Tips On Building Your Own Home Gym
By admin on Jan 18, 2009 with Comments 0
Tired of taking trips out to the gym and seeing guys curling in the squat rack? Don't feel like waiting on equipment and want the convenience of working out in your very own home?
Want to save money compared to the cost of a gym membership? Read on to discover tips on building your own home gym.
Must-Have Equipment
One item that every solid weight room must have is a sturdy squat rack. With a quality squat rack, you can do all of the "big 3" lifts: squats, deadlifts, and bench press. A quality power rack will typically run you $300 to $600. The side catches on the squat rack can be used to protect you in case of a missed lift, allowing you to do squats without a spotter (you should always have a spotter when doing heavy barbell bench press).
Another highly recommended item is an adjustable flat bench. From an adjustable bench, you can do a variety of exercises ranging from dumbbell rows to dips and bench press. If you want to do barbell bench, you can just slide the bench into your squat rack, and you're good to go.
A Form of Varying Resistance Is Essential
Variable resistance is the core of developing in weight training. You absolutely have to increase the weight workout-to-workout to gain the size and strength benefits that come from weightlifting.
So what are the two main options of providing this resistance in a home gym? Machines are generally out of the question for home gyms, as they can be quite expensive by themselves.
A nice set of dumbbells is a great way to start out. Ideally, a nice home gym would have dumbbells ranging in resistance from 10 pounds to around 100 pounds, but dumbbells can get quite expensive toward the upper end of the resistance range. For example, a set of 100lb dumbbells can cost around $200 for the pair.
PowerBlock Personal Trainer Adjustable 2.5 to 50-Pounds per Dumbbell Set
- List Price: $418.00
- Sale Price: $321.00
A solution to the high costs can be found in adjustable Powerblock dumbbells. These are dumbbells that have insertable microplates. Simply by adding or removing these plates, the resistance in each dumbbell can be varied anywhere from 10 pounds to 100 pounds. These are an economical solution and are great for beginner to intermediate lifters who want to work out at home.
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