Garage Gym Reviews founder Cooper “Coop” Mitchell and his film team recently visited Jon “Jujimufu” Call’s compound for a ‘gym cribs’ tour of the fitness celebrity’s half-a-million-dollar home gym in North Carolina, USA.
Call’s 4,000-square-foot warehouse is the main attraction on his “gym farm,” housing a full-sized workout facility, gymnastics platform, full kitchen, bedroom, and office. He calls it his “gym home” since he spends most of his time there despite having a house next door. Jujimufu once locked himself in his gym for a week to prepare for a bodybuilding show. Take a full tour of Jujimufu’s gym below:
Jujimufu has made many upgrades to his gym in the last year with new equipment additions and plans to open to the public.
I wanted…good resale value.
Mitchell couldn’t ignore the three-and-a-half-ton commercial-sized HVAC (Air conditioning and heating) units attached to the side of the structure. Before heading inside the main gym on a chilly day down south, the duo peeked inside a smaller barn where Jujimufu stores the less popular equipment.
“I’m not going to lie, you have the nicest machines in the world, and you went with Rogue urethane dumbbells,” said Mitchell Of all the dumbbells you could get, they don’t match the rest”.
For Jujimufu, choosing rubber dumbbells over steel ones was a no-brainer. One of the most common reasons many lifters prefer rubber-coated weights is they won’t break the floor when dropped, are much quieter (no loud clanging), and may be more corrosion-resistant.
$500,000 Mega Home Gym Walkthrough
Upon entering the gym doors, one can’t help but notice the aesthetic gold-colored equipment that Mitchell called “boujee.” The home gym aficionado didn’t refrain from brotherly banter; also having a go at Jujimufu’s choice of dumbbell.
Jujimufu’s Favorite Home Gym Machines
Despite having every machine known to man in his training facility, Jujimufu revealed a slight bias for his Italian-crafted and imported equipment from Panatta. He explained that the European manufacturer meets his needs best.
Call has a favorite lat pulldown machine and adores his gas-hydraulic operated preacher curl stand with a spinnable cushion to hit his biceps from the best angles.
Bug Zapper Lat pulldown?
When you think you’ve seen it all, Jujimufu has a bug zapper attached to his lat pulldown machine. Before you think it’s crazy, hear him out:
It really dials in form… it just autocorrects along the way.
Jujimufu is likely referring to keeping the arms apart to emphasize a specific part of the back. Getting zapped is a surefire way to tighten up bad pulldown form as a form of reinforcement. However, the research is undeterministic on whether something like that is effective for improving training. (1)
Mega Work Desk, Gymnastics Floor, Micro-Sized Curl Machine
The film crew briefly showed Jujimufu’s mega office desk, which looks like a market trader’s dream setup. Nearby is a gymnastics platform with tightly wound springs attached to the bottom of birch plywood and padding. It makes for a bouncy platform to support tumbling. Although Jujimufu is not tricking as often, he uses its soft surface for stretching, handstands, and other light-impact activities.
Before moving to the upper floor, Call raved about his micro-sized biceps machine and gave a brief history lesson on his modest barbell collection. The strength athlete then made Mitchell perform banded bar hangs.
The fully equipped kitchen was overshadowed by the actual bedroom upstairs. “It is pretty extreme,” said Jujimufu. “I’m either all out there collabing and living in Ubers and hotel rooms, or I’m just here.”
From his humble dining room squat rack days to the current training facility in his backyard, Jujimufu wakes up most days in performance heaven.
I just wanted to live in the gym.
[Related: 4 Exercises Nick Walker and Kyron Holden Train for Massive Legs Under Dr. Mike Israetel’s Tutelage]
About Jujimufu
Jujimufu is a multi-discipline athlete and performer who rose to fame with viral training videos that combined acrobatics with strength and bodybuilding. He’s since competed on various sports stages, built a brand, a huge social media following, and a dream “gym he could live in.”
Reference
- Strohacker K, Galarraga O, Williams DM. The impact of incentives on exercise behavior: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Ann Behav Med. 2014 Aug;48(1):92-9. doi: 10.1007/s12160-013-9577-4. PMID: 24307474; PMCID: PMC4412849.
Featured image: @jujimufu on Instagram
