I searched on this before I bored you guys! My job has a fitness center but it really sucks (big gaps in dumbell weights and only bench press is the kind with pegs and you can only go up and down - no stablizer muscles).
I have a Power Tower for dips and pull ups and some barbells at home. What are the necessities for lifting at home to have and most importantly who makes it - hopefully a national chain I can go pick it up so I don’t have to pay hundreds in shipping.
Other questions:
Power rack ($650) or adjustable dumbells? I feel like adjustable dumbells but don’t know if they will hold enough weight.
Do you want a hard bench or one with thick padding?
Will those “safety catches” hold under say a 300 lb bench? Very nice if they do!
Olympic plates with holes worth the extra money? My wife and kids may find it easier to lift off the floor and/or load?!?!
Squat cage!! Then two dumbell handles that are long enough to take the weight you want to lift (I use a set of star-lock types, which could hold up to 100 lb per hand), a bar long enough to get the collars outside the cage, plates (50s, 25s, a lot of 10 pounders, 4 5 pounders, and 4 1.25 pounders), spring collars for the bar, a dipping belt, and a bench (which it sounds like you already have). I assume your first question referred to Powerblocks? Some people love them, but as I said earlier, I use regular dumbell handles. Use the cage for benching. Your question on the plates with holes I think refers to the newer type with hand grip holes, right? They can be convenient, but I’ve never had a problem getting the plates off the floor. You might want to get some hard rubber mats to put under the whole set-up to keep from putting weights through the floor.
You can get a powerrack much cheaper than $650. I bought mine for 200 (New!) from a guy that was selling them out of his house. Saw his classified ad. It is definitely the best purchase I have made in weight training.
power blocks, they are a little large at 125# but you just have to use a hammer grip on most presses but at around 90 or so lbs there are no probs. I tell everyone looking for equipment to do the same thing,CALL THE LOCAL GYMS! a friend in HS had a full gym in his garage from stuff he got cheap or free (yup, he got a selectorized pulldown just for picking it up)give it a try, what do you have to loose.peace
Get a power rack and you can use that for everything (benching, overhead presses, deadlifts, squats, etc). It’s probably more economical than buying a separate squat rack. The PowerBlock dumbbell sets are pretty cool and don’t take up much space. So that’s an option too. I would get a standard bench (like the ones that PowerBlock or Ironmind sell). Also, a few other great pieces for a home gym include a kettlebell (just got mine - I love it!), a dragging sled, swiss ball, jump rope and towels (for towel chins). And of course, you can always get a standard Olympic bar with weights.