Official Home Gym Building Thread

Psymonkee said:
Cheers, shall factor in some matting into my budget too :)

Bar/Rack/Mats - doable for £600?
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should be doable, dont be afraid to go second hand, i was offered a gymratz power rack for less than £200 second hand, these things made by proper manufacturers are built to last a life time, so no difference between second hand and brand new apart from cosmetic wear and tear.

make sure you buy the right stuff though, in the second hand market there is a lot of rubbish out there, you need to filter out all that and only look at olympic gear from decent manufacturers.
 
MarkST said:
Thanks for the advice.

Mark.
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it's a lot to take in, i suggest you read the first few posts thoroughly and have a look on the bodybuilding.com forums in the gym equipment section.

it is a lot of money after all and you will want to be re-assured you are buying exactly what you need.

a rack is essentiall imo, along with a bench and weights and matting.

lat pulley you can buy later on. as well as all the bench attachments.

if your interested in dumbells too, then ironmasters offer the best bang for buck really. dumbells though are extremely expensive, i have spent like £2K+ alone on dumbells, ironmasters on the other hand would have cost me 1/4 of that.

any further questions or anything else you want to know, just ask, i researched for many months before buying all my equipment.
 
Hmmm could use some advice.

The space I have in the garage is 104" wide with a 7 foot bar being 84" in length giving just 10" either side - is that enough or should I consider something slightly smaller?

cheers :)
 
Psymonkee said:
Hmmm could use some advice.

The space I have in the garage is 104" wide with a 7 foot bar being 84" in length giving just 10" either side - is that enough or should I consider something slightly smaller?

cheers :)
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should be fine, that is enough space to get plates on and off, but you will have to be careful when placing the bar within the rack and out of the rack not to hit the walls, you will probably have to take it into the centre of the rack diagonally then line it up.

or you could place the rack sideways so to speak, so that the bar is going to be in the same direction a car would be in, im assuming the length of the garage is a lot bigger than 104 inches.

probably need a folding bench though if placing it that way much like this one

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk...d_folding_utility_bench_pre_built/9145_p.html

has a lifetime warranty for home use and is "light commercial" so is well built and body solid do not make crap benches, i know i have one.

any more questions feel free to ask.
 
Psymonkee said:
Hurrah! Payday has been and left me a present in my bank account! :D

Been looking around and seen this: http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/premium-strength-package.php

Worth the money? Seems to tick all the boxes bar matting! Is the bench good enough?
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that looks spot on, bench looks solid too, like you say that is all you should need bar matting. you also get free gloves and a belt and free delivery, which is really good too, dont order online though, phone them up and see if you can haggle with them a little bit, i managed to get a small discount that way ordering from another store.

you may also want to look into an olympic weight tree type holder that also can hold your bar, i managed to get one second hand for £20, similar ones online are like £100 brand new.

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-cf396aw-olympic-bar-and-weight-stand.php

this is not necessary so can be bought in future, also maybe look into an olympiz EZ curl bar, tricep bar, etc, you will find your gym constantly grows as you pick up little things here and there, like new attachments for the pulley system are another thing.

but that package is all you really need bar matting, make sure you get decent matting.

also post some pics up when you get it all, i will try and get mine up soon
 
Hmmmm live chat on the Powerhouse website reckon the bench is rated at 600lbs and some searching seems to suggest 800lbs.

Anyone know for sure? I'm a big guy already looking to lose weight so really need the higher rated benches...
 
Psymonkee said:
Hmmmm live chat on the Powerhouse website reckon the bench is rated at 600lbs and some searching seems to suggest 800lbs.

Anyone know for sure? I'm a big guy already looking to lose weight so really need the higher rated benches...
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mate that should be fine, how much do you actually weigh? or try and get it swapped out of the bundle for the f320

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodycraft-f320-flat-incline-decline-bench.php

as you can also add the preacher curl and leg extension for this bench at a later date or get them now

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk...-leg-extcurl-and-preacher-curl-attachment.php

or tell me your budget?

i think everyone recommends the powertec bundle, as its really the best within its price backet, you can get that from fitness superstore and maybe try and haggle over the phone.
 
I honestly couldn't tell you how much I weigh. Should really look into that. It's not a good number though :(

It turns out my existing flat bench is actually sold at the same rated capacity and seems to be just fine. Not lifted anything very heavy on it though. I think it probably will be fine.

Had a look at the powertec bundles just now and they seem a little more expensive and no weights supplied with them either....

Oh and budget wise I've not really set a limit. Don't want to spend everything though, still got some bills to pay :p
 
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oh right okay, well i think you should take your time and think it through, because once you pull the trigger, you cant pull out.

for example in a years time you may think, damn i wish i had spent the extra £100 and got something else.

powertec comes with dip bars and pull up/chin up bars, it's also extremely well built.

that's why i asked about your budget. if your overweight though, dip bars and chin up bars could be useless due to your muscles being too weak to lift your body.

take your time and read up as much as you can, take a look at bodybuilding.com's workout equipment section on their forums.
 
Oynas said:
Guys - I live in a rented flat and I want to begin slowly building a gym. Once of my main concerns is marking the carpet. If I was to lay the below over the carpet, do you think it would mark it in any way?

http://www.gymratz.co.uk/heavy-duty-rubber-flooring
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it wont mark the carpet, but it will most likely flatten it.

by the way those exact same mats, but made with recycled rubber can be found for 1/3rd of the price from strength shop

http://www.strengthshop.co.uk/rubber-gym-mat-6-x3-12mm-thick.html

i have 2 expensive mats which cost me like £60-£70 each and are 6 foot by 4 foot and 17mm thick and they weight like 45kg each and are solid.

i also have 5 of those mats from strength shop and they are far better value for money, they are however slightly on the thin side, so im going to double them up in future. but even if you factor in the cost of doubling up (2 mats = 1) it is still a much better deal.

one thing i will say though is, the mats come with some sand on them, so you may want to give them a good shake outside before taking them into the house.

any more questions feel free to ask.
 
Righto, been on the phone to Powerhouse and they don't seem to want to budge on price or throw in some mats. However I did get the following info out of them:

CF430 FID Bench is rated at 800lbs (inc user)
CF475 Rack is rated at 800lbs on the spotters
CF475 Lat/Low Pulley is rated at 400lbs

Those numbers make me a little happier. Think I might just order online and get free gloves + belt.
 
Psymonkee said:
Righto, been on the phone to Powerhouse and they don't seem to want to budge on price or throw in some mats. However I did get the following info out of them:

CF430 FID Bench is rated at 800lbs (inc user)
CF475 Rack is rated at 800lbs on the spotters
CF475 Lat/Low Pulley is rated at 400lbs

Those numbers make me a little happier. Think I might just order online and get free gloves + belt.
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those numbers look good, 400lbs on a lat pulley is good, i think the most i have ever had on mine is like 100lbs. but i dont use it that much tbh, only just started, i remember why i dont use it so much, it needs some grease, they dont come with grease you normally need to get your own.
 
ristac said:
Not sure if it is any use to you but these guys are in my home town http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/ always have some very good prices and a nice showroom. They also have a price match promise
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that's where i got most of my brand new stuff from, they have many warehouses around the country.

they do however not sell the exact same package that guy is looking for. vut they do sell the powertec package which is what i have minus the powertec bench.
 
Indeed they don't.

Given my budget isn't that great (supposed to be paying off bills!) I think I'll go with the above Premium Strength Package and get some mats from elsewhere. Should have some pictures by the end of next week assuming it is all in stock....
 
Psymonkee said:
Indeed they don't.

Given my budget isn't that great (supposed to be paying off bills!) I think I'll go with the above Premium Strength Package and get some mats from elsewhere. Should have some pictures by the end of next week assuming it is all in stock....
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you going for the strength shop mats or you found a better deal? i think my pics are on my pc now, will have a look and upload
 
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