Official Home Gym Building Thread

Psycho Sonny · 25 Apr 2013 at 14:15

Ash2097 said:
Thinking of getting the cable set for my CF475 rack, has anyone got one? Is it any good?

imo their are better free weight exercises you can do, but it gives you another option. i find the pulley system good for back exercises, but not so much for triceps, etc.

i am talking about the powertec system here never used the CF475 so i dont know whether it comes with both a low and high pulley.

if you have the cash its worth buying as an option, but imo using a bar is best, it could help breaking through a plateau though.

Tackle_Berry · 26 Apr 2013 at 13:19

Thanks, struggling to think of back exercises as rows seem to give me lower back pain recently and thought this would open up a lot more exercises to do.

Psycho Sonny · 26 Apr 2013 at 14:15

Ash2097 said:
Thanks, struggling to think of back exercises as rows seem to give me lower back pain recently and thought this would open up a lot more exercises to do.

i would look at your form, or maybe go see a chiropractor if your lower back is in pain before opting to do a different type of back exercise something doesn't sound right.

phoenix575 · 27 Apr 2013 at 14:14

icecold said:
Hold up there chief! What?

A belt will not be doing anything for your form. If it is, you're doing something wrong.

I probably was. I think I was over arching my lower back. I'd usually end up with lower back pain after squats which then affected my deadlift because I couldn't pull as much weight with a painful back.
I'm now focusing on keeping my abs tights and using the belt to make sure they stay tight

phoenix575 · 27 Apr 2013 at 14:22

Ash2097 said:
Thinking of getting the cable set for my CF475 rack, has anyone got one? Is it any good?

I got the 475 with the pulley system. It's very smooth and can take the weight. Most I've put on it is 65kg but it's rated to 180.
I useit mainly for pulldowns. I tried rows on it but barbell rows are much better for adding mass

icecold · 27 Apr 2013 at 14:40

phoenix575 said:
I probably was. I think I was over arching my lower back. I'd usually end up with lower back pain after squats which then affected my deadlift because I couldn't pull as much weight with a painful back.
I'm now focusing on keeping my abs tights and using the belt to make sure they stay tight

Don't use a belt.

Look in the form discussion thread for instruction on how to deadlift and squat properly.

phoenix575 · 29 Apr 2013 at 08:58

icecold said:
Don't use a belt.

Look in the form discussion thread for instruction on how to deadlift and squat properly.

Thanks for the advice. The deadlift is ok for me. I can do it without a belt. I just carried over the back pain from the squats which made it harder. The belt eliminated that from the squat which made it easier for me to add weight on the deadlift. I'll look for the thread on proper squat technique so I can do them without the belt

BennyC · 29 Apr 2013 at 12:55

Still got my CF475 with pulley & dip bars.

PAz had called dibs but has had to pass it up for the meantime. Will be on the bay shortly again I imagine.

icecold · 29 Apr 2013 at 13:28

phoenix575 said:
Thanks for the advice. The deadlift is ok for me. I can do it without a belt. I just carried over the back pain from the squats which made it harder. The belt eliminated that from the squat which made it easier for me to add weight on the deadlift. I'll look for the thread on proper squat technique so I can do them without the belt

I wouldn't underestimate how wrong your deadlift technique is if you hurt your back with squats.

It makes sense to check both.

phoenix575 · 29 Apr 2013 at 16:30

I'll do that to compare my deadlift too.

Definitely going to check the deadlift form. I screwed my back up pretty bad today doing the deadlift. Not sure why. I've never had this happen before on deadlifts. And it wasn't some crazy weight. I did 115kg last workout so this one did 117.5kg. I got one rep in easily but on the second rep I got the bar a few inches of the ground and then felt my back go.
I did plan on benching but that was the end of the workout after that.
My form must have been really off. I'm going to take a few days off and then reevaluate my form with the videos

Rikki · 30 Apr 2013 at 15:17

I got a good deal on Gumtree for weight plates and bars. £100 for a ton of stuff.

AndrewNR · 30 Apr 2013 at 18:54

Rikki said:
I got a good deal on Gumtree for weight plates and bars. £100 for a ton of stuff.

£100 for 1,000kg? Bargain.

Rikki · 1 May 2013 at 00:58

AndrewNR said:
£100 for 1,000kg? Bargain.

Are you here all week?

Rikki · 1 May 2013 at 01:20

Mein small setup at home

No room in my tiny house for stuff so this is sitting in the back end of the living room.

Reebok iBike SE with fan for cardio / HIIT style stuff
DL bar on the ground with about 80KG of plates
Exhaustion bar next with 20KG of plates
Bar on bench with about 35KG for chest (building up)
Really crap bench from Argos but does just now
Selection of dumbbells for bi/tri/back/shoulders/chest
Pro grips, normal weight gloves plus "barefoot" style running shoes on a mat thats protecting my laminate flooring

All pretty noob stuff but getting me on the right track.

MoNkeE · 1 May 2013 at 09:22

35kg for your chest? Careful, you'll probably end up putting too much mass on.

phoenix575 · 1 May 2013 at 10:08

I might need to move my home gym from my living room to a shed in the garden. I'm looking at buying a shed for this but I'm only finding really small 8x6 sheds. Any ideas where I can find a massive shed?

phoenix575 · 1 May 2013 at 10:10

Rikki said:
Mein small setup at home

No room in my tiny house for stuff so this is sitting in the back end of the living room.

Reebok iBike SE with fan for cardio / HIIT style stuff
DL bar on the ground with about 80KG of plates
Exhaustion bar next with 20KG of plates
Bar on bench with about 35KG for chest (building up)
Really crap bench from Argos but does just now
Selection of dumbbells for bi/tri/back/shoulders/chest
Pro grips, normal weight gloves plus "barefoot" style running shoes on a mat thats protecting my laminate flooring

All pretty noob stuff but getting me on the right track.

Sell this stuff on ebay or gumtree and get a power rack with an olympic barbell. It'll fit in that area

Rikki · 1 May 2013 at 10:30

MoNkeE said:
35kg for your chest? Careful, you'll probably end up putting too much mass on.

Im trying my best not to

Rikki · 1 May 2013 at 10:31

phoenix575 said:
Sell this stuff on ebay or gumtree and get a power rack with an olympic barbell. It'll fit in that area

Moving house soon so will look into that then - like I said, just starting out.

Psycho Sonny · 1 May 2013 at 13:08

can't help but think a gym membership would be a far better option. in fact an infinitely better option.

can you even do a single leg exercise safely? apart from dumbell squats or dumbell lunges?

your cardio equipment looks wonderful to use also, i imagine staring either at the wall/curtain or the fan for 30 mins or more at a time is exhilarating.

when i get a treadmill, i will be making sure a tv is view-able from said apparatus. in fact it's what most people do who have cardio equipment in their homes.

also correct me if im wrong but your matting seems to consist of what looks like a small rug and a sit up mat, neither of which are protecting your floor from anything apart from minor scratches. any real weight dropped on either will be fun.

i expect super gainz from an elite setup like that.