Official Home Gym Building Thread

AndrewNR said:
I think this is better (although more £££):
http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodycraft-x2-f-xpress-dual-stack-gym-incl-leg-press.php
This one has a leg press but I don't know how demanding it will be with the weight available etc. It also has a bench press bit too (somewhere).
Edit: Also has 400lb (180kg) of resistance - doubt you'll need more.

Tbh I'd buy the one that others decent leg work and bench press and one which you can stack the most weight, so you don't outgrow it.

The first one you linked only has a 73kg weight stack. Sounds kinda low to me, but if it can take 200kg at extra cost then it's not a problem (budget permitting).
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Now that is tempting. The Body solid with the leg press attachment comes in at around £2k.

The main thing going for the Body craft is the leg press (personal favorite) as well as the cables on the other station to allow more free exercises. Rather than fixed pressing of the other machines. Only downside is the raw size of it.

I'm taking a look around at the weekend at some options and try out some kit.
 
powerhouse-fitness have the worst customer service ever, they never answer the phone too existing orders, only new orders.

Twice now they've sent me out damaged goods which never arrived and what did arrive was wrong or damaged.

I ordered a 5ft bar they sent out a 7ft bar with a 5ft label on it then the courier said i had ordered the wrong size to his boss when i refused it, the moron.

Would highly not recommend.
 
sonne said:
powerhouse-fitness have the worst customer service ever, they never answer the phone too existing orders, only new orders.

Twice now they've sent me out damaged goods which never arrived and what did arrive was wrong or damaged.

I ordered a 5ft bar they sent out a 7ft bar with a 5ft label on it then the courier said i had ordered the wrong size to his boss when i refused it, the moron.

Would highly not recommend.
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Whats the general opinion on Powerhouse and Fitness Superstore?

I've order the larger CF415 stands on monday, order completed yesterday, but not got any delivery info or even an email to say it's been dispatched yet.

Placed a large order with fitness superstore on monday too, though paid using the V12 Finance option, so this has held things up no doubt, but the finance was sorted tuesday morning and my order is still only showing a acknowledged.

Going to try phoning them again on lunch break. But looks like it'll be next week before i get my gear.

Also UPS have withheld my strength shop bar because the packaging was damaged, apparently they're going to repackage it and deliver it tomorrow wihich is a bit concerning. Strength Shop have been excellent though, general responding to my emails within 10 - 15 minutes and i had an update from them after they'd contracted UPS within about 20 minutes of my original query. Hopefully the equipment is as good as the service seems to be.

On the plus side, my garage is pretty much cleaned out and ready, and my strength shop bench has been delivered.

Luckily my gym membership doesn't run out until the end of Feb. But I was excited to get my gym setup this weekend.
 
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PF won't give you any updates on your order unless you chase them. Once they have your money they don't really care too much.

I waited about a week, chased it up multiple times, got told they don't have tracking info and then got a call off a local courier to arrange the delivery.

They did send me the wrong plates set as well, I got the rubber coated tri-grip 145kg set when i'd ordered a standard 145kg set. However as the wrong ones were over £50 extra at the time, I just kept them and stayed quiet.
 
My fitness superstore order has been dispatched today, was told to expect a call to organise delivery. Hopefully they don't try to deliver over the weekend as i requested it to be delivered to my work address thinking it would like be delivered before the end of the week.

Not got through to powerhouse yet, tried emailing and live chat (though apparently customer service isn't live), and phoning. I suspect i'll just need to wait for a call from the courier on this one too.

Opened up the box containing my bench. Looks pretty strong and sturdy from the thickness of the bits. I'll put it together tonight once i've wired up the light for the garage.

GSVBagpuss said:
I've had no problems with either
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I'm probably just a little impatient, and too used to next day deliveries to be honest.
 
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I've had mixed experiences with powerhouse, I ordered my rack, bench, bar etc from them with no problems. More recently I ordered an EZ curl bar which came faulty, eventually I got a replacement but it took up to about a month.

Would I order from them again? Yes - even though it was faulty, the customer service was a bit shoddy I did get a replacement and I got a great deal on the rack etc when the one I wanted was out of stock but they replaced it with a better one for a similar price.
 
HankScorpio said:
Hello all. I'm after a spec for a starter to mid Stronglift build for the corner of my upstairs bedroom. I'm after a squat rack, bench and a Oly barbell set with weights.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Image-stand...TF8&qid=1421418096&sr=8-2&keywords=squat+rack

Thinking this'll do me.

Need a bench to go with this and around a 100kg oly set. Best places to get these?

Ta
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What is your budget? That stand looks horrible, the feet may impair bench positioning and assuming you'll be bench pressing the catchers are very small.
 
HankScorpio said:
Hello all. I'm after a spec for a starter to mid Stronglift build for the corner of my upstairs bedroom. I'm after a squat rack, bench and a Oly barbell set with weights.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Image-stand...TF8&qid=1421418096&sr=8-2&keywords=squat+rack

Thinking this'll do me.

Need a bench to go with this and around a 100kg oly set. Best places to get these?

Ta
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The Bodymax CF315 linked at the top of this page gets decent reviews and is rated at 250kg.

I looked into it before i bought the CF415 which is the same but with larger catchers

The bottom adjusting tie member also pulls out for easy storage if needed.
 
My budget is around £500

Do you think I should get the CF415 then?

I was also considering getting a mat for when doing DL and rows as it'll be going in the corner of my quite large bedroom. It's a rented house, so don't want to damage the carpet/floorboards. Not that I'd be dropping the bar anyway!

What about an oly weight set? Any good deals going on?

I was thinking going for a 5 or 6ft bar to save space. Ideally want around 100kg. I was only able to manage around 1 set of 5 reps DL with 105 so think this weight should do me for now.
 
HankScorpio said:
My budget is around £500

Do you think I should get the CF415 then?

I was also considering getting a mat for when doing DL and rows as it'll be going in the corner of my quite large bedroom. It's a rented house, so don't want to damage the carpet/floorboards. Not that I'd be dropping the bar anyway!

What about an oly weight set? Any good deals going on?

I was thinking going for a 5 or 6ft bar to save space. Ideally want around 100kg. I was only able to manage around 1 set of 5 reps DL with 105 so think this weight should do me for now.
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The CF415 does look good (basically a CF315 with catchders).

As for weights, unless you go second-hand they will always be expensive.
 
Is there any particular issue with using cast iron weight plates compared with tri or rubber ones? Is it just the ease of handling them that you're choosing between?

Will a 6ft barbell work with the CF415 does anyone know for squats? It does say various bar lengths.

Thinking of getting

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/body-power-100kg-tri-grip-olympic-weight-set-6ft-bar.html

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A16URTCV0N7GNM

http://www.amazon.co.uk/York-Fitnes...8&qid=1421511065&sr=1-1&keywords=weight+bench

Interlocking Gym Garage Anti Fatigue Flooring Play Mats 16s*** D- Easimat Branded

Only other thing I would like is a holder to put the weights, rather than stacking them on the floor. Like this

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/body-power-olympic-weight-tree.html
 
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Well I'm not too impressed with what i've been delivered from Powerhouse Fitness. My CF415 rack, was falling out of the box when it was delivered. Every single piece has scratches, Scrapes, and chipped paint, a couple of plastic bits/covers broken. It basically looks like it's had a few years use already. Not happy at the minute, and I bet it's going to be a while to get it sorted out.
Pics:
http://s396.photobucket.com/user/1983_dew/library/CF415

Also seems like the bar I got from the strength shop is dodgy, the sleeves on both ends move up and down about 3-4mm. I'm more confident this will get sorted quickly. But i'm pretty annoyed at the minute with it all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd5LFm9MWo8&feature=youtu.be

Still waiting on my fitness superstore order, hopefully that'll come early next week with no issues.

I've built the strength shop bench up and it seems really good, quite pleased with that. Just can't use it for a while now.
 
Hank - I'm not sure that bench will be suitable. It is max-rated to 200kg. Obviously if you only weight 50kg and can only bench 50kg then it's fine, but I'd take on board what you currently weigh and can lift and then look at alternatives.
As for why I bought rubber plates - 2 reasons; 1. They are not as noisy. 2. They won't rust. As I workout in a garage these were reasons enough to me to pay the extra (probably easier to flog if I needed to too).

Darrly - That's pretty shocking. Like you say it looks like it's had a couple of years use already. Dat box :eek:
 
HankScorpio said:
Is there any particular issue with using cast iron weight plates compared with tri or rubber ones? Is it just the ease of handling them that you're choosing between?

Will a 6ft barbell work with the CF415 does anyone know for squats? It does say various bar lengths.[/url]
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I bought iron plates but as they are in the garage I would get rubber if I could choose again.

The CF415 is adjustable. It splits in half to store and slides in and out to adjust between a dip station and quite wide spotters. I have a 7ft bar but the 6ft would work perfectly fine for it.

Just be aware that a lot of power racks expect a 7ft bar. So if you ever plan to upgrade to a proper rack then keep that in mind.

I would prefer a full rack but considering I don't have the space I love my CF415 as a very good mobile alternative.
 
Think I will go with a 6ft bar since I will only be using the CF415 for the foreseeable future.

Will also pick the rubber plates, but having trouble calculating the total package for this set

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk...bell-kit-with-6-ft-bar-and-spring-collars.php

It clearly says 100kg but with all the plates and 6ft 15kg barbell it only adds up to 95kg...

There is a 7ft similar package for 199.99 but I won't have the space for that.

Am I right in assuming the seller thinks the 6ft barbell weighs 20kg?

Or is it 5ft = 15 6ft = ? 7 ft = 20
 
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