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J

juicyness

Guest
Hey guys

I'm looking to buy some olympic sized weight plates from gymdirect and I've noticed the variety of different sizes (25kg, 20kg).

Was curious on what weight configuration do you guys recommend to get? Buy 2x25kg 2x20kg 2x15kg 2x10kg 2x2.5kg 2x1.25kg?
Or any other configs you guys recommend?

Cheers.
 
Depends mate, what sort of exercises do you intend to do and how much weight are you moving atm?
 
Just mainly the big 3 compounds; bench, squat, deadlifts and some other barbell variations, like SLDL, Rows, OHP.

Currently i'm pushing 120kg Deadlift, 100kg Squat, 80kg Bench. But these are not 1RM, just what I'm using for 3x5 at the moment.
 
Remember you don't have to buy a lifetime's supply on day one. The 250kg gymdirect package would be as much as most are ever likely to need on their own, but then you have to pay for the tail lift service for delivery. Around 150kg would be a good amount. You just need one pair each of 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10s, and the rest can be 20s, ie 3 pairs of them. I would add microplates to that, at some point you may need to take smaller than 2.5kg jump on press and bench. This gives you 162.5kg of plates, plus the 20kg bar means up to 182.5kg to lift.

Then if in 6 or 12 months you need more, okay you buy another pair of 20s, and so on.

It's different if you'll regularly have mates around to lift, of course.
 
Thank you Kyle for the recommendation. That's true, since i'll be lifting by myself 182.5kg worth of weight is plenty enough for me.
Definitely microplates will be on the list, since as of now its getting difficult to increase each workout by 2.5kg on presses and squats.

Curious though, why go with 20s and not 25s and take out 15s?
 
2x10s, 5s, 2.5s, 1.25s and just get as many 20s as needed.

People say get 20s vs 25s because the 20s are nicer for making jumps up in weight.

I've got microplates. Don't think I've used them for a few years.
 
Buy a couple of 25's and two 20's
dont worry about the micro's yet, that's only until you are really edging close to you potential, adding a micro instead of a rep is really nice in that situation.
in time when you become a savage buy a couple of 50's, these are really handy to have lying around.
buy a trap bar too.
 
Curious though, why go with 20s and not 25s and take out 15s?
Usually not needed. If you add 20s then you can take up to 40kg jumps through your warmups; if 25s, it's 50kg jumps. How much would you have to be lifting to take 50kg jumps through your warmups? The main use of 25s is when you're lifting so much that it's hard to fit enough 20s on the bar. If you're at that stage then you're probably looking at Ivanko or eleiko plates rather than gymdirect's ones, honestly, because you'll be wanting higher quality and calibration.

I don't find 15s useful in iron plates, all it does is save you adding 10 and 5.

Goosey, actually I find microplates useful for newbies, too. If they insist on 2.5kg jumps then healthy young guys often get stuck in the 40s for press and 75-85 for bench, allowing smaller jumps and plenty of food the guys go through to 55/90, or 60/100 if they're determined and eat well. And they're basically essential for most women and older people. You can push up in 2.5 jumps if you go for more reps instead, like building from 80 for 5s to 80 for 10s then up to 82.5 for 5s - but it's a bit tedious and most people would rather add weight than reps. 4.5yr in the YMCA with no microplates and I never had any guys who started from nothing bench 100+, 6 months in my garage with microplates and 6 did it. Obviously atmosphere and a few other things mattered, too, but microplates were a big part of it.

OP, do look for some training buddies if you can make it happen. It makes things better in many ways.
 
Definitely, 50kg jumps in warmups are huge... Yeah that's true. I thought maybe it would be better in the long run as maybe i won't need to buy as much plates but I don't think I would be utilising 25s unless i can fill a bar up with all 20s on either side.

Micro plates were important for me in some situations when trying to progress with 2.5kg per workout were becoming tough, especially with OHP.

I think going with 6x20s 2x10 2x5 2x2.5 2x1.25 in plates is the best way to go and just a cheap 20kg barbell. Unless otherwise?

Definitely have one or two mates who would be interested once I buy these weights, I guess for them it will beat crowded commercial gyms.
 
Markos of PTC, his advice years ago was, go for a good barbell, save money on weight plates. And I agree. So don't get the cheapest bar - trust me, you always end up regretting it.

But also consider the kind of rack you've got and its hooks and safeties, if they're just metal then they'll grind up the bars where they hit, which is basically where you grab it for a snatch. If you ever want to do the quick lifts then you'll need a separate barbell for it. If your rack has got hooks with plastic padding then it'll be fine.

One of the basic aspects of barbells is their stiffness. If you want it to be able to hold 200+kg in a lift then the bar has to be stiff, otherwise it bends and wobbles and puts you off, and eventually the bend becomes permanent. It can be made stiffer by alloying it with metals other than iron and carbon, which is expensive, or making it thicker, which is cheap. So the cheap barbells are usually 32mm rather than 28mm - and yes, it does make a difference.

The second aspect is the knurling, the hatching for grip. This can be shallow or deep, and sharp or smooth. Obviously, deep and sharp will lead to a better grip on the bar, but this involves more work in the bar factory so also means extra cost. Thus, the cheaper bars have crappier knurling. We all develop our preferences, and they're often different for different lifts - "this one for bench, that one for deadlift" - but nobody prefers shallow soft knurling.

There are other little aspects like how well the sleeves (spinny bits you put the plates on) fit, and so on, but bar thickness, stiffness and knurling are the major things you'll notice in your first year or two of lifting. You don't need a $1,500 eleiko bar, I just wouldn't get the cheapest one. A good bunch of gear should last you literally decades, so a few hundred bucks here or there is not a big deal viewed with that in mind.

Of course, if you've never had any instruction, you might consider splurging on that, too. The various PTCs are good places for that, but there are lots of black iron gyms around these days, not like a few years ago.
 
I'm going to go the opposite.

I have a Pendlay bar a Texas power bar and a cheap gym direct bar.

For the home gym the cheap bar is the best all round bar.

The pendlay is usless for squatting.

The Texas power bar, was the proper one, $5-600 from memory. It's bent to shit, knurling is great but it's stuffed.

The gym direct bar is straight. Because it's the cheap one I used it for 400kg rack pulls and pin squats and it's still straight and better for the home gym.

Wait until you decide you are going to stick with it before you splash the cash on a expensive bar. You will still have heaps of uses for the cheap bar afterwards.
 
Would have to agree with Bazza on this one as well.

I have a $30 bar, and been using it for about 10 years, then I have a few home made bars. Unless you plan on competing $500 bars are a wank and waste of money IMO

I squat with my home made bar in a rack, and most of my lifts are done with the $30 bar.

If I was starting over I would get a package deal on some oly style plates, get a few 20kg ones and one pair of each of the smaller ones, then just add another pair of 20's to your collection.

You might also have to decide if you want cast, rubber coated or bumpers.

For home rubber coated might be nice, but it's your personal preference.

PS: I would recommend a good weight tree or similar, especially when training at home to avoid having plates all over the place causing a hazard and just being a pain in the ass

I still use these 40 year old cast weights I picked up off Gumtree, they are that old they are calibrated in pounds, I just gave them a coat of paint, but they are just as heavy as the others, muscles don't know the difference, really depends on what you want:



When I bought them a few years ago:

 
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Usually not needed. If you add 20s then you can take up to 40kg jumps through your warmups; if 25s, it's 50kg jumps. How much would you have to be lifting to take 50kg jumps through your warmups? The main use of 25s is when you're lifting so much that it's hard to fit enough 20s on the bar. If you're at that stage then you're probably looking at Ivanko or eleiko plates rather than gymdirect's ones, honestly, because you'll be wanting higher quality and calibration.

I don't find 15s useful in iron plates, all it does is save you adding 10 and 5.

Goosey, actually I find microplates useful for newbies, too. If they insist on 2.5kg jumps then healthy young guys often get stuck in the 40s for press and 75-85 for bench, allowing smaller jumps and plenty of food the guys go through to 55/90, or 60/100 if they're determined and eat well. And they're basically essential for most women and older people. You can push up in 2.5 jumps if you go for more reps instead, like building from 80 for 5s to 80 for 10s then up to 82.5 for 5s - but it's a bit tedious and most people would rather add weight than reps. 4.5yr in the YMCA with no microplates and I never had any guys who started from nothing bench 100+, 6 months in my garage with microplates and 6 did it. Obviously atmosphere and a few other things mattered, too, but microplates were a big part of it.

OP, do look for some training buddies if you can make it happen. It makes things better in many ways.

Ok, when people talk about micro plates, or fractional plates I think plates under 1.25kg, carry on
 
How much are you looking to spend? There have been some good deals on secondhand equipment lately.
 
id buy an el cheapo to start with. If you are still in the iron game in a few months, thats when you can buy some nicer toys.
Plus then you would have two bars, which is more useful than you may think.
 
What benefit does the newby get from the expensive bar?

If "expensive" means beyond his means then none.

if some dude regardless of age is looking at building his own gym in his own garage or back porch and has no experience in lifting in a gym then he's looking at a very short hobby IMO.
 
id buy an el cheapo to start with. If you are still in the iron game in a few months, thats when you can buy some nicer toys.
Plus then you would have two bars, which is more useful than you may think.

I wouldnt
i bought a nice bar and I love it, it's a thing of beauty.
 
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