home gym

tommyboy26 · 17-01-2015 12:59am #1

im thinking of leaving my current gym and setting up in my spare room in my house. i have a few questions to ask to help me make up my mind.

my main training is weight lifting so would prob need a bench barbell etc.

1: roughtly what is the cost?
2: where can i buy?
3: spare room is upstairs in the house. is there a worry with the extra weight in the room? ( silly question i know)
4: is there a downside to training at home?

TB26

evo2000 · 17-01-2015 1:11am

tommyboy26 wrote: »

im thinking of leaving my current gym and setting up in my spare room in my house. i have a few questions to ask to help me make up my mind.

my main training is weight lifting so would prob need a bench barbell etc.

1: roughtly what is the cost?
2: where can i buy?
3: spare room is upstairs in the house. is there a worry with the extra weight in the room? ( silly question i know)
4: is there a downside to training at home?

TB26

Gym equipment can be expensive enough if you re looking for decent stuff, you ll get em in most sports shops like lifestyle and the likes u cud chance argos or done deal aswell be worth a look.
As for the extra weight upstairs i doubt it ll do any harm,

I started out at home bought a dingy little bench and some weights for about 100 euro, got a pull up bar aswell and a mat for doing sit ups i found working out at home wasnt as good as the gym, i found i did more at the gym and was more focused as there was nothing else to do but work out there where as at home i could check facebook changin songs on you tube little things like that lol

tommyboy26 · 17-01-2015 1:21am

evo2000 wrote: »

Gym equipment can be expensive enough if you re looking for decent stuff, you ll get em in most sports shops like lifestyle and the likes u cud chance argos or done deal aswell be worth a look.
As for the extra weight upstairs i doubt it ll do any harm,

I started out at home bought a dingy little bench and some weights for about 100 euro, got a pull up bar aswell and a mat for doing sit ups i found working out at home wasnt as good as the gym, i found i did more at the gym and was more focused as there was nothing else to do but work out there where as at home i could check facebook changin songs on you tube little things like that lol

cost wise is a big issue. if i were to coninue bench pressing i would need at least 60- 80kg of weigh as my bp is arounf the 70ish mark.

plus i truly enough deadlifting. is this possible to do at home on carpet?
plus my deadlift is in excess of 120kg so that would require a big investment to continue to deadlift

evo2000 · 17-01-2015 1:40am

tommyboy26 wrote: »

cost wise is a big issue. if i were to coninue bench pressing i would need at least 60- 80kg of weigh as my bp is arounf the 70ish mark.

plus i truly enough deadlifting. is this possible to do at home on carpet?
plus my deadlift is in excess of 120kg so that would require a big investment to continue to deadlift

I dunno man, as i said the thing i bought was a dingy little thing starting out id imagine the equipment you ll be lookin for will cost a good bit more, id guess u could pay 300-400 on a good bench set maybe more even sites like argos might give u an idea

As for the weight upstairs id imagine it d depend on how old and well built your house is, personally tho i think its a bad idea to have it upstairs.

d.pop · 17-01-2015 1:45am

3: spare room is upstairs in the house. is there a worry with the extra weight in the room? ( silly question i know)

Not a silly question at all.
Assuming typical timber floor?
Generally, upstairs floors should be good for around 100-150kg/m2.
But.....
Problem would be the sudden impact of dropping weights like in the dead lift, if the plates struck the floor right between joists, pretty good chance and would not be good.....also potential damage to ceiling and fixtures below you etc from repeated hits.
Plus don't stack all weights in one spot! Could start to get deflection of joists and cracks in ceiling below.
Maybe consider getting some sheets of plywood down in the workout area, this would help distribute the weight more evenly across the joists by in effect beefing up the floor boards and sharing the load.
Any chance of setting up on ground floor at all? At least for the dead lifts? Or outside in yard?

blatantrereg · 18-01-2015 11:34am

Check the max loads of equipment before you buy it - barbell and racks.

Relatively cheap stuff on amazon, including squat racks. Don't know the quality though. Some of them have very low max loads... Not certain they deliver that sort of stuff to Ireland come to think of it.

I agree lifting heavy weights in an upstairs room is a bad idea. Even on a downstairs floor I think lifting on floorboards would probably be non-ideal. A garage might be best or any other room with concrete floor.

Where there is the option of either, a gym vs home workout is probably mainly down to personal preference.
Personally I find it much easier to adhere to a programme beyond a couple of months if I can do it at home. The convenience is a big factor for me.

I've been pretty pleased with results from home workouts with minimal equipment over the last four months. Got a pull up bar that hooks on a door and started convict conditioning (which is an absurd name for a book that is absurd in some ways, but describes good programmes with great consideration to progressions). You don't really need anything other than a pull up bar.

I've gotten better results in the short term by doing harder work in a well equipped gym, but in terms bang for my time and money invested, the minimalist home set-up is the best. It's also one I'll be able to continue, not abandoning it when I get distracted/bored/busy with something else/banjax my hip. It's a portable workout too.

Got a kettlebell recently and mixed in a few kettlebell exercises. Kettlebells are also portable and convenient, and complement the exercises in convict conditioning pretty well I think.

Mellor · 19-01-2015 2:37am

Deadlifting on a timber joist floor is a terrible idea, with or without plywood sheets.
THey would spread the load very well. The bulk would be going through 1 or 2 joists. Plus the point loads on your feet are huge, at the very least it will wreck the floor and ceiling. At worst, you'll go through the floor boards.

unkel · 19-01-2015 2:51am

Lads we're talking maybe a 200kg deadlift, not several tonnes. 200kg is not a substantial weight to be putting on ones floor. Of course wooden floorboards are fine with that.

tommyboy26 wrote: »

1: roughtly what is the cost?
2: where can i buy?
3: spare room is upstairs in the house. is there a worry with the extra weight in the room? ( silly question i know)
4: is there a downside to training at home?

1. Olympic weights set, bench and rack or squat stands. €500 - €900 in total
2. Pretty much anywhere online
3. Doing mine in my converted attic. Downside is that the roof is low, so things like overhead press are not possible
4. No spotters, no helpers. Nobody to tell you if your form is off. Physically the most dangerous is bench pressing. Know how to do the roll of shame or shake off the weights if you can't manage a rep. Google it!

Mellor · 19-01-2015 2:59am

unkel wrote: »

Lads we're talking maybe a 200kg deadlift, not several tonnes. 200kg is not a substantial weight to be putting on ones floor. Of course wooden floorboards are fine with that.

200 KG spread over a few joists, or a large area is probably fine.

200kg in the middle of a single 18mm floorboard , not so smart. Especially is the weight is jerked or dropped suddenly. The quality of the stuff in a typical house isn't great tbh.

Plus Even if it can take 200kg+ without issue. Repeatedly loading and unloading causes fatigue, and a load far less than the max capacity will eventually cause failure. (think of bending something lightly back and forth to get it to break).

d.pop · 19-01-2015 6:11am

unkel wrote: »

Lads we're talking maybe a 200kg deadlift, not several tonnes. 200kg is not a substantial weight to be putting on ones floor. Of course wooden floorboards are fine with that

In reality it probably is not a huge load but not knowing much about the existing joist condition, spacing, size etc it is worth a word of warning.
It's been a while since I practiced, due to a career change, but I was originally a structural engineer and to best of my recollection gym floors had a design load of approx >2 times a residential floor.
I don't think the OP has to worry about a structural collapse or any such but the effect on the floor and ceiling below might not be pretty.
Some of the lads in my gym seem to take great pleasure in dropping the bar from as great a height as possible....would not recommend that upstairs in your house !

Fair play to the OP I don't have the will power to work out at home. I do cardio at home I.e. run out door and off down road but need to go to gym to do strength work, too many distractions for me, wish I could, hate getting up early to go to gym.

blatantrereg · 19-01-2015 2:49pm

I looked this up because I'm curious myself. No clear answer about whether it would damage the floors etc or not, but I did find a good suggestion: Get sheets of plywood to do deadlifts on. That way if you drop the bar it will spread the impact across a larger area of the floor underneath.

I also saw it said that typical floorboards support 150kg/m^2. No idea whether that is accurate or not though.

MFdaveIreland · 19-01-2015 2:59pm

Hi there. Just finished kitting out my home gym, so il give my tuppence worth:

Theres a fair bit fo planning in getting the right stuff at the right price.

Mines in my garage outside if it makes any difference.

I first went about searching for a power rack ( managed to get bench thrown in as well)- absolute essential in home training if you ask me. piddly stand alone squat stands are a danger waiting to happen.

Next thing was second hand,( pointless buying new) olympic plates, have to search a bit on likes of donedeal/ gumtree etc

Ordered an olympic bar , with reasonable rating without bursting the bank

total cost so far ( in GBP)

Power rack- rated at 300kg on the spotter bars( bench came with also, rated at 300kg)-£200
190 kg olympic weight plates- £200
Olympic bar rated at 600kg - Euro-170

Mellor · 22-01-2015 7:12am

blatantrereg wrote: »

I looked this up because I'm curious myself. No clear answer about whether it would damage the floors etc or not, but I did find a good suggestion: Get sheets of plywood to do deadlifts on. That way if you drop the bar it will spread the impact across a larger area of the floor underneath.

Plywood would spread the load a good bit , not across the whole sheet, but it would definitely help get it over decent area, especially 25mm stuff.

I just completed a design for a weightlifting floor for a gym above a shop (their were complaints due to the noise of weights dropping). We used soft-fall rubber, then a sheet on plywood and then a layer of high impact rubber.
Obviously over kill for a house, but could do something on similar lines.

I also saw it said that typical floorboards support 150kg/m^2. No idea whether that is accurate or not though

It's probably higher in reality, but thats in terms of a uniform load. When going through your feet, an area a lot less than 1m^2, probably 1/20th at a guess.

unkel · 22-01-2015 11:00am

Mellor wrote: »

When going through your feet, an area a lot less than 1m^2, probably 1/20th at a guess.

Exactly. Let's say my foot is about 10cm by 30cm. That means that my feet are a combined 0.06m2

When I (90kg) deadlift 170kg, the pressure on the floorboards is 260kg/0.06m2 = well over 4000kg/m2. Yes that is 4 small cars for every square meter!

So far my floorboards haven't collapsed and I don't suspect they will...

arse..biscuits · 25-01-2015 3:10pm

The integrity of the joists will be different in each house. If a plumber or electrician ran pipe/cable through the joists, they will have drilled holes through them. This weakens the joists, and you will only find out when it's too late.

evo2000 · 25-01-2015 6:29pm

Moral of the story anyway all technical mumbo jumbo aside, having a personal gym upstairs in ur average house is possible but prob wouldnt be ideal or the safest!

Mellor · 24-02-2015 12:24am

Just to return to this.

I did some testing on a timber floor yesterday.
Floor was a raised timber floor with timber sheet over a concrete slab. And it had a layer of 15mm commercial rubber gym flooring on top.

Tested it with dropped 24kg kettlebell and power cleans with 60kg. Then did an jerk and bailed from overhead.
Afterwards, I noticed that the trimber sheet below the rubber was split, and a massive dip could be felt behind the rubber.
I don't know for sure with lift did it, but I'd assume it was the jerk.

Obviously bailing on jerks at home is never a good idea. But it was only 60kg. And it would have similar energy at impact to a 180kg deadlift. (for me at 5'10"). S

unkel · 24-02-2015 12:27am

Moral of the story: don't deadlift more than 300kg in your attic and don't drop the bar

Mellor · 24-02-2015 12:52am

unkel wrote: »

Moral of the story: don't deadlift more than 300kg in your attic and don't drop the bar

Obviously dropping the bar should never be part of the plan, I just had to for the purpose of testing. Still though, cock ups happen.
And 180kg is hardly a massive deadlift. Esp for somebody serious enough to build a home gym.

unkel · 24-02-2015 1:14am

Mellor wrote: »

Still though, cock ups happen.

For sure. I've shaked off after a failed bench more than once. Somehow I cannot see how failing to lift a serious deadlift from the floor will wreck my home gym in my attic though

Mellor · 24-02-2015 1:28am

unkel wrote: »

For sure. I've shaked off after a failed bench more than once. Somehow I cannot see how failing to lift a serious deadlift from the floor will wreck my home gym in my attic though

If you've never failed at lockout, grip or otherwise, then you aren't challanging yourself :P

unkel · 24-02-2015 1:48am

Fair enough, I'm only a beginner

I'm nearly 47 years old, bought an Olympic weights set last April. Weight a bit over 90kg, bench 100kg, deadlift 170kg and squat 100kg. Squat is very hard, my skinny chicken legs are improving a little bit, but only slowly.

I love what lifting weights does to my body though. I feel fit and strong and I eat loads and loads!

dzh444 · 15-03-2018 9:38am

unkel wrote: »

Fair enough, I'm only a beginner

I'm nearly 47 years old, bought an Olympic weights set last April. Weight a bit over 90kg, bench 100kg, deadlift 170kg and squat 100kg. Squat is very hard, my skinny chicken legs are improving a little bit, but only slowly.

I love what lifting weights does to my body though. I feel fit and strong and I eat loads and loads!

just wondering
how much do you actually use the weight set
we all start with good intentions and curious if you have been getting good use of weight set in longer term

rustynutz · 17-03-2018 9:12am

And if you do use it still after 3 years, have you any tips for motivating yourself to workout at home? I have a nice gym set up in my garage but find it very hard to motivate myself to use it compared to the gym for some reason

unkel · 08-12-2018 5:49pm

Ha! Forgot about this thread!

dzh444 wrote: »

just wondering
how much do you actually use the weight set
we all start with good intentions and curious if you have been getting good use of weight set in longer term

I didn't do anything for about a year as the attic was filled with junk (my excuse anyway), but have picked up again after the summer. Max once a week though and I've missed plenty of weeks

rustynutz wrote: »

Have you any tips for motivating yourself to workout at home? I have a nice gym set up in my garage but find it very hard to motivate myself to use it compared to the gym for some reason

The barrier is a bit lower for me. Gym in the attic beside my desk, so I can work / surf the internet between sets. No excuse for me really not to work out. I might be turfed out of the attic soon though as one of the kids wants it as a bedroom. Might end up buying a garden office and setting up gym in there...

home gym

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