advice for home gym

dydn11402

ive been working out for years using adjustable dumbells. i will be moving in a few months and finally have some room for something better. i would love to take lifting to a new level and really see what i am capable of. i am looking for a machine where i can do barbell lifts without a spot since i work out alone. looking for recommendations for the right type of equipment. not looking to become a body builder or anything, just your regular neighborhood badass mom in her 40s.
while we're at it, if you could choose one piece of cardio equipment besides a treadmill, what would it be? leaning toward a rower but open to suggestions.
any guidance would be appreciated. thank you!

williamsonmj1

Okay, so a minimalist setup that will actually let you get badass and strong would be:
* A power rack with adjustable safeties (e.g. like this one)
* A flat bench, like this. Or get an adjustable one.
* A standard Olympic Barbell- these are 20kg, you might also want to get a 15kg or 10kg one
* A set of plates. If you are starting off, 2x20kg, 2x15kg, 2x10kg, 2x5kg, 2x2.5kg, 2x1.25kg. If you can find 0.625kg that would be good. You can also use ankle weights. If your budget will stretch to it, I would get standard diameter ones- where the larger weights are all the same height. It makes it much easier to deadlift at the beginning if you are always puling from the same height.

This will allow you to do a full set of exercises- squat, bench, overhead press, row, plus you can do accessory exercises with the barbell- curls, tricep extensions etc. Probably most importantly if you want to take strength to the next level, this will allow you to do all the movements in the beginners' barbell programs.

If you are concerned about lifting on your own, then you set the safety bars on the rack to be just below your chest. When you bench you should pinch your shoulderblades and arch your back a bit, and so your sternum will be a bit above the safeties, but if you flatten out your chest will be below the safeties. Another option is to always leave a few 'reps in reserve' on your bench- just always keep a bit of energy left and simply don't fail. If you want to go to the limit do it with your overhead press.

This being said, you have to be quite strong to hurt yourself if you get stuck under the bar. I have failed a bench press, on my own, several times around 100kg/220lbgs. And what happened is that I just rolled it down to my lap, sat up, and lifted it off me. Only my pride was hurt.

For cardio, I don't think there's any real competition when it comes to the common cardio machines- nothing beats a rower (preferably Concept) for combination of amount of muscle that is engaged and low impact. There are some other options out there that are amazing- the Versaclimber is one- but they are way way more expensive.

zebasschick

i got a bells of steel cable tower with a stack. if you use one side, it goes up to half of 205 pounds, if you use both sides, you can get 205 pounds. you can do most exercises with it, and i've been really enjoying mine.

we also have an oly barbell and some plates. we don't have room for a rack, but if we did, i'd surely get one plus some bumper plates.

the cardio is a personal preference thing. i like an exercise bike myself over a rower, but lots of people prefer the rower.

KickassAmazon76

I loved my power rack with the side supports. It allowed me to squat and press to failure without fear of injury. (As a single mom who worked out when the kids were sleeping, I needed to feel safe).

I was also able to use it for band assisted chinups and banded leg presses.

I bought a lot of my weights used off kijiji / marketplace / buyandsell for a lot cheaper.
If you have the funds to buy an oly set - I'd say go for it!

_John_

agreed on the power rack, adjustable bench, and bumper plates at a minimum.

I might get a power rack that has a smith machine and adjustable cords if room allows too. There's a lot out there that pack a lot of stuff in a small footprint.

Retroguy2000

Bonus if you can do pullups on the tower.

A FID bench is ideal imo. Flat Incline Decline. The decline can be used for leg curls with your db. Incline for chest press, shoulder press, seal rows, etc.

Check out the garagegymreviews channel on YT, and site. Tons of reviews of towers etc. Some really good videos too on general, "Home gym essentials". Also they have reviews of benches and barbells. You should also consider things like flooring, lighting, heating if applicable. If space is an issue, I've seen half racks that fold into the wall.

Do your research for the tower especially, because it can be a slippery slope. First you get the tower, then some time later maybe you get tempted with various add-ons that can fit the tower, but that may be dependent on the manufacturer, the hole sizes in the tower, etc.

Look up Rep Fitness, Titan, Bells of Steel. Rogue have the best rep, but they're also often the most expensive.

dydn11402

Thank you everyone. I'm going to look into a squat rack and bench and possibly a smith machine.

claireychn074

I’ve muttered about this before, but if you’re lifting at home / alone, I’d also recommend learning to dump the bar during key exercises (particularly squats) if you don’t already know how to do that.

Just knowing I know how to do it makes my lifting safer and I can go heavier. I squat high bar so my dump is to throw the bar backwards from the bottom of the squat whilst I shoot forwards. I use bumper plates so can dump into safety bars (I have a cage) or just onto the platform. I designed my space to give me room to dump the bar. I’m particularly skilled at dumping snatch forward whilst landing on my bum and shooting backwards. If only there was a competition for that… 🤣

williamsonmj1

dydn11402 wrote: »

Thank you everyone. I'm going to look into a squat rack and bench and possibly a smith machine.

Personally I wouldn't prioritize a Smith Machine. Smith Machines are really useful if you can't squat. They are also useful for bodybuilders who want to do extra leg work but who are too fried to squat more. If you are a strength athlete, or just want to be all round strong and functional, you will probably never need to get under one.

If you have extra budget then look at things like:
* Pullup bar/dip bars (if your rack/tower doesn't have them)
* Dumbbells
* A shorter bar, possibly an EZ-curl bar (still with 2" diameter bars at the end)
* Matts for warming up
* A set of boxes of different heights
* Bands of different thickness and lengths
* Kettlebells

This is in rough order of priority. But I would look at getting any and all of these before a Smith Machine.

Dumbbells are a continuous project- it's best to build up your collection slowly, shop around for cheap ones. It gets expensive because almost can use a wide range of them. I typically do dumbbell rows with 25-30kg dumbbells, and there are some back exercises (I-Y-Ts) I do sometimes with 2kg dumbbells, so arguably a full collection for me would start from 2kg and go up to at least 30kg... so that would be expensive. But you can at least start off with what you might want to use most often.

AnnPT77

If you decide to go with a rower, something like a Concept 2, invest some time up front in learning good technique, and practice it with lower intensity workouts at first to groove that technique in. Rowing is not an intuitive movement; even many gym trainers do it (and teach it) poorly.

These machines don't have resistance settings (no, that's not what the numbered dial on the side is). The person rowing effectively creates the resistance: The more power you put into the flywheel on one stroke, the more difficult the next stroke will be, loosely speaking.

Poor technique limits workout intensity, eventually . . . and poor technique is harder to fix if it's become muscle memory.

Retroguy2000

"williamsonmj1 wrote:

Dumbbells are a continuous project- it's best to build up your collection slowly, shop around for cheap ones. It gets expensive because almost can use a wide range of them. I typically do dumbbell rows with 25-30kg dumbbells, and there are some back exercises (I-Y-Ts) I do sometimes with 2kg dumbbells, so arguably a full collection for me would start from 2kg and go up to at least 30kg... so that would be expensive. But you can at least start off with what you might want to use most often.

That's one way to do it. I prefer the loadable dumbbell route. It takes up less space and it's vastly cheaper than going with increasingly expensive fixed db's. I have a pair of Titan's, and I use the same plates as I can put on my barbell and EZ bar. I don't have nor need bumper plates. So the 10's and below I use on my barbell, EZ and loadable db's.

The last time I bought 10's, so I could load up to 70 pounds each on the db's (which are 12.5 each themselves), it cost me $40 for the two 10's I needed. To buy a pair of 75 pound db's would cost about $260.

It's probably moot anyway since she says she's in her 40's and has a paid of adjustable db's already, which presumably go heavy enough (and may be expandable).

I agree about the Smith machine, and the benefit of an EZ bar with the same diameter.

williamsonmj1

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

It's probably moot anyway since she says she's in her 40's and has a paid of adjustable db's already, which presumably go heavy enough (and may be expandable)

Okay, so actually I always forget that adjustable dumbbells exist. That would probably do just fine for her.

rimcdave

I started out with a compact power rack, flat bench, olympic bar, and 225lb in bumper plates for the garage during COVID. That is all I have ever needed.

If you go this route I suggest buying a 15KG women's bar or a shorty bar as the standard 7' OLY bar is pretty long to use in a confined space like a garage or indoors. A garage floor and bumper plates mean you can drop a squat or deadlift without breaking anything.