home gym vs proper gym

bungaro79

have been a member of local hotel gym for past two years and my membership is ending next month and i'm trying to decide whether to renew or buy some equipment to use at home. my membership is €380 for part time hours (which is fine for week days) but lately i haven't been going more than twice a week so i'm thinking stocking up on a home gym might be a better idea??
from reading other threads it seems like adjustable free weights and a flat or incline bench are the essentials to have and i suppose they are a long term investment. www.irish-lifting.com seems to have alot of good stuff to start with. i cycle alot during the week and do jiu jitsu twice a week too so its not as if the gym is the only exercise i do.

so for those in the know what would ye recommend, stick with the hotel gym or start buying gear for home?!?!

cheers in advance!

the drifter

Unless you can buy a power rack for at home id stick with the gym...

rubadub

the drifter wrote: »

Unless you can buy a power rack for at home id stick with the gym...

But what if his hotel gym doesn't have a power rack? in quite a few threads people are saying their gym does not even have a squat rack.

itsallaboutheL

rubadub wrote: »

But what if his hotel gym doesn't have a power rack? in quite a few threads people are saying their gym does not even have a squat rack.

a gym without a power rack is misnomer.

squod

There's a gym in Wexford, Whitford house hotel. Has a rack, cable stacks and even oly dumbells. If this kind of thing isn't your gym then stay at home IMO.

A home gym can be done for reasonable money, or use the nearest pay-as-you-go 'till your own is set up.

papajimsmooth

Im also considering setting up my own home gym as none of he gyms near me have a squat rack and im sick of smith machines. I was thinking maybe this and this to et me started?

the drifter

rubadub wrote: »

But what if his hotel gym doesn't have a power rack? in quite a few threads people are saying their gym does not even have a squat rack.

I was thinking of safety...the op stated free weights and a bench...im assuming a barbell somewhere in this mix...doing bench at home by yourself without a power rack is suicide in my opinion....but hey what do i know....

itsallaboutheL

the drifter wrote: »

...im amusing a barbell somewhere in this mix...

are you that desperate!!

:pac:

the drifter

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

are you that desperate!!

:pac:

ha! stupid spell checker!

ray jay

papajimsmooth wrote: »

Im also considering setting up my own home gym as none of he gyms near me have a squat rack and im sick of smith machines. I was thinking maybe this and this to et me started?

don't forget a bench

the drifter wrote: »

doing bench at home by yourself without a power rack is suicide in my opinion....but hey what do i know....

don't collar the weights and it's not a problem

the drifter

ray jay wrote: »

don't collar the weights and it's not a problem

Please explain?

smellslikeshoes

the drifter wrote: »

Please explain?

If you get stuck in an uncomfortable situation tilt the bar and slide plates off.

the drifter

smellslikeshoes wrote: »

If you get stuck in an uncomfortable situation tilt the bar and slide plates off.

Sigh....

so your banging out a couple of reps on say 90kg...made up of a 20kg a 10kg and a 5kg either side...your not dave tate so your technique isnt the best...suddenly you feel a bit tired...and one side of the bar starts to dip...the plates start to slide and you panic...your start to flap your legs around to try and regain balance but it doesnt work...suddenly there are plates and bars and flying everywhere...you forget to let go of one side of the bar...oh dear youve done yourself an injury...and when the dust settles you realise in horror that your favourite kitten "cuddles" was walking under the bench...she has been crushed by a 20kg plate...such a sad loss


the moral of the story...collar your weights kids or the kitty gets it...

/reality collar your weights or its a great way to injure yourself or worse someone else...this applies to both the gym and at home...

smellslikeshoes

Don't sigh at me I was just explaining what he meant.:rolleyes:

the drifter

smellslikeshoes wrote: »

Don't sigh at me I was just explaining what he meant.:rolleyes:

sigh

Dazd_N_Confusd

the drifter wrote: »

Sigh....

so your banging out a couple of reps on say 90kg...made up of a 20kg a 10kg and a 5kg either side...your not dave tate so your technique isnt the best...suddenly you feel a bit tired...and one side of the bar starts to dip...the plates start to slide and you panic...your start to flap your legs around to try and regain balance but it doesnt work...suddenly there are plates and bars and flying everywhere...you forget to let go of one side of the bar...oh dear youve done yourself an injury...and when the dust settles you realise in horror that your favourite kitten "cuddles" was walking under the bench...she has been crushed by a 20kg plate...such a sad loss


the moral of the story...collar your weights kids or the kitty gets it...

/reality collar your weights or its a great way to injure yourself or worse someone else...this applies to both the gym and at home...

That was a nice rant but all that carnage you mentioned is still preferable to death.

OP, I'm in the same boat as you and I plan on getting about 400 lbs of weights and that's it. Sure, a bench and squat rack would be great but there's a tonne of exercises you can do with just a barbell. If you have the motivatation you can become very strong with just a barbell.

the drifter

Dazd_N_Confusd wrote: »

That was a nice rant but all that carnage you mentioned is still preferable to death.

OP, I'm in the same boat as you and I plan on getting about 400 lbs of weights and that's it. Sure, a bench and squat rack would be great but there's a tonne of exercises you can do with just a barbell. If you have the motivatation you can become very strong with just a barbell.

the kitten died god dam it!!!!!!


400lbs of plates and a barbell? ok ill agree there are plenty of things you can do with a barbell relatively safely but if you can horse 400lbs up onto your back and squat it without racks then your my new hero :P

Dazd_N_Confusd

the drifter wrote: »

the kitten died god dam it!!!!!!


400lbs of plates and a barbell? ok ill agree there are plenty of things you can do with a barbell relatively safely but if you can horse 400lbs up onto your back and squat it without racks then your my new hero :P

Haha, I wish.

I think I'll just stick with power cleans and front squats for the moment.

smcclaw

If you're happy that you'll remain motivated training at home and that your technique is sufficiently developed to allow you to train safely on your own then go with the home version. IMO the benefits include:

- No time wasted commuting to the gym
- Should pay for itself within a few years compared to the cumulative cost of membership to a gym.
- Train whenever you like regardless of opening hours
- No queuing behind other people to get to the equipment
- Have only the equipment you need

Regarding motivation you might want to consider whether you trained alone or with others in the gym, whether you'll be training solo at home etc. I think many people need to learn how to lift hard in a gym and learn the discipline and focus there before moving to a home gym set up. Can be too easy to always train at only low/moderate intensity if you have only ever trained on your own at home. Obviously there's always exceptions.

I set up my home gym a while back with a squat rack, bench, lifting platform and a bunch of bumper plates. All very simple and will last a lifetime. You can even use the rack as a roman chair so can do everything I want with the minimal amount of equipment

MrPain

the drifter wrote: »

Please explain?

Heres a vid of what happens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYcGwMht6L8

You judge whether it's a good or bad thing

bungaro79

thanks for the replies so far all!!

just to give a quick run down on the local gym, it has basically 1/2 cardio machines, 1/4 different weight machines and 1/4 free weights. no power rack, no squat rack, so don't think alot of ye will be impressed with it! i usually train on my own so it wouldn't be an issue to train at home. the pool is handy after a work out or in the morning but for the price i'm thinking for replies here that i might be better off buying stuff for home.

any other places (around cork if possible) that i can buy home equipment??

the drifter

Irish lifting deliver on oders over 500 i think? you would be suprised where 1000 would go with irish lifitng and are def worth a call...myslef, podge and a few others have kitted out our home gyms from them...and im tempted to put in another order soon :P paying the money for decent kit for home is well worth the investment in my opinion...

rubadub

the drifter wrote: »

Irish lifting deliver on oders over 500 i think? you would be suprised where 1000 would go with irish lifitng

A couple of hundred could get you kitted out better than the sounds of that hotel gym!

I simply do not bench at home, do weighted pushups, weighted dips, flyes on rings can be done. I found I can now load up to 47kg onto a dumbbell and do goblet squats, though I would like a power rack if I had room.

bungaro79

been reading up on other threads there and tbh didn't realise how important doing squats and deadlifts are to increase strength and power. this is a total noob question but i assume all you need is a barbell and appropriate weights to do the lifts in question?! as my gym doesn't have these i suppose its another reason to buy gear for home!

Scuba Ste

You'll need a rack/cage to squat, but for deads you just need a bar and as much weight as you can handle.

Dazd_N_Confusd

bungaro79 wrote: »

been reading up on other threads there and tbh didn't realise how important doing squats and deadlifts are to increase strength and power. this is a total noob question but i assume all you need is a barbell and appropriate weights to do the lifts in question?! as my gym doesn't have these i suppose its another reason to buy gear for home!

If your gym doesn't have a barbell then I find it hard to call it a gym. I mean, I can understand calling a place with no squat rack a gym if you can at least bench but having no barbells at all? That's a strange one.

squod

bungaro79 wrote: »

been reading up on other threads there and tbh didn't realise how important doing squats and deadlifts are to increase strength and power. this is a total noob question but i assume all you need is a barbell and appropriate weights to do the lifts in question?! as my gym doesn't have these i suppose its another reason to buy gear for home!

You should really consider having someone show you how to squat & deadlift. Not as easy as it looks TBH. You'll find decent gyms doing pay as you go. I use the vaults in Skibbereen when I'm there, about €10/day. I'm sure there's loads more places like it.

BigBraveBear

rubadub wrote: »

A couple of hundred could get you kitted out better than the sounds of that hotel gym!

I simply do not bench at home, do weighted pushups, weighted dips, flyes on rings can be done. I found I can now load up to 47kg onto a dumbbell and do goblet squats, though I would like a power rack if I had room.

Just wondering what you use to add the weights, to do weighted pushups and dips. I've been thinking about this as I want to make my tricep dips harder. Is there something like a weight belt you can get to attach the weights?

Jarren

dip belt

http://www.irish-lifting.com/dip-belt-pe-138.html

d'Oracle

BigBraveBear wrote: »

Just wondering what you use to add the weights, to do weighted pushups and dips. I've been thinking about this as I want to make my tricep dips harder. Is there something like a weight belt you can get to attach the weights?

You can get(or make, Ask Rubadub resident homemade gym expert) a belt for adding weight to dips & pullups.

Pushups are dangerous to load so stick your legs on something to elevate them, higher the elevation the more body weight you use.

Also moving your hands further down your body can give extra intensity.
Try pushups with your hand position around your bottom ribs and put as little weight in your feet as possible. Killer.

As a third option you could hang straps/ropes from a bar or somewhere and put rings or handles on the end. Grab the handles and press. This will add intensity to pushups and dips.

billybigunz

If you have the space for skipping or any kind of home gym equipment then you have the space for a rack.
The Irish lifting rack with a bench, olympic bar and 140KG weights, dip belt, di attachement, 2 big rubber mats.

Deadlifts, squats, bench press, press, weighted pullups and dips. I actually have a great gym in work that I can use now for €2 a week and I haven't even bothered to join.

d'Oracle

billybigunz wrote: »

If you have the space for skipping or any kind of home gym equipment then you have the space for a rack.
The Irish lifting rack with a bench, olympic bar and 140KG weights, dip belt, di attachement, 2 big rubber mats.

Deadlifts, squats, bench press, press, weighted pullups and dips. I actually have a great gym in work that I can use now for €2 a week and I haven't even bothered to join.

Thats not really true mate.

I have space for skipping a pullup bar and DB's but I don't have room for a rack.

rubadub

BigBraveBear wrote: »

Just wondering what you use to add the weights, to do weighted pushups and dips. I've been thinking about this as I want to make my tricep dips harder. Is there something like a weight belt you can get to attach the weights?

You can wrap a plate in a towel and put it in a backpack for pushups, this makes it more comfortable and forms better to your back. You could wear the same thing for dips/chins. I have an ironmind dip belt which is very strong. Some here have used karate belts, many bathrobe belts would be strong enough for lighter weights. You could use adjustable webbing straps which are very strong, they are very useful for other things too, like you could make rings or just put bits of PVC pipe on them to make a suspension trainer type handles.

I am guessing your tricep dips are like these? AKA bench dips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpKH7Feba7I

Mellor

billybigunz wrote: »

If you have the space for skipping or any kind of home gym equipment then you have the space for a rack. .

Not really.
Yes a rack would fit in the same space required to skip
but when not it use a skipping rope doesn't still take up all the space
a rack does

shootermacg

One thing I'd miss is the cables, I'm really starting to like using them. Other than that, I'd be happier with a home gym, a power rack is a must IMO, but you'll realise this the first time you get stuck under a heavy load.:D

bungaro79

cheers again everyone for all the replies!

think i'm going to go with the home gym route so. don't have space for a power rack at the moment but will hopefully get one in the future.
argos has some lifting kits for between €100 and €200, are they worth getting???