Advice on Building a Home Gym

No_Finish_Line

i'll have to check out those you tube videos at home.

jq2122, thats sounds like a great deal. honestly don't think i'm ever going to need more then 500 lbs, plus i'm sure you could probably get away with putting more weight on it anyway. i"ll have to check out Di(ks. lol that you can't type that.

agree that the cage looks much more stable, and i could probably still get a seperate bench and do bench press with it.

I just don't get how you are supposed to use it to spot yourself, i mean, i see those cross bars that would probably hold the weight... but it seems to me that if you set them up to spot you then you can go through a full range of motion with the bench press.

this is also supposed to be a self spotting device
http://www.ironmind-store.com/Pillars-of-Power153-II-Spotter-Racks/productinfo/1227/

but i would think you would have the same range of motion issue with these, although you could set them up along side the bench just an inch or two forward or back from the up and down plane of motion of the bar and then just come back a bit when your tired to rest it on the bar. Thus allowing you full range of motion

ilovedeadlifts

i believe then mention a brand name 'capp' in the guide i posted.
you mention 'nothing good'.
Is there an alternative out there that is still 45 lbs, fairly sturdy, 7'' yet somehow inferior and hence significantly cheaper?
I don't ever see myself loading up the bar with like 500 lbs or anything.

I haven't found a really good barbell before that was less than a couple hundred.
I've bent a bar from dropping a clean and press. And I've broken a bar from deadlifting and not easing the weight down.

So I went ahead and spent money on a decent bar so it can handle a decent amount of weight, and not break if i drop it.



maybe look into this if you want one that can take abuse
http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-beater-bar.php

No_Finish_Line

i believe then mention a brand name 'capp' in the guide i posted.
you mention 'nothing good'.
Is there an alternative out there that is still 45 lbs, fairly sturdy, 7'' yet somehow inferior and hence significantly cheaper?
I don't ever see myself loading up the bar with like 500 lbs or anything.

I haven't found a really good barbell before that was less than a couple hundred.
I've bent a bar from dropping a clean and press. And I've broken a bar from deadlifting and not easing the weight down.

So I went ahead and spent money on a decent bar so it can handle a decent amount of weight, and not break if i drop it.



maybe look into this if you want one that can take abuse
http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-beater-bar.php

wow thats well priced at 165 and free shipping!

i know i said at least twice that i don't need a top of the line bar, but in my heart of hearts i don't think i'd be 100% satisfied if it wasn't every bit as good as what you typically find at the gym.

If i could get something that are the exact same dimensions and weight then that would be good enough for me. what are the dimensions of the ones typically found in gyms?

JUDDDing

i know i said at least twice that i don't need a top of the line bar, but in my heart of hearts i don't think i'd be 100% satisfied if it wasn't every bit as good as what you typically find at the gym.

If i could get something that are the exact same dimensions and weight then that would be good enough for me. what are the dimensions of the ones typically found in gyms?

"Normal" Olympic bars that you find at a gym are often not premium bars.

An Olympic bar is 45 lbs and 7 feet. There are various grades, styles, weight limits and quality.

shar140

bump to read later

mdizzle99

i know i said at least twice that i don't need a top of the line bar, but in my heart of hearts i don't think i'd be 100% satisfied if it wasn't every bit as good as what you typically find at the gym.

If i could get something that are the exact same dimensions and weight then that would be good enough for me. what are the dimensions of the ones typically found in gyms?

"Normal" Olympic bars that you find at a gym are often not premium bars.

An Olympic bar is 45 lbs and 7 feet. There are various grades, styles, weight limits and quality.

^ this

And I'm a bit confused...are you saying you want a premium bar or just one that is the proper weight and length? Pretty much every olympic bar you look at will have the same approximate length and weight. Many of the premium features are found in how the sleeves are attached, the thickness of the bar, knurling subtleties, and, of course, the brand name.

Rogue does make some pretty bars. While you're buying Rogue I recommend grabbing one of those R3 power racks at the same time. Now that's a good looking rack. Another premium power rack that is very highly regarded is the Sornex Dark Horse... just if you're interested in the lower cost premium stuff.

No_Finish_Line

i know i said at least twice that i don't need a top of the line bar, but in my heart of hearts i don't think i'd be 100% satisfied if it wasn't every bit as good as what you typically find at the gym.

If i could get something that are the exact same dimensions and weight then that would be good enough for me. what are the dimensions of the ones typically found in gyms?

"Normal" Olympic bars that you find at a gym are often not premium bars.

An Olympic bar is 45 lbs and 7 feet. There are various grades, styles, weight limits and quality.

they are all the same diameter to? the part u actually grip i mean? ask because one of the links posted had a measurement of the diameter in mm

No_Finish_Line

i know i said at least twice that i don't need a top of the line bar, but in my heart of hearts i don't think i'd be 100% satisfied if it wasn't every bit as good as what you typically find at the gym.

If i could get something that are the exact same dimensions and weight then that would be good enough for me. what are the dimensions of the ones typically found in gyms?

"Normal" Olympic bars that you find at a gym are often not premium bars.

An Olympic bar is 45 lbs and 7 feet. There are various grades, styles, weight limits and quality.

^ this

And I'm a bit confused...are you saying you want a premium bar or just one that is the proper weight and length? Pretty much every olympic bar you look at will have the same approximate length and weight. Many of the premium features are found in how the sleeves are attached, the thickness of the bar, knurling subtleties, and, of course, the brand name.

Rogue does make some pretty bars. While you're buying Rogue I recommend grabbing one of those R3 power racks at the same time. Now that's a good looking rack. Another premium power rack that is very highly regarded is the Sornex Dark Horse... just if you're interested in the lower cost premium stuff.

def interested in lower cost premium stuff. so bar diameter does change with qualtiy? not worried about the strength of the bar just how if fits in my hand.

mdizzle99

Well it can be really easy to get caught up in details like bar thickness, but most people really won't give it a second thought. That said, most premium bars are strong and 28 or 29mm. A lot of cheaper bars will be thicker because it is easier to manufacture a strong bar at a greater thickness.

JUDDDing

they are all the same diameter to? the part u actually grip i mean? ask because one of the links posted had a measurement of the diameter in mm

You're probably over thinking this. The part you grip is generally 1" or a tiny bit bigger. My normal one's a cheapo - and I measured it at about 1.25".

It's fine. If I ever started doing really heavy weights (500+) or was likely to drop my weights I might question the quality - but not until then.

There are "Think bars". But I've only ever seen a couple of those. On these, the entire bar is often the thickness of the hole in an Olympic plate (2 inches) - sometimes a bit smaller - sometimes even larger. I think they are kind of specialized things - like for strongman training.

Then there are also "standard" bars which are 1" all the way and have no sleeves at all. Which are super cheap, but not as strong (I imagine).

You'd probably be fine for a number of years with any generic 7" Olympic bar. You can invest the difference - and by the time you need it, you'll have it back.

No_Finish_Line

yea, you guys are right.

especially if its only a few mm difference its not going to be noticable anyway. i wont sweat the diameter then. as long as it says Olympic bar then its 45 lbs i suppose?

JUDDDing

yea, you guys are right.

especially if its only a few mm difference its not going to be noticable anyway. i wont sweat the diameter then. as long as it says Olympic bar then its 45 lbs i suppose?

Pretty much. Well, more or less.

There are some metric ones I think that might be 44lbs and some of the powerlifting bars with extra long sleeves might weigh more. And some specialty ones that are super light. And a bar under 7 feet probably weighs less. But basically 45 lbs.

Although, that doesn't really matter either from a strength/training perspective. The bar is just there to hold the weights. If you're a pound or two off when you post your lifts, we won't complain.

No_Finish_Line

you know what? i'm hoping to use this bar basically for the rest of my active life.

in light of that, spending an extra one or two hundred on a bar really isn't crazy.

I'm practically sold on the regular rogue bar, but thats mostly because they said it was used in crossfit competitions lol.

If you buy it in one of thier crossfit packages its free shipping too. going to have to price everything out to see if its really a deal though.

probably going to pick up a kettle bell at walmarts tonight, because its used in one of my dvd workouts.

probably sounds funny to say ''i'm going top of the line!'' and 'i'm going to wally world' in the same post lol, but it works for me i guess.

No_Finish_Line

anyone know where to get an atlantis power rack?

I can't find it anywhere that actually has a price on it lol. thats a bad sign. the lowest quality one is 600 lbs.

mdizzle99

Here are a couple others bars you might want to look at. The Rogue bars are great, but just if you want options...

http://www.repfitness.com/rep-elite-olympic-bar
This is a brand new bar that will come out next month I believe. The specs are great for the price.

http://www.wwfitness.com/
The Buddy Capps Texas bar is very highly regarded. I probably prefer this bar over the rep fitness bar because I like the center knurl.

There are others but those two come to mind first.

No_Finish_Line

^^ thanks bro i'll check those out.

mdizzle99

What is your draw to the Atlantis rack? I don't know much about them, but they don't seem like the typical home use rack. The spotter spacing seems to be 4". That could very well limit the usefulness of this rack when used for benching.

JUDDDing

You're in New York right? Borrow a pickup and do a road trip to Elmira and visit New York Barbell?

I always wanted to visit there.

No_Finish_Line

What is your draw to the Atlantis rack? I don't know much about them, but they don't seem like the typical home use rack. The spotter spacing seems to be 4". That could very well limit the usefulness of this rack when used for benching.

what i was reading mentioned somethign about the 'holes' being less then an inch appart and that this made for more usefulness.

to be honest, i can't figure out how your supposed to self spot yourself on these. the pic I saw of an atlantis rack had a bunch of groves on the inner part of the forward most uprights. are you supposed to use it sort of like a smith machine without the hooks and cable?

No_Finish_Line

You're in New York right? Borrow a pickup and do a road trip to Elmira and visit New York Barbell?

I always wanted to visit there.

never heard of them, i'll have to google them.

thanks for t help guys, i really appreciate it. Probably going to be a little tough to keep this thread going as i'm going to be buying something everyother month at best, but i'll post in here often to keep it on your 'recent post' radar lol.

No_Finish_Line

yikes, NY barbell rigs aren't cheap, but i guess you get what you pay for.

I just think back to the wieder bench i bought in highschool, thing just wobbled back and forth while i laid on it.

if I pay 1000 bucks and i endup haveing to deal with **** like that i'm going to be pretty pissed. i guess it all depends on how well you put it together tho, unless its designed/manufactured poorly.

whats your attraction to this retailer btw?

what are the things i should look for by the way? right now i'm looking at the total weight and thinking thats going to make it more stable.

mdizzle99

Here's a youtube video called, "how to bench press heavy alone safely and not die." He explains safely benching inside a power rack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQzzkGU5hGA

Hole spacing is important to have the spotter bars be in a good location for benching, but typically 2" or under is considered acceptable. If you want to get a power rack that has 1" hole spacing through the benching area (smallest possible), then I would look at Rogue. My first choice at Rogue would be the R3 as long as you are willing to bolt the rack down wherever you end up placing it.

http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-r-3-power-rack.php


York is a very well respected company. They make some great stuff. I'm looking to buy some of their plates tonight if I can. I believe he suggested you go visit them is because this stuff is heavy...if you can avoid shipping costs you are generally much better off.

No_Finish_Line

do they all have to be bolted down?

No_Finish_Line

good deal on interlocking home fitness flooring from d i c k s

http://www.****ssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3970346&cp=4406646.4413986.12598195

wow, you can 't even put it in a link.

50 bucks and free shipping over 100

No_Finish_Line

actually you only get a 15 shipping credit.

idk, my mats seperate a little , these would be nice but its a little late.

mdizzle99

No they don't all need to be bolted down. There are many (most) that do not need to be bolted. You could get the Rogue R4 if you don't want to bolt it down but you want a Rogue. For a similar price, though, I would recommend the Sorinex Dark Horse. That was my first choice but I decided on the Powertec to save some money to spend on other equipment.

No_Finish_Line

looking into those racks, doesn't seem to say the spacing of the holes on the dark horse one.

the R 4 also says it should be bolted to the floor. I've seen for tools that need to be bolted to the floor that you can get away with bolting it to a large pallet or board... do you think you can do that with these as well?

mdizzle99

Sorry I'm not an expert on the Rogue stuff. I thought the R4 didn't need to be bolted but maybe I was thinking of the R6. I believe you can bolt them down to a platform, but if you're not interested in bolting them down I'd recommend going with another brand. I initially recommended Rogue to you because you seem to like the 1" hole spacing and the tie to crossfit.

I believe the Dark Horse is 2" hole spacing which is pretty standard and all you'd need. Racks like we've been discussing are all quality/premium racks. It'd be hard to go wrong with any of them and just comes down to preference. Other premium brands to look at would be EliteFTS, Legend Fitness, Promaxima, Texas Strength System, as well as others...

It will really just come down to preference and cost. As I mentioned previously, I ended up going with a $400 rack instead of a > $1000 and can't complain.

No_Finish_Line

i definetly appreciate you recomendations.

I watched the youtube video you posted. it was very informative. I've read about benching with the arch in your back like that but seldom do it. i think it was called refferred to as 'packing' in whatever article i read about it. do you bench that way? is it really safer?

seems like if you arched your back enough it would almost turn a flat bench exercise into a bit of a decline bench angle.

after seeing the video i'd really perfer a rig with 1'' around the bench area. definetly seeing an advantage in that. also seeing that spending 500 on squat stands and 500 on a self spoting solution is kind of dumb when there are cheaper rigs out there that are probably safer... not really sure why that article recomended those.