Hello fitness friends! The big wide world of weights, bars and accessories can be overwhelming at times – especially if you are just starting out with your weightlifting or strength training journey. In this post, we take you through various types of barbells and weight plate sets so you can have all the information you need when making a purchase for your home gym.
Do you thrive on weight lifting workouts? Are you ready to walk away from overcrowded commercial gyms? Do the logistics of getting to the gym around busy work and lifestyle commitments mean that you miss out on workouts?
The convenience of being able to work out on your own schedule, without commuting, without waiting to use equipment, and without navigating pools of other people’s sweat makes setting up your own home gym a no-brainer. Â
When you start to visualise your ideal home gym decked out with all the weight lifting equipment you could ever need, it’s easy to develop an extensive wish list, especially if you’re transitioning from a commercial gym. However, with a bit of planning, you can set up your own gym, complete with all the weight lifting equipment you need, with a relatively small initial outlay. Your gym and your workouts will probably evolve with time, but we’ve compiled a short list of weights and equipment that are our top picks to get you training at home and achieving results.
For weight lifters setting up a home gym, it makes sense to start out by investing in a barbell and range of weight plates. A barbell and weights are probably the most important and versatile pieces of weight training equipment you can buy. Even if this is all you start off with, you’ll have everything you need for a whole body work out, and you’ll be able to tailor exercises to work every muscle group, and make solid progress, no matter what your fitness goals are.
On that topic, are you weight training for size, strength or endurance? They’re all slightly different beasts, and the weights and reps in your program should be finessed to help you most effectively reach your goal. Check out this article for a good explanation of the different approaches to each type of training, and how you can set up a weight lifting program with the right weights and reps to get you where you want to be.
A weight lifting bench will really let you take advantage of the full range of exercises you can do with your barbell, and will take a central position in your home gym. Benches can also provide a useful platform for stretching and extensions of bodyweight-based exercises. Pick a bench that allows for incline to support a greater range of exercises.
Kettlebells are the new dumbbell. Kettlebell training increases strength, power, speed and coordination as well as core stability. Kettlebells are also highly portable, and require minimal storage room. We stock a range of kettlebell weights from 4kg right up to 32kg. Many kettlebell exercises recruit all the major muscle groups simultaneously, making for a highly effective workout. Check out this high intensity workout which only requires two kettlebells (and a lot of sweat).
A power rack is the ultimate piece of home gym equipment for almost anyone training with weights because of the variety, extension and safety that a rack offers. While racks are a big-ticket item, if you’re purchasing other equipment such as barbells and plates, it may be worthwhile investigating whether you’re able to combine your set up purchases into a package, and take home a power rack as part of a starter package.
Currently, Atomic Mass is offering a half rack package for more than $500 less than the retail price of buying the component parts individually. The package includes:
We also offer a lifetime frame warranty on our benches, racks and weight trees. This means that if you somehow manage to break it, we’ll replace it!
If you’ve got any questions about the best equipment for your home gym, or you’d like to talk through getting set up, we’re happy to assist – just give us a call on 07 3170 3787 or email us via our contact form.Â
Are you ready to set up your own home gym? Here’s our quick guide to buying the strength training equipment you need to work out at home whenever it suits you.
Before you start, do some research and make a list of the weight lifting and other fitness equipment you need to make your workouts effective. You don’t need lots of pieces of equipment to have a functional home gym. Starting off with a decent barbell and plates set and a bench gives you scope for variety in your strength training. There are plenty of free programs around (like this one as an example) that show you how to get a full body workout with only a barbell. Anything extra that you decide to purchase allows you to extend from there.
If you’re a serious lifter, it might well be worth making the investment in a rack. Whether you go for a compact model or go all out, put some serious thought into the versatility that comes with a rack. A power rack doesn’t just exponentially increase the range of exercises in your routine; it also provides safety as it can act as your own personal spotter. This can give you the confidence to up your game and push the envelope with weights that you might think twice about lifting without the safety net of spotter arms on a rack. This can open the way up for you to extend your lifting capacity by safely pushing weights and reps that will really empty your tank.  Â
With accessories like weight plate storage options, chin up bars, dip handles and land mine attachments, you can really go to town and turn a power rack into the hub of your gym.
If you’re training for strength, cardio won’t be your focus. However, you can still get your cardio fix through high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts with weights to increase endurance, burn fat and build muscle. HIIT style workouts are also time-effective, with a complete HIIT workout usually taking less than 30 minutes to complete, compared to a more traditional 45 to 60 minute steady state cardio workout. We’d suggest saving space and money on cardio machines, and if you do want to go for a run, take it outside to mix things up.
A sometimes overlooked, but very practical consideration is the type of flooring you use in your home gym. It’s important to choose a non-slip surface that will absorb noise and protect your property from any damage from dropped weights.
We sell commercial-grade rubber gym tiles that absorb both sound and vibration, which makes them ideal for both noise reduction and absorbing the impact of dropped weights and heavy equipment. The flooring comes in tile form, with each tile 1m x 1m in size, with a thickness of 15cm. Buy a few for the area where you lift and are more likely to drop weights; or tile your whole floor space for an impressively clean and professional feel.
To help keep your motivation high, think about what you really want out of a fit out (and treat yo’ self). Set up some awesome sound, install a mirror, or improve the lighting to make your home gym feel like a place you really want to be. Spend a little time mapping out the floor space. Think about the different spaces you’ll need for different exercises, practical considerations such as the locations of power points and storage, and any creature comforts – whether it’s a wall-mounted television or ample room to get up close and personal with your foam roller at the end of a session.
Whatever you’ve got in mind for your home gym set up, we’re here to help. We’re experts in gym planning and layout and we offer a consultation service just for this purpose. We’re happy to assist – just give us a call on 07 3170 3787 or email us via our contact form.Â