Home gym equipment, benches etc

Hiya,

I cancelled my gym membership because of restricted hours.

I’m looking to set up a little home gym in the garage. Have barbell and free weights already. I will get some dumbells in time too.

I’m thinking about the weight bench. I want one that inclines.

Better to get separate bench and spotter-catcher stand(s)?

A lot of stuff looks very cheap at the cheap end. Want to get a decent starter set up for under 200 notes.

What’s good, what should I be wary of?

Ta, Alex

Better to get separate bench and spotter-catcher stand(s)?

yes, id get separate, and yes, spotters ideally. youll be lucky to buy new, quality equipment for under £200 tho.

id either raise the budget, or buy quality second hand stuff from your local classifieds/ebay etc…

EDIT: for half decent kit, have a look at powerhouse fitness and fitness superstore, thatll give you an idea of new prices, you see a fair bit of that stuff in classifieds.

Hmm. With the closure of gyms I’m not sure there’s much stock around. Even second hand equipment prices have gone through the roof.

We bought this a couple of years ago (though at pre COVID prices!) and it’s very solid. No wobble, lots of adjustment and easy to fold up to store.

https://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/powerline-folding-flat-incline-decline-utility-bench-pre-built.html

I like the Bodymax stuff personally. Got an elete bench years ago for half what they are now and still looks like new. Find I only use two settings, flat and incline.

After going beyond dumbells plumbed for a power rack. If you are benching or squatting without a spotter is the best option. There are half racks too but full one means cable options. Seen some decent diy ones too mind.

Price adds up but I just spread it over a few years.

The remaining parts of my barbell will hopefully turn up today. Wondering what to do about a rack. Has to be able to fold away as our van has to go into our garage. Have seen folding units but they are £450. Anyone used the separate squatting stands?

Anyone used the separate squatting stands?

i have, but theyre not my favourite stands, ive got to say. my issue with these is that you take the barbell, step back, do your squats, then when youre knackered and have to replace the bar, you cant see exactly where it has to go, so you have to move carefully forwards and ensure youve placed the bar correctly in case you knock one over. puts an additional strain on my back.
ideally you want something you can just walk forwards until you hit a stop, then bang, down it goes.
i have 2 at present, this one which i use as its better for bench too…..

or similar to this one, which isnt so good for bench, but better for squats as you can walk up to a definite stop (couldnt find mine, but its a bit simpler than this one, just a simple crossbar at the back that can be slid out.)

with both of them you have the stabilising bar at the back, so depends how much faff youre prepared for to store it afterwards. i leave mine up, but if you have to pack it away each time you may get sick of doing that.

After Christmas I decided to cancel my gym membership and spend two years worth on home kit, I bought an ex demo turbo trainer cheap and these:

Bench

Dumbells

I’m currently looking at the up to 5-25kg dumbells to complement the above.

Dumbells

The Opti cast iron kit looks good value from Argos if I decide to get a Barbell & I was looking at this rack but the seller has iffy feedback.

Rack

Check the max weight capacity of the bench, some of the cheap ones are pretty low (may or may not be relevant to your weight and the weight you want to lift).

I dont like the cheap catch stands, they require you to carefully rack the bar, I like ones with a back stop you can just push the bar against and then lower, important if you are tired.

I dont like the cheap catch stands, they require you to carefully rack the bar, I like ones with a back stop you can just push the bar against and then lower, important if you are tired.

Agreed, the free standing ones with tiny little bar grabs are scary when you are on a heavy set.

If you can, wall mount with J hooks. So much safer.

My setup…

Workshop gym by Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr

Re Dumbells, I started with the ones I used most eg 10kg, 15kg, 20kg and then filled in around the edges slowly getting a full set in the end. Obviously the big ones cost >> smaller ones, so it gets more expensive to fill in the top end, compared with the lighter ones.

Agreed, the free standing ones with tiny little bar grabs are scary when you are on a heavy set.

Ok thanks. That’s what I had wondered. We might look at a DIY folding set up on the wall, as handily we are both the same height so don’t need adjustment – just squat and bench press heights.

i have, but theyre not my favourite stands, ive got to say. my issue with these is that you take the barbell, step back, do your squats, then when youre knackered and have to replace the bar, you cant see exactly where it has to go, so you have to move carefully forwards and ensure youve placed the bar correctly in case you knock one over. puts an additional strain on my back.
ideally you want something you can just walk forwards until you hit a stop, then bang, down it goes.

Very much this.

There is a lot of cheap and nasty home gym stuff being sold for premium prices out there at the moment.  Though the situation is probably better now than it was 2 or 3 months ago.

Rack wise…

Does the van really have to go in the garage?  If it does I would be looking at these:

https://againfaster.eu/en_gb/strength-equipment/again-faster-inward-folding-rack.html

https://www.rogueeurope.eu/rogue-rml-3w-fold-back-wall-mount-rack-1-eu

Depending on the dimensions of your garage and what else you have in there,  you might be able to put  1/2 rack at the back of the garage, remove the spotter arms and drive the van up to the rack.

https://againfaster.eu/en_gb/strength-equipment/strength-training/squat-stand/again-faster-squat-stand.html

Bench wise…

Sturdy is good, I bought mine of a mate for buttons, it’s only just OK.  It will be getting replaced soon-ish.

Dumbbell wise…

If you have weight plates already, then i would get some dumbbell handles.  I have Olympic plates and handles and I can make a pair of dumbbells up to 21.5kg each using plates no bigger than 5kg. Single arm work or using 10kg plates can make things a lot heavier…

I did this a number of years ago in my garage.

Now got a treadmill, a cross trainer and a free weights area.

Worth investing in some rubber mats – when I did this I found buying horse stall mats were basically as good as gym branded ones but a lot cheaper. Reckon the ones I’ve got are about an inch thick with dimples on one side and grooves on the other.

Body max are decent for a home bench without being crazy on cost. I bought mine from powerhouse fitness – it does flat / incline / decline. No squat / bench racks as part of it as I wanted a stand-alone bench. Something like this maybe:

https://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-pm121-utility-bench.php

I then bought some bodymax selectabells that go from 5kg to 32kg each in steps – but are great for not taking up much storage room.

I’ve got the adjustable width squat / bench rack pictured a few posts up – it’s handy for storage as you can make it narrower etc. It’s a Bodymax cf315. I don’t do hugely heavy squats – if I did I’d buy a more appropriate solid squat rack or squat cage type thing.

Edit – the bench is lasting pretty well – it looks wet in the picture as I’d just given all the equipment a good wipe down as I’d just fitted the 2 plasterboard sheets you can see which cover over the garage door. They’re insulated sheets so should keep the draught out quite well. It’s noticeably warmer in this part of the garage than the other half that isn’t insulated.

Does the van really have to go in the garage?

Yes it does unfortunately – combination of access down a terrace street, a LWB T6, and significantly cheaper insurance.

Those are the folding racks I’ve been looking at. It is very tempting – need finish one project at a time. Haha.

Those are the folding racks I’ve been looking at. It is very tempting – need finish one project at a time. Haha.

if theres much of a cost implication, the very top pic i posted of the stand with spotters would be easy enough to split and take next to no room storage. you can mebbes just see on that cross bar at the back that it splits in the middle. this means you can just pull it apart and youll have 2x ‘L’ shapes that can go in either corner of the garage?

I use a flat bench and put one end on a Reebok step for a bit of incline.

You can get a very solid flat bench for 60-80 quid compared to something with hinges. It’s only really incline bench press that it’s actually needed for anyway. The right amount to spend on an adjustable bench for any serious training is either zero or 400quid plus!

As mentioned above, don’t get separate squat stands as they aren’t that secure for re racking weight. Go for a half rack with or without spotter bars.

Something like this would set you up.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/weight-training-rack-squats-chin-ups/_/R-p-158534

Get a set of adjustable dumbbells and you’re away. Also worth getting a landmine thingy for, well, landmine work with the bar.

I recently replaced a Powertec Olympic bench (all in one bench with catchers type thing) with a Mirafit bench and rack. The Powertec stuff was leagues above Mirafit in terms of build quality – but so far it seems more than adequate. Damn good in fact.

https://mirafit.co.uk/mirafit-m2-adjustable-weight-bench.html

I’ve been doing the same for the last year and I’d say I enjoy the home work out a lot more than any gym I’ve gone to.

I find the argos opti range good quality and affordable. A little tip though, the argos website won’t let you get an order delivered however if you go onto argos ebay page you can order from there

Does the van really have to go in the garage? If it does I would be looking at these:

https://againfaster.eu/en_gb/strength-equipment/again-faster-inward-folding-rack.html

Lockdown tipped me over the edge and I’ve ended up ordering!!!

We have a concrete block garage, with electric. It’s pretty chilly in there and now I’ve just spent money on a power rack I’m not allowed to go back to the gym, ever! Haha. What suggestions for a heater? Thinking something I can stick on whilst setting stuff up. See previous comment that the van lives in the garage so can’t be huge. It is also only a single 6×2.5 m garage with a pitched room so not a massive space.

Fan heater is fine. Stick it on a timer or Alexa plug and give it 20 minutes before you go in. You don’t need heat after the first set.

What suggestions for a heater?

You, training hard, should heat that space in no time 😉

You really need an olympic bar heater, cold bars are horrible when they’re really cold!

Gloves.

I don’t heat my garage gym at all. If doing cardio you’re hot in minutes anyway. If weights I start in at short and hoodie but within a few sets I’m normally warm enough to ditch the hoodie.

It helps if you can eliminate some draughts – screw on one of those rubber strips from toolstation to the bottom of the door so when shut it’s tight to the floor. Also if you can stick in a false ceiling from plasterboard with insulation above it that’ll help (obvs a bit more work). Flooring also helps – get some thick horse stall mats to go under your weights area – just if the concrete garage slab isn’t insulated out a damp proof membrane down first.

95% of the time it has the van in it, so fixed flooring and damp proof isn’t an option. Kayaks live on the beams so false ceiling also isn’t an option. Just something to take the chill off enough to get started – probably just a screwfix fan heater – and then turn it off once I have got going is probably enough to get through the peak of the winter. (And gloves).

This is my setup, not a fold up rack but fits with 50cm of the wall when all packed up. 1 tip I would share is, I don’t see the point of getting heavier than 10 kilo plates for most people. 10 kilos is a good weight to be adding to either end of the bar as you warm up, getting heavier plates just means taking plates off to put heavier ones on, its a minor faff, but it is faff and easier to just keep loading 10kilo plates. I have 25 and 20 kilo plates and I am going to sell them.

Although with the gyms being closed I have splashed out on much more equipment to really have quite a comprehensive home workout studio in my cellar now.

2 or 3 rounds of sprint distance ergathlon is a fantastic cardio workout.

Oooo you have a ski erg. I really fancy one but think I’ll have to make do with some battle ropes (analogue version – ha!).

Where did you get your plate holders from? Been looking around for some.

My rack is a basterdised free standing unit, the plateholders were part of it.

The skierg is a really hard piece of kit to get to grips with, the secret is to ignore the CrossFit instructional videos and find some proper skiing coach videos to get proper form that can be sustained for longer periods.

In contrast to MSP, I , quite like a 20kg plate for deadlifts. It seems like the right size 10kg seems too small

If you are strong, then maybe, but my deadlifts would be (including the bar weight)

2x5x40
5×60
5×80
5×100
5x5x120

I really like to warm up to my work sets, and just putting 10k on between each warmup set is so much easier than swapping 10’s and 20’s

@MSP What is that rack? The one we have has a fairly large footprint and your rack looks pretty neat.

My rack started off as one of these

https://www.capitalsports.de/Amazor-H-Basic-Rack.html

But as you have found with yours it took up way too much floor space, so I dismantled it, threw most of it away and got a couple of bars that worked to attach it too the wall.

I’ve just started lifting again after lockdown closed the gym. Am using a load of old cheap 1” stuff. No squat rack, but as I’m doing it at work I’ve been doing Zercher squats off the work benches – one of them slightly collapsed when I put 90kg onto it a few days ago though…

Just been using dumbbells for bench which feels weird but is probably better for my faulty shoulders. Deadlifts have been off a 90mm deficit due to the tiny plates which has made up for the lack of weight I can fit on the bar but I’ve ordered some almost full-size 20kg steel plates so I can go heavier.

Technically the max load on this barbell is 125kg but I’ve got two of these so if bend one I’ll know what the real world limit is – I don’t move terribly fast so the max force will be lower than for a snappier lifter.

So after some encouragement here, we installed the Again Faster folding rack this evening. Really impressed and more than I ever imagined having at home.

No excuses!

For some reason the IG integration with the forum has stopped but if anyone wants to see photos for home gym inspiration there are some here https://www.instagram.com/p/CHv04jOnE5N/?igshid=1apsutu5xvqpw

@ahsat, what is the folding aspect of this AF rack like? I’ll soon have a garage but the floor is a bit rougher than yours I think, so some vertical play when the folding would be needed.

@huckersneck – there is definitely some adjustment though not huge. Our garage floor is reasonably rough and with some wiggling of the bolts it works fine. It took me 2.59 min today to get it all set up and the bar on the rack. Sure that will get faster as I use it more – but let’s be honest that is still at least 20 mins less than it takes me to go to the gym! I’ll make a little video for you when I’m next in the garage.

@ahsat nice looking rack and space!

A good substitute for bench press, are chest dips(or just dips). Once you get good with them and can do enough reps per set, you can incorporate a belt to stick weight on. Best thing is they don’t require anyone spotting if you want to test limits.