Outfitting a home gym to help you achieve your bodybuilding goals can be a daunting task. If you're like most home gym aficionados, you started with one piece of equipment and gradually added more as your budget and space allowed. However, if you can put a bit more planning into getting some of the best quality equipment up front, you will not only save money in the long run, you will also have equipment that will last a lifetime.
Power Rack
According to Dave Tate, a nationally ranked power lifter and founder of EliteFTS, the first piece of equipment you should purchase is a power rack. Power racks serve as the centerpiece of your equipment, allowing you to do safely do squats, pull-ups, deadlifts, bench presses and military presses as a solo trainer. The safety bars in power racks can be adjusted for each exercise to allow the safety bar to catch the barbell if you have to bail on a repetition so you are not pinned beneath the weight. Quality racks will have a steel tubing frame, a pull-up bar and holes spaced no more than 3 inches apart to give you more placement options for the safety bar and J-cups.
Another desirable feature is a set of weight pegs to store your plates, bands or chains.
Barbell
The second most important item is a barbell. Avoid the sporting good store barbells and select the most expensive bar you can afford. Cheaper bars are prone to bending and some have even been known to break in the middle of a lift. Bars come in two styles: standard and Olympic. Standard barbells will accept plates with a 1-inch hole and are not optimal for heavy lifts. Olympic barbells will accept plates with 2-inch holes and have a standard length of 7 feet. Purchase an Olympic bar to give you the most flexibility and ability to lift heavy.
Plates
Plates come in a variety of shapes and sizes and packages. Choose Olympic-sized plates with a 2-inch hole to fit your Olympic bar. Most packaged plates come with two 45-pound plates, two 35-pound plates, two 25-pound plates, two 10-pound plates and four 5-pound plates. Unless you are doing Olympic lifts like the snatch or the clean and jerk where you will be dropping the barbell, it's not necessary to purchase the pricier rubber plates. Iron plates will fit the bill. . Due to the high shipping cost of buying new plates, Tate suggests trying to find used plates in the local classifieds or at garage sales.
Dumbbells
Dumbbells can come in fixed weights or adjustable weights. Which you choose depends on the size of your wallet and the space you can dedicate to your home gym. Fixed-weight dumbbells are convenient because you do not have to stop your routine to change the plates on the dumbbell handle. The downside is the number of dumbbells you must have to give you the most variety. For this reason, many home bodybuilders choose to start with a pair of Olympic-size dumbbell handles that can make use of your existing plates. Adding four 2 1.2-pound plates to your collection would prove useful for dumbbell work.
Bench
A top-quality bench will last for years, not rip, not smell and will provide a stable surface for your pressing movements. At a minimum, your bench should be constructed of 2-inch heavy duty steel tubing. An incline bench, where one portion of the bench can be raised or lowered, is preferred over a nonadjustable flat bench. This gives you more options and angles for your barbell and dumbbell exercises such as the incline press, flat bench press, seated shoulder press and dumbbell flys. Although not necessary, a bench with wheels is desirable to allow for easier movement of the bench in and out of the power rack.
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