Setting up Garage gym, advice on bench and flooring

I'm looking to set up a Power Rack at home in the garage, need some input on some of the details.

I'm all but decided on
7 Package Deal_ Commercial Power Rack + Bench + Heavy Duty Olympic Bar + 175kg Rubber Olympic plates

I want to upgrade to an adjustable bench, I don't think the height concerns that have been mentioned before about the adjustable bench that is an option with that package, I am 183cm tall with long legs so it shouldnt be a problem.

However, I do like the look of the new release AFID bench
ASFID Super FID Bench

Can anyone comment on it as compared to the Adjustable that's optional with #7? Ill PM The Hulk to see if i can swap that into the package.

If I go with the new Ultimate ASFID, is the preacher attachment of any use? Ive heard theres no need to isolate Biceps, that compounds will always be better, so with that logic, the preacher pad would be a waste of space and money?

I am completely new to lifting, I am looking into getting private coaching, but anyways, should i get the bitchpad for squats? or should I just harden up from the start and get used to the bar with no pad?

Im going to go with Rubber Coated weights, As I don't plan on dropping weights from a height. I intend on getting some of the 1mx1mx15mm rubber floor tiles from GymDirect, I dont know how many I will need, I am assuming 9 tiles will be enough for the rack. i might end up getting 15 or 16 to do a 5x3 layout to have some flooring space in front of the rack.

Am I best having the rubber flooring straight on the concrete with the rack on that? or is it ideal to have some sort of wooden flooring between the concrete and rubber? I could easily lay some Yellowtongue 25mm MDF down under the rubber. Im also assuming its better to have the rack on rubber rather than straight onto the concrete to absorb vibrations from the rack when loading/unloading etc.

Is there any special considerations for delivery? the page about the tiling says forklift unloading is required, how does that work for home delivery? Like most people, I don't have a forklift in my garage, does that mean I just need to choose tailgate option on delivery? I plan to order power rack, dip attachment, bench, weights package, bar, 15 or 16 1x1m rubber tiles

once this is all set up, I am hoping to have enough space left over to set up a 3mx3m matted area for brazillian jiu jitsu practice/drills. I also need space for my boxing station and road bike mounted in a stationary trainer, and still need enough space for the half dozen other pushbikes I have in my garage, currently looking at building a custom rack to stack the bikes vertically to save space.

Looking forward to getting it all together and getting some use out of it.

kxy said:

I do like the look of the new release AFID bench
ASFID Super FID Bench

Can anyone comment on it

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I've got it, it's good, no complaints from me.

kxy said:

If I go with the new Ultimate ASFID, is the preacher attachment of any use? Ive heard theres no need to isolate Biceps, that compounds will always be better, so with that logic, the preacher pad would be a waste of space and money?

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I've also got this attachment, and it's easily the biggest waste of money of all my equipment purchases. Nothing wrong with the quality of the product, I just don't like the feel of preacher curling, used it 2-3 times and it just gathers dust now. I prefer standing dumbbell curls.

kxy said:

should i get the bitchpad for squats? or should I just harden up from the start and get used to the bar with no pad?

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No need for the pad mate. I don't understand those things, I'm a novice and don't feel any discomfort with the bar on the back.

kxy said:

I intend on getting some of the 1mx1mx15mm rubber floor tiles from GymDirect

Am I best having the rubber flooring straight on the concrete with the rack on that? or is it ideal to have some sort of wooden flooring between the concrete and rubber?

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You can get the mats cheaper from this place.

http://www.gymequipments.com.au/ind...category_id=11&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=5

I used them, quality is fine. I dunno about delivery costs, they're in Sydney so I picked them up myself.

The mats can go straight onto concrete, don't need anything in between.

Oh damn, curse of the lurker, cant PM Adrian until I hit 10 posts.

can anyone with this rack tell me the height not including the pullup bars, I have high enough ceilings, but the specific spot Id like to use has a beam with 2200mm clearance, the rest of the ceiling is 2500mm, where I want to place the rack, the beam would be above the rear uprights of the rack. theres plenty of space in front for clearance above the pull up bars.

Ill look at that other store for flooring, but honestly, I live on the gold coast, so will need delivery, and would prefer to have it all delivered at once so will most likely order from gym direct.

So I'm not gonna get the preacher pad. still leaning to the Super ASFID, because of the lower height in the flat position, Ive also heard the pad width on the commercial adjustable is a bit narrow for flat use, I've heard its probably the best incline bench out there but only average as a flat bench, I dont really have the cash to fork out for the included flat bench plus the commercial adjustable.

I wouldn't bother buying that much flooring. My rack is just fine on the concrete floor. I however did buy 2 1x1m mats and made a platform. A thick layer of 2.4x1.2m ply on the base, two 0.8x1.2m mats on each end of the base with a matching thickness 0.8x1.2m bit of ply in the middle. Works a treat for DL/rows etc.

Any chance of a pic of your platform and rack? i have been thinking about building a platform myself.

Anyone else have any input on rack on concrete vs rack on rubber? Im still leaning towards the 3mx3m rubber flooring for my rack.

The rack is heavy enough that it doesn't move when reracking the bar. I don't forsee any damage to the floor. I do have my little excess bits of rubber under one end because the concrete slabs are slightly uneven. Also the platform is a bit thicker now.

Nice rack and platform, gives me some ideas. As for the rack being on concrete, I had my homemade rack on concrete for a while and it didnt do any damage to either the rack or concrete.

You can always use timber instead
Or JUST enough rubber to put the rack on
Dunno if anyone else has noticed but once I started squatting on rubber mats and not concrete my knees didn't pull up as sore (could have just been the body getting used to it as I hadn't squatted in a while)

I wholeheartedly believe that the rack would be fine on bare concrete, however, I want it to feel more like a fitness studio then a garage, hoping to eventually have the whole garage covered with rubber flooring, except for a 3mx3m grappling/jiujitsu eva foam flooring area

Really i would rather it feel like a garage gym lol..

Hey Christian, I certainly can see the appeal of a rugged industrial type gym, I just know that If I dont keep my whole garage in shape, it will end up looking like piles of crap with a bit of a clearing for a rack.

Here's my garage gym I set up late last year.
Personally, I love the full cover rubber flooring.
I've had a similar set up on just plain concrete before and something always felt uncomfortable about it to me, less motivated too.
I like a little comfort while training, I'm not hardcore enough I suppose.

That garage gym looks a dream Adrian, Was just composing a PM to you to ask a few details

Hulk, I know exactly what you mean about the feeling with only concrete...there is something different about it. I much prefer the mats.

Thats a damn fine setup Hulk. Looks bloody great. I agree with the flooring, mines only thick old conveyor belt or something but adds that little aspect of comfort, and protects the plates from the concrete

TooMuchWeights said:

The rack is heavy enough that it doesn't move when reracking the bar. I don't forsee any damage to the floor. I do have my little excess bits of rubber under one end because the concrete slabs are slightly uneven. Also the platform is a bit thicker now.

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Mine rattles around a bit when I do rack pulls (same Force USA one as you) but you'd be hard pressed to actually move it when there are plates and everything on it

Hulk, I hope all that equipment didn't 'go missing' from your store

The Hamburgler said:

Hulk, I hope all that equipment didn't 'go missing' from your store

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No Grayem, not missing.
Just borrowed for testing and evaluation purposes.