bslchump Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 It's been a while since I've gone to the gym (I used to get a mega discount because of my apartment complex), and I'd like to get back into shape. Seeing as how I'm a college student and living entirely off of loans, a gym membership seems a little rough on my finances. I've checked the area (within 50 miles) and the only gyms near me have either abysmal reviews or are 40-50 bucks a month. So, being that I have a very large bedroom and can store equipment, I'd like to purchase my own basic equipment and save myself some cash in the long term. I don't know exactly what I'd need though. I got a set of adjustable dumbbells already that have 40 lbs of plates total. I figure I'll need to scope out a bench as well as a barbell with plates for bench presses (right?). Is there anything else I should look into getting? Link to post Share on other sites
Art_Critic Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 a chin up bar, maybe some bands. Link to post Share on other sites
ThaWholigan Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 a chin up bar, maybe some bands. These. Also, see if you can get an iron kettlebell. Bench is good too. I got myself a skipping rope, a gym ball, and want to get a medicine ball too. If you can fit that stuff in, then great. Try to get a decent mat too, so that you don't have to do it all on the hard floor. Link to post Share on other sites
fucpcg Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Buy a bowflex Link to post Share on other sites
Exit Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Depends on how much space you really have. A bench with all of the attachments will let you do plenty. A good setup will come with a pulley tower for doing pulldowns, a leg attachment in the front, a preacher curl pad for biceps, you can do squats from the other side of the weight rack, etc. I also like the pullup tower type of equipment but this will depend on your ceiling height. On these you can do pullups, tricep dips, leg and knee raises, a lot of important body weight movements instead of working with weights all the time. The doorway type pullup bar is option number 2 but won't let you do dips or leg raises in the same way. Stationary bikes are pretty compact and quiet these days if you want something for cardio. Link to post Share on other sites
USMCHokie Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Doesn't your school have a gym facility...? I am personally not a big fan of home gym setups of any kind... Link to post Share on other sites
Author bslchump Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 Doesn't your school have a gym facility...? I am personally not a big fan of home gym setups of any kind... I commute to my school, and take many classes online. It's not really viable to make the trip. Why do you hate home gym set ups? I'm really curious if they are actually bad, or if you just don't prefer them. If I had all the equipment that id use at the gym, what would be the problem? I've heard you can use dumbbells for a LOT of exercises, so wouldnt they sort of replace a lot of machinery as long as I had a wide array of plates? Link to post Share on other sites
USMCHokie Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Why do you hate home gym set ups? I'm really curious if they are actually bad, or if you just don't prefer them. If I had all the equipment that id use at the gym, what would be the problem? I've heard you can use dumbbells for a LOT of exercises, so wouldnt they sort of replace a lot of machinery as long as I had a wide array of plates? Primarily from the motivational standpoint. I personally find it very easy to say f*ck it if I'm not forced to pay monthly or make the trip out of the house to go to the gym. And it's also easy to half-ass your workouts, especially if you have everything going on at home. Additionally, there's a social aspect to the gym, at least for me. That's why I prefer the "fitness centers" over the hardcore bodybuilding gyms where talking is frowned upon...I personally hate the gym experience, so having a personal touch to it helps a lot (i.e., seeing the same folks each day and turning the gym into a social hour). Finally, the stuff that's reasonably affordable and intended for noncommercial use is generally poor quality equipment and benches that will eventually piss you off, especially if you're used to the higher quality stuff at gyms that don't start shaking when you lie on them. I won't start on what a piece of sh*t the Bowflex (or any similar "home gym" setups) feels like the first time you sit in it... You truly need a lot more than you think you will in terms of actual weights, benches, squat rack, etc than you might imagine... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author bslchump Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 Primarily from the motivational standpoint. I personally find it very easy to say f*ck it if I'm not forced to pay monthly or make the trip out of the house to go to the gym. And it's also easy to half-ass your workouts, especially if you have everything going on at home. Additionally, there's a social aspect to the gym, at least for me. That's why I prefer the "fitness centers" over the hardcore bodybuilding gyms where talking is frowned upon...I personally hate the gym experience, so having a personal touch to it helps a lot (i.e., seeing the same folks each day and turning the gym into a social hour). Finally, the stuff that's reasonably affordable and intended for noncommercial use is generally poor quality equipment and benches that will eventually piss you off, especially if you're used to the higher quality stuff at gyms that don't start shaking when you lie on them. I won't start on what a piece of sh*t the Bowflex (or any similar "home gym" setups) feels like the first time you sit in it... You truly need a lot more than you think you will in terms of actual weights, benches, squat rack, etc than you might imagine... That's understandable. Personally I dislike the social atmosphere at gyms. I'd much rather just get in and out without anyone talking to me. Having my stuff at home would make me 10x more likely to workout than having to drive to the gym again. There were many days I said, "screw it" because I didn't want to drive there and go through to whole process. Just different I suppose. I don't really plan on getting a bowflex or any other piece of "all in 1" machinery thats been advertised. They all kind of reek of BS to me. I just want some solid weights that I can scale up as I progress. Link to post Share on other sites
USMCHokie Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Alright, fair enough. A few questions... (1) What is your weight training experience...? (2) What is your bedroom like (size, what floor of the building/house, etc.) (3) What type of training do you normal do? Question 3 is probably the most important, as your equipment set will depend greatly on how you train... Link to post Share on other sites
futuregopher Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 You should probably find a workout plan first, then see what kind of equipment it needs. Chances are that a good workout will need at the very least a bench press, squat rack, and pullup bar and a few dumbbells/barbells. But at that point, you might as well spend $40 a month on a membership. Just because it has bad ratings doesn't mean it's a bad gym. My gym isn't that big but it has literally EVERYTHING I need. I can do my bench presses, squats, deadlifts, military presses, shoulder presses, pullups, lat pulldowns, incline bench press, things with ez bar curl, dumbbells from 5-150 lbs, pec dec, reverse pec dec rear delts, tricep extensions, cable cross machine, dips, barbell curls, back extensions, t bar row, bent overrows, lawnmowers, leg press everything I need to do in my workout, I can do at my gym. It would cost me probably a couple of thousand to mimic that in my home so I just spend 100 every 3 months on a gym membership. Only $1 a day to achieve health benefits that are priceless man..... Link to post Share on other sites
Author bslchump Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 Alright, fair enough. A few questions... (1) What is your weight training experience...? (2) What is your bedroom like (size, what floor of the building/house, etc.) (3) What type of training do you normal do? Question 3 is probably the most important, as your equipment set will depend greatly on how you train... 1) I think it's a little rash to call what I have "experience." Though my roommate has lifted for years (he's very knowledgeable. He's just out of town right now.) so I hope he can give me some pointers. 2) I'm on the 3rd floor of a house remodeled into an apartment. My room is almost 20x20, and I have a nifty corner under the window where equipment would store nicely. 3) Again, I feel silly for calling what I used to do "training", as I was never incredibly into weight lifting. I did some basic exercises with what the gym provided and I saw results incredibly fast. Being so inexperienced, I don't actually recall the names of the stuff I did, but I'll try to remember: Bench presses Curls Leg presses lat pull downs(is this a thing?) push ups Shoulder presses Rows (The one where you stick your feet out and pull the handles to your chest) Some sort of tricep thing some sort of forearm thing running for as long as I could after doing these exercises I pretty much just did all of those every time I went. I'm sure you can pick it apart, but I was kind of on my own having to figure things out. They all seemed like exercises I could do with a basic set of free weights, but I could be wrong? Link to post Share on other sites
Exit Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 The exercises you listed can all be done with the good bench setup with the attachments like I described above (well, minus rows, but just substitute bent over barbell rows). There's a big difference between "home gym" type stuff and just "working out at home". Any of the gimmicky stuff like the all in one machines and whatever else, I agree those are usually garbage. But a solid set of weights is a solid set of weights whether it's at the gym or in a bedroom. Or if you want to save some money and make sure you aren't buying exercise equipment that turns into a clothes rack like what happens to a lot of people, you can do an awful lot with just body weight and household objects. Prove to yourself that you're going to stick to a routine before buying equipment. Link to post Share on other sites
Emilia Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 (edited) I've checked the area (within 50 miles) and the only gyms near me have either abysmal reviews I'm curious to hear what you mean by this exactly. When I train I look for the cheapest gym close to work or my home that has all the equipment and I visit them in person before I pay anything. I've read what you do usually and I'd say most gyms have the type of equipment you use so most of them must be suitable for your needs, even the cheap ones? Mine is £19.95 a month all in, about $27 I think. I thought you would need to spend about 2 years' worth of that on decent equipment, especiallly considering you prefer presses and cables to free weights. Edited July 1, 2012 by Emilia Link to post Share on other sites
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