Building a School Gym in China, From Scratch; What Stuff Needed?

[ucimigrate]

Hi Everyone,

1. I will work for a small school in China, maybe 30 students.

2. One of my tasks is to build a gym, from scratch. I just want the basic stuff to strengthen people who have not lifted before.

3. Can you guys recommend a list of essential stuff?

Right now, I know I will need:

- a barbell set, with different weight plates
- good clips, that will not break easily
-

4. Any opinions about the FreeSpotter? Did it work as advertised?

5. A place nearby has always offered me a discount. Any way to tell if they are good?

mndfit.com

6. Any way to tell if used stuff can be good or junk?

In my opinion, it is low risk. As long as used stuff is cheap, then no problem if it breaks. Just buy newer stuff.

 

[Hyde]

Very cool opportunity!

Can you tell us how many students will be training together at once?

Approximate age ranges?

Do they play any sports yet or is the intention for better sports performance, or is this for more general exercise/physical education class?

Any space restrictions?

 

[ucimigrate]

Ages 16 - 18?

I think I can train ten at once.

They want basketball.

 

[Hyde]

Well, you didn’t discuss space you’ll have so this is going to vary based on that, but you will probably want to have your weight room set up with multiples of everything wherever possible - it won’t do anything for the flow of things to have one person lifting and 9 onlookers. Being able to have 2+ people doing their sets at a time will dramatically speed that up, and the group can be further split into 2 different exercise groups that will switch off when a movement has been completed (ie the group doing chin-ups switches with the group doing db presses).

Dumbbells are very expensive but they offer a ton of use and versatility in a group setting. And each individual pair can let TWO different lifters do things like One-Arm DB Rows, Weighted Dips, Goblet Squats or Lunges at the same time.

Having something like a CrossFit-style rig is ideal if you have to buy new. Especially wall-mounted if space is a concern. But if you can get some cheap used power racks from somewhere somehow that could end up being more cost effective. Either should give your lifters the ability to do chin-ups, squatting, pressing relatively safely (if in the rig they should always be lifting with partners or get spotter arm attachments).

If you are going to have them doing cleans or deadlifts you’re going to need to make lifting platforms out of wood and rubber stallmat. These can also be used to bolt power racks down to for stability if you go that route.

If they are going to be doing cleans & snatches you will need bumper plates. Otherwise you can go all cast/milled plates for cost savings. Milled are much more accurate - cast iron is no guarantee of weight accuracy at all.

Trapbars can be found pretty cheap and can be a much safer option for deadlifting for the younger groups. It builds a lot of muscle in important athletic areas and helps keep new lifters from hurting themselves as easily as having a barbell in front of them.

I would cover most of the lifting area with rubber floor mat.

You’ll also want some adjustable benches probably, but flat ones are much cheaper.

Order lots of smaller bands when the time comes. And a few larger ones for assisted pull-ups. But you can use the bands for all kinds of mobility, warmup, and stables like Facepulls and Tricep Extensions. These are especially important if your dumbbells are very limited but a must either way. They can be hung on a rack or the wall out of the way and cost very little for what they give.