Looking to Buy a Home Gym

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

I would like to build a home gym.

Gyms around here either have: no power rack, one power rack which is used often (and the pins are old and one hangs out an inch farther than the other), or multiple power racks but have absurd gym rules such as “no chalk, no liquid or food on the rubber floor”.

I have found the necessary equipment for a good home gym, here are the links and prices (shipping is included):

Barbell set:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00615738000P?keyword=weider $209.99. If it is good enough I plan on not having to get bumper plates, you know, since this are rubber encased. I also looked at this set: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00615739000P?keyword=weider
but those rings don’t look like they would be sufficient for heavy deadlifts or being dropped from a power clean.

New Power Rack (looks like PowerLine to me): http://cgi.ebay.com/DELUXE-POWER-CAGE-RACK-Home-Gym-Fitness-Equipment-NEW_W0QQitemZ250236488142QQihZ015QQcategoryZ62135QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

If that one isn’t sufficient: http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2845875&cp=2367453.2622932.694004&parentPage=family&searchId=2801366

= $279.99

Flat Bench (incline isn’t a complete necessary assistance exercise anyway right? :D) FLAT BENCHES

What do you think, is this equipment good/good enough quality? Only thing I think I need otherwise is some plywood covered with rubber flooring. I don’t know how I will end up doing back extensions without a roman chair though :confused: .

Thanks.

2

I don’t think anything with the Weider Name attached to it has any amount of quality.

The Power Rack Looks pretty sketch too. Only $199? Honestly I think you should expect to pay around $1000 for a New Power Rack.

EliteFTS.com and IronMind.com are the best places to buy weight training equipment.
You can buy the Vulcan II Rack From Ironmind.com or buy any number of Power Racks from EliteFTS.com. EliteFTS.com is also probably the best place to buy Barbells since they carry the Texas Powerbar and every specialty squat bar imaginable. If you can only get one bar, get the Texas Powerbar.

Dynamic-Eleiko.com should be your source for buying Bumper Plates and Olympic Lifting Barbells. There is a huge difference between true Olympic Lifting Bumper Plates and Weider Rubber Encased Bumper Plates. You cannot drop weights from overhead with anything but bumper plates and expect your barbell to hold up very long.

Sorinex.com sells the Yoke of Goergon. This is a Power Rack, Strongman Yolk, and Chin-up Bar combined into one piece of relativly easy to move equipment. Sorinex.com also sells real Bumper Plates and has the best selection of quality products out of any other website I’ve mentioned.

If you know for sure that you will gear your home gym experience to Powerlifting, then go with EliteFTS.com. If you think that you’ll be including Weightlifting, then you should check out Sorinex.com. Both the products from EliteFTS.com and from Sorinex.com are used by the best hardcore gyms in the world.

3

There are much cheaper ways.

Buy an olympic barbell off craigslist. Then buy weight off craigslist.

Buy (or make) two heavy-duty sawhorses as a squat rack.

Don’t bench (or buy a bench- I wouldn’t trust one that I’ve made).

IF YOU DO BUY THESE ITEMS
Rubber encased are not bumper plats. BIG difference.
I agree- the latter barbell doesn’t look like it can hold weight well.

4

[quote]Otep wrote:
There are much cheaper ways.

Buy an olympic barbell off craigslist. Then buy weight off craigslist.

Buy (or make) two heavy-duty sawhorses as a squat rack.

Don’t bench (or buy a bench- I wouldn’t trust one that I’ve made).

IF YOU DO BUY THESE ITEMS
Rubber encased are not bumper plats. BIG difference.
I agree- the latter barbell doesn’t look like it can hold weight well.[/quote]

I train at home and have had equipment for over 6 years.
I have…
A rhombus shaped trap bar…for squats as i get more leg work from these as opposed to reg squats and don`t need a cage or stands to lift heavy weights :slight_smile:

A 5ft olympic bar…Don`t really see the need to use a 7ft for anything and they are just too big anyway for home workouts unless you have lots of room.

About 120kg of rubber encased plates…not the HUGE ones but just a thin layer of rubber all over to stop clanging and damage to floors etc.

A pro doorway chin up bar… which extends out from the doorway to give tons of room for pulls/chins.

A home made dip station… made from scaffold tubes, very crude and basic but perfect for me.

And 2 o dumbells.

So not a great deal of equipment, no powercages, squat stands, bench, machines etc.

With this equipment i can squat, deadlift, do calf raises on the bottom stair with a dumbell in hand, pull ups (which in my opinion are better than pulldowns), shrugs, dips or press ups, shoulder presses and obviously any other small exercise with a bar.

Working out at home is AWESOME!!!