Gym Routine

[Follyfoot]

2 hours ago, Davkaus said:

I realise I didn't really answer your question, my thought on it though is to just ensure you're never in a position in which you'd need an alarm. I live alone though, so I'd have nobody to come and respond quickly anyway. 

I always keep my phone nearby just in case of injury or anything, but I can't think of a scenario in which I could picture getting trapped. Fingers crossed. If I don't post for a couple of days, send help.  

Slightly off topic but I nipped to the downstairs toilet last night before going to bed at about 11am, the handle fell off in my hand trying to go out leaving me trapped in a 10ft x 5ft box area, screamed by head off to no avail for ages and eventually went to sleep on the bog. The Mrs came down about 6.30 am and opened from the other side and went off in a rant about me being pissed and falling asleep etc, etc, Would not mind but not had a drink for a week ffs . Will never go to the toilet again without my phone, heating went off at midnight as well and only had a short sleeve shirt on and my neck is still bloody cricked 

Edited October 3, 2020 by Follyfoot

[Follyfoot]

1 minute ago, Follyfoot said:

repost

 

Edited October 3, 2020 by Follyfoot

[Zhan_Zhuang]

I've been practising martial arts since I was about ten years of age, I'm 42 yrs old now.

Over the last twenty years I started to focus more on the Internal Martial Arts, a phrase you often hear in respect to Taijiquan (Tai Chi) is 'results without equipment'.

Sure using weights and equipment can be utilised but do not underestimate the use of isometric exercises, stances and balance work.

[Stevo985]

Anyone got any recommendations of relatively cheap places to get weights/benches?

 

It's nearly a year since I've been in the gym thanks to lockdown and it's driving me mad so I need to get some sort of equipment so I can do stuff at home.

I've been trying to find a good set of dumbbells (the kind you can add plates to). Enough to get me up to at least 30kg per dumbbell (preferably up to 40kg). Plus an adjustable bench.
That would at least be enough to get me started on a decent dumbbell only routine and I can add stuff as I go.

 

But prices are way more than I expected. A decent set of dumbbells off somewhere like Amazon looks like about £140, and only includes 20kg of weight (not per dumbbell... total!) So I'd probably have to spend the same again on plates before I get the kind of weight that would make it worthwhile.
So I'm looking at nearly £300 before I even get to a bench

 

Any recommendations of sports stores or gym shops that do stuff a bit more reasonable would be much appreciated

[CardiffGreens]

3 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

Any recommendations of sports stores or gym shops that do stuff a bit more reasonable would be much appreciated

Argos do some cheap and cheerful weight stuff, though it's at the bottom end of what's you're probably after - 30kg dumbbell set, 

[Stevo985]

16 minutes ago, CardiffGreens said:

Argos do some cheap and cheerful weight stuff, though it's at the bottom end of what's you're probably after - 30kg dumbbell set, 

Yeah see that's what I mean. It says max weight on a dumbbell is 30kg. But that's one dumbbell with all of the weights that come with it. So it's really just 15kg per dumbbell. So you end up having to buy extra weights for them and it all adds up.

That's still on the cheaper end though to thank you.

I don't mind spending a bit of money. I just don't want to be spending £500 on dumbbells and a bench. Seems extortionate

[Rds1983]

On 22/01/2021 at 14:45, Stevo985 said:

Yeah see that's what I mean. It says max weight on a dumbbell is 30kg. But that's one dumbbell with all of the weights that come with it. So it's really just 15kg per dumbbell. So you end up having to buy extra weights for them and it all adds up.

That's still on the cheaper end though to thank you.

I don't mind spending a bit of money. I just don't want to be spending £500 on dumbbells and a bench. Seems extortionate

I've got a home gym with about 225kg in various plates (including 2x20kg bumper plates), 2x32kg adjustable dumbbells (better for space saving), a decent bench, squat rack, olympic bar, EZ bar, solid floor mats, various kettle bells and other stuff. Will be picking up a power rack when we move in the near future (ceiling isn't high enough here). I've spent a lot on it as decided not to buy cheap stuff. I figured that I'd be using this equipment for hopefully the next 30 or 40 years (obviously replacing some bits along the way) and so far have about 5 or 6 years use out of it. Justified the expense by thinking how much I'd save in gym fees, as at £50 odd a month, that's £600, so over 5 years that would be £3,000 which is probably closer to what I've spent so far. 

As I don't have a power rack I use two saw horses as safety support as they can hold 340kg and I'm not lifting anything like that. I've failed on 145kg and it's rested absolutely fine on them. It's not perfect but it works and I don't work out when home alone. 

[El Zen]

Gyms closing for the third time in a year. Very hard to make any progress at all, or rather, I’ve probably regressed in terms of maximum strength. I was making some really good progress in november before they closed, and was just getting back into gear again now. Incredibly frustrating. 

[Rds1983]

33 minutes ago, Michelsen said:

Gyms closing for the third time in a year. Very hard to make any progress at all, or rather, I’ve probably regressed in terms of maximum strength. I was making some really good progress in november before they closed, and was just getting back into gear again now. Incredibly frustrating. 

I have heard this will help with the gains... 

[Stevo985]

3 hours ago, Rds1983 said:

I've got a home gym with about 225kg in various plates (including 2x20kg bumper plates), 2x32kg adjustable dumbbells (better for space saving), a decent bench, squat rack, olympic bar, EZ bar, solid floor mats, various kettle bells and other stuff. Will be picking up a power rack when we move in the near future (ceiling isn't high enough here). I've spent a lot on it as decided not to buy cheap stuff. I figured that I'd be using this equipment for hopefully the next 30 or 40 years (obviously replacing some bits along the way) and so far have about 5 or 6 years use out of it. Justified the expense by thinking how much I'd save in gym fees, as at £50 odd a month, that's £600, so over 5 years that would be £3,000 which is probably closer to what I've spent so far. 

As I don't have a power rack I use two saw horses as safety support as they can hold 340kg and I'm not lifting anything like that. I've failed on 145kg and it's rested absolutely fine on them. It's not perfect but it works and I don't work out when home alone. 

I'm happy to pay for quality but even so £500 for a basic bench and two dumbbells up to 30kg seems excessive

[Rds1983]

Just now, Stevo985 said:

I'm happy to pay for quality but even so £500 for a basic bench and two dumbbells up to 30kg seems excessive

It ain't cheap. My bench was about £300 but that was a few years ago and think prices have skyrocketed. I wanted a solid one as had a cheap one before and never felt secure/safe when benching. The adjustable dumbbells I got were £220 each but they get used every workout and saves space/faff. I figured it's an investment compared to paying crazy high gym membership. 

You could try checking out the home/garage gym videos on YouTube as I've seen some good advice on those about how to do it for less money (DIY dumbells from 2" pipe etc). Or seeing if you can get anything 2nd hand or from recycling websites (freegle etc) . 

[Stevo985]

Fair enough. If that's the going rate then I'll get them. I've got nothing else to spend money on at the moment

I just didn't want to be paying ridiculous prices if there were cheaper alternatives out there.

I plan to have a home gym when I move into a house anyway so it'll all get used for years. 

[Rds1983]

10 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Fair enough. If that's the going rate then I'll get them. I've got nothing else to spend money on at the moment

I just didn't want to be paying ridiculous prices if there were cheaper alternatives out there.

I plan to have a home gym when I move into a house anyway so it'll all get used for years. 

Have a decent look around and see different brands /reviews etc. 

I was going to buy one 42kg adjustable BowFlex dumbbell but they're like £500+ each. Having spent a few days looking online I bought some 32kg musclesquad ones for £220 each (usually about £250) and I'm very happy with them. 

I think you're unlucky on the timing as with Gyms closed all home workout stuff has skyrocketed as everyone is doing home gym. If you get the bare minimum you need for now I suspect when covid dies down and Gyms reopen there will be a lot of 2nd hand stuff being resold cheaper online. 

Edited January 24, 2021 by Rds1983

[Rds1983]

Just had a home gym fail. Was doing some seated cable rows and the connector that sits behind the door snapped in two sending the bands hurtling towards me. I've now got a lovely red line that hurts like a **** right across my stomach. 

[Stevo985]

On 22/01/2021 at 11:11, Stevo985 said:

Anyone got any recommendations of relatively cheap places to get weights/benches?

 

It's nearly a year since I've been in the gym thanks to lockdown and it's driving me mad so I need to get some sort of equipment so I can do stuff at home.

I've been trying to find a good set of dumbbells (the kind you can add plates to). Enough to get me up to at least 30kg per dumbbell (preferably up to 40kg). Plus an adjustable bench.
That would at least be enough to get me started on a decent dumbbell only routine and I can add stuff as I go.

 

But prices are way more than I expected. A decent set of dumbbells off somewhere like Amazon looks like about £140, and only includes 20kg of weight (not per dumbbell... total!) So I'd probably have to spend the same again on plates before I get the kind of weight that would make it worthwhile.
So I'm looking at nearly £300 before I even get to a bench

 

Any recommendations of sports stores or gym shops that do stuff a bit more reasonable would be much appreciated

Things have developed...

 

...I mentioned on here before that I share the same apartment block as Tony Daley. Well the absolute legend has just gone and set up a gym in one of the spare car park spaces in our parking garage. Everyone free to use the equipment. Proper gym mats and barbells dumbbells etc. It's not fully stocked but it's a great start.

I'm calling him tonight to suggest expanding it into my car park space and I'll buy some equipment to add to that

[Rds1983]

8 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Things have developed...

 

...I mentioned on here before that I share the same apartment block as Tony Daley. Well the absolute legend has just gone and set up a gym in one of the spare car park spaces in our parking garage. Everyone free to use the equipment. Proper gym mats and barbells dumbbells etc. It's not fully stocked but it's a great start.

I'm calling him tonight to suggest expanding it into my car park space and I'll buy some equipment to add to that

Fantastic and incredibly nice of him. 

Being open air I'm assuming it doesn't violate any restrictions? Would hate him to land a £10k fine and end up in the news just because he's trying to be nice. 

If you are looking for equipment I've got some wonderful cables I can recommend. 

[Stevo985]

Just now, Rds1983 said:

Fantastic and incredibly nice of him. 

Being open air I'm assuming it doesn't violate any restrictions? Would hate him to land a £10k fine and end up in the news just because he's trying to be nice. 

If you are looking for equipment I've got some wonderful cables I can recommend. 

It's an underground garage, but we won't be using it at the same time so I don't think it breaks any guidelines

[Straggler]

I had a real problem finding something even approachable as affordable to work out on.  I had a bench and some dumbbells (15kg per hand) but it simply was not enough weight for most of my exercises.  I had a look at buying all sorts of stuff, hoping to stock up on a good set of free weights and a rack, but also found the pricing just stupidly high.  Instead I invested in this:

It has a 100kg stack and is relatively small in footprint so has helped move me on from the small dumbbells.  It cost me £699 which I know is no small investment, but it was less than half of what I was looking at buying bar and plates etc.  I could not fathom how 2x 20kg plates can cost £180.  If you want to be able to go up in relatively small increments the investment in different sizes is just crazy. 

There are a couple of down sides.  The range of movement is not a long as I would like on the bench press, I certainly feel like the resistance kicks in a little bit too late.  It is also a little tight on space when using it.  It's ok for me, but I'm 5.10 and not a huge bloke so I can manage.  I would imagine if you are much over 6ft it could start to get a bit awkward.  The last thing I would mention is that I didn't realise how fast you can progress when working out regularly.  I only really started exercising in lock down 1, prior to which I was unfit, flabby, and could manage a total of 17 press ups before collapse.  Lot's of time in cars, in front of computers and eating out of service stations, with a passenger seat full of wrappers and junk food.  I'm already at the bottom of this stack on the bench press, lifting all 100kg for 3 reps.  I've had this gym since mid Oct and I'm already worried about running out of weight on it.  Obviously there are many exercises I can still do on it where I get no where near the 100kg, but the thought is there in my head that I'm going to have to look a where to go next.

[Rds1983]

3 hours ago, Straggler said:

I had a real problem finding something even approachable as affordable to work out on.  I had a bench and some dumbbells (15kg per hand) but it simply was not enough weight for most of my exercises.  I had a look at buying all sorts of stuff, hoping to stock up on a good set of free weights and a rack, but also found the pricing just stupidly high.  Instead I invested in this:

It has a 100kg stack and is relatively small in footprint so has helped move me on from the small dumbbells.  It cost me £699 which I know is no small investment, but it was less than half of what I was looking at buying bar and plates etc.  I could not fathom how 2x 20kg plates can cost £180.  If you want to be able to go up in relatively small increments the investment in different sizes is just crazy. 

There are a couple of down sides.  The range of movement is not a long as I would like on the bench press, I certainly feel like the resistance kicks in a little bit too late.  It is also a little tight on space when using it.  It's ok for me, but I'm 5.10 and not a huge bloke so I can manage.  I would imagine if you are much over 6ft it could start to get a bit awkward.  The last thing I would mention is that I didn't realise how fast you can progress when working out regularly.  I only really started exercising in lock down 1, prior to which I was unfit, flabby, and could manage a total of 17 press ups before collapse.  Lot's of time in cars, in front of computers and eating out of service stations, with a passenger seat full of wrappers and junk food.  I'm already at the bottom of this stack on the bench press, lifting all 100kg for 3 reps.  I've had this gym since mid Oct and I'm already worried about running out of weight on it.  Obviously there are many exercises I can still do on it where I get no where near the 100kg, but the thought is there in my head that I'm going to have to look a where to go next.

That's great progress, keep it up! 

I would suggest maybe picking up some free weights (if you get dumbbells you don't necessarily need a bench as you can use the floor) or continuing to do push ups. These will help with working your core and the key stabiliser muscles that don't get a huge workout on machines. 

[KentVillan]

This is doing the rounds. A lot of people lolling at the “poor form” etc.

But my guess is Real Madrid trainers and physios are more clued up on football fitness than your average Twitter gym bro.

So can anyone explain this?