Home Gym Machines

Bowflex and Total Gym are two notable brand name home gym machines that are heavily advertised and very popular among people new to fitness. They're particularly good options for people with limited space and who want a machine complete with easy-to-follow instructions. They also quickly turn into coat racks, so they're fairly easy to find used.

If your goal is to get the large muscles of a bodybuilder, they aren't the best choice, because they don't provide much weight for certain heavy compound lifts such as squats and deadlifts that are a basic component of bodybuilding. There are, however, other home gym machines that are more rugged and made for heavy lifting. See the Home Gyms category.

Other Machines

Countless other machines are out there that focus on a few exercises or an isolated movement. Various cable machines, such as the popular Cable Crossover , use cables, pulleys and carriages. The carriages have either selectorized weight stacks (where stick a pin in to select the desired weight) or weight posts (where you manually load on weight plates).

 

Leverage machines likewise may use selectorized weight stacks or weight plates. They have arms and joints to pull the weight up instead of cables.

Many machines come in both cable and leverage models, including the Lat Pulldown , Leg Press , Military Press (shoulder press ), Bench Press (Chest Press ), Pec Dec , and much more.

If you're buying a machine that has posts to slide on your existing weight plates, make sure you know whether it takes Standard or Olympic weights (see further below for info).

Dumbbells

Hexagonal Cast Iron Dumbbells  are the cheapest type of dumbbell you'll find. They're have solid steel handles and cast iron heads with a grey finish. There are varieties with contoured handles that are wider in the middle to better fit your hands, and with rubber heads for durability and noise reduction. They commonly range from 3 lbs to 100 lbs.

Neoprene and Vinyl Coated Dumbbells are available in lighter weights typically ranging from 1 to 10 lbs.




Pro Style Dumbbells  are the ultimate professional dumbbells and are often used in commercial gyms. They are made with solid steel handles, cast iron Standard weight plates, and steel end caps bolted on. This modular design provides for a low maintenance cost, as plates or other parts can be easily replaced if necessary. They can last for decades of continuous use. Like hex dumbbells, contoured handles are available, as are rubber coated plates and rubber end caps . They commonly range from 10 lbs to 150 lbs.



Dumbbell Handles for use with Standard or Olympic weights (see further below for Standard vs. Olympic) are a cheap solution. The advantage is they're very cheap, especially if you're using weight plates for other purposes too. The disadvantage is they take a minute or two to change weights, requiring you to add and remove plates and collars.



There are also adjustable dumbbell systems that are more user-friendly than the above dumbbell handles. They're more expensive but still much cheaper than buying several pairs of non-adjustable dumbbells. PowerBlock , Bowflex Selecttech and Ironmaster Quick-Lock are the most popular such systems. Currently there are models adjustable from 2.5lbs to 50lbs and all the way up to 130lbs per dumbbell.

Olympic & Standard Weights

Be familiar with the two weight set types, Olympic and Standard (sometimes called Regular), to make sure you purchase compatible equipment. The basic difference is the bar diameter. Both Olympic and Standard bars are about 1" thick (or a little more) in the middle section, but the bar diameter differs on the sleeves, which are the ends of the bar that you slide weights on.

 

Olympic Bars  have 2" diameter sleeves. As such, they will only take Olympic weight plates, which have 2" diameter holes (Note: The sleeves are actually slightly less than 2" and diameter, because they need to fit weights with exactly 2" holes). Olympic weights are the type almost always used in commercial gyms, as well as many home gyms.

 

Standard Bars  have 1" diameter sleeves. They are made to take Standard weight plates with 1" holes. Technically they will also take Olympic weight plates, but Olympic plates will fit loosely as their holes are larger, so in such a case it's recommended you purchase Olympic Adapter Sleeves so that the Olympic weights fit snugly on the Standard bar.

Olympic Bar Advantages:

Strength. Standard bars will start bending somewhere over 200 lbs, whereas Olympic bars can take several hundred pounds safely. Even stronger Olympic bars are rated at 1000 or 1500 lbs.

Stability. Olympic bars are thicker and heavier on the ends and aren't as susceptible to tip over due to unbalanced weight when loading 45 lb plates.

No torque. Olympic bars have revolving sleeves so that there is no added torque while performing certain exercises such as snatches or curls. This reduces the chances of hand slippage or bar warping over time.

Rack compatibility. Power racks and Olympic bench press racks are made to take 7ft bars. Standard bars are often only 5 ft or 6ft long.

Thickness. The middle length of the bar is actually slightly thicker on Olympic bars, typically 1 1/16" or 1 1/8". A standard bar is typically 1". A thicker bar is easier to grip, and it's enough to make a difference in comfort and how much you can lift.

Competition grade. Olympic bars are the only type used in competitions.

Deadlift assistance. Olympic 45 lb weights are larger in diameter than Standard 45 lb weights, thereby lifting the bar off the floor more to make deadlifts easier.

Grip option and other options. Some Olympic plates have built-in handles that make the plates much easier to carry safely. Rubber or urethane encased plates combat breakage, rust and noise. These options are rarely available in Standard plates.

Standard Bar Advantages:

Price. Standard weight sets are sold as smaller sets and are priced lower. Cheaper bench press racks are narrower and suitable for the shorter Standard bars.

Shorter Dumbbell Handles. The adjustable dumbbell handles as described above in the Dumbbells section come in Olympic and Standard. The Standard handles are usually 14" long, while Olympic are 18" long. 18" is usually overkill, so the longer handles can be get in the way and be quite awkward when loading them with heavy weights. It's a small issue but worth noting.


NOTE: Just to confuse things completely, there are basic cast iron Olympic plates on the market with the word "STANDARD" casted on. But it doesn't matter what they say - The size of the holes in the weights determines whether they're technically Standard or Olympic.

Benches and Racks

A Bench Press is a popular piece of freeweight equipment that novices buy. It's easy to learn and relatively cheap. It has the disadvantage of providing for only one exercise.



Among intermediate and advanced lifters (and novice lifters in the know), a bench press is often replaced by the economical, space-conscious, full-body solution of an Adjustable Bench (or Flat/Incline/Decline Bench or FID Bench ) and Power Cage (or Power Rack ). The bench should be one without an attached rack, as the power cage provides the rack. A power cage essentially is comprised of four vertical posts with movable horizontal bar catches on each side. The uprights are linked together at the top and bottom, thus producing a cage. A safe free weight workout can be undertaken without a spotter, because dropping the weight will result in it being caught by the safety bars. Dozens of exercises can be performed with this setup, including the squat, military press, bench press, incline press, decline press, dip, pull up, rack pull, curl, shrug, and more. The separate bench also has the advantage of being able to be taken out of the cage for use with dumbbell exercises without a rack or cage getting in the way.

Thanks for reading! You can find many of these pieces of equipment at my eBay Store - Adamant Barbell.