Starting a cheap home gym. What's the single most important piece of equipment to start with for weight training?

GENERALLY_CORRECT · 2012-05-24T20:40:08.289267+00:00

I'd like to gradually add things but purchase the most important equipment right now.

Here's what I would do...

Buy a barbell with some weights. Even without a rack you can make an okay program, subbing in front squats and floor press instead of squat and bench. Get a good bar though, expect to spend a few hundred here.
Next get a rack as soon as possible. (and a bench. You can find a simple one for fairly cheap) At this point you have pretty much all you need for the basic lifts, and you could even stop here and not miss a whole lot
Now you can just focus on the other little things you might want. e.g., dumbbells, ab wheel, whatever.

Emseeee · 2012-05-24T20:00:28.333057+00:00

Alright, here, let's put an end to this.

To lose fat, you must be eating fewer calories than you burn. There are many ways to lower your calories. Not all of them involve counting, but the end result is the same: a caloric deficit.

The end.

zeldanerd86 · 2012-05-24T17:21:37.523028+00:00

Do said guru's exist?

keyser12 · 2012-05-24T15:29:03.147891+00:00

Sounds about right. I've done upper/lower splits all my training life. I recently switched to a full body routine and suddenly it feels like cardio all the time.

ether-i-am · 1 day

In addition to this, I think they can buy snacks and other foods, or at the very least have them sent to them.

iwitpi · 1 day

I read the book, but I haven't done it. Looks like a damn good program. I only have one real problem with it, which is his insistence on only doing two exercises. I tend to be a minimalist myself so I can appreciate what he's trying to do, but I think it's a bit extreme.

lance_klusener · 2 days

I actually just did this last week. I just put in a ziplock bag, and stuck it in my backpack, which I put through the scanner. They didn't even ask to see it either time. I'd imagine the worst case scenario is that they pull it out, and quickly realize its not drugs or explosives, and you've only wasted 5 or 10 minutes of your time.

LesterBurnEm · 2 days

inb4 that baby squats 3000 lbs raw at the age of 14.

albinosnow · 2 days

I know... Which is why they should be the same thing... or am I misunderstanding you?

IronicAsAlanis · 2 days

What are your workouts like? If you're doing a lot of higher rep stuff, it's going to give you a huge pump and build more muscle. Maybe for upper body you should just stick to pure strength training. I.e., keep it in the 1-5 rep range.

Also, if your body fat really is 15% (which I kind of doubt) then you probably have a hell of a lot of muscle definition, because that is extremely low. If that's the case then you might want to gain five pounds or so to give you a softer look. Conversely, if you're carrying a little too much fat in your arms it may make it look bigger, in which case you should lose some fat. So try to figure out if either one of these is a problem before you change the workout.

albinosnow · 2 days

There's still just one problem I have that nobody seems willing to take into account. The treadmill is exerting a force on you. To keep from moving, you HAVE to exert an equal force in the opposite direction. It's physics, there's no getting around that. To say that the treadmill is doing the work for you is to say that the treadmill is pushing you forward as well as backward at the same time, which doesn't make sense.

By the way, I'm not disagreeing that treadmill running is different, I just don't buy the idea that it's because you no longer have to push because the treadmill drags your foot back.

damendred · 3 days

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thehobgoblin · 3 days

It could be modeled exactly the same for outside running if you just define your system differently.

While you are running down the road, your body has momentum and inertia. Now, when you put your foot down, the ground isn't moving, but your upper body is, so naturally the ground holds/pulls your foot back for you, and you don't have to push forward as much because the earth is doing it for you.

Can you see how this is exactly the same reasoning you used, and how both examples are wrong?

The treadmill can't pull on just your foot. As long as your foot is bearing the weight of your body, it pulls you as a unit, and you have to push to compensate.

eric_twinge · 3 days

The matter isn't destroyed in the process though. The energy comes from the bonds between the atoms, not the molecules themselves.

thehobgoblin · 3 days

If you jump straight up while you're on a treadmill, you'll move backwards. For the same reason that if you jump out of a moving car, you will continue moving in the direction the car was moving while you fall. Inertia.

I had a loooong discussion with seydar here about it if you're really interested.

The fact is that the treadmill is pulling you back, so you have to move forward or you're going to fall off the back.

eric_twinge · 3 days

hybrid of starting strength

Well you're not following the program exactly anyway, so "incorrect" is kind of a meaningless word at this point.

But yes, if you are actually doing SS, Rip has you only doing one working set of 5 for deadlifts.

eric_twinge · 3 days

I like the climbing bag because I can hang it from my power rack. It also has a nice pull-string to open and close it easily.

eric_twinge · 3 days

I would say alternate days. It would help spread out the volume and hopefully you recover better that way. That said, I think the most important thing is that you just don't do it right before your lifting. If you choose to do them in the same session, do the cardio after.

albinosnow · 3 days

You don't actually accelerate backwards BECAUSE you're pushing forward. The treadmill does pull your foot back, but it doesn't lessen the need for you to push. The push is why it pulls only your foot back and not your whole body.

albinosnow · 4 days

Your model of it makes sense if you're PERMANENTLY suspended in the air, the thing is though, you aren't going to be forever.

Would you agree that you are going to move backwards if your legs are actually bearing your weight? (I'm just going to hope/assume you say yes to this so I can move on)

Now would you agree that your legs are going to be bearing your weight at least at some point? I would hope so. If not then you have mastered levitation.

So I don't think there's really any way around it. When you land, you are in a situation where you have the full weight of your body supported on one foot, on a surface that is moving backwards under you. If you don't do something about it, you're going with the surface. And if you say something like "That's why you pick up your foot, you're doing something about it", keep in mind that it's too late. If even for a split second that force is exerted on your body, you have accelerated backwards at least a little bit.

albinosnow · 4 days

Alright lets break it down. First the treadmill pulls on your leg. Next your leg pulls on your body, producing a backwards force on it. Now, at this point, since your leg is bearing the weight of your body, the natural tendency of your body is to go with your leg. That is unless you push your body forward and ahead of your leg. So, you're right that your center remains fixed, but the forward push from your legs is what keeps it there. It's like every step is a constant re-correction of your position.

Thanks for working this out with me.

No problem. It's a good exercise for me. I'm having a surprisingly difficult time actually putting this into words.

albinosnow · 4 days

Think of it this way, every time your foot is in contact with the treadmill, you get dragged backwards. If you jump straight up, with no horizontal component to the force, you're going to keep moving in the direction the treadmill was pulling you because now you have inertia. (Think of dropping something from a moving car). So you really need to be pushing forward as well as up.

Does that help, or did I completely misunderstand your point? lol

thehobgoblin · 4 days

The problem I have with this is that physics explains a lot of things, however, human performance within these laws and the things that happen within the body while performing, aren't always going to align perfectly with what is generally accepted.

That's true, and biomechanics isn't my area of expertise (or treadmill mechanics for that matter). It's just that nobody's explanation of WHY was actually correct, like thehobgoblin saying your posterior chain doesn't have to push you forward as hard, or even some guy seeming to argue that wind resistance is all that causes the need for horizontal propulsion when you are running outside. (lol)

Obviously the argument got wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy far away from "what's better, outside or treadmill?"

throwaway_speculum · 4 days

OP is obviously a zombie.

thehobgoblin · 4 days

I love you guys, and have mad respect for gzcl, but from a physics standpoint, most of the downvoted comments are the correct ones.

Not that treadmills don't suck, but they don't negate the fact that you have to push forward with your hamstrings just as hard as you would running on any other surface.

Jesus, people.

Sicnarf111

TROPHY CASE

Sicnarf111

TROPHY CASE

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