Wednesday, 1 July 2015

Top 5 Most Important Pieces Of Equipment For A Garage Gym



1.  Olympic Barbell 

An Olympic Barbell will probably be the piece of equipment you use most in a garage gym (along with the weight plates on the bar).  Buying a standard barbell is a waste of time if you are serious about training, they do not last a long time and they cannot take a lot of weight.  There are seemingly endless exercises you can do with an Olympic barbell.  A 7ft bar weighs 20kg, a 6ft bar weights 15kg, and a 5 foot bar weighs 10kg (a lot of bars are said to weigh more or less than what they actually are when you weigh them.  The Central portion of the bar is knurled to help the lifter maintain a solid grip.  If you are buying an Olympic barbell or even a standard barbell make sure it comes with collars or else buy them separately.  Do not buy a low quality barbell.  Women's bars are also designed for smaller hands.

2. Weight Plates 

There is no point having a barbell without weight plates.  General hypertrophy training and strength training are made from cast iron.  If you are interested in olympic lifting buy bumper plates because if you drop regular Olympic plates you, your weights and your floor are screwed.  If you do not like the noise of regular cast iron weight plates you can buy rubber coated plates at a slightly higher price.  You can buy weight plate sets (some even come with a barbell) so you can save money.  Weight plates come in all different weights and sizes. 

3. Power Rack/Squat Rack

You need a power rack or a squat rack for heavy shoulder presses, squats and other exercises.  A power rack is definitely the better option as it has a pull up bar and spotter arms.  Spotter arms may save you from a serious injury while squatting or bench pressing.  Spotter arms allow you to bench press and squat safely.

4.  Weight Bench 

Most people wont need an adjustable bench so a flat utility bench should do the job.  The main exercise you will need a bench for is bench press.  A bench is used for a lot of hypertrophy exercises.  A low quality bench is a very bad idea.  Keep in mind the bench has to hold your bodyweight and the weight of whatever piece of equipment you are using.

5. Dumbbells

There are so many exercises that can be done with dumbbells.  Dumbbells are great tools to have as part of your gym.  Dumbbells can be more joint friendly than barbells.  Selectabells are probably the best option for a home gym and they will save you a lot of money and they take up very little space, they are easily adjustable (simply rotate the dial and lift).  Dumbbell exercises can help minimise strength imbalances. Dumbbells are safer than barbells for example if you fail a rep on bench press you can just drop them on the floor.  You can also do a lot of kettlebell exercises with a dumbbell.  



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