If you want my opinion on what to buy, get the 300 lb Olympic Cast Steel Set and then buy a set of two bumper plates if you plan on doing deadlifts. Or, you can get a package with the Rogue Beater Bar, ES-1 Squat Stand, Flat Bench 2.0, 260 lbs of bumper plates, and then whatever else you need for that (mats, collars, maybe another set of 45 lb plates), that will run about $1200 for everything. That's what I would recommend if you're starting a home gym. It's hard to beat it for the value and the quality is pretty good for everything.
The plates are a bit pricey, but if you really want you can just buy the lower quality plates from the other site. I don't know if it's really worthwhile to get the dumbbells. I think that if you spend your money on bumpers, a squat stand, and bench, and then get a couple of dumbbells for some isolation exercises if you really want them, you'd be much better off.
Edit: I also think that you may be best off if you measure the actual height of your ceiling. If you can fit it, the S-2 is about $150 more, but it also includes something for you to do pull ups on. You could also buy safety spotter arms which are really great if you're squatting by yourself. You can also add on different things like dip bars, horizontal plate storage, and other attachments directly to the squat stand.
On August 28 2014 09:44 IgnE wrote: Check craigslist. Noobs buy shit they never use all the time and then get rid of it when they move.
This is a good suggestion too. Ben Rice for instance just got a ridiculous steal for like 1/4 of what everything was worth when he built his home gym.
Yeah, I am aware of craiglist, and I am looking on Kijiji, but my big thing is rather what to buy, rather than where from, I just want to make sure I have the right equipment. And honestly, looking at my Kijiji the prices in the city, they don't seem that much different from this website, they have really good prices. Also, powerblocks retain value very well, and if you buy them used they don't get warranty. <$300 for 300lb of weight and an olympic bar is a really good deal too, and dare I say cheaper than anything on kijiji in Calgary. I'll be using Kijiji to hopefully find a bench and accessories, but I think this place has the bulk of it covered.
And oh, do I need bumper plates if I'm on carpet? Would cast metal not be okay?
I felt the dumbbells would be a pretty decent value, for <$500 dollars (70lb option + stand) I have enough dumbbells to do all different bicep isolations, all different kind of flies, all shoulder exercises, OHDP, incline bench dumbbell press and regular dumbbell press... Not to mention the bent over rows and use for other core strength exercises. Again, I might be wrong, but I just know when I worked out, when I wasn't doing benchpress, squats, deadlifts, pull ups or dips, I was usually using dumbbells with the exception of a couple cable exercises, and a couple barbell isolation lifts.
On August 28 2014 10:02 IgnE wrote: Are you on the ground floor?
Yes, I am in a basement, carpet, and then I'm not sure if there's anything between that, but right after it, it's simply a concrete bottom and dirt below that. I mean that's where I intend to place it, I have the whole house to work with though.
Oh, and I just measured the the basement, taller than I expected actually - 227cm... A 5 centimeter breathing room would be good though.
And that's very compact, and will allow me to do 80-90% of what I used to do at the gym. But again, just looking for input for what it useful, what you'd throw out/alter, what you'd add, etc.
And I don't plan to do olympic lifts, at least not at my primary focus like decafchicken... I'm usually pretty gentle when doing overhead press, and I don't think I'd drop the bar at all, probably failure on squats would be the biggest concern (If I don't go for a cage). Adjustable dumbbells are also somewhat fragile, so I'd learn to be a little gentle with all my exercises.
There are a couple of other useful things that you can do with the Rogue squat stand that I prefer compared to the other one. For instance, if you ever want to do dips or buy safety spotter arms, you can. The first squat stand you suggested also looks rather weak and like it would fall over when you're doing heavy squats and walk back into the rack. It also may not give you the best height options for bench pressing, OHP, and squatting. You can also buy plate storage for your rack for like $40 and it works really well (I personally own a Rogue stand and the only complaint I have about it is that I don't have as much room as I'd like for it).
There are cheaper benches that you can get, but I'd just be wary of getting one that's cheaply made. I used to use a hallway pull up bar, but it fell off when I was using it once and I have been afraid to use one ever since.
Anyway, your list of what to get looks good. I'd recommend maybe throwing in a couple of resistance bands for stretching and a foam roller, but other than that I'd say it's a solid starting point.
squat stands are surprisingly sturdy and stable imo, combined with human ability to be accurate at placing heavy objects when under pressure. i've never toppled my £70 squat stands except for when i havent worked out for ages and randomly drop an ohp
bumper plates can be replaced by spending 20-40 on rubber doormats and putting them under your weights when you drop them. 100% fine so long as you're not having to put your gym on muddy fucking grass
the bench i bought was listed as having like 350kg load capability or something and cost £60-70. its great except has some wood base which i've snapped several times holding onto while doing beginner dragonflags. which is a bit lame. might just be because its been outside for a year+ and nonvisibly rotted
i got 2 motherfucking days of hoovering left
resistance bands might be shit unless you have something you can attach them to like a pole you dont mind putting a ton of force on which doesnt exist in a normal household lol.
instead of pullup bar try checking your house for under stairs where you might be able to grab onto the stairs from below to do pullups with a wide grip....have a look
Slowly adapting to morning trainings. Been doing lots of "no feet" work to improve my foot movement and bar path this week. One of my best looking 120 snatches from this morning:
FS 130kgx3, 135kgx3, 140kgx3, 145kgx3(PR), 147.5x3(PR), 150kgx2 (missed the last rep, leaned too much foward t.t)
AM: Snatch 65kg(PR), 70kg(PR), 72.5kg(PR), (2.5kg less than my power snatch lol) 60kgx2x2 Muscle snatches and klokov press+overhead squats
Now that I'm more flexible training twice a day is great.
I've also learn to self massage my leg (except my hamstring for obv reason), shoulders and biceps, which make recovery after squats a lot faster. Decaf you should try it, as you can't always have your chiro around.
On August 30 2014 04:38 zulu_nation8 wrote: So the bar should be traveling straight up every time?
More or less. It has to come backwards off the floor because physics but as you finish your pull you want to minimize any forward movement of the bar away from you and keep it close.
PR'd my clean at 175lb. Got some reps in for snatch and c+j. Showed up at the gym way later (off work) and look in the weight room and it's packed with the college basketball team. Fortunately no one was using the platform :D
Everything felt easy as hell today. Squat and OHP was super happy with. My school's gym only has bumper plates in kilos, so I had to calculate those numbers in kg. Definitely think I can hit my goals before the end of the year.
EPT
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/zZwETsl.jpg)
