Official Home Gym Building Thread
- Thread starter Psycho Sonny
- Start date
Thanks for the helpful selections Andrew. I'm leaning towards choosing from them but wondered whether you have any views on this option: http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-premium-strength-package-red-edition.php
Good kit, will keep you busy for awhile! Get it ordered!
Soldato
- Joined
- 13 Sep 2005
- Posts
- 4,345
Exactly that yep. Nice rack, much want.
Hey all. Looking for a bit of advice. I have an empty garage and looking to get some kind of gym setup.
I've already lost about 2 stone through diet changes and jogging twice a week. I want to lose about another stone to get to my target weight but not looking to increase muscle mass that much. I'm already a fairly big guy and really just looking to get lean and defined with the muscle I already have. I've been getting a bit bored of the jogging, plus it's not doing much for my top half.
What would be the best types of exercise for me to reach my goals and maintain them? And what equipment is best or this? Should I be looking to get something cardio related or get a multi gym of some sort, or both?!
I have read that burning fat is just as efficient through lifting weights as it is through cardio, is this true?
I see a lot of people on here recommending racks/cages but I don't know if this is more than I need. I had a back op for 2 herniated disks a few years ago, so I do need to be careful. I can't do dead lifts or heavy squats or anything really heavy in general. I'm thinking light weights, high reps and full body workout, targeting as many areas as possible to burn calories.
I've already lost about 2 stone through diet changes and jogging twice a week. I want to lose about another stone to get to my target weight but not looking to increase muscle mass that much. I'm already a fairly big guy and really just looking to get lean and defined with the muscle I already have. I've been getting a bit bored of the jogging, plus it's not doing much for my top half.
What would be the best types of exercise for me to reach my goals and maintain them? And what equipment is best or this? Should I be looking to get something cardio related or get a multi gym of some sort, or both?!
I have read that burning fat is just as efficient through lifting weights as it is through cardio, is this true?
I see a lot of people on here recommending racks/cages but I don't know if this is more than I need. I had a back op for 2 herniated disks a few years ago, so I do need to be careful. I can't do dead lifts or heavy squats or anything really heavy in general. I'm thinking light weights, high reps and full body workout, targeting as many areas as possible to burn calories.
It's exactly how I have mine. I put the barbell at the front for squats, walk back, squat and then walk forward and place back on. Same kind of thing for bench press. For deadlifts I use the front hooks to rest it on to load some weight and then deadlift outside of the rack.
I don't think having the hooks as they are is wrong, more personal choice. You either pick up weight, move forward or back, squat, move back or forward then place bar.
I was going to link this too.
Couple of things:
- Bench is rated to 275kg - so depending on your weight/how stronk you are it may be an issue (unlikely). The one I linked orignally is rated to 363kg.
- Depending on your height restrictions (if any) the the pull up bit on that rack might be too high.
- 145kg probably wont last that long (for deadlifts at least anyway).
- Will you likely use the lat attachment?
- I don't think bench look like it has the possibility of attachments etc.
- The rack I linked to uses pins to adjust hook/spotter bars. This one looks like it might be slightly more awkward/time consuming? The spaces also look slightly further apart/less of them too.
Probably just nit-picking and I'm sure it's a great package (the 375,475 get good reviews).
As you wont be doing 'heavy' lifts perhaps look at half racks as you probably wont require the extra security/safety a full rack provides.
Something like:
http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-cf335-deluxe-bench-and-squat-rack.php
I guess with the back issues a bike is best as running/rowing may put too much stress on it?
Using both should net decent results. Obviously it's up to you if you want to concentrate more on one than the other.
Cool, thanks. So, can you do a full body workout on just a bench like that? What about working the back, etc? I guess I could maybe get a separate lat pull down machine or something but an all in one would be better.
Fair points mate, thanks again.
Associate
Have you looked at some of the smaller companies offerings?
Power Rack (Max Load 350kg): £209
http://www.bmacstrength.co.uk/power-rack-max-load-350kg/
Multi-purpose Bench (Max Load 300kg): £130
http://www.bmacstrength.co.uk/multi-purpose-bench-max-load-300kg/
Strength Shop Original 2028 Olympic Bar: £90
https://www.strengthshop.co.uk/bars/olympic-bars/olympic-bar.html
177.5kg Cast Iron Plate and Olympic Bar Set w/spring collars: £330
https://www.strengthshop.co.uk/weights-bars/weight-plates/cast-iron-plates/177-5kg-plate.html
Power Rack Squat Cage 225kg Capacity: £140.00
http://www.brickhousefitness.co.uk/...h-6ft-or-7ft-Olympic-Bars-225kg-Capacity.html
I've cherry picked a few, the weight sets with bars from fitness superstore and powerhouse fitness are pretty good value, but the bars are cheap and will not last that long. I went for the Strength shop bar and a set of plates from fitness superstore.
The racks and benches are a little over priced from the bigger stores too for me. You could easily save a few hundred pound by shopping around. There are also a few decent cages/packages on eBay which get good reviews:
Power Rack (Max Load 350kg): £209
http://www.bmacstrength.co.uk/power-rack-max-load-350kg/
Multi-purpose Bench (Max Load 300kg): £130
http://www.bmacstrength.co.uk/multi-purpose-bench-max-load-300kg/
Strength Shop Original 2028 Olympic Bar: £90
https://www.strengthshop.co.uk/bars/olympic-bars/olympic-bar.html
177.5kg Cast Iron Plate and Olympic Bar Set w/spring collars: £330
https://www.strengthshop.co.uk/weights-bars/weight-plates/cast-iron-plates/177-5kg-plate.html
Power Rack Squat Cage 225kg Capacity: £140.00
http://www.brickhousefitness.co.uk/...h-6ft-or-7ft-Olympic-Bars-225kg-Capacity.html
I've cherry picked a few, the weight sets with bars from fitness superstore and powerhouse fitness are pretty good value, but the bars are cheap and will not last that long. I went for the Strength shop bar and a set of plates from fitness superstore.
The racks and benches are a little over priced from the bigger stores too for me. You could easily save a few hundred pound by shopping around. There are also a few decent cages/packages on eBay which get good reviews:
Wrong way around for me as I had the lat/low pulldown addon so I can't do bench presses the other way around as I can't fit in. I don't think it really matters you just have to face the other way. For bench pressing are you pulling the weight towards your waist when unracking it or up towards your head?
Lol. Why would you advertise the weights using that picture? It's chipped at the top.
I'm sure you could probably get a decent rack for <£300 (the CF375 is £250) but they tend to get outgrown quickly/people want to upgrade to the ones that cost ~£400+
The cheaper ones seem to have lighter-looking frames, weaker-looking spotter bars, cheaper hooks etc.
Just depends on what you want to spend really. For me I would rather spend £400 and know it will never need to be replaced rather than £200 and wished I'd spent more.
1. I've decided on this cage. One thing that has been bugging me is that I've seen 3 separate suggestions from people (two on the manufacturer website) that people should buy an extra pair of J Hooks to avoid having to disassemble when hooks are needed facing out of the cage. But I think they may have changed the design of the cage as it already seems to have a second set of hooks (attached to the safety catchers) facing out?
2. I'm actually wondering whether to splurge on this and get the lat pulldown and row kit too http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk...w-pulley-plus-200lb-stack-and-dip-station.php Any comments on that?
I could drop the weight stack and save a bit: http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodycraft-power-rack-system-and-bench.php Wonder how much I'd regret not getting the stack ...
On the same topic - I'm wondering about how to stablize myself for the lat pulldowns. Does the F602 bench allow the end attachments to swing up over the thighs to give proper anchoring?
3. If I end up going with that bench I might as well add the preacher curl and leg extension options (budget drift setting in
). Anyone used them?4. I reckon I'm going to get an EZ-Curl bar for curls and skull crushers. I'd get olympic size so I could use the plates from the barbell kit I plan on getting. Just wondering how to do EZ Curl skullcrushers safely as obviously the bar lenght rules out the safety cacthers inside the cage being of any use at all?
Soldato
My brother doesn't have the time/motivation to actually go to a gym so he said he'll definitely do some if he has weights at home (we'll see).
I've bought a pair of Olympic dumbbells and was just wondering where the best place to get cast iron tri-grip plates from?
Fitness-superstore has a 75kg "Body Power" set (which will do for the first little bit), which is good as each plate comes as a set of 4.
Powerhouse-fitness has a 75kg "Bodymax" set but the 5kg, 10kg and 15kg plates are only in pairs, which will mean I'll have to buy another lot of each of them at the start (which will probably happen later down the line anyway).
Is there a difference in quality between these two brands? I've heard people sometimes getting for-no-reason item upgrades from Powerhouse-fitness, so maybe buy from them, suck up the higher initial cost and hope it happens to me?
Anywhere else to buy from?
I've bought a pair of Olympic dumbbells and was just wondering where the best place to get cast iron tri-grip plates from?
Fitness-superstore has a 75kg "Body Power" set (which will do for the first little bit), which is good as each plate comes as a set of 4.
Powerhouse-fitness has a 75kg "Bodymax" set but the 5kg, 10kg and 15kg plates are only in pairs, which will mean I'll have to buy another lot of each of them at the start (which will probably happen later down the line anyway).
Is there a difference in quality between these two brands? I've heard people sometimes getting for-no-reason item upgrades from Powerhouse-fitness, so maybe buy from them, suck up the higher initial cost and hope it happens to me?
Anywhere else to buy from?
Associate
Lol. Why would you advertise the weights using that picture? It's chipped at the top.
I'm sure you could probably get a decent rack for <£300 (the CF375 is £250) but they tend to get outgrown quickly/people want to upgrade to the ones that cost ~£400+
The cheaper ones seem to have lighter-looking frames, weaker-looking spotter bars, cheaper hooks etc.
Just depends on what you want to spend really. For me I would rather spend £400 and know it will never need to be replaced rather than £200 and wished I'd spent more.
Not sure why everybody on here only looks at stuff on powerhouse fitness. They don't sell high end equipment, cheap. If you look around they basically sell the same equipment as a few cheaper places but rebrand it to Bodymax. The customer service isn't even good, it can take 2-3 days for them to reply to emails and you can be on hold for over an hour to speak to someone about issues.
Anyway... Not many people are ever going to out grow a 250kg power rack. If you fail a lift, it shouldn't be to the degree that you can't still control the weight to stop damage occurring to the rack. So a 250kg rack should be fine for most. Saying that i did go for a 400kg rack. But that was partly due to height restictions, and not wanting to cut up a cheaper rack to make it fit. I'm chasing a 200kg squat this year though, so not a massive bridge to reach 250.
There are plenty of forum threads and reviews elsewhere on the cheaper brands to ensure the quality is upto stratch. It just means doing a little research. The CF375 looks basically the same as the £100 ebay racks.
Personally I don't like the fact the rear lower cross member is so close to the rear uprights on some of these racks, basically means you can't do bench presses using the rear supports. This was the reason I got rid of my CF415 rack (flat bench was doable, but any kind of incline or shoulder pressing wasn't possible).
The Strength Shop rack i'm using now as a raised lower member that is bent outwards, meaning i've got about an extra foot or so to push the bench back.
I can't image unracking the bar for bench pressing is ideal from below your chest. Especially when going heavy. plus you'll not be able to properly set up and brace to bench properly unracking like that.
Although my PB is only 120kg at the moment I haven't had any shoulder/chest issues. Perhaps my body has just adapted to unracking that way.
I linked stuff at Powerhouse Fitness as that's whom I have dealt with and I found them to be decent.
I also linked pretty much similar stuff at Fitness Superstore for a like-for-like comparison.
Shopping at both will probably save a few quid instead of buying at one place.
Like you say I'm sure the cheaper "250kg" racks for £200 or so are fine, but if you plan on keeping it 5+ years, then why worry about out-growing it (as you did) for the sake of an extra £200? The more expensive and branded ones hold their value well if you want to flog it too.
Like you say there are obvious choices when looking
http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/
http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk...rstore&pmt=e&gclid=CJzlibnK9sUCFSLKtAodAxIAGw
http://www.savagestrength.co.uk/
https://www.gymratz.co.uk/
http://www.beaverfit.com/
http://www.rogueeurope.eu/
It's just down to personal preference but from what I remember from 'researching' before I purchased, the two big boys (Powerhouse Fitness and Fitness Superstore) seemed to offer the best value.
If you wanted 'upgrades' like stronger bars etc I'd probably look elsewhere.
1. I've decided on this cage. One thing that has been bugging me is that I've seen 3 separate suggestions from people (two on the manufacturer website) that people should buy an extra pair of J Hooks to avoid having to disassemble when hooks are needed facing out of the cage. But I think they may have changed the design of the cage as it already seems to have a second set of hooks (attached to the safety catchers) facing out?
The safety catchers do have hooks on them that face outwards.
2. I'm actually wondering whether to splurge on this and get the lat pulldown and row kit too http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk...w-pulley-plus-200lb-stack-and-dip-station.php Any comments on that?
I have lat pulldown/row kit and I do use it, glad I got it.
I could drop the weight stack and save a bit: http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodycraft-power-rack-system-and-bench.php Wonder how much I'd regret not getting the stack ...
Mine doesn't have the stack, it would be better with it but it's 200quid that could be used elsewhere. I've had no problems using the olympic plates on the kit.
On the same topic - I'm wondering about how to stablize myself for the lat pulldowns. Does the F602 bench allow the end attachments to swing up over the thighs to give proper anchoring?
I believe my bench had something but I've since taken it off as I find the best way to stabilise myself is to put one of the dip station bars on each side of the rack facing in and use those instead.
3. If I end up going with that bench I might as well add the preacher curl and leg extension options (budget drift setting in
4. I reckon I'm going to get an EZ-Curl bar for curls and skull crushers. I'd get olympic size so I could use the plates from the barbell kit I plan on getting. Just wondering how to do EZ Curl skullcrushers safely as obviously the bar lenght rules out the safety cacthers inside the cage being of any use at all?
I'll double check tomorrow but I think my EZ Curl bar does just fit between the catchers.
Nice one Jon33! Would be very helpful if you could do that measurement and let me know what EZ curl you have (guess it's a 5 footer)?
Are the dip station bars are comfortable like that? Guess some foam or something could be put on them if not?
edit: did you have to buy an extra dip attachment so that there's one for each thigh or does it come with two?
Are the dip station bars are comfortable like that? Guess some foam or something could be put on them if not?
edit: did you have to buy an extra dip attachment so that there's one for each thigh or does it come with two?
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