Garage Gym of the Week: Jay and Michelle

  1. What’s Your Name: Jay & Michelle Benoit
  2. How old are you? 39 & 34
  3. Tell us a little bit about yourself. We are a health conscious couple that believes in improvement in all aspects of our life. This includes a healthy lifestyle focusing on healthy eating and workout habits for a long-lived and quality lifestyle. We believe in setting an example for our children on: hard work, priorities, and long-term goals. We have three boys: 6, 4, and 1.5 years old and want to lead a healthy life together as a family!
  4. How would you describe your training style? I am a Power-Builder. I mix Body Building and Power-lifting aspects into one program for improvement in both my physique and strength.

    My wife lifts weights in the same manner but also likes to incorporate yoga, running, and cycling into her programs.
  5. How would you describe your fitness/strength level, currently? I continue to make gradual improvements in my strength, size and symmetry, even though I am almost 40 years old. My Squat and Deadlift are stronger than they have ever been – thank you Marissa Inda and Chad Wesley-Smith! I am almost to my goal of a 500lb Deadlift and 450 lb Squat and should reach these soon. I do all this while maintaining health eating habits year-round at a body fat percentage between 8-10%.

    My wife has been pregnant for 3 out of the last 7 years which has been hard on her body; she feels that in terms of strength and overall fitness, she is feeling better than she ever has before. She is a physical therapist who specializes in treating disorders of the pelvis as well as pregnant and post-partum women so optimizing the strength and function of the core is one of her biggest goals and most favorite things to work on.
  6. What are your fitness/strength goals? To continue striving for my best body ever and always improving.
  7. Describe you garage Gym. This Home Gym is 15 years in the making with a complete renovate and replacement of older equipment in February 2018. 80% of everything you see is new to the All Natural Iron Gym.
  8. Who works out in your garage gym? Myself and my wife workout no less than 5 days per week with occasional participation from our children. They also love playing in the space, especially the Gymnastic Rings.
  9. Why did you build a garage gym? To free us from needing to drive and workout at a local gym. This saves time as well as allows for us to workout at our desired levels without having to leave the home. This allows for workout time flexibility that is convenient for our life style and other responsibilities.
  10. What’s your favorite piece of equipment in your garage? My new Bumper Plates as I can now lift heavier without noise issues at 4:50 am!
  11. What piece of equipment was a waste? All pieces that were no longer needed or used have all been sold to get all of our new equipment and increase workout space.
  12. What’s the next piece of equipment you’re going to get? A unique, self-designed, custom made piece of equipment that can be shared at a later date.
  13. Any dream piece of equipment? A larger area for additional equipment already depicted in these pictures.
  14. How did you build your garage gym? I had purchased and built out this gym starting in 2005 in a previous homes basement. Over the course of 12 years, I had a basement full of equipment. When I moved to Davidson, NC, I sold a good deal of this to fit in my 3rd stall garage. I continually have upgraded and purchased equipment to; save space, handle multiple aspects of our workouts, and focus on what is used on a daily basis.
  15. Do you have any tips for anyone else looking to build a garage gym? Yes, reach out to someone that has done it already and get their input. Be sure to target what your priorities are and start there.

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1 comment


  • John

    What are your interior dimensions?


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