Building a Home Gym
- Thread starter decmatt
- Start date
Caporegime
lat pull downs.. Even for drop sets are great.
It also has low pulley, by not having it you are missing out on lots of cable exercises..
Cable curls, push downs, seated rows and many more.
Not sure about the rocking of cage, i'm 130kg and it don't move for me
Soldato
lat pull downs.. Even for drop sets are great.
It also has low pulley, by not having it you are missing out on lots of cable exercises..
Cable curls, push downs, seated rows and many more.
Not sure about the rocking of cage, i'm 130kg and it don't move for me
I guess... But it adds size and weight to the rack that I can't afford to add. Plus at the moment since I'm following stronglifts 5x5 I don't really have any need for the attachment.
I'll see in a few months after I've moved house and get bored of stronglifts whether it's possible to attach with the extra length it adds to the rack.
Well i rang up today and i think the woman i spoke to got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. She was rarther snappy and told me there wasn't any way the package deal could be changed. She then said she could try and see what price she could get for the items i wanted, so i just opted for the same rack, bench and weights. She came back after about 45 seconds and said the price for the rack bench and weights would be £374.
I said "well, isn't that £1 more than the package deal, without the lat attachment?" She said yes and there was nothing else that she could do. I said i'd think about purchasing the package deal and before i could even say goodbye and thanks for your help, the phone was slammed down.
Guess i might just order it over the net and then use the lat attachment when i've moved on from SL 5x5.
I said "well, isn't that £1 more than the package deal, without the lat attachment?" She said yes and there was nothing else that she could do. I said i'd think about purchasing the package deal and before i could even say goodbye and thanks for your help, the phone was slammed down.
Guess i might just order it over the net and then use the lat attachment when i've moved on from SL 5x5.
Soldato
Did you ring the 0800 number form the website? If so, have a look for one of the stores local numbers near to you, they are usually a lot more friendly and will sometimes be able to do you a better deal.
Soldato
roid, when I called I spoke to a chap called Adam who seemed very pleasant. Maybe ask to talk to him next time or something?
Sorry to bump this thread but since I have a question about that exact power rack there's no point in me starting a new one.
Are you guys still happy with it?
I know it's now gone up in price but I'm still really tempted to get that package. I can't beat the price of it by buying separately.
I'm sure the rack is more than enough for me but what is the bench and oly weight bar, etc. like?
Is there a better deal around at the moment?
Soldato
For what it's worth, I'm still very pleased with mine. For the money, I can't fault it at all. But then I'm still a novice really, I weigh 75kg ish and the most I've loaded up onto it is 95kg for squats, so I haven't really tested what it can handle properly yet.
I'm guessing the bar is rated up to 700lbs, which is more than enough for most. Not sure about the bench, but it certainly seems durable enough. I was particularly pleased with the fact that it declines as well. I'm probably just splitting hairs here, but one thing that irks me a little is having to unscrew the hand-turny-thing on the side, pull it out a little, adjust the bench, then tighten it up again quite tightly (with the bench in its new position) to stop the adjustment mechanism on the bench rattling when the bench is moved around. Fortunately I keep it flat most of the time though so I don't often have to do this!
I'm guessing the bar is rated up to 700lbs, which is more than enough for most. Not sure about the bench, but it certainly seems durable enough. I was particularly pleased with the fact that it declines as well. I'm probably just splitting hairs here, but one thing that irks me a little is having to unscrew the hand-turny-thing on the side, pull it out a little, adjust the bench, then tighten it up again quite tightly (with the bench in its new position) to stop the adjustment mechanism on the bench rattling when the bench is moved around. Fortunately I keep it flat most of the time though so I don't often have to do this!
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Thanks. I'm a complete novice so I'm sure it'll be more than enough for me at the moment but I do want it to last at least a few years.
I read further up the thread that you were doing the StrongLifts 5x5.
Are you still doing it and has it been working well?
Soldato
Yeah I'm still following the Stronglifts routine. I really, really like it! Before I was squatting 50kg, I'm now into week 7 and I'm squatting almost 100kg! All of my lifts have increased dramatically, I'm really pleased with how well it's working for me.
Before I was just stuck at the same weight for weeks with all of the exercises I was doing. Following the stronglifts routine has actually given me motivation to increase the weight because, well... because you have to each time you work out if you're following it correctly!
I stalled for the first time the other night with overhead press though, only managed 4 out of 5 reps on my last set. Gonna have to repeat the 55kg press next time and hopefully I'll manage it!
Before I was just stuck at the same weight for weeks with all of the exercises I was doing. Following the stronglifts routine has actually given me motivation to increase the weight because, well... because you have to each time you work out if you're following it correctly!
I stalled for the first time the other night with overhead press though, only managed 4 out of 5 reps on my last set. Gonna have to repeat the 55kg press next time and hopefully I'll manage it!
Nice one!
I'll be starting it as soon as I get the equipment.
Have you noticed any changes with your body (weight, bodyfat, etc?).
I'm 6'1" and weigh just 66KG so I'm desperately wanting to gain some muscle. I've got my diet sorted out and I'm eating 5-6 meals a day so I just need a solid routine now and I think StrongLifts will be perfect.
Soldato
Changes erm... my muscles have thickened up a bit, my lats are now a lot more noticeable from all of the pull/chin ups and inverted rows (neither exercise previously appeared in my routine since I had no where to do them before getting the rack), and my upper legs have got a lot bigger I feel given the amount of time it's taken.
My weight hasn't changed, though. Before I started I training at all I was about 11 stone, then within a month of eating a lot and training a lot I had put on 18lbs. A lot of which was fat, I then dropped down to 12 stone exactly before starting Stronglifts and haven't changed since. I'm assuming, since my strength has increased and I've not put on any weight, I've lost a bit of body fat which is my aim at the moment because I was a little soft before.
I think Stronglifts will suit you well though, I imagine if I was eating a lot more I could be putting on a fair bit more mass, but that's not my aim right now. I want to see how strong I can get while staying at this sort of weight (below 80kg), then once I reach a plateau I'll increase my calories and see what happens.
My weight hasn't changed, though. Before I started I training at all I was about 11 stone, then within a month of eating a lot and training a lot I had put on 18lbs. A lot of which was fat, I then dropped down to 12 stone exactly before starting Stronglifts and haven't changed since. I'm assuming, since my strength has increased and I've not put on any weight, I've lost a bit of body fat which is my aim at the moment because I was a little soft before.
I think Stronglifts will suit you well though, I imagine if I was eating a lot more I could be putting on a fair bit more mass, but that's not my aim right now. I want to see how strong I can get while staying at this sort of weight (below 80kg), then once I reach a plateau I'll increase my calories and see what happens.
Nice.
I'm building a proper pull up/chinup bar in my garden with some parallel bars, they're a great piece of equipment and pretty easy to build.
I've gained about 6-7lb in ~ 3-4 weeks which I am happy with. I think I'll gain quite a bit more with StrongLifts.
Soldato
Awesome. Well good luck dude, keep us posted on how the routine works out!
weird. mine doesn't do this. i just pull the latch out (its spring loaded), change the gradient and align it up, then let go. doesnt make any rattle or anything, pretty solid.
i'm impressed with the whole package, can't complain at the money.
only thing that annoys me is there is only one 'decline' gradient on the bench, and its pretty steep so trying to hold your body there while benching is a PITA.
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Soldato
Hmmm fonzee, it could be that a few of the bolts on my bench need tightening up a bit actually. Might give it a go later and see if it makes a difference. Either way, it's not that big a deal at all.
Caporegime
my bolts are tight as hell (except those for movement) and i need to tighten it each time, not just pull it out!
to the person that asked, the bench is rather good, im 130, i've done 100kg box squats onto the seated section and benched 130 on it. So its had plenty of weight and i've not felt it was a risk in any way.
to the person that asked, the bench is rather good, im 130, i've done 100kg box squats onto the seated section and benched 130 on it. So its had plenty of weight and i've not felt it was a risk in any way.
I just phoned them to try and get a discount and I can't get anything off.
I told him that in June it was £373 but he said it was an error with the system and it shouldn't have been that cheap?
I think it seems like the Summer09 deal is now off, so you can't get the 15% which changed the price down to £373.
Yeah, I was hoping they'd be able to match it or at least get close but he couldn't knock a penny off.
