or not.

Head On 10' Wide by 12' Long:
MMARoom.jpg


Left Side (It's really obvious there aren't any puzzle mats down, to clean up how everything looks, I'm not exactly sure how I didn't notice.)
LifeStepCardio.jpg


Right Side (140lb Heavy Bag and my girlfriend's contribution to the room on the wall.)
140lbHeavyBag.jpg
 
Oh, and the heavy bag is actually just hanging that close to the wall to keep it out of the way. There's a loop for it bolted into the ceiling that the line for my winch runs to, which is where it's usually hanging from for bag work, but it's out of the way like it is the pic and still allows me to back in with my Jeep. I have more stuff than room. I'm going to have to clear a room in the basement for my weight set, but that's basically the set up I've got.

To answer someone's question before, if I didn't have to take the mats up to get my jeep in there and could have them permanently on the floor. I'd have built a frame using 1x4s as the bottom of the frame attached to the floor itself (maybe even a 2x4 as the base of the frame).


Then lay the roll of mats inside the frame. Use mat tape to close the seam between the mats. In the case of a room the size I did, it would be 2 6'x10' lengths (the rolls come 6x42 I think, can get the link if anyone wants it)

Once the mat is laid down, get your vinyl which should be cut 1 foot too long on each side. Lay the vinyl over the frame. Lay another 2x4 or 1x4 depending on what you used or feel like using on top and bolt it down to the bottom part of the frame, sandwiching the vinyl. Then go around pulling it taught for every other side.

Couple hours of work later you've got a custom mat area, with no seams, and all for around $500.
 
I would most defenitely get a barbell with heavy plates.

It s not space consuming when u re not using it, and I believe a barbell is a must.

Then u can do deadlifts and olympic lifts when u re alone.

These will make stronger as well less injury-prone if you perform them well.
 
I'm going to be clearing out the room right next to the garage and putting my bench and weights in there and have it as the weight room. Then I'll have all my bases covered for training when I can't get to the gym or to Jiu Jitsu.

As an update, I broke in the mats this weekend and they held up well, even right on top of concrete and being taken down by someone who weighed 285+. A bit more cushion wouldn't have hurt, and I wouldn't want to get slammed, but any more cusion and stand up sparring I think would suffer from it being too "squishy". All in all though I'm definitely happy with the space and while it wasn't cheap, the expense was worth it to be able to train whenever I want and have the free time to do so.
 
I bought the mats from Lowes that was suggested early in this thread. They were about $17.00 for a 4 pack, so I bought 5 sets to see how they were and if they would work. I would say that they are not the softest thing in the world but they work nicely and look decent. I will be taking out the carpet in the room this weekend and buy the rest to cover the rest of the room. A big downside to these is that I cannot find edge peices to put at the borders of the mats. So I will have to manually measure and cut them to fit. I will post pictures tonight.
 
is that a heavy bag or a throwing dummy? looks like a sprained/broken wrist waiting to happen with the curved edges. Nice set up.
 
It's a combination shogun. It's the title mma, throwing dummy/heavy bag. The loops at the top have leather pockets on top that they tuck in to. I'm a big boy, but throwing around 140lbs is a lot harder than you'd think. Most of it's weight seems to be centered at the bottom.

On a related (and somewhat embarassing note), I can give the mats the true thumbs up when it comes to take downs. I just spent an hour and a half getting my ass handed to me by a 47yr old. lol In my own defense, I'm out of shape for me, but he used to train at the Gracie School in Va and wasn't far from getting his purple, and frankly I'm considering having him piss tested before he kicks my ass again. lol No 47yr old should be 240lbs with a 6pack.
 
Haven't had any issues with the bag and really like how it feels. The one exception to this was when I was feeling lazy and didn't want to move it to the center of the garage. I kept it as it appears in the picture which is right next to the wall. This worked fine for punches, but I got a bit overzealous and threw in a few leg kicks, the 3rd of which I smashed my big toe into the wall. lol After cursing for about 3 mins straight and hopping around, I promptly moved the bag. lol My hands however haven't had any type of problems with it.
 
John that matted area is a beauty. That only cost you $500 including the padded walls?
 
Looks like a real gym..Good job.. You can sometimes find good deals on Craigslist..A gym went out of business around here and sold all its stuff for half off and it was not that old
 
ryan115 said:
John that matted area is a beauty. That only cost you $500 including the padded walls?
Click to expand...

lol No, I wish it only cost $500. What I was saying when I mentioned 500 is that you could build a really good custom seamless mat area for that.

I on the other hand use the space to take the top off my Jeep, so I needed to be able to move the mats off the floor, which is why I got foldable ones. Ironically, after all that I decided to do a ton of things to the Jeep and after next week it won't even fit into the garage. lol So I'll have to devise another system for removing it's top.

My total bill for everything in the room was right around 3k. But those on a budget can do what I described in an earlier post and have a killer area for under $500 if they don't need to move the mats.
 
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