Official Home Gym Building Thread

6 months after moving house, I have finally cleared the double garage of boxes sufficient to have space for some gym equipment. I need to get some protective flooring. I seem to recall horse mats were recommended in the past, are they still the best bet? can anyone help me out with a link?
 
EdwardTeach said:
6 months after moving house, I have finally cleared the double garage of boxes sufficient to have space for some gym equipment. I need to get some protective flooring. I seem to recall horse mats were recommended in the past, are they still the best bet? can anyone help me out with a link?
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http://www.rubbermattingco.co.uk/rubber-matting/horse-mats.html

Similar to the stuff like that.

I have a 6ft x 4ft mat and it's good enough for my needs.
This one http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-studio-gym-mat-6-x-4-x-1.php
 
I've recently moved house too and have no room at all inside :( Does anyone here workout outside?

It's not looking like much fun with our weather :p But I'll give anything a blast...
 
ronski said:
Thanks guys! When the final bits and pieces are in, I will post some updated pics. However, first impressions of the Raze bars and bumpers is really good. Nicely designed - it's a young british company and I hope they do well.
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Looks great - I'm desperate for a garage so I can have all my toys in one place. But then I'd also want a car-lift to work on the car... so I'd be torn! :p
 
T1Cybernetic said:
I've recently moved house too and have no room at all inside :( Does anyone here workout outside?

It's not looking like much fun with our weather :p But I'll give anything a blast...
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A concrete base for the rack (perhaps painted to prevent rust etc) and a shed to store the weights and bar (so they don't rust so easy/can actually be held without getting frostbite) and you'll be fine; albeit to being limited to when it's not raining/really windy.

Wouldn't be my cup of tea, but I'd imagine it's doable.
 
T1Cybernetic said:
I've recently moved house too and have no room at all inside :( Does anyone here workout outside?

It's not looking like much fun with our weather :p But I'll give anything a blast...
Click to expand...

I trained outside a couple of years ago. I would highly recommend against it. It's pretty nifty to train outside when it's sunny, but how often is that? Most days it's either cold, which isn't too bad, or raining, which is. Your training will be determined by weather reports more than anything else
I kept the weights inside and put one of those garden sheet thingies over the bench when not in use.
I stupidly bought a york 540 bench with a squat feature, rated to 150kg with no safety catchers. Luckily, common sense prevailed and I upgraded to a power rack when I could squat about 80kg.
It's a good thing I bought that piece of junk from amazon as they took it back.
 
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I am about ready to make some purchases to start a home gym in my garage, and wanted to get a second opinion on what I am looking at.
To give you some background, I don't use a gym at the moment and it has been years since I have done any weights. My brother and I used to have a fairly well equipped home gym with a power cage etc so I do have some idea about the kind of set up I would eventually like to have. However starting from zero, and with a fairly small budget (~£200ish (250 max)) my thoughts were to get a basic bench and some dumbbells. I will be working out on my own and cant afford a power cage at the moment, so I thought dumbbells would be safest. If I find I am making good use of the dumbells then I will get a power cage and some proper weights I and when I can afford it.

The bench I was considering was:

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk...h-flat-incline-decline-bench-and-ab-board.php

and these dumbbells:

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/body-power-45kg-spinlock-pro-style-dumbbell-set.html

+ some extra discs

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9003187.htm

would these be compatible? otherwise I may just 2X the bodypower set.

I know the OP suggests getting a bench that can handle 200kg minimum, and the one I have found is 180kg. I weigh 82-83kg, at best I used to bench 90kg, I expect I will be starting with a bench of around 40-50, so this bench would probably last me for a couple of years. Something a bit sturdier would be ideal but is it possible to get anything better in this price range?

tldr spec me a bench + dumbbells for £200-250
 
EdwardTeach said:
I am about ready to make some purchases to start a home gym in my garage, and wanted to get a second opinion on what I am looking at.
To give you some background, I don't use a gym at the moment and it has been years since I have done any weights. My brother and I used to have a fairly well equipped home gym with a power cage etc so I do have some idea about the kind of set up I would eventually like to have. However starting from zero, and with a fairly small budget (~£200ish (250 max)) my thoughts were to get a basic bench and some dumbbells. I will be working out on my own and cant afford a power cage at the moment, so I thought dumbbells would be safest. If I find I am making good use of the dumbells then I will get a power cage and some proper weights I and when I can afford it.

The bench I was considering was:

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk...h-flat-incline-decline-bench-and-ab-board.php

and these dumbbells:

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/body-power-45kg-spinlock-pro-style-dumbbell-set.html

+ some extra discs

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9003187.htm

would these be compatible? otherwise I may just 2X the bodypower set.

I know the OP suggests getting a bench that can handle 200kg minimum, and the one I have found is 180kg. I weigh 82-83kg, at best I used to bench 90kg, I expect I will be starting with a bench of around 40-50, so this bench would probably last me for a couple of years. Something a bit sturdier would be ideal but is it possible to get anything better in this price range?

tldr spec me a bench + dumbbells for £200-250
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Get some decent kit with 0% finance from powerhouse. That's what I did. Got the 475 rack with pulley for £33 a month
 
If you're going cheap I'd personally get olympic dumbbells + olympic weights. That way you're not wasting the cash. Check out ebay for them..they're not too much money.

I'd also say that that bench is probably not worth spending that much money on. You should either spend a bit more to get something that will last you once you start doing proper benching or spend less and be prepared to replace it. Going for the middle ground isn't the best idea in this case.
 
The best value equipment I ever bought was the Bodymax CF415. You could also just skip the bench and do OHP?! CF415 will allow you to squat safely, a few mats for DL and you're set
 
I agree with the suggestions above as that is exactly what I did after a lot of research. CF415, a better bench and Olympic barbell and dumbbells so the weights can be shared across them. It would be above your budget so I suggest saving for longer and maybe starting with general fitness like pushups, burpees, etc while you do.
 
I bought the Bodymax CF475 Premium Strength Package from them a while ago with the weight stack for the pulley system. It arrived in good time but one of the plates were missing which was quickly sorted out.

I then bought an attachment pack for the cable system, they sent 3 of the items out from it and ignored 3 emails and 2 phonecalls asking where the other items were, I filed a dispute with paypal for a full refund and they issued it within 10 minutes.

So I'm not out of pocket or anything and have all the parts I wanted as I bought the missing ones elsewhere but their customer service is hit and miss.
 
Spot on, very sturdy and no wobble or movement when lifting. It's rated up to 365kg, I don't think I'll ever reach that for my weight + benchpress weight.
 
Well, I ordered my stuff. Ended up with:

CF475
Bodymax Zenith PM122 bench
145Kg Olympic Cast Iron Barbell Kit

For £730. I decided to skip the pulley and go with a better bench. Perhaps better weights might have been a better option instead of the pulley, but for some reason I really just want a nice bench. I can always upgrade the weights later if I need to, those ones should last a good while.

Just need to get some matting now. Stupid question: why exactly do you need matting under the rack? Would it slide around on concrete without matting?
 
H2F Scott said:
Well, I ordered my stuff. Ended up with:

CF475
Bodymax Zenith PM122 bench
145Kg Olympic Cast Iron Barbell Kit

For £730. I decided to skip the pulley and go with a better bench. Perhaps better weights might have been a better option instead of the pulley, but for some reason I really just want a nice bench. I can always upgrade the weights later if I need to, those ones should last a good while.

Just need to get some matting now. Stupid question: why exactly do you need matting under the rack? Would it slide around on concrete without matting?
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It's also to protect both the rack and the floor. You're going to be cycling the force put on both by up to 1400N regularly, and concrete doesn't really do fatigue resistance very well.

Noise reduction is also a factor, as is working out completely naked and keeping your feet nice and warm. ;)
 
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