Thread: Newbie looking to setup a basic home gym

Well, its a tough call, if you can I'd just join a gym for the next two years unless you plan on being in the same place after med school cause it'll cost to much to ship iron. In the long run a gym would probably be cheaper and there's alot more equipment there than what your probably willing to put out.

As far as what to buy if your going to go that route, I'd just stick with cheap old iron, so what if the plates get a little rusty, nothing a can of spray paint couldn't fix, i've got plates that are over 10 years old that have no rust so I don't think its a problem.
I'd buy it used if you can find it.

I'd try to get a "stable" adjustable bench -incline/decline/flat
and a power rack with a lat bar or pulldown attatchment.
For weights, iron, straight and curl bar as well as adjustable DB.

Welcome to IM BTW!!

Unfortunately the cheaper all-in-one home units have crappy lat bars, and crappy leg attatchments, but for basic workout you can do squats, and rows, and then use the bench for chest and some alternating curl bicep work if you want.

If you just want a basic setup then grab some weights and some type of adjustable bench. Weights will cost a ton to ship as said, either dump them off on a friend or drive to your destination if that was possible for you.

what is your budget? sports authority has a few stable and relatively cheap benches but they are most of the time in the 100-150 range.. i think a straight bar is more important than a curl bar coach says "we dont use curl bars in here" so i guess thats why.. you said youd only be lifting 50-60% of your body weight so i guess i wont recommend buyin a 300 pound set but i think weights are 30-50 cents a pound

How can you gain strength if you're not lifting a lot ??

Anyway for your goals, get a bench with flat , decline (decline's good, plus u can do ur abs on a decline bench) & incline

Here's one I found for $100 -



Then a barbell, adjustable dumbells and of course the weights themselves

Your probably looking at $150-200 Total if you opt for standard weights (5ft bar & 1" width)

Olympic Sets cost more, but are IMO better value

P.S. What country in asia are you from ? Since my cousin who lives der bought some weights and they were CHEAP !!

That looks like alot better bench than the one I got, about 14 years ago (of course). Looksl ike its setup for olympic weights though, I agree they are nicer to work with, if you have the space for a 7' bar.

ders a standard bench for $90 -



Same basic thing though

Thanks for all the replies

If I'm buying a set that will last a few good years, then I could spend up to $200, *possibly* more if it's worthwhile.

I'll probably go with black iron plates as Scotty recommended.

Sub-Zero:
Are multipurpose benches with decline comfortable for crunches/situps? Because it's only the 'adjustable,' not the 'seat' part that declines.

I'm not sure if it's worthwhile paying extra for olympic. Standard benches don't look large enough for ab work.

Since you asked where I'm 'from' - technically speaking, I'm from Sri Lanka. But I live in the United Arab Emirates (bordering Saudi Arabia, better known as the country that got trashed by Germany in WC2002).

On the topic of shipping. Don't they just charge you by unit volume? Weight equipment wouldn't take up a whole lot of space. And since I'd be shipping other stuff along with it, so it doesn't sound like it would be *too* expensive. (shipping to the US)

btw, I checked with 2 gyms nearest to my house. They're not open at 5 AM . Are college gyms also like that?

Could someone outline the differences between 2-, 4- and 6-roller leg extentions? And examples of barbell exercises that are better done with a curl bar and those with a straight bar?

The seat itself does move, the bar behind it is just to keep it in place. In fact ab boards are just decline boards without the rack behind it.

There are 3 sets of rollers to enable you to do leg extentions AND leg curls on the same bench.

Olympic sets will always be better, since the bar itself is bigger and more tensile (you can get a better grip, & load more weight on the bar without it bendin as much)

As for shipping, I'm sure there is gym apparatus you can order within the UAE. With goods as big as these, they usually give free shipping or if they do charge around $25 or so. They'll just ship it in a lorry and deliver to your house where you can assemble urself.

Lastly, I know where UAE is, even been Dubai a few times.

Originally posted by Sub-Zero
As for shipping, I'm sure there is gym apparatus you can order within the UAE. With goods as big as these, they usually give free shipping or if they do charge around $25 or so. They'll just ship it in a lorry and deliver to your house where you can assemble urself.

Lastly, I know where UAE is, even been Dubai a few times.

That last line was quite an eye-opener.

You misunderstood me about the shipping. I meant shipping it from the UAE to the USA after I'm done with high school here.

Best Olympic bench I've seen so far is a Kettler (Brit company) with 3 positions for the 'top seat' and 2 for the 'lower seat' on sale for about $273. That's too steep if I'm selling in 2 years.

How big is the average college dorm room? I doubt if an olympic-sized bench with weights would fit. Plus there would be a gym anyway... but free? And what kind of opening hours do they usually have?

What is ur situation ? Are you studyin in UAE for 2 years ? I wouldn't bother shipping weights international TOO MUCH !!

Originally posted by Sub-Zero
What is ur situation ? Are you studyin in UAE for 2 years ? I wouldn't bother shipping weights international TOO MUCH !!

Like I said before, 2 years of high school here and then college in the US.

Question - Why do you have to do ur w/o's at 5am ?

Originally posted by Sub-Zero
Question - Why do you have to do ur w/o's at 5am ?

It's a personal preference.

1) I'm really tired and sluggish after school - in no mood for working out.
2) Since I'd run/bike as a warmup to lifting, the morning seems more sensible since it's HOT in the afternoon.
3) I don't have the time to work out twice every day.

So I've always been exercising in the morning. My workouts begin anywhere from 4-5AM. I've developed a sleep early - wake early principle as a result.