Home Gym

I would recommend that you cut away from buying at a shop, way to expensive....

I got my weight bench plus 120KG of free weights for $600 in a lawn sale, new would have cost me about $1100. It was only used about 3 times so was in really good nick.

It did take me awhile to find one in good condition 2nd hand but you save yourself a lot of money if you can find it on your own if you have the time to drive around looking at ppls junk in most cases.
 
a heavy duty power rack, bench, olympic bar and 400kg worth of plates is that is needed for a home gym. probably cost under $2k easy.
 
That Workout World model is expensive.
This model has more features, and pobably better overall and it's close to 1/2 the price of the Workout World model:

http://www.gymdirect.com.au/item/Power-Motion-Multi-Gym-with-Leg-Press/639.htm

For the same price, you could get this:
http://www.gymdirect.com.au/item/6-Package-deal---Power-Rack-Smith-Machine-+-FID-bench-+-Preacher-curl-+-Leg-developer-+-Olympic-bar-+-145kg-Olympic-Weights-$2595/239.htm

Or, even this for cheaper:
http://www.gymdirect.com.au/item/460--Leverage-Gym---100kg-Free-Weights-offer/558.htm



Home gyms on eBay are usually bad quality, this one is a low quality gym.

My suggestion is to look for something that is welded together, not bolted.

Regards
Marty

No home gym is fully welded, even comercial equipment is bolted together.
It would be nice to have fully welded, but it would cost 5 times as much and no market will pay that.

a heavy duty power rack, bench, olympic bar and 400kg worth of plates is that is needed for a home gym. probably cost under $2k easy.

The best advice ever !!!
Some dumbbells to would be good.
And a quality high/low pulley would complete it.
 
You can get a very good whole body workout, with just a few cheap things. All this takes up very little space, all up around $50 - $100.

An exercise ball for core exercises.

A yellow or white pages book for calf raises.

A pack of ankle weights for legs, even for adding weight to core exercises.

One dumbell for arms and shoulders, you may want to get one with a few discs or a couple of different sized rubber coated ones.

And for lat pull downs, you probably have a tree or something in the backyard you can do them on, otheriwse it's not hard to rig something up with a bit of treated pine or hardwood from bunnings.

edit: And bench press is free! It's called pushups, and you can put your feet up on a chair while doing them, if you want to basically bench press almost all of your body weight. Another option is to do them while a child sits on your back, fun for the whole family.
 
You can get a very good whole body workout, with just a few cheap things. All this takes up very little space, all up around $50 - $100.

An exercise ball for core exercises.

A yellow or white pages book for calf raises.

A pack of ankle weights for legs, even for adding weight to core exercises.

One dumbell for arms and shoulders, you may want to get one with a few discs or a couple of different sized rubber coated ones.

And for lat pull downs, you probably have a tree or something in the backyard you can do them on, otheriwse it's not hard to rig something up with a bit of treated pine or hardwood from bunnings.

Wow ! Talk about been practical !

I actually want something a little more sophisticated ...
 
What about if I put all these items in a red box with a demonstration dvd, label everything
"EXTREME FITNESS 3000", charge you $999.95, and courier it to your door?
 
That Workout World model is expensive.
This model has more features, and pobably better overall and it's close to 1/2 the price of the Workout World model:

http://www.gymdirect.com.au/item/Power-Motion-Multi-Gym-with-Leg-Press/639.htm

For the same price, you could get this:
http://www.gymdirect.com.au/item/6-Package-deal---Power-Rack-Smith-Machine-+-FID-bench-+-Preacher-curl-+-Leg-developer-+-Olympic-bar-+-145kg-Olympic-Weights-$2595/239.htm
.

It does seem cheaper than workout world quality wise by looking at pics !
 
Oh, I get it, I thought you just wanted to keep in shape, you want to buy something that is also visually impressive.

Well if you order a EXTREME FITNESS 3000 package, with the $1500 saved you could buy a big lcd and a dvd player! It can also be used to play movies or video games, when you aren't watching the demonstration dvd that is.
 
a heavy duty power rack, bench, olympic bar and 400kg worth of plates is that is needed for a home gym. probably cost under $2k easy.

+1 so now 3 votes for this one. Its on the money.

seriously pulley machines have there places but most people could achieve FAR FAR more with a decent free weights setup. The only times i would consider a pulley is maybe part of rehab or for pro body builders trying to really really isolate something.

Machines restrict your rain of motion and tend to let you limp through with out actually getting that much stronger because they are carrying the stability of the weight. Most home machines don't go high enough either, you will quickly be able to 'bench' or 'shoulder press' more than the 50-60kg listed on machines because its not the same as doing those with free weights.

A power cage will let you safely do squats, sholder press, dead lifts (don't need a cage but its nice to load the weights in the air), most will have a nice wide chin up bar as well. Then you get a bench (with out j hooks) and slide it into the cage and you can do bench or seated press with out a spotter. You can also buy the weight as you need it, coming from a low base you will probably be able to survive on 120kg of plates for the first year.

My current program
Day 1
Front squat
Chin Ups
Bench Press

Day 2
Barbell row
Shoulder Press
Deadlifts

generally a few ramp ups of 5 reps to each and 3 working sets of again 5. All of which revolve around the power cage. Stick to these sort of lifts and you are working out many many muscles at once, always using your 'core', and gaining significant practicle strength. BTW even chicks should do these lifts you don't get 'huge' when you do your first bench press size (including muscle) is a combiniation of diet and excercise.
 
I much prefer attending a gym. I've got friends at the gym, we train together sometimes, chat (briefly) at other times. Some of these people I've met at the gym and weren't friends beforehand.

Frankly, I'd find a home gym a little boring and not very motivating.
 
Personally, I'd purchase a bench, barbell, dumbbells and an EZ-curl bar with different weight sizes for now. Resistance training is hard and most people buy the equipment, but never use it more than a couple of times as it takes time to see results.
Focus on your core lifts, this will get your strength up, which is what you'll need to gain size.

Those home gyms are not worth the time, money or effort and are in my opinion for experienced lifters who need to tone.
You'll get everything you need from a bench with leg curl.

Focus on the big 5 which are

1/ Deadlift
2/ Squats
3/ Bench press
4/ Military press
5/ Rows

This will make yout big and strong, provided your diet is in check.
I'd say that 80% of your results will come from diet and rest.
The rest will come from hard work with a strict training regime and ALOT of time.
 
Through all these recommendations, no ones stopped to ask what Success is actually trying to achieve from a gym setup. Are you trying to gain weight, lose weight, rehabilitate an injury, something else? Surely this would alter what might be recommended.

In most cases, quality/quantity of food intake is imperative too.
 
Through all these recommendations, no ones stopped to ask what Success is actually trying to achieve from a gym setup. Are you trying to gain weight, lose weight, rehabilitate an injury, something else? Surely this would alter what might be recommended.

In most cases, quality/quantity of food intake is imperative too.

Good advice.

Not everybody wants to be super strong or super fit.
Some people don't have much time or experience to work out and don't want the inconvenience of changing weight plates on barbells.
Simple and convenient is sometimes best for some people.

Equipment choice can make a difference in making working out a habit.
The easier and more effective equipment is, the more likely someone is to keep using it regularly.

Free weights will always be the best choice and should be a part of every home gym.
However, if someone knows nothing about the hundreds of variations of free weights exercises, and really does not want to get into it too seriously, then a multi purpose, good quality home gym could be a better choice if it means they are more likely to use it consistently.
 
I will also jump on the wagon here and agree that machines are a waste of time.

Free weights is the only way.. For a starting point, a barbell and weight plates is all you need.

Also, consider this.

Get a used Beer Keg or a few, and fill them with different amounts of water. 10kg, 20kg and so on. Even at a light weight they are hard to handle (splashing water). They will work true strength, stabilizers, core etc.

Just a few exercises you can do with a keg:

Squat, bent over row, Press off floor (or bench press), lunges, press over head, pick up off floor (deadlift style or between legs), walk with keg pressed over head etc etc.

The reps and sets can only be determined with the outcome you desire.

Sandbags and kettlebells are also cheap, fun and a good starting point.

Point of Fact here:

Old time strongman were and still are stronger then current day weightlifters even with all the technical machines, equipment and drugs.

Think about what they were eating and lifting in those days, and that is your answer.

I also fixed my chronic back problem of 3 years by lifting freeweights :eek: exactly what all the specialists told me not to do:p
 
I will also jump on the wagon here and agree that machines are a waste of time.

Free weights is the only way.. For a starting point, a barbell and weight plates is all you need.

Also, consider this.

Get a used Beer Keg or a few, and fill them with different amounts of water. 10kg, 20kg and so on. Even at a light weight they are hard to handle (splashing water). They will work true strength, stabilizers, core etc.

Just a few exercises you can do with a keg:

Squat, bent over row, Press off floor (or bench press), lunges, press over head, pick up off floor (deadlift style or between legs), walk with keg pressed over head etc etc.

The reps and sets can only be determined with the outcome you desire.

Sandbags and kettlebells are also cheap, fun and a good starting point.

Point of Fact here:

Old time strongman were and still are stronger then current day weightlifters even with all the technical machines, equipment and drugs.

Think about what they were eating and lifting in those days, and that is your answer.

I also fixed my chronic back problem of 3 years by lifting freeweights :eek: exactly what all the specialists told me not to do:p

Awesome post is awesome :cool:
 
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