What's your gym equipment? What do you recommend?

[fingerboy]

As I'm building my dream home gym or whatever you want to call it, I'm looking for ideas.

I think I'd like a weight stack with pulleys etc from the top and bottom with a bench. I've also heard a bowflex is great for that.

What do you guys have?


TM and bike are taken care of, we've got a ball, and probably will get a bosu and a bar bell set

also where'd you get it from?

ideally id like some sort of standing ab lifter thingy like they have at gyms - where i can also do pullups and dips on - and maybe that 45 degree "thing" for back and obliques unless someone has a gym set that does that a different way.

[Joe Dwarf]

Dream gym? Bench, squat rack, pull-up/dip bars, dumbells and barbells and enough plates to keep the ones I use commonly assembled.

[MikeM]

Dream gym? Bench, squat rack, pull-up/dip bars, dumbells and barbells and enough plates to keep the ones I use commonly assembled.

+1. My dream setup is the same.

IMO, you can do a lot more with dumbells/barbell, than a pulley station or bowflex.

[dgrant]

Dream gym? Bench, squat rack, pull-up/dip bars, dumbells and barbells and enough plates to keep the ones I use commonly assembled.

+1. Definitely a bench with adjustable incline (all the way to 90 degrees) so you can do incline bench press, seated shoulder press, seated incline biceps curls, etc.

Pulley stations are great of course, but you need a ton of space and they are so expensive. If you did get one, get one with the sliding pulley location... not just top and bottom. Way more versatile.

EZ curl bars are cheap(ish) and a nice complement to straight barbells.

Padding for your floor so you don't have to be too ginger handling dumbbells.

You can build stuff yourself too... a roman chair for dips, a platform for preacher curls, etc...

[Dstew]

I have my dream gym:

Functional trainer with a leg press attachment, dumb bells 10 - 20 pounds, two kettle bells, Swiss ball, Bosu ball, standard bench, adjustable bench - from 90 degree to decline with leg curl attachment, half squat rack with specific bar on top for chin ups, Several types of tubes with and without handles, spinner bike with 5 dvd workouts, elliptical, old fashion stepper, trx, trx ripped, curl bar bell, olympic bar bell, step, calf/ squat block, hyperextension/ 45 degree bench that can also be modified into a roman chair, medicine balls, two yoga mats, the perfect push up, shoulder bar and a wobble board all in undeveloped basement with a tv and full cable.

8 years to build and buy with looking for sales on a monthly basis.

This is the 45 degree thing - got mine for half price and it was well worth the money. Really helped my bad back and seems to also stretch out the legs.

http://www.powertecfitness.com/p-27-dua ... -hc10.aspx

Half squat rack: A great investment when coupled with the adjustable bench. Found much quicker and better strength and power gains then with the functional trainer (pully type system):

http://www.hoistfitness.com/consumer/eq ... squat-rack

http://www.progressionfitness.ca/us07-fid-bench.html

I was told Bowflex is better for toning than for power or strength.

One purchase I have been impressed with is the TRX.

Functional Trainer:

http://www.vipfitness.com.pk/index.php/ ... st250.html

[VDoT]

Along with my bike/trainer and treadmill, I have an Life Fitness G4 Universal Gym, Bow-Flex Select Tech Dumbbells, a set of kettles bells, a bosu ball, two different sizes of exercise balls, a TRX suspension trainer, and a chin up bar. If I was doing it all over, I would get a pulley machine instead of the universal gym as they seem to be a little more functional. I tried a bow-flex machine and I did not like it at all, I found the tension of the rods to be nothing like that of free or machine weights. The tension is not linear. The dumbbells allow me to have a selection of weights up to 55lbs each and along with the balls allow me to do a ton of different exercises. The one things I still miss is a leg press machine but otherwise I love my home gym. I have got all my gear from Fitness Depot or Fitter First.

[ngcaper]

...
also where'd you get it from?

Spend time on kijiji...we bought a full Weilder pulley system with Bench/Leg/shoulder etc etc for $250 from someone who had bought it a few years earlier. Its primary use was to hang laundry, and they were now moving so it had to go quickly. I had to disassemble/reassemble but they still had the directions. When I checked the price after getting it home it was something like $1400 new.

It's large, very large and takes up a great deal of space, but if you bought even 1/2 of what it does as individual pieces you'd need a heck of alot bigger space. It also does way more than I'm capable or even want to do...if I wanted to be like Arnold I'm not sure it would fulfill that need, but for me it's more than I need.

[Spirit Unleashed]

I love my house: 3 rooms almost devoted to exercise, cuz I'm busy and don't have time to drive to a gym.

elliptical, nordic track, bike, versa climber, treadmill
step platform, kettelbells, trx
2 balls, dumbells, bench with barbell
foam roller, stretch bands.

[fingerboy]

I'm also at a 89" limit - so largest chin-up bars can be are around 82-85".

[fingerboy]

Vdot - yeah I think I'd agree and would like to get a G7 if I have room. That seems to be ideal for a lot of what I want.

Dstew - was trx hard to set up? something I've considered



Btw Does anyone know where I can get a 20amp extension cord? It's probably something I'm going to need one for the tm (should be finally coming in next couple weeks!) It's a bit specialized but if anyone else has a commercial grade tm at home they might know...

[Dstew]

Vdot - yeah I think I'd agree and would like to get a G7 if I have room. That seems to be ideal for a lot of what I want.

Dstew - was trx hard to set up? something I've considered



Btw Does anyone know where I can get a 20amp extension cord? It's probably something I'm going to need one for the tm (should be finally coming in next couple weeks!) It's a bit specialized but if anyone else has a commercial grade tm at home they might know...

No and I used the Xmount from the ceiling but there are other options. Right now I am between 195 - 200 and no issues with that.

http://www.trxtraining.com/shop/anchoring-accessories

[VDoT]

My chin up bar is in my utility room in my basement where there is no finished ceiling. It is just a steel bar attached to the floor joists by a couple of short 2x4s. I am 5'11" and I can grab the bar without reaching, but it works.

[Spirit Unleashed]

I have twice hired electricians to install special plugs just for the tm.

Fingerboy, since you are fast, you need to have all the amps available. Which means correct electricall from the breaker to the plug. Also, most tm's say not to use anything between a surge protector at the outlet and the machine cord.

[Dstew]

I have twice hired electricians to install special plugs just for the tm.

Fingerboy, since you are fast, you need to have all the amps available. Which means correct electricall from the breaker to the plug. Also, most tm's say not to use anything between a surge protector at the outlet and the machine cord.

Interestingly I had some electrical work done in my new home and the electrician noted that because I did not have a treadmill I did not need a special outlet. He asked if I was ever going to buy one and I said no. So it may be worth checking out to see if you do need some work.

[fingerboy]

The outlet is there - I already got that installed - 20amp dedicated outlet.

But an extension cord would be good so I could put it where I want it.