Spec Me Some Free Weights

Frame352

Frame352

Frame352

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23 Jun 2007
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Howdy folks.

I'm looking into buying some free weights to use at home, as part of an overall lifestyle change. I have quit cigarettes (three weeks and going strong) and changed my diet (cut out all the junk food, not eating "white carbs" etc). So far, it's going very well; I've lost 5 lbs in the past fortnight.

Now it's time to step it up a notch and bring some exercise into the mix. I aim to do cardio thrice weekly (probably cycling or swimming until I've lost a bit of fat and am able to try jogging), but I want to do some weight training as well.

Unfortunately, I don't have a gym near me, so I need to be able to do this at home. So, what I'm looking for is advice on what I should be looking for in a set of dumbbells and/or barbells, that is type, brand, weight range etc. I'd also appreciate linkage to any good resources for weight training (for fat loss) online, preferably with diagrams or (even better) videos showing technique etc. Any book recommendations to do with this would also be hugely appreciated!

Other info; I'm male, 34, 6'3", 290 lbs, and have never been fit/healthy, so am a complete beginner to exercise in general. Also, it should be said that I am realistic, and at this point in time, am interested in losing as much fat as is helathy/sensible.
 
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stay away from argos, if your in any way serious about free weights.

where will you be exercising within your home?

you will also need a bench, power rack, preacher curl bench, rubber matting, etc. if your serious about it.

if your looking to mess about then go the argos route.

if your being serious then your looking at spending some serious dosh therefore a gym would be a lot better, even if you have to travel far.
 
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Thanks for all the feedback, although there are some very differing schools of thought there.

@touch - Yep, had a look and you're right; it's a great thread.

@Aedus and Tony - Thanks guys. Never even thought of Argos, and I'll check out some second hand sources too.

@Sonny - I've a large shed with concrete floor that I intend to convert into a gym. However this will not happen over night. Also, please define "mess about".
 
My set was from Argos, they do the job fine - maybe after a while you can upgrade or goto a gym, etc.

Feb is a good time to get second hand weights, everyone makes a resolution to lose weight/build muslce at New Year - some don't stick to it. ;)
 
Tony Williams said:
Feb is a good time to get second hand weights
Click to expand...

But February is AGES off! Hehe.

I'm off to fitness superstore today to get myself some bits and bobs. I'm a member of a gym, but for some reason they don't have a curl bar so think i'm going to get one.

Sorry for a slight thread hijack OP, hopefully this might spur you to get something similar though.

What is peoples thoughts on something like:

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/olympic_bars/golds_gym_olympic_curl_bar_52mm/10729_p.html

or

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/olympic_bars/bodypower_olympic_ez_curl_bar/3206_p.html

The only difference I can see is the angle of the handle.
 
Frame352 said:
Thanks for all the feedback, although there are some very differing schools of thought there.

@touch - Yep, had a look and you're right; it's a great thread.

@Aedus and Tony - Thanks guys. Never even thought of Argos, and I'll check out some second hand sources too.

@Sonny - I've a large shed with concrete floor that I intend to convert into a gym. However this will not happen over night. Also, please define "mess about".
Click to expand...

mess about is

your looking just to do a few simple small exercises. curls and presses etc. your not looking to lift any serious weight, therefore your doing it for the cardio rather than strength and building muscle option.

if your not looking to mess about ill give you an idea of costings

rubber mats £75 each ( i have 6 in my garage and its just barely enough)

320 KG weight set with olympic bar - £500 ish (you can go for smaller weight sets and buy more weights later)

power rack - £300 to £600 depending on if you want a pulley system attached or not (you can always buy the pulley attachment later on)

bench - a decent bench which can withstand a lot of weight (you + weight your lifting) - £300 to £400 (dont buy a crap bench then buy a decent one later just get a decent one from the start)

dumbells to use with the weights you bought above - £100



its not cheap, but your looking to spend anywhere between £1000 to £1750 altogether if you go down the brand new route. if you go down the second hand route it depends on what sort of bargains you can pick up. i wouldnt buy anything from argos either, get it from a proper gym equipment retailer.

put it this way 6 x rubber mats (they are quite small in size but very thick, ive dropped 100 kg on these) will cost you over £300 and thats just to protect your weights and floor, its not comfortable to kneel, sit or lie down on these mats, they are just their for protection.

i think my gym has cost me well over £2000 and it has no machines, ive got mats, power rack with pulley, weights, curl bar, straight bar, dumbells, rack to hang weights, bench with 3 attachments, free standing kick boxing bag, punch bag, reaction ball, speed ball and im sure ive missed out on other bits and bobs.
 
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kinobestew123 said:
But February is AGES off! Hehe.

I'm off to fitness superstore today to get myself some bits and bobs. I'm a member of a gym, but for some reason they don't have a curl bar so think i'm going to get one.

Sorry for a slight thread hijack OP, hopefully this might spur you to get something similar though.

What is peoples thoughts on something like:

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/olympic_bars/golds_gym_olympic_curl_bar_52mm/10729_p.html

or

http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/olympic_bars/bodypower_olympic_ez_curl_bar/3206_p.html

The only difference I can see is the angle of the handle.
Click to expand...

the bodypower will be able to hold more weight (there is no difference in the angles of the handles)

golds gym stuff is always over priced due to the name so it will be of a lot lesser quality

are you going to take the curl bar to they gym? or else you will need weights also which can make things expensive just got a curl bar
 
I doubt it will cost near 2grand.

I just got 140kg of weight including bar, squat stand with spotters and a bench for 400 quid, thats all you need to make a good start and will last atleast a year.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
the bodypower will be able to hold more weight (there is no difference in the angles of the handles)

golds gym stuff is always over priced due to the name so it will be of a lot lesser quality

are you going to take the curl bar to they gym? or else you will need weights also which can make things expensive just got a curl bar
Click to expand...

Cheers for the reply. I picked up the bodypower one, mainly because they didn't have the golds gym one in stock. The guy working there (probably biased but still) interestingly said that the golds gym one is shocking and is basically the standard bar with the thicker 2" bars bolted on the end.

Loving the quality of the bodypower curl bar. I am very tempted to take it down to the gym with me. With being fairly noob my arms are ridiculously weak anyway. I tried 2 x 5kg on each end in the store and that was easily enough, a definite struggle to keep form. So purchasing 6 x 5kg would be enough to keep me going for a while I think?

Just looking for somewhere reasonable priced for them now. Wish I knew someone selling cheap ;)

Edit: Am I allowed to post ebay links on here, I saw a 100kg set on there with barbell included which i'm tempted by.
 
Post away, I do often when I see plate deals that people might be interested in
 
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