Best Home Gym?

[ZONA]

I have been going to a gym for awhile years but now that I am building a new home, I will have a dedicated workout room but I have no clue as to what are some of the top home gym's to buy. I already have a Total Gym thing which is good for the wife and we will probably get a recumbant bike but I need something more for weight training. I need to be able to do bench press, fly's, shoulder shrugs, lats, legs, etc. I could to with a bench and some dumbells but not sure. I still would like to know what others thing about some of the home gyms out there.

[BABronco]

Not too sure about gyms, but ab lounges are simply amazing. Certainly worth the money.

[Spider]

Best home gym ? Kids ...Spend a day changing , Chasing , feeding , Picking up after them

[-Slap-]

Pacific Fitness makes quality home gyms at affordable prices. I owned one about 20 years ago and the company is still going strong.

[yerner]

Power rack with cable pulley and pull up bar. Olympic weight set. dumbell's, either adjustable or reg set depending on space. there you go.

[Cito Pelon]

My "home gyms" have been ridiculous. I put about $400 into one and I don't have time for it at home. I get a better workout in the garden.

[OregonBronco]

I have a BowFlex Xtreme II...I like it a lot. The only thing it's not good for is leg curls. They run about $1400 new with the extra weight rod, but I bought mine off a friend for $650. It takes some getting used to, but it definitely provides a good workout.

[DenverBrit]

Originally Posted by -Slap-

Pacific Fitness makes quality home gyms at affordable prices. I owned one about 20 years ago and the company is still going strong.

I agree. Excellent value and smooth. I wouldn't trade mine.....and it's useful for drying clothes too.

[Jesterhole]

I have a Bowflex Power Pro that I've had for 4-5 years now. Still get a great workout, and taking 20-30 minutes to get a great workout instead of 1 1/2 - 2 hours to get to the gym really adds up.

[Traveler]

Zona,

Are you looking to use metal plates? Or are you wanting more resistance types machines?

I went the resistance machine route only because I didn't want or have the room store all the weights. Guess it depends on how much space you are going to dedicate to your new gym.

[ZONA]

Originally Posted by Traveler

Zona,

Are you looking to use metal plates? Or are you wanting more resistance types machines?

I went the resistance machine route only because I didn't want or have the room store all the weights. Guess it depends on how much space you are going to dedicate to your new gym.

I wanted to stay away from bands and things like Bowflex and go with something that resembled what you saw in a gym like LA Fitness. Something with stacked plates. I mean, I've looked on the net and there are tons out there but I was looking for feedback on some stacks or something close to that.

[scorpio]

Originally Posted by yerner

Power rack with cable pulley and pull up bar. Olympic weight set. dumbell's, either adjustable or reg set depending on space. there you go.

^^^

Absolutely. Thread over. If space is an issue then switch out a pair of Powerblocks for the dumbell set.

My advice is to pass over Bowflex, ab lounge, total gym, or anything that you've ever seen on a TV commercial. The model promoting Bowflex on the commercials certainly did not achieve his physique using a Bowflex.

[Cito Pelon]

What about a heavy bag, medicine balls, pullups, pushups, situps, hill sprints, stairsprints? One modern method I like is this airfilled dome you stand on and play with the dumbells or medicine ball at the same time. Whatever that thing is called, it works. I started playing around with that thing at the gym, and I don't even have to stretch my calves and hams anymore.

[Los Broncos]

Originally Posted by BABronco

Not too sure about gyms, but ab lounges are simply amazing. Certainly worth the money.

Can i use ab lounge to lose some weight?

[Cito Pelon]

Originally Posted by ZONA

I wanted to stay away from bands and things like Bowflex and go with something that resembled what you saw in a gym like LA Fitness. Something with stacked plates. I mean, I've looked on the net and there are tons out there but I was looking for feedback on some stacks or something close to that.

Well, stacks suck, unless you're a straight power-lifter. If you want real fighting power you'll need a more varied workout. Dumbells are better than bars since you have to work both arms etc equally. If you want to have strong and agile legs, run stairs or hills. Sprint them. A heavy bag is a cheap and efficient workout for stamina, punching power and movement. If you have a partner to work out with, the medicine balls will increase your fighting power a lot.

[StevetheBronco]

Nothing works better that pushups, situps and running up and down the staircase with ankle weights around your ankles.


STB

[Traveler]

Didn't want to deal with the plates anymore. Shoulders are shot. But Steve the Bronco does have a point.

[Traveler]

Did a cross section of both free weights and straps. Also have the Ab Lounge and a free weight bench (not pictured).

[ZONA]

Yeah, I suppose I could go ala Rocky 3 or whatever and lift some rocks over my head and lift carts full or birdseed or punch some slabs of meat but I'm a working man with little time and these machines of stacked weights do just fine for me. I can build good muscle with them. Just looking for something that offers quality. I've had a few gym's and some of them were made very poorly.

I found these and they look awesome. That Titan thing is impressive but it's $3000. Some of the Bodycraft stuff looks good.

http://www.fitcore.com/products/strength/Titan_T1.htm

http://www.bodycraft.com/gyms.tpl

[scorpio]

Originally Posted by ZONA

Yeah, I suppose I could go ala Rocky 3 or whatever and lift some rocks over my head and lift carts full or birdseed or punch some slabs of meat but I'm a working man with little time and these machines of stacked weights do just fine for me. I can build good muscle with them. Just looking for something that offers quality. I've had a few gym's and some of them were made very poorly.

I found these and they look awesome. That Titan thing is impressive but it's $3000. Some of the Bodycraft stuff looks good.

http://www.fitcore.com/products/strength/Titan_T1.htm

http://www.bodycraft.com/gyms.tpl

The Titan is AMAZING. If you have the money it's definitely worth it.

[sixtimeseight]

Originally Posted by StevetheBronco

Nothing works better that pushups, situps and running up and down the staircase with ankle weights around your ankles.


STB

umm yea, unless you want to build your biceps, triceps, upper back, lower back, calves, hammies, etc... Some people want to have a balanced body, not just abs, uneven pecs and quads.

OP, get a squat rack, plates and some dumbells and you'll be set.

[tsiguy96]

please do everyone a favor and dont support the bloated fitness industry by buying a bowflex or anything else thats equally ridiculous, they dont work. you need a power rack a bar and weights, thats it.

[ZONA]

Damn - found this thing just now. It looks frickin amazing. Can do almost all the exercises. Great price too. No ruberbands or stacked weights. Wish I could find out what kind of quality it is, get some reviews. I'll look for those next.


http://fithouse.biz/inc/sdetail/1250

[Victor]

The best home gym is no home gym.

Body weight exercises are the way to go. Check out this link:

www.transformetrics.com

This is a forum for the publisher of Pushing Yourself to Power, and Flexercise.

You can build and tone muscle and lose weight using only bodyweight exercises that include pushups, squats, isometrics, etc.

Don't buy the machine and let it collect dust. One man's opinion (and I have the machine and weights collecting dust in the basement.)

[Beantown Bronco]

Only 12 and 16 ounce curls are allowed in my patented strength and conditioning program.