Affordable cast iron weight set

Soldato
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6 Sep 2016
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Already have york dumbell set, any recommendation for bar and extra weights that is compatible? Starter weight set I don't need 100kg weights..

Don't have a weight bench so I'd just be using a normal chair

Prices seem a bit high now :eek:
 
are you looking for a chest press set then? if so; personally I would opt for a rubber bumper set, some with grip holes so you can do other exercises than having to have them on a bar and easiler to put on and off.

You likely to find that the hole sizes for heavier weights are larger Olympic standard than the weights for dumbells which are 1 inch, getting more weights of 1 inch standard will have limited use apart from on dumbells. Anything about 60kg+ and most the 1 inch bars start to flex and bend..
 
Check your local marketplaces on facebook/local ebay sellers etc, weight sets often go for dirt cheap thanks to them being a nightmare to ship.

That and a lot of people buy into them as a fad and give up a few months later.

Funnily enough, Argos are worth checking every so often too, I picked up some 10kg plates for dirt cheap there a couple of years back due to them clearing out old stock.

Just make sure they're the right dimensions for whatever bars you use.
 
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Check your local marketplaces on facebook etc, weight sets often go for dirt cheap thanks to them being a nightmare to ship.

That and a lot of people buy into them as a fad and give up a few months later.

Funnily enough, Argos are worth checking every so often too, I picked up some 10kg plates for dirt cheap there a couple of years back due to them clearing out old stock.

Just make sure they're the right dimensions for whatever bars you use.

My boss managed to pick up a whole commercial gym grade fixed dumbell set and matching plates dead cheap before lock down on FB, but prices are somewhat still crazy for new stuff since lockdown and the secondhand market prices reflect this.

He had to do it three trips do to the amount of weights... I can't remember the brand as I was too busy mocking him, saying his other half must be a tank as he looks like a weed... lol..
 
My boss managed to pick up a whole commercial gym grade fixed dumbell set and matching plates dead cheap before lock down on FB, but prices are somewhat still crazy for new stuff since lockdown and the secondhand market prices reflect this.

He had to do it three trips do to the amount of weights... I can't remember the brand as I was too busy mocking him, saying his other half must be a tank as he looks like a weed... lol..

Lucky sod.

I'm mostly hexbells (pairs ranging from 10-30kg in increments of 5) at home and the price of the things is shocking new, managed to grab a couple of bargains second hand though.
 
there's a lad in bolton that keeps offering new commercial gym grade stuff on FB for cheap, the local gym near me packed up during lockdown and sold most of their stuff on fb as well.

TBH, i dont have any weights at home now a days. mate's "borrow" most of my stuff as they think working out just before going on holiday helps and I could never be bothered to chase them for it, so I given up. The gym is only 15 min drive from home and never that busy.. heck there's a council gym 15 min walk from my house but it's full of kids and I have free gym at work which I could never be bothered to use.

I'm still trying to figure out wear to put a treadmill in the house, thought I had the perfect nordic track till I saw it was non foldable.
 
I hit the gym a couple of times a week, but I've a nook in a spare room where I do some more basic stuff. Only a minor setup, basic bench, hexbells, curling bar, a few plates etc.

I've had similar issues with mates, they don't seem to understand that consistency and long term is king. If you're relatively slim to start with you'll get some quick gains within a short period of time if you've never lifted before, but for a notable difference in looks/power you really need to have a good long term routine and diet. It's like talking to brick walls explaining that though, made worse by the god awful "fitness" influencers fleecing people all over social media these days.
 
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diet for me is the key... you can control what you put in but you can't control what you put out.
if i want to look ripped, I just need to diet and drop the amount of weights that I'm lifting, not that I'm lifting crazying amounts in the first place.. up the reps.
I can't seem to diet and pump weights at the same time, it just kills me for the rest of the day.

gain in the winter and tone in the summer.. :)
 
I've had a look at second hand sites, yeah they are available but too far away..plus need transport. This isn't too bad starter set. I'd like lat pull down though as need to work on those.


I'm fairly slim build, not sure I under technique of lifting, but I think I'd rather do many reps of lighter weight, rather than heavy weight but few reps.

I do have second bedroom for it to go into, but probably like a foldable one, so can push to side when not in use.
 
Get yourself a pull up bar and a set of gym rings. Callesthenics is the cheap way forward if you want a body that has functional strength, flexibility and good aesthetics. The problem with weights is that before long you are lifting everything you own and need more to progress and at £2/kg that is expensive. Even FB or eBay seem to be quite pricey. Plus weights take up a lot of space.
 
Get yourself a pull up bar and a set of gym rings. Callesthenics is the cheap way forward if you want a body that has functional strength, flexibility and good aesthetics. The problem with weights is that before long you are lifting everything you own and need more to progress and at £2/kg that is expensive. Even FB or eBay seem to be quite pricey. Plus weights take up a lot of space.

ceiling beams don't have strength in them, wouldn't know where to put them.

be ok if there was visible beams etc

I do have an outhouse with the WC removed (used as a shed) with exposed beam but it's too small and would be horrible to do work outs inside
 
ceiling beams don't have strength in them, wouldn't know where to put them.

be ok if there was visible beams etc

I do have an outhouse with the WC removed (used as a shed) with exposed beam but it's too small and would be horrible to do work outs inside
Understood. I have a bar mounted to the wall in the garage and hang the rings off it. The other option is to get one of those door mounted bars and use that.
 
I've had a look at second hand sites, yeah they are available but too far away..plus need transport. This isn't too bad starter set. I'd like lat pull down though as need to work on those.


I'm fairly slim build, not sure I under technique of lifting, but I think I'd rather do many reps of lighter weight, rather than heavy weight but few reps.

I do have second bedroom for it to go into, but probably like a foldable one, so can push to side when not in use.
Not being funny but that’s 40kg of weights.. you should be pumping more than that very quickly.

Most people aim for 3 set of 8 to 12 reps.

Some will do reps to failure.. a set of heavy weights then as many reps of a light weight as possible. This is why some prefer fixed weight dumbbells, it saves time messing adjusting weights on the bar.

If you want to gain, lift heavy later on in the day.

If you want to gain strength, I agree Callesthenics is far better for home that having a weights setup.

Have a look at the TRX system, there are other much cheaper brands.. but you can just bolt something to an outdoor wall and hang the ring system off it.

Resistance bands, can emulate the same as many dumbbells and bars lifts..
 
Not being funny but that’s 40kg of weights.. you should be pumping more than that very quickly.

Most people aim for 3 set of 8 to 12 reps.

Some will do reps to failure.. a set of heavy weights then as many reps of a light weight as possible. This is why some prefer fixed weight dumbbells, it saves time messing adjusting weights on the bar.

If you want to gain, lift heavy later on in the day.

If you want to gain strength, I agree Callesthenics is far better for home that having a weights setup.

Have a look at the TRX system, there are other much cheaper brands.. but you can just bolt something to an outdoor wall and hang the ring system off it.

Resistance bands, can emulate the same as many dumbbells and bars lifts..

yeah I noticed that was bundled with a "lightweight" amount, I'm not exactly superman but 40kg doesn't seem a lot (for barbell)..so I'd need to buy additional weights.
 
You mentioned wanted to go light with more reps, and while studies do show that as viable for strength/muscle gain it's usually recommended for people that can't lift heavy for medical reasons. If that's the case by all means stick to lighter weight and more reps, but if not you will want to slowly increase the weight, ideally as far as you can while maintaining proper form (this really is key, do not go to the point you need to swing weights or might injure yourself). You don't need to gain forever, you'll probably reach a point where you're happy to maintain what you have and things become so much easier at that point, but most who really get into things like to chase the rabbit hole to some degree.

The main issue with light weight more reps is time, you could technically spend 60 minutes gaining the same level of workout you could in 30 with more weight added. This adds up a lot, I tend to aim for 1-2 hour sessions at the gym and then do 30-60 minute dropdown sets at home. Going to failure is a valid way to test gains too and again it's simply easier to get there with more weight, and while some do recommend repping to failure every time I'd personally advise against it. You should gain similar strength by going roughly 80% of the way there and you'll be less knackered at the end of things, but aiming for failure once a month is a good way to test progress.

You don't need to go crazy heavy in order to see good gains, it's just a case of finding what works for you. Diet is super important too, you're not going to improve if you eat like poo, you want to pump up protein intake and make sure you're not deficient in any specific nutrients.

Don't fall for the supplement craze either, the only thing you can't really go wrong with his creatine, if just starting out there's not too much point but at the same time it's so cheap you might as well anyway as it takes 30 days to properly load up in your system. It's something you need to take daily however, and do read up first to make sure it wouldn't cause you any problems, it's fine for 95% of people but I think it can be iffy for those with kidney issues.

As mentioned, calisthenics and resistance bands are great ways to improve that cost very little, honestly nothing with the former depending on how you go about it.
 
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Join a cheap gym, unless you're really going in off the deep end and spending £xxxx there's a reason all this cheap home gym kit ends up being sold 2nd hand or given away. It's crap and no one wants to use it once the initial "ooo shiny" feeling has worn off.
 
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