My wife has finally agreed to give up our garage for a weightroom for me [img]smile.gif[/img] I currently occupy a small bedroom in which I have the following :
Standard Bench - Incline, Flat, Decline
Standard Bar
EZ-curl Standard bar
4 x starlock dumbells
Misc small dumbells ( 5lbs, 8lbs 10lbs )
Approximately 160lbs of plates
I've been working out at my local Balleys for the last two years or so and have really outgrown my equipment. On the advice of a lot of people here I've started doing squats, deadlifts, dips, chins, etc and have stopped doing as much isolation work. This has helped me reach, what I consider to be, decent strengh. I squat 265 for reps, deadlift 305, can do 15 dips, etc.
My budget is approximately $4,000.00 which needs to include a treadmill and an eliptical trainer which my wife says is a nessesity. I guess this leaves me with approximately $1,5000 for weights and such.
I know I need a power rack, new bench, at least 300LB olympic ( 400LBS most likely ) a dip station, and a lat pulldown / seated row station.
Any and all suggetions will be greately appreciated. I don't even know where to start. in case it helps, I live in South Jersey.
For $2500 (4000 - 1500) I don't think you can get a treadmill AND an eliptical trainer of decent quality. A well built treadmill cost about $3000 alone.
If you're serious about maintaining your fit lifestyle, go to www.elitefts.com and check out the power racks there. Since the rack will be the focus of things for squats, presses, dips, etc., a high quality rack will do you well.
If the budget is thin, go to www.jesupgym.com and check out things there. Pretty good quality for the price.
Sorry to hear your wife thinks a treadmill/eliptical is essential (buy her a really good pair of shoes and send her outside??) but if it's necessary I think www.usedgymequipment.com has a selection of good quality stuff at reduced prices.
Skip the lat-pulldown machine and buy yourself a chin-up bar, do negatives if you cannot do full chin-ups.
Leave the cable station until the budget allows and replace seated cable rows with barbell rows
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A good site with an article about setting up a home gym is at www.dolfzine.com. You can get a power rack with a dip station and a high/low pulley. As far as your weight set goes, getting a good bar is the most importan thing. Eleiko makes the best bars, but they are very expensive. York is very good and less expensive than the Eleiko. A great value is the Texas Power Bar. I have one that is rated for 1500lbs and it cost me about $160. What ever you do, don't use one of those bars from the olmpic set that the sporting goods store sells included with a bench. Those are usually cheap Chinese bars that will not handle even moderate lbs. Good luck.
Look into one of those combination dip/pullup bar stations. On some of them you can even do leg raises. I have looked in magazines at them and I think you will be looking at anywhere between 300-400 for a good one
as for the weights, modell's/sports authority sells 300 lbs olympic weight sets for around $100-$130.
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If i have money, these're wut i'll get:
1. A Bench Press station (an adjustable bench & the rack).
2. An Olympic Bar complete with the plates.
3. A Squat Rack.
4. A Swiss Ball.
5. Dumbbells set.
6. A Mat.
7. A Dip station with an attached Pull-up/Chin-up bar.
8. A nice pair of shoes for cardio/HIIT.
That's all, nothing else. Wut about doing cardio/HIIT? Well, just go outside.
Agree re: the swiss ball.. There is alot you can do on them, and it helps with stability of the core.. It's amazing how many machines they can replace..!
Thanks a lot for all of the input, especially all of the links you guys provided. I believe that www.thefitnessfactory.com will offer me the best combination of quality and price. I have taken all of your suggestions and played on that website and it looks like my target of $1,500.00 will allow me to get most, if not all, of the items which were suggested.
I'm working on convincing my wife to get a high quality eliptical rather than lower quality but both items. I agree with Bill's suggestion and will get her a nice pair of sneakers and a sweatshirt and send her outside with me [img]smile.gif[/img] I personally like a eliptical trainer every few days at the gym but prefer to run outside irregardless of the weather.
Thaks again for all of the suggestions and as soon as I get the project complete ( should be by end of this year ) I'll post some pictures.
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