Basic Home Gym

T-Bone

T-Bone

Banned
I want to have a "home gym". In my case it will be an apartment gym. So I'll probally be banging into it alot. I don't want too much equipment, just enough to do basic movements. Deadlift, squats, Press. I don't want to spend more that $300. Is it possible to get something like that for that price?. What I was thinking of is a bench with barbell and at least 300 pounds of weights. Maybe I'll have to get less weight and just improvise. I usually go to the gym, but I now have the mentality of, "Why pay to rent the equipment when I could own it?"...I rent an apartment because I can't afford a home. So I'm gonna stop paying the gym as soon as I can find a good deal and some basic equipment. I don't need much to have a good workout. I have my name in at play it again sports right now and they have equipment I want on a list.
 
I think your best bet would be to hit up craigslist and other various selling points. Most new benches with that amount of weight will be somewhat high (the benches themselves aren't too bad but weight can be annoying.) Also stuff like Olympic will be pricier but unbeatable quality. There are a lot of all in one gyms for 200-300 bucks that look solid but can easily be a pos. Just be careful before you buy.
 
There are some good deals on Ebay but they all want you to come pick up the stuff yourself and most are halfway across the country for me. Play It Again Sports may also come through for me. They have a lot of used equipment, just no used benches right now, but I gave my name and what I wanted and they said they would add it to their "search list" and if something comes in would give me a call.
 
Yea shipping on ebay is way to expensive (which is why craigslist would work well since it will be your area.) Play it Again Sport sis a great resource as well.
 
Here's my home gym and how much it cost:

Bench - free from a friend. Theres benches at the dump you can get for free or really cheap in classifieds.

squat rack - $180 with free shipping from NYbarbells

Olympic set of weights - bar + 300lbs will run you around $200 i beleive. find it used at a local store and bam.

you could also go into gyms and ask if they have any old equipment to sell.

craigslist is a good idea tho
 
Just a thought, but you won't be able to squat with a setup like that, at least without some body contortion to get under the bar.
Personally, I think you'd be better off with a power rack and adjustable free bench (or dumbbell bench or whatever you want to call it). It'll give you more flexibility as to what movements you can do. Craigslist would definitely be your best bet though, as OCCFan said.
Just my .02
 
What do you guys think about the bench pictured?. $40 I think is a good deal, but then again I don't know that much about equipment...All I need is something that works and I can do basic compound movements with. So if I get this for $40, all I would need next is a set of weights. I don't want to get the first thing I see, but for $40 what the hell right?. Plus, I have never used craigs list and don't know how fast things sell on their. Should I jump on it or not?. Oh yeah I would have to find a squat rack also but I bet I could find that pretty cheap also. Either that or just improvise on leg work and figure something out.
 
What all comes with that setup. Honestly that will get you by but IMO its worth putting a little extra money into a sturdy setup. From that you will get the bench press (and all the various exercises you can do with the bar) but the leg extension and LAT pull down are going to be iffy.

Depending on how much space you have I think your best bet is to get a used power rack and then just a cheap adjustable flat bench. It will take some time to find but in the end I think it wills ave you money (and give you a bunch of training options.)

I just checked out NYBarbells and if they offer free shipping on items than that may be a good thing to look into.
 
My first weight bench was pretty much just like what you've got in those pictures - yeah it got the job done, but it was only qualified to bear like a total of 300lbs - that's lifter and weight together. So I could only use 100lbs at a time on it back then - not good. So, at the very least, make sure this bench can hold a weight that will be beneficial to you.
For $40, it's not bad. But I'd still want that power rack and only use this for bench presses
 
T-Bone said:
I decided against that bench. The leg extension only holds 100 pounds. Girly bench.
Click to expand...

Good call man. Wait until something shows that will give you what you want. No point in shelling out money on something that will not offer you anything.
 
Well, if you want my opinion, this bench at costco is pretty good for the price(includes shipping cost):


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Then you can hit up sports authority or modells, wait for one of their 25% off coupons(modells will take sa coupons as long as they arent copies) and grab an olympic barbell set for around 100 bucks and you've met your price range. Right now modells has a 300lb olympic set onsale for 159, its got 45lb plates, and has the grip cutouts which makes the weights easier to move around.
 
No problem, feel free to rep me, :rofl:, but seriously hope it helps you when shopping around. I have a very similar bench, and its pretty solid. Im not sure what official rating the leg attachment has, but Im sure you can stack on some plates, and it can be setup for either olympic hole or standard hole(theres adapter sleeves, at least with mine) so its pretty universal.

Just to let you in on another little secret, if you didnt know, essentially one company makes everything thats out there on the fitness market(with a few exceptions) Icon fitness.

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So you can look around and find the same exact products at different retail stores, for varying prices, just labeled with different brand names. ie: weider, golds, proform, etc.

They pretty much stand behind whatever they sell, over time, I had an issue once with a few missing small parts and then again with something else where a pulley went bad, and they sent me the parts no questions asked, all I had to do was call in, explain the issues, and give the serial numbers. Its nice to deal with a company that cares about quality and customer satisfaction.
 
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