Home gym shopping list - advice please

[Optimalisation]

Hi

Am looking for the best place to get some "affordable" home gym stuff.

I have some dumbells already, but prioirties will be...

1. Barbell and weights - deadlifts and presses, cleans etc, I've seen a few barbell only programmes that look decent tog get started with.

2. A decent flat bench - can dumbell press, but still really need number three below before its a lot of use.

3. Some sort of rack/cage - squats and bench presses. Basic home gym complete.

Where should I look for this stuff?

Elite Fitness seems very expensive, Rebel's stuff seems low quality and/or expensive. I found No1 Fitness through a link in another post here. They look pretty good. 

Out of these two racks linked below what do you prefer? I think I like the second one, but even though it's rated for a higher weight it doesn't look as sturdy as the first.

http://www.no1fitness.co.nz/strength-equipment/ip-squat-rack-w-spotters-04414?nav=5791

http://www.no1fitness.co.nz/strength-equipment/adjustable-squat-dip-rack-04113?nav=5791

As for barbells, 7ft sounds kinda long? How long are the bars at most gyms?

This 6ft bar below is rated to 200kg - would that sort of weight (e.g. on a deadlift) bend it well and truly out of shape? My max a few years back was 160kg so this basic bar should handle that ok right?

http://www.no1fitness.co.nz/weights-and-bars/bars/6ft-standard-bar-flat-ends-03141?nav=5722

Just looked back at my posts on here from 2011, looking forward to getting back up to and beyond those weights I used to lift

[Optimalisation]

Or there is this cage for a bit more $$$

http://www.no1fitness.co.nz/strength-equipment/heavy-duty-power-cage-04470

One of the advantages of the adjustable rack is that it could be quite compact when not in use leaving extra space in the garage.

 

The other idea I am toying with is doing something DIY out of wood. Simple example below...

[Gym rat]

My advice would to join a gym which would be a better option that's if you live near a gym

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

do you train alone? look after yourself and definately get a power cage with safety bars. the pins can be very easily adjusted dependong your exercise and the safety bars could double as spotter for your benching.

 

that $39 barbell is a low quality piece of crap, doesn't even look like it has bearings for the plates so it's gonna be pretty shit to use when you go heavier.. it looks about as crap as the rebel sport ones. standard oly bars are also around 20kg and have a certain feel to it, cheap ones like this are more like 8-10kg big difference. look for an 'olympic bar'. they have the standard ends on them for weight plates (50mm or so i think), better knurling for your grip, thicker bar as it's the proper standard, will definately be stronger etc.

 

if price is a concern, consider buying used, keep an eye on trademe there's deals every now and then. definately look out for bargain weight plates 2nd hand

 

you'll also need some nice rubber mats to protect your garage floor

[Optimalisation]

Cheers guys.

I'm at one of the 24hr gyms (no power cage or barbells - for safety reasons?) but prefer it when its empty and am moving further away soon so training at home will suit me.

doesn't even look like it has bearings for the plates so it's gonna be pretty shit to use when you go heavier..

Oh! (penny dropping) I never realised that the chunky ends on olympic bars have bearings (so that they rotate with the weight right?) That's obvious now that I think about it. 

The reason I was drawn to a 'standard' bar was so that plates are interchangable with dumbells but I guess only a few plates (e.g. 5kg) would get used on both. Oly bar seems the way to go if I want to get the weights up. Will need to keep an eye out for some good deals.

 

[Clueless]

Get olympic first off. I have standard and olympic now. About 200kg standard, 160kg olympic weights in garage. Regret buying standard to save a few $$

If get a leg press or any machines later on normally olympic weights slide on em too.

Powercage, bench, olympic weights n bars - good place to start. I got all of my stuf from n01fitness no regrets.

 

[Optimalisation]

Yeah from what I can tell olympic plates and standard plates are the same price (like for like plates with a different sized hole that is) so the diff really is the one off cost of the bar.

 

No 1 have a 'training bar' and 'competition bar'. What's the difference between bushes and bearings?

http://www.no1fitness.co.nz/weights-and-bars/bars/7ft-olympic-training-bar-03241?nav=5721

http://www.no1fitness.co.nz/weights-and-bars/bars/7ft-olympic-competition-bar-03240?nav=5721

 

[teamfatboy]

FoTR is spot-on... a good "Oly" bar, with the bigger ends, is the better choice.  Make sure you get a 20kg one - not a shorter ladies' bar - or you'll forever be misloading whenever you hit a commercial gym.  In competition, the bar is always 7' and 20kg, and the collars add 5kg.  

Bushings are thin sleeves, often of bronze, which allow the bar-ends to rotate, but not as well as (roller- or ball-) bearings.  If you can, go for bearings, it'll last longer.  

Treated carefully, (see http://www.ivankobarbell.com/faq.html ) a good bar will repay the investment. 

[crazyfacials]

FoTR is spot-on... a good "Oly" bar, with the bigger ends, is the better choice.  Make sure you get a 20kg one - not a shorter ladies' bar - or you'll forever be misloading whenever you hit a commercial gym.  In competition, the bar is always 7' and 20kg, and the collars add 5kg.  

Bushings are thin sleeves, often of bronze, which allow the bar-ends to rotate, but not as well as (roller- or ball-) bearings.  If you can, go for bearings, it'll last longer.  

Treated carefully, (see http://www.ivankobarbell.com/faq.html ) a good bar will repay the investment. 

question, in compeitions, when someone says they did X amount of weight (let's use 100Kg for this example), is that the bar + 75kg on it (due to 5 being the collars) or is that the bar and 2 plates?

[teamfatboy]

 

FoTR is spot-on... a good "Oly" bar, with the bigger ends, is the better choice.  Make sure you get a 20kg one - not a shorter ladies' bar - or you'll forever be misloading whenever you hit a commercial gym.  In competition, the bar is always 7' and 20kg, and the collars add 5kg.  

Bushings are thin sleeves, often of bronze, which allow the bar-ends to rotate, but not as well as (roller- or ball-) bearings.  If you can, go for bearings, it'll last longer.  

Treated carefully, (see http://www.ivankobarbell.com/faq.html ) a good bar will repay the investment. 

question, in compeitions, when someone says they did X amount of weight (let's use 100Kg for this example), is that the bar + 75kg on it (due to 5 being the collars) or is that the bar and 2 plates?

in a comp, (well, every comp I've done) it's a 20kg bar, 5kg collars, and weights to make the nominated weight. So, 100kg is bar, collars, and 75kg of plates - 37.5 per side made up of a 25 (red), a 10 and a 2.5.  As a spotter-loader you get good at doing maths in your head!

[Optimass]

The Ivanko bars are over priced - no1fitness are about to bring in an IPF spec comp standard bar will retail for around $500 and special a bit lower. 

The 7ft comp bar is a nice bar to lift with but either option would be suitable for a home application - or commercial for that matter.  Of the racks you posted up the pwer cage is always a better option IMO - the freestanding racks are popular but more commonly if you have limited space.  I never feel 100% on them unless they are locked down or heavier grade.  The squat rack is not too bad but like I say compared to the cage its not as good.

There is a yellow rack and bench combo for around $500 which value for money is best IM  - the grade on the steel is higher than most of the domestic racks and you have more hook hieghts on the verticals. 

 

[Leeroid]

This 6ft bar below is rated to 200kg - would that sort of weight (e.g. on a deadlift) bend it well and truly out of shape? My max a few years back was 160kg so this basic bar should handle that ok right?

This is how they come up with those numbers. The barbell is placed on a narrow bench so that the only contact it has is in the middle part of the bar. Then they SLOWLY and CAREFULLY place plates on each side of the bar. No jerking or sudden movement whatsoever. They then take the plates off to see whether the bar comes back to it's original straightness. If it is fine, they repeat the process adding more weight until the bar gets bent permanently.

As you can tell, this is not a very realistic simulation of the stress that a barbell will go through in real life. If a barbell is rated for 200kgs then it will probably bend with only 100kg or so on the bar in real life use. A barbell that's made with 130,000psi steel will bend when you reverse direction at the bottom of the squat with only 140kgs loaded on the bar. For commercial gym purposes, 180,000psi is usually adequate.

Ivanko bars are made using steel that's rated at 218,000psi. When tested using the method I outlined in the first paragraph, you can load 900kgs on each side before they will bend out of shape. So you could say they're rated for 1,800kgs. Bars that are made with >200,000psi steel are pretty much unbendable which is why Ivanko, Eleiko and the other reputable manufacturers give a lifetime guarantee. I'd rather pay extra for an "overpriced" Ivanko bar than something that'll bend after a few months of use.

 

While I'm on the subject, a common misconception seems to be that the higher the psi rating of the steel, the stiffer (less whippier) the bar will be. This is not true at all. Psi ratings don't influence the bendiness of the bar, they influence how much bend the bar can tolerate and still return to it's original straightness.

The main factor that determines whippiness of the bar is the diameter of the bar itself. Barbells that are made for weightlifting (Oly lifts) are 28mm so there's more oscillation that the lifters can take advantage of.

Barbells made for powerlifting are mostly 28.5mm or 29mm in diameter. The stiffer bar is better for squatting and benching where heavier weights are used and stability is paramount.

In the case of the Texas deadlift bar, the whippiness comes from the extra length of the barbell which increases the distance of the plates from the centre of the bar. They don't use lower rated steel because if they did, the bar would not return to it's original straightness after being bent to such an extreme degree. Texas deadlift bar (27mm), power bar (28.5mm) and squat bar (30mm) are all made using 186,000psi steel yet they all have a different amount of whip.

[Optimalisation]

Some very useful comments there thanks guys. Think I might just need to be patient time/$ wise and get some decent stuff that I won't break or outgrow too soon.

[glennb]

I went through the same process a few years ago.

 

In regards to home gym vs commerical gym. If you're just starting out I'd probably join a commerical gym first and workout with an experienced friend every now and then to gain experience. Once you know how to use the equipment safely and decided it's something you want to do long-term, then definitely look into setting up a home gym - if you've got the space and the missus isn't going to be too upset :-)

 

With gym fees $1000pa +  you can definitely buy a lot of home equipment for that, especially if you buy secondhand. Beware though, there' a lot of sh*t being sold on Trademe, so don't be too quick to latch onto a cheap deal.

 

As people has mentioned already, I'd definitely go for a power cage for it's safety bars (really important for home workouts with no spotter) and it can double as a bench press frame.

 

Also, if you get a power cage capable of adding upper and lower pulleys, then you can also do lat-pulldowns and seated cable rows - and all sorts of variations of those exercises. So this one peice of equipment is very multi-use especially in a home situation where often you're short of space.

 

As for standard vs olym - I toiled with this for a couple of years. I quickly decided to buy a olym bar which meant I was required to buy olym plates. And for a while there I had dumbbells and a curling bar both taking standard plates, but I eventually concluded I didn't want to double up on plates - one set of olym, one set of standard - again for the space issue, but also those mothers are heavy and on a wooden floor you're gotta be asking the question???

 

So I got rid of the standard curling bar replacing it with an olym curling bar. But what about my dumbbellls ... you can get olym dumbbell handles but I decided (for convenience) to go with an adjusable set - simlar to PowerBlock or BowFlex. But I didn't want to pay BowFlex prices so I went for a Chinese copy which has worked really well for about 4 years now.

 

I have bought equipment from No1 Fitness and like their selection and service, although shipping from Auck or Chch to Wgtn can eassily erase their price advantage. I recently bought a heavy duty FID bench with leg ext/curl add-on from No1 and like it a lot.

 

my 40kg adjustable dumbell set:

http://www.qualimax.info/product/6062/40kg-adjustable-dumbbell-5kg-40kg/

I'm not sure if it's still available.

 

One last piece of advice - don't buy sand-filled weights!

[Pseudonym]

^Fantastic first post. Welcome to Gymnation, Glennb. We've now got high expectations for all your subsequent posts!