Posted by Setting up your very own home gym can be costly and time-consuming, so it’s important to ensure that the exercises that you plan on doing are a long term before spending on equipment. Before that, you need to take some time to learn the exercises, register to a local gym and try out the equipment for a few months to a couple of years. Even then there are a multitude of ways to get good exercises without having your home gym, so be sure that you think wisely before choosing this path.
Planning your home gym
If you are just looking for a space to be able to do simple exercise or yoga, you don’t need to get yourself a rack, bar and plates. Determine what are your main exercises and types of workouts that you want to do first. If you are looking to do powerlifting, bodybuilding, Crossfit athlete or any other, surf the net and see what other people do that you feel you need.
The biggest factor if you want to consider setting up a home gym is space. Unless you have an empty room, you need to figure out the rooms length, width and height. You wouldn’t want to purchase equipment and then realise that it doesn’t fit in your room, or you can’t do important exercises there. Check out this site, http://powertecfitness.icovia.com/icovia.aspx a handy tool for planning. This site allows you to set your room dimensions and add your desired equipment by adjusting the dimensions to ensure you have the right space to suit your needs.
Last but not least, you need to decide what is your budget. You may be thinking of spending several thousand to start and you will spend your savings of a gym membership monthly on upgrades and additions. Regardless of what it is, you need to figure out your budget first so you can plan your purchases, be satisfied with what you bought, and ensure that you don’t put yourself in debt just to get yourself a home gym
Deciding on types of gym equipment
Power Rack and Half Rack: A piece of weight training equipment that functions as a mechanical spotter for free weight barbell exercises without the movement restrictions imposed by other equipment. The only difference between a power rack and half rack is that the former features more safeties/spotters to help you catch the weight when you are lifting.
Standard plates and Olympic plates: Known as a weight plate is a flat, heavy object that is used in combination with barbells or dumbbells to produce a bar with a desired total weight for physical exercise. While the standard plates are cheaper than the Olympic plates. However, it is recommended to opt for the Olympic plates as they are stronger, higher weight capacity and they are more compatible with power or squat racks. For more information about platers, check out this link here: https://www.livestrong.com/article/1010395-olympic-weights-vs-standard-weights/
Bumper plates: They are made of high-density rubber and their main purpose is to withstand being dropped from overhead. Bumper plates are a necessity if you are planning to do Olympic lifts while protecting your flooring.
Barbell: Generally you should get a good quality barbell, but if you are just a beginner it’s best to go with a 300lb weight set. These weight sets are typically less than 45lbs, but if you are not familiar with the weight, just hold one and get on the scale then subtract out your weight.
Benches: Compared to the rest of the equipment, the benches are among the priciest, so as a beginner, it’s best to look for cheap deals on online shopping sites. Lookup for a fully adjustable bench instead unless you are looking for good quality ones which are very expensive. A flat bench is usually what you need as a starter and remember to add your weight to the equation if you are looking at a bench’s weight capacity.
Flooring: If you want to protect your floor from any gym-related activities, it is necessary to get yourself thick rubber stall mats. Keep in mind that if you intend to drop a loaded bar or even letting heavy deadlifts come down very hard, mats are not enough to protect your flooring. A proper platform is essential to protect your floor and that includes concrete tiles. There are various tutorials for building your platform that you can search online if you are on a budget.
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