Equipment for home gym

coff66

Hey everyone,

Reaching out here in the hope someone has some direction to offer. Currently having a garden room constructed and want to use a part of it as a home gym. Hoping to have a power/squat rack and bench that will allow me to do a full body barbell based workout and also allow some additions for accessory work. Also looking to get some dumbbells, and thinking adjustable ones will help save some space.

Could anyone suggest where decent quality second hand equipment can be sourced or where to go and source reasonably priced new equipment. I have looked at mcsport, fitness equipment Ireland etc but really hard to tell what the quality of the products is like. Some of the bundle offers seem to offer what I need but I don't want to waste the money if the equipment is not going to last.

Any help greatly appreciated

I got bumper plates from D8 Fitness. They were doing an offer on the plates and a barbell at the time. I picked up some resistance bands and kettlebells from them, too.

I think my hex dumbbells came from McSport or something (they have KGFitness.co.uk stamped onto them, but I didn't buy them there, and they were more expensive on kgfitness than they were on McSport or wherever it was).

I think Hex bells are hex bells. I doubt any you buy will fall apart unless you're overly abusing them. All my gear is 5 years old around now, and although it doesn't get extensive use, nothing has ever broken on me.

I picked up a bench from argos, and a squat rack, too. They were branded Men's Health when I got them but I'm pretty sure argos cycle the same stuff around with different names tacked on, over and over. I got the adjustable bench that was about €100-ish and it's been good to me.

It's probably not on your radar, but one thing I got when I did my home gym, was pick up the Argos cable machine. I really like it, and it's fairly reasonably priced, well made, etc. from Argos.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9187096

I wouldn't recommend buying second hand weights, unless you are willing to spend a bit of time looking. The amount of rusty old crap that some people want to sell for the same price they paid, is bewildering. Pictures of the bench out in the garden in the lashes of rain and the rust all over it for 5% less than you'd pay for a new one. Some good deals will come up, of course, if you're not in a hurry, or you may have to make some realistic offers to people (that they'll consider lowballing them, of course) but you might get something decent.

I'd recommend avoiding the plastic/cement weights. You outgrow them fairly fast.

Also, Lidl/Aldi will have some interesting bits here and there too (TRX/Suspension kits, resistance bands, aerobic steps, and other random stuff).

Amazon do some decent stuff too, and the free shipping is great (I got a powerbag from there, weighted vest, etc. that worked out competitive as the shipping on such heavy items was making them too pricy otherwise).

coff66

Thanks @[Deleted User] for the reply.

It does appear that the second hand market is a huge minefield and getting quality pieces at reasonable prices may well require hours of research and quite a bit of luck. I was hoping some forum user might have had leads with some commercial places looking to get rid of items due to upgrading.

In regards to dumbbells I suspect you are correct that hex are hex and should last no matter where they are sourced. Ideally a full set of hex would be great but want to limit the amount of space taken up if possible so leaning toward a set of adjustable dumbbells, although there is little price difference between a full set of hex and a set of adjustable dumbbells.

I am thinking a power/squat rack with additional pieces to allow for lat pulldowns etc. MCsport seem to have a power rack that has a piece that can be added for this but not sure of the actual quality. I am thinking then that resistance bands could be used to replicate some of the movements from the cable cross over machine.

I actually had not considered Amazon due to Brexit and potential extra costs, but will definitely have a look.

I've not a lot really to add, but one thing I will say is if you see stuff on Amazon that you like, don't be afraid to try the other Amazons (.de, .es etc) and try this website, as the prices can sometimes change a fair bit.

(I recently bought a motorbike "dash" cam, and saved nearly €70 by just using amazon.de instead of .co.uk).

https://www.hagglezon.com/

coff66

Thanks again KKV,

I think Amazon might be a bit of a stretch of the bigger and heavier pieces like squat rack and barbell, but might be an option for bands and medicine balls etc.

Would any one have any experience of buying from any of the Irish suppliers or be able to offer a steer as to which of them might be better value for money or have better quality pieces over others!?

coff66

https://www.mcsport.ie/collections/garage-gym-2504/products/supreme-power-rack-bundle-f100-attachments-bench-bar-weights?variant=40064634912847

https://strengthandfitness.ie/collections/bundle-offers/products/pro-series-half-rack-lat-tower-bundle-preorder-for-aug-2021

For the initial outlay, I think I have narrowed it down to these two bundles. Does anyone have any experience with either supplier or these specific bundles. While having been a regular gym goer previously, I basically just rocked up used the equipment and left so would not know what to look out for specs wise for buying equipment.

Any input would be appreciated

AlbertinaGeller

I don't have any experience with those bundles but I have bought from McSport and it is a good site you can go for it. There are no reviews mentioned for that product so I think you should see if you can find some reviews on other sites.

coff66

Thanks for replying.

Good to hear that you have had a positive experience with MC sport.

There is no reviews for the bundle together but if you click into the individual items in the bundle, they all appear to have positive reviews. The only piece that does not have a review is the lat pull down attachment, which if it does not work out would not be the end of the world.

I can't remember the specifics, but I do recall yer man in D8 doing me a very good deal when I bought a load of bumper plates and a bar off him.

Black Sheep

There are a number of older threads in the form dealing with home gym equipment, if you can find them, they’re within the last 2 years.

I have a mixture of garage gym gear from Rogue Europe, Strength Shop UK and Blk Box. All good vendors in their way, at different price points.

Blk Box manufacture their racks in Belfast and I would always recommend them over Chinese imported products, as stocked by MC sports and others, but to an extent that’s a personal choice. There are other Irish metal fabricators doing similar stuff to Blk Box but not at the same scale.

Rogue Europe would be worth looking at also, very good build quality on everything sell. Overbuilt really.

Before Brexit I would have really recommended Pullum Sports, Wolverson and others, but now they are just a pain.

coff66

Searching forums since the change over has been impossible even with knowing the exact title of some threads.

Brexit has also limited the market dramatically, there was always a deal to be had in the UK if you couldn't get one here but that option is gone now.

I have had a look on the suggested sites you mention and there is a significant price jump in some of the pieces. I might need to go back to the drawing board with the budget.

Black Sheep

If you search “blk box” they are all popping up.