Free Weights for Home Use?

willrun4bagels

Hi,

I'm moving into a new house in a month, and while I'll still maintain my gym membership (Planet Fitness, crowded/intimidating free weights section that I've never set foot in, currently using weight machines at PF for strength training, but want to branch out), there's tons of space in the finished basement or the 1-car garage of the house that I'd like to use for weights. Probably leaning towards using the basement for this though as it's got heat/AC, better lighting, and windows.

I've read through some other threads on here about purchasing equipment, but still have a few unanswered questions that I'm hoping you fine people can answer.

What would you consider a reasonable price for used weight plates from Craigslist or something like that? I saw someone post yesterday that they were selling a range of weights for well over $1.00 per lb., which seemed high. (Like, he wanted $25 for 20 lb. plates, $35 for 25 lb. plates, etc.). I live in an area of the US with a stupid high cost of living, so it seems to be expected... but for that amount of money, it seems like I could just buy them new from a website for the same price? If they're purchased from a web retailer, how the heck do they ship them? In a bunch of small/medium boxes to keep the weight per box lower?

The pieces of equipment I'd ideally like to start with would be a squat cage and an adjustable bench. But I'm totally lost as to what to look for in terms of features, quality, brand, safety (if I'm going to be using any of this equipment alone, I don't want to get squished!), cost, size, etc. I've seen new squat cages on eBay or Amazon for $300-$400, have yet to see any used ones for sale locally, but how would you chose one? I am 6'2", do I need to consider that when looking at the sizes of a squat cage?

Can someone explain the difference between using a 6 ft. Olympic barbell vs. a 7 ft.? What are things to keep in mind when selecting a barbell?

What quantities and increments of weight plates would be good to start with? I understand everyone's abilities are different, but what's a good starting point?

Sorry if some of these questions seem dumb or repetitive, I looked around using the search function all morning before posting this! I just started reading NROLFW this weekend and still feel like quite a noob.

On a side note: The house currently has floor-to-ceiling paneled mirrors on the wall of one of the living rooms (think tacky outdated ballet studio?). I'm going to see if I'm crafty enough to remove a few of the mirror panels without breaking them and try to re-use them on the walls in the finished basement. Stay tuned for another post about how I accidentally break all of the mirrors as I'm trying to get them off the walls (they're glued on and MIGHT be as old as the house is), and give up on that project entirely. :bigsmile: