Official Home Gym Building Thread

Bench looks fit.

I remember Klokov doing stuff with Again Faster, had his own barbell or something. Should be fine quality wise, although a good adjustable gives you more options as even if you just prop one end up for incline work you're without a seat.
 
Somnambulist said:
Bench looks fit.

I remember Klokov doing stuff with Again Faster, had his own barbell or something. Should be fine quality wise, although a good adjustable gives you more options as even if you just prop one end up for incline work you're without a seat.
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Yup, i think for the moment i would rather use the extra 150 odd on weights then can always upgrade to an adjustable one at a later date
 
Flat bench serves me fine, but it depends on what you want.

I can’t incline barbell bench due to my shoulder and I haven’t declined in ages. Hammering flat bench seems to achieve what I want in terms of muscle development and raw bench strength. For additional chest gains I use my landmine (fly’s, incline press etc).

25kg plates arrived. 4 days, not bad!

Dehumidifier insulation pipe added, worked perfectly. Have extended the pipe further from the gym.
 
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Lovely Setup Lie, I think I will stop Incline Bench too thinking back it was that week that my shoulder pain started...
 
New member here, glad to find a UK based discussion about home gyms.

I bought a Mirafit M2350kg cage with lat pulldown attachment just before lockdown. Now a few months later I'm pretty frustrated with the pulldown as it is plate loaded and inconvenient to change weight quickly.
Unfortunately Mirafit doesn't make a stack option so I was thinking about the viability of using a stack from a different brand.
The BodyMax CF485+ looks like it would require very little adapting to fit. Same 60mm box section frame (if what I read online is correct) and it would appear that the holes for attaching to the cage are in the same place, although not necessarily the same spacing. In theory not an issue as either the cage or the stack could have new holes drilled to make it work.
The issue is the height of the lat attachment. I can't find any info on how high the rear cross-member is on the CF485 but it looks like it may be a little taller than the M2. If it is not a huge difference I could have a spacer plate made up and all should be fine.

Does anyone have a CF485 (or the previous 475 which I believe is the same spec just in different colours) and can measure from ground to top of rear cross-member? Spacing of the attachment holes between centres would also be handy if possible.
https://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-cf485-weight-stack

I was also looking at the stack for the Body-Solid Classic Pro Power Rack (GPPR82N) which is half the price but from the pictures I've seen online it would need more adapting to fit to the M2 due to having different mounting points and potentially only 50mm box section (an issue if it attaches by slotting over the cage cross-member). Plus I'm not sure they sell it at that price unless as an add-on when bought with the rack.
https://www.bodysolid.co.uk/Shop-by...o-Power-Rack-GPPR82N__p-784-869-824-1505.aspx

Any help/advice would be appreciated.
 
Welcome to the forum, good timing as the Mirafit M2 power rack just came back in stock and i was going to ask if anyone has one and what their experience with it is. I had pre ordered the strength shop thor power rack but that 100 quid more.
 
lowdown said:
snip

Any help/advice would be appreciated.
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Welcome to OCUK first of all.

So from what i can gather, you are hoping to fit the weight stack you have linked, which is for the CF485+ a different rack again to the CF475/485 and so you would need to hope that the CF485+ weight stack pulley setup would be adaptable to your rack.

I cant help here as the CF475/485 are definitely different to the CF485+.

It would probably be easier to sell the mira M2 and lat setup and find a second hand CF485+ and then get the weight stack pulley setup from powerhouse fitness, then trying to make it fit something it wasnt designed to?
 
Can you give some examples of what issues you have with changing weight on the plate loaded one you currently have? What amount are you typically using?

I went plate loaded because it's so much more cost effective. All the weight on the stack cannot be used on your barbells.
 
fireisdangerous said:
Welcome to the forum, good timing as the Mirafit M2 power rack just came back in stock and i was going to ask if anyone has one and what their experience with it is. I had pre ordered the strength shop thor power rack but that 100 quid more.
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Thanks for the welcome everyone.

The M2 is a solid unit and the pulldown and low row are really quite smooth. The only issues I have with the lat/low row are that the low row is attached directly to the bottom cross-member so you are pulling up at an angle - I'd prefer it to be raised 8-10 inches so it was a direct pull to midsection. Obviously secondly the plate loading I find annoying, especially when doing shoulder work.

I haven't bolted the rack down and it is stable. I'm not squatting huge amounts and don't use the pull-up bar, so ymmv. Bear in mind that there are a lot fewer compatible attachments for these 60x60mm racks than those based on Rogue dimensions. If everything you want is sold my Mirafit, that isn't an issue.

I hate my safety pins. My garage is just 8ft wide so there's very little space around the rack. I'd much prefer drop down safeties like the 360KG model has for ease of removal so deadlifting inside the rack was more convenient. Mirafit couldn't tell me if the 360KG safeties were compatible and even if they are they don't sell them as an aftermarket upgrade. This also comes on to the hole spacing. It is 3" between hole centres (I think) which is inconvenient for me in the bench area. The ideal place for my safeties is about an inch above the "next-best" holes. They still protect my neck/face completely but if a heavy bar slipped out of my hands I'd take a big hit to my chest. Same issue with the holes for the j-cups - ideal position is right in between 2 holes, so I have them in the upper hole for now. I'm planning on drilling new holes for the j-cups this weekend.

I didn't really take these things into account when buying the rack. I bought in a bit of a panic right before all the gyms closed. I was comparing prices and heights of racks (low ceiling) for about a week and then noticed everything selling out, so I jumped on the M2. I was originally planning on buying the Strength Shop Garage Cage with westside spacing, but it sold out.

I'm not unhappy with the M2 as it was a good price, relatively simple to erect (solo) and is perfectly useable as-is. Once I've sorted the hole height issue it will be much more user friendly.
The 360kg model has the same issues with the hole spacing and low row height but comes with the drop-down safety bars, so I'd certainly consider that over the 250kg model.
 
Great feedback thank you! How do you adjust the safety pins do they just pull out the front?

Im now looking at weight plates sooo many types lol! As a newbie am i right in thinking that the olympic cast iron weights are the way to go as they are cheaper. Do bumper plates have any advantages over the cast iron ones other than looking cooler!
 
Syla5 said:
Welcome to OCUK first of all.

So from what i can gather, you are hoping to fit the weight stack you have linked, which is for the CF485+ a different rack again to the CF475/485 and so you would need to hope that the CF485+ weight stack pulley setup would be adaptable to your rack.

I cant help here as the CF475/485 are definitely different to the CF485+.

It would probably be easier to sell the mira M2 and lat setup and find a second hand CF485+ and then get the weight stack pulley setup from powerhouse fitness, then trying to make it fit something it wasnt designed to?
Click to expand...
I thought the 475 and 485+ shared the same 60mm tube? If so making it fit on the M2 should just be down to whether or not the pulldown is as tall or taller than the rear cross-member on the M2. The lat stations are only attached to racks with 4 bolts, and as I said if the holes are off one or the other can be drilled. To be honest I'm looking for convenience - selling/dismantling the M2 and buying /assembling another rack definitely isn't my first choice plus due to the very tight space constraints I would need to sell the M2 before buying a new rack and would prefer to not to be without a rack for any length of time.

LiE said:
Can you give some examples of what issues you have with changing weight on the plate loaded one you currently have? What amount are you typically using?

I went plate loaded because it's so much more cost effective. All the weight on the stack cannot be used on your barbells.
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I have a bunch of mixed standard 1" plates that have been gathering dust for years and those are what I'm using on the pulldown. If I had a load of 5kg plates I probably wouldn't find it as much of an issue.
For example when supersetting tricep press downs with overhead tricep extensions then straight into superset side and front lateral raises. It's just not as convenient stripping weights off between sets as using a stack would be.
 
fireisdangerous said:
Great feedback thank you! How do you adjust the safety pins do they just pull out the front?

Im now looking at weight plates sooo many types lol! As a newbie am i right in thinking that the olympic cast iron weights are the way to go as they are cheaper. Do bumper plates have any advantages over the cast iron ones other than looking cooler!
Click to expand...

Bumpers

Pros:
- Less prone to rust
- Coating will protect the weight and your floor from impact
- Look bad ass
- Quieter, iron will clank a bit when moving
Cons:
- Thicker, so cannot put as much weight on the bar. Only an issue if you're going over 200kg.
- A little more expensive.

Those are the main ones. Bumpers are must if you're doing any oly lifts and plan on dropping the weight.

I really like the Mirafit bumpers. I had cast iron before and in winter they would be like blocks of ice to hold and would get must more condensation.
 
lowdown said:
I have a bunch of mixed standard 1" plates that have been gathering dust for years and those are what I'm using on the pulldown. If I had a load of 5kg plates I probably wouldn't find it as much of an issue.
For example when supersetting tricep press downs with overhead tricep extensions then straight into superset side and front lateral raises. It's just not as convenient stripping weights off between sets as using a stack would be.
Click to expand...

For all shoulder and arm cable work I have hex plate 10s, 5s, 2.5s which are super quick to add/remove, especially with the handle. They are placed next to the cable machine for quick access. They have the added benefit of being used on my various oly bars as well.

https://mirafit.co.uk/mirafit-hex-olympic-weight-plates.html

When I do seated rows, I switch to using my bumpers, but I don't do any drop/super sets.

You can see the plates here in my gym.

DSCF8934.jpg
 
LiE said:
Bumpers

Pros:
- Less prone to rust
- Coating will protect the weight and your floor from impact
- Look bad ass
- Quieter, iron will clank a bit when moving
Cons:
- Thicker, so cannot put as much weight on the bar. Only an issue if you're going over 200kg.
- A little more expensive.

Those are the main ones. Bumpers are must if you're doing any oly lifts and plan on dropping the weight.

I really like the Mirafit bumpers. I had cast iron before and in winter they would be like blocks of ice to hold and would get must more condensation.
Click to expand...

I’d add that some have handles like mine from Origin. Some are narrower than others too. I guess I could fit about 400kg of the Origin bumper plates on a bar - that’ll do me :p. Far more expensive though, especially the urethane coated, but the quality is supreme.

Edit: you beat me to it :p
 
Can't seem to get to them on their site at the moment (they must have broken something) but the Hybrid Bumpers 2.0 on Bulldog Gear are the ones I've got my eye on (they're black but with colour-coded printing on them, very sharp)

I'd pickup that bar above if only my gym space was finished, though I reckon I will be done with painting before too much longer, light strips are going in soon as well, then will be time to order my mats
 
uncle_rufus said:
Can't seem to get to them on their site at the moment (they must have broken something) but the Hybrid Bumpers 2.0 on Bulldog Gear are the ones I've got my eye on (they're black but with colour-coded printing on them, very sharp)

I'd pickup that bar above if only my gym space was finished, though I reckon I will be done with painting before too much longer, light strips are going in soon as well, then will be time to order my mats
Click to expand...

The Bulldog gear bar is pricey when compared to Mirafit too.

https://www.bulldoggear.eu/collecti...he-bulldog-bar-20kg-composite-bushing-barbell

vs

https://mirafit.co.uk/mirafit-m3-7ft-20kg-olympic-barbell-silver-black.html

Edit:

Just realised you're talking about Bumpers and not bars.

I'd buy the bar now, it comes well packaged so you can just store it.
 
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