Official Home Gym Building Thread

DCat said:
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?
Click to expand...

Off to the gym (garage) now so I'll check with the EZ curl, it's actually just the one off powerhouse (http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-chrome-olympic-ez-curl-bar.php) not sure about it's size.

I don't have any problems with the dip bars like that. The bench you've linked is essentially the same but I've taken the leg bit off the end, I did pull the foam bits off that once and put them on the dip bars when doing lat pull downs but I've not bothered since.

For the dip attachment it comes with two bars that just slide into holes on the catchers. There are two holes on either side but if you just put them both in the closest to the pull down kit it works fine (I'll get a pic for you)
 
Alright hope you get an idea from these...



Ignore the barbell but that's how the dip bars point inwards so my legs just go under those, you can change the height by just changing the height of the catchers.



Couldn't find the tape measure so I just put the EZ curl bar on for you too see, turns out it's shorter than I remembered!

Edit: Pics are pretty small, no idea how to make them bigger!
 
Got myself a CF475 package recently from PowerHouse Fitness. I know some people on here have had issues with them but from my point of view they are pretty good. Did a deal with one of the staff in the Charing Cross shop and i think i got a good deal on it... Good price and got an upgrade on the bench.

Kerbside delivery on a pallet was to be expected but hard work for me as i have a loads of steps up to my shed at the top of the garden..

Its great to have your own equipment - and no more Central London gym fees...

Got the bug now to get more equipment for the home gym but will have to wait until funds allow...
 
Does anyone here have experience with Powerblocks? http://www.powerblock.com/

I'm getting a £350 bonus from work next month and want to get some dumbells. I can't get a whole range of different weights due to space constraints in the garage. Already have squat rack, bench, bar, 145KG weights, dip stand in there.

The principle of Powerblocks seems great, love the expandability of them. Price is a little high but with space a concern, I don't mind too much.

EDIT: Just found these as well, prefer them over the powerblock to be honest, love the functionality and they're round :D

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-selectabell-dumbbell-pair-5kg-32-5kg-11lb-71lb.php
 
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SixTwoSix said:
Does anyone here have experience with Powerblocks? http://www.powerblock.com/

I'm getting a £350 bonus from work next month and want to get some dumbells. I can't get a whole range of different weights due to space constraints in the garage. Already have squat rack, bench, bar, 145KG weights, dip stand in there.

The principle of Powerblocks seems great, love the expandability of them. Price is a little high but with space a concern, I don't mind too much.

EDIT: Just found these as well, prefer them over the powerblock to be honest, love the functionality and they're round :D

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-selectabell-dumbbell-pair-5kg-32-5kg-11lb-71lb.php
Click to expand...

Hi SixTwoSix - I have had both types of dumbbells that you are looking at. Without a shadow of a doubt the powerblocks are a superior product to those selectabell/bowflex dumbbells in just about every way.

The most important of which is safety - I found the mechanism of locking the plates on the selectabel/bowflex simply terrible and I wouldn't to trust that much weight over my head. Have a quick google on bowflex selectatech. I sold my pair after about 2 weeks of ownership.

The powerblocks aren't perfect (rattle a bit with the interior weight fitted) but are quick to change weights, comfortable to hold and have stood up to reasonable amount of abuse. You might also want to consider the Iron Master dumbbells which are well reviewed but also not cheap.

Having said all of this if I had my time again I would just brought the following four pairs of Hex Dumbbells - 25lb, 35lb, 45lb, 55lb and then added heavier ones when needed later.
 
SixTwoSix said:
Does anyone here have experience with Powerblocks? http://www.powerblock.com/

I'm getting a £350 bonus from work next month and want to get some dumbells. I can't get a whole range of different weights due to space constraints in the garage. Already have squat rack, bench, bar, 145KG weights, dip stand in there.

The principle of Powerblocks seems great, love the expandability of them. Price is a little high but with space a concern, I don't mind too much.

EDIT: Just found these as well, prefer them over the powerblock to be honest, love the functionality and they're round :D

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-selectabell-dumbbell-pair-5kg-32-5kg-11lb-71lb.php
Click to expand...

No but I have a set of IronMaster's, I love them pretty much bomb proof an no rattles.
 
SixTwoSix said:
Does anyone here have experience with Powerblocks? http://www.powerblock.com/

I'm getting a £350 bonus from work next month and want to get some dumbells. I can't get a whole range of different weights due to space constraints in the garage. Already have squat rack, bench, bar, 145KG weights, dip stand in there.

The principle of Powerblocks seems great, love the expandability of them. Price is a little high but with space a concern, I don't mind too much.

EDIT: Just found these as well, prefer them over the powerblock to be honest, love the functionality and they're round :D

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-selectabell-dumbbell-pair-5kg-32-5kg-11lb-71lb.php
Click to expand...

I got powerblocks for P90X due to the need to change weights quickly. They can feel a bit awkward but they've served me well and I don't regret getting them.
 
I'm looking at getting a second bar to allow me to do supersets, or to have a second bar setup ready to alternate exercises (I like to do a pull move followed by a push move) without having to unload the bar and remove it from my power rack. As space is tight in my garage (roughly 8ft wide), I'm considering getting a 6ft Olympic bar, preferably one that will still fit on a power rack. Only problem is they all seem to look a little cheap.

I've seen one at savage strength for around £160 inc postage. But for that kind of money i think i'd rather just upgrade my old bar (strength shop 2028 bar) and use that as my second bar, or maybe even just buy another SS 2028 bar for £90

I know there are plenty of bars for about £50-60, but I'd like to hear from people that have used these bars for a while to ensure the quality is there. My old gym bought some cheap bodymax or similar bars and the bearing only lasted a week, I'd like to avoid that if possible
 
Due to health issues I am selling the following items:

Bodymax CF475 Heavy Duty Power Rack (& 1 pair extra bar hooks & dip bars & RDX ab slings)
Bodymax CF430 Heavy Duty Flat/Incline/Decline Bench
York 7ft standard Beefy bar & x2 spinlock dumbell bars
142kg of standard weight plates

All sold now, thankyou. :)
 
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10mm is the minimum I would recommend for weights.

5mm is only good for cardio equipment.

it's just in case you drop a dumbell on failure. why spend all that money on decent equipment then skimp on protection.

10mm or thicker is what everyone should be buying. so deffo go for the 10
 
So I've only gone and got myself a home gym.

I needed to do. Bit of work on the garage first (reroof it and make it water tight, thread here if anyone's interested:http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18675262 )

So my kit list:
Body max CF475 (second hand)
Dip attachments
Powertec utility bench
7ft barbell (bogo basic)
Dumbbell handles
Raze lockjaw clamps for Dumbbells
Flat bench (free with the rack!)
EZ bar
2 18mm 6ftx4ft rubber stable mats (exactly the same less the "gym" premium price)
Body power plates as follows:
25kg x2
20kg x4
15kg x2
10kg x4
5kg x8
2.5kg x8
1.25kg x8

Weights tree (still
To be delivered)
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58807A18-D05A-4241-BDEE-4EDE5488888A_zpsqvu6oaol.jpg

Picked up most of the kit yesterday but when putting the bench together today it's got a couple of bars out of alignment (fixings welded in different spots when they need to be the same!) a scuffed up paint job on the adjuster and some missing nuts so I will be on the phone in the morning.

Also I only picked up the 25's as I thought they would be a slightly larger diameter then the 20's. They are not.
Just need to get a mirror sorted but that's me a major priority.

I am tempted by the lat pull down,pull up attachment for the rack however that will be a later purchase.
 
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