So I kept hearing about this whole ‘khabib house’ thing, or maybe it was just the vibe, you know? That tough, no-nonsense Dagestani style. Got me thinking. My own setup felt… well, soft. Too comfortable maybe.
Decided I needed a change. Wanted to strip things back. Make a space just for hard work. No fancy mirrors, no chrome machines that cost a fortune. Just raw effort. My own little ‘khabib house’ corner, I guess you could call it.
Getting Started
First thing, I had to clear out some space. The garage was the only real option. Man, that was a job. Felt like I was excavating ancient history. Old paint cans, busted chairs, boxes of who-knows-what. Took me a whole weekend just to get a clear patch of concrete.
Then, equipment. I specifically didn’t look at new stuff. Felt wrong for the vibe I was going for. I wanted old school. Stuff that felt like it had seen some battles.
- Weights: Found some old cast iron plates and a rusty barbell at a flea market. Heavy as heck. Perfect. No rubber coating, just pure iron.
- Mat: Didn’t want anything plush. Got some basic, thin rubber floor mats. The kind they use in workshops. Cut them to size myself. Edges weren’t pretty.
- Pull-up Bar: Just a simple, solid bar I bolted straight into the wall studs. Checked it like ten times to make sure it wouldn’t rip out.
The Reality Check
Okay, setting it up was one thing. Using it? Different story. That corner of the garage is cold in the morning. The concrete floor underneath the thin mats doesn’t forgive anything. Picking up those cold iron plates… it’s just different. No music system, just the sound of breathing and the clank of metal.
It wasn’t about the gear. I realized that pretty fast. You can have the simplest setup, like mine, or the most expensive gym. Doesn’t make a difference if you don’t put the work in. The real grind is showing up day after day. Especially when it’s cold, or you’re tired, or you just don’t feel like it.
Honestly, building that little space taught me more about discipline than anything else. You see guys like Khabib, and you think about the fancy training centers. But maybe the real secret is just that mindset. That willingness to do the hard stuff, even when nobody’s watching, even when it’s uncomfortable. My little garage corner isn’t much, but it reminds me of that. It’s basic, it’s rough, and it’s all about the work. Still getting used to it, but yeah, that was my process.
