Help a beginner purchase some kit!

[iPOUND]

Hi, I'm a long time reader first time poster.

I've been doing body weight & dumbbell excersies for about 12 mths and I'd like to progress to a power rack & barbell.

I've been reading the equipment threads thoroughly and it appears GymDirect, CyberMarket, and LittleBlokeFitness are the preferred suppliers. They seem to have good package deals, but to save money on freight I'm considering buying the olympic weight plates locally in Brisbane.

This site has rubber coated olympic plates for $2.50 per kg Rubber Coated Olympic Weight Plates | Gym Equipment Brisbane

Do these look like decent value and are they good quality or is the rubber coating perhaps poor quality? Weight accuracy isn't a huge concern but I don't want them to be ridiculously inaccurate either.

Also what would be a good set of weights to order as a beginner? From reading the threads I'm thinking 8x20, 2x10, 2x5, 2x2.5, 2x1.25 = 197.5 kg which comes to $493.75. Should I get some 15's or 25's also?

Thanks for any advice. I'll have further questions about the rack etc soon.

 

[Swervyn-Ervyn]

Seems ok!!

I wouldn't bother with dem 25/15 plates..
Also what do you dead, usually it's a persons heaviest lift so I budget is tight just get enough weight for that + progression over the next month or 2

 

[Peterpack]

Get your power rack and bench sorted first

Weights you will just keep buying over time

 

[iPOUND]

Seems ok!!

I wouldn't bother with dem 25/15 plates..
Also what do you dead, usually it's a persons heaviest lift so I budget is tight just get enough weight for that + progression over the next month or 2

Ok, I'll skip on the 25/15's. Good question, I have no idea what I can dead lift. I'm guessing not much. I notice the beginners program thread says to aim towards a 180 kg deadlift so perhaps I could drop a couple of 20's and get them later if needed. This would give me 157.5 kg of plates plus 20 kg for the barbell.

 

[Brick]

Ok, I'll skip on the 25/15's. Good question, I have no idea what I can dead lift. I'm guessing not much. I notice the beginners program thread says to aim towards a 180 kg deadlift so perhaps I could drop a couple of 20's and get them later if needed. This would give me 157.5 kg of plates plus 20 kg for the barbell.

I'd buy 200kg straight off the bat that way your set.

 

[iPOUND]

Get your power rack and bench sorted first

Weights you will just keep buying over time

I've been having trouble trying to decide on a rack and bench. At the moment I'm tossing up between the cyber-market LC2 and the gymdirect MMPR. I like the pullup bar on the MMPR but the LC2 is cheaper. My ceiling is only 2400 high and I plan to get some 15 mm rubber mats, so I will probably have to invert the pullup bar I think. I already know the MMPR one can be done but does anyone know if the LC2 pullup bar can be inverted?

I already have a Iron Master super bench but it is quite narrow (260 mm) and high (540 mm) so I am wondering whether I should get a lower/wider flat bench with the rack. I guess I could make some foot rests to overcome the height issue but the narrow width already bothers me while doing dumbbell bench press and I'm wondering if the narrow width will be even more noticeable lifting heavier weights with a barbell.

 

[Brick]

I've been having trouble trying to decide on a rack and bench. At the moment I'm tossing up between the cyber-market LC2 and the gymdirect MMPR. I like the pullup bar on the MMPR but the LC2 is cheaper. My ceiling is only 2400 high and I plan to get some 15 mm rubber mats, so I will probably have to invert the pullup bar I think. I already know the MMPR one can be done but does anyone know if the LC2 pullup bar can be inverted?

I already have a Iron Master super bench but it is quite narrow (260 mm) and high (540 mm) so I am wondering whether I should get a lower/wider flat bench with the rack. I guess I could make some foot rests to overcome the height issue but the narrow width already bothers me while doing dumbbell bench press and I'm wondering if the narrow width will be even more noticeable lifting heavier weights with a barbell.

Justed checked my cyberfolit lc2 you'd be pretty low if you inverted the brace that holds the chin up bar, to the point where you'd probs hit your head.

 

[iPOUND]

Justed checked my cyberfolit lc2 you'd be pretty low if you inverted the brace that holds the chin up bar, to the point where you'd probs hit your head.

Ah yeah I didn't consider that. What's the height of the chinup bar in the normal position - the website says 2150 is that accurate? I do have a 50 mm set down to the garage so I could put it there if necessary. It gets hot in there but.

Also I noticed you have the cyberfit flat bench - how do you like it?

Can anyone advise what the height of the MMPR chin bar is when inverted?

 

[random8]

Just giving you my thoughts after setting up my own home gym about a month ago; I bought 150kgs of plates and I'm finding that will be enough for at least 6 months.

Edit: Also, I'm not sure if you're only set on brand-new plates, but waiting could give you time to keep an eye on gumtree for second hand, good condition plates at a decent discount? Picking up the first 150kg via second hand wasn't possible for me because they were few and far between, but ofc this week someone put a full 180kgs of plates up for sale and at an awesome price (just my luck, and I missed out on grabbing the remaining 4 20's I wanted). So IMO, buy enough to get you started but keep a look out for second hand plates for when you need to expand to 200kg.

Additionally - this may or may not be relevant to you - don't hesitate to ask for a price match / check the e-bay prices that certain stores have. In my experience, a lot of retailer's website prices were higher than their e-bay store prices.

 

[iPOUND]

Just giving you my thoughts after setting up my own home gym about a month ago; I bought 150kgs of plates and I'm finding that will be enough for at least 6 months.

Edit: Also, I'm not sure if you're only set on brand-new plates, but waiting could give you time to keep an eye on gumtree for second hand, good condition plates at a decent discount? Picking up the first 150kg via second hand wasn't possible for me because they were few and far between, but ofc this week someone put a full 180kgs of plates up for sale and at an awesome price (just my luck, and I missed out on grabbing the remaining 4 20's I wanted). So IMO, buy enough to get you started but keep a look out for second hand plates for when you need to expand to 200kg.

Thanks for that. Yeah I've been watching gumtree and ebay for the past month and I haven't seen anything worthwhile yet either - perhaps I should keep waiting.

 

[iPOUND]

Does anyone know if this is a decent rack REVOLUTION POWER RACK

The frame and hi-lo pulley looks almost identical to the cyberfit LC2. It just has different bar supports (and only 2 instead of 4), safety spotters, and $50 optional dip handles. I could pickup and save $$ on freight. If I add $50 for dip handles it appears similarly priced to the LC2 with hi-lo pulley.

This one is 2100 high so I would not have to invert the chinup bar either.

 

[random8]

Looks fine but at that price point I think most people are looking at a rack like this: Force USA - Power Rack with Band Attachments

Very similar but I believe the above is slightly more heavy duty?

Actually on Ebay it's $660 but I don't know if there's a distributor near you, in which case the shipping cost would obv screw that option.

 

[wingman]

Looks fine but at that price point I think most people are looking at a rack like this: Force USA - Power Rack with Band Attachments

Very similar but I believe the above is slightly more heavy duty?

Actually on Ebay it's $660 but I don't know if there's a distributor near you, in which case the shipping cost would obv screw that option.

Prefer MMPR Power Rack for that price bracket

 

[Brick]

Does anyone know if this is a decent rack REVOLUTION POWER RACK

The frame and hi-lo pulley looks almost identical to the cyberfit LC2. It just has different bar supports (and only 2 instead of 4), safety spotters, and $50 optional dip handles. I could pickup and save $$ on freight. If I add $50 for dip handles it appears similarly priced to the LC2 with hi-lo pulley.

This one is 2100 high so I would not have to invert the chinup bar either.

Mate you'll get thayt rack heaps cheaper I've seen southside fitness advertising em on sale for $399 without the pulley. Why don't you go down and have a look at it. It's only a rack if it catches failed squats its served it's purpose.

 

[iPOUND]

Mate you'll get thayt rack heaps cheaper I've seen southside fitness advertising em on sale for $399 without the pulley. Why don't you go down and have a look at it. It's only a rack if it catches failed squats its served it's purpose.

Geez that's cheap! Yeh I think your right mate I should go have a look next weekend. I was wondering if it was available without the pulley.

Since you've seen this one and own the LC2 do you agree that the frame looks the same? My guess is they are the same structural frame just badged differently for each seller with slightly different spotter bars and supports.

Edit: nevermind, I just had a closer look at the photos of each and the bolted joints are totally different. The LC2 joints look more solid with extra plates under the bolt heads and nuts. The southside fitness one has the bolts tightened directly against the tube walls. So I'm leaning back towards the LC2 again.

Looks fine but at that price point I think most people are looking at a rack like this: Force USA - Power Rack with Band Attachments

Very similar but I believe the above is slightly more heavy duty?

Actually on Ebay it's $660 but I don't know if there's a distributor near you, in which case the shipping cost would obv screw that option.

Thanks, yeah I have considered that one too, but apparently there is an issue with it being too wide, which makes it tricky to rack the bar. I think someone here got an extra long bar made up because of it

 

[iPOUND]

Can anyone tell me what height the chinup bar is when it is inverted on the MMPR rack? I'm 185 cm will I hit my head on it?

 

[pomhat]

Thanks, yeah I have considered that one too, but apparently there is an issue with it being too wide, which makes it tricky to rack the bar. I think someone here got an extra long bar made up because of it

i've had the rack for a few months and no issues with it being too wide.. theres a few inches clear on each side for my bar.. maybe i'm not squatting heavy enough and wobbling back?

 

[random8]

Thanks, yeah I have considered that one too, but apparently there is an issue with it being too wide, which makes it tricky to rack the bar. I think someone here got an extra long bar made up because of it

i've had the rack for a few months and no issues with it being too wide.. theres a few inches clear on each side for my bar.. maybe i'm not squatting heavy enough and wobbling back?

Just in case it helps your selection iPOUND, this is the issue with the Force USA power rack as Graeme from littleblokefitness explained in the thread for that rack;

There's basically three models of this rack still floating around.

The first is the oldest model that dates back over two years and should largely be gone from market these days. It is an older design and will not fit any of the current attachments for this rack. Some places are still selling them off dirt cheap.

ForceUSA updated that F-PC rack about two years ago to a newer design that was also wider - 1290mm from the outside of the left j-hook to the outside of the right (I'm assuming this was wider to give the user more room in the rack). This unfortunately meant that you needed to get a 7ft barbell that was atypically wide between the plate stops to fit it. This is the rack Bams has got, and I know he's had all sorts of problems getting a bar to fit it (even the ForceUSA 7ft barbell barely fits the rack).

ForceUSA have now updated their F-PC rack again to a slightly skinnier design that has a more standard width of 1210mm. This means that most 7ft bars will fit it with no problems and this is the current model.

You'll need to check with the retailer to make sure that the F-PC they are selling is the current model – that is, one that is 1210mm wide. If it is, just check the distance between the plate stops on your 7ft barbell to make sure it's more than 1210mm (preferably quite a bit more to allow you room to re-rack safely) and you'll be fine.

If it's the older wider model, then you may need to hunt up a wider barbell.

Hope that helps.

Graeme.

So basically I gather the wideness issue only applies to the first and second edition, third should be fine.

 

[iPOUND]

i've had the rack for a few months and no issues with it being too wide.. theres a few inches clear on each side for my bar.. maybe i'm not squatting heavy enough and wobbling back?

Just in case it helps your selection iPOUND, this is the issue with the Force USA power rack as Graeme from littleblokefitness explained in the thread for that rack;

So basically I gather the wideness issue only applies to the first and second edition, third should be fine.

Thanks guys. I saw this link from another thread and it looks like excellent value POWER RACK W/ LAT PULL DOWN STAND CAGE SQUAT + 200KG WEIGHT PLATES + BARBELL GYM | eBay

That is assuming it is the current version, and if they can do a more practical plate config. I'll send them an email to check the width and to see if they can do the plates in a better config. Freight seems to be cheap too.

I've also sent emails to GymDirect and Cybermarket for quotes so I'll see what they come back with.

 

[MickiD84]

Prefer MMPR Power Rack for that price bracket

Don't know why you'd prefer the MMPR over the force USA... just looking at the massive hole spacing on the MMPR rules it out for me.