Dumbbells/Home weights

Sold my weights for buttons as I went to the gym instead. Getting a dry bag to fill with sand as a sort of kettlebell.

Surprised some clever person hasn't knocked up their own dumbells to flog; it can't be that difficult to manufacture them. Definitely money to be made.
I got some more plates for this lockdown from an engineering company who saw the opportunity. Decent prices too.

Obviously it’s easier to churn out metal plates than full dumbbells as it’s pretty much just a case of getting a metal forging and boring a 2 inch hole in the middle. Nonetheless, if you have a bar and some plates you have everything you need.

I don’t have a squat rack so I do mostly rows, deadlifts, barbell hack squats (underrated), complexes on top of bodyweight stuff, and when I want to do shoulder press or squats I have to clean the bar into position which adds some extra intensity to the workout. I’ve seen more improvement from this than I have in the last six months of being in the gym (previous lockdown not withstanding).

It made me think that having a fully equipped gym with lots of machines and such is nice, but you can fool yourself into thinking you’re doing more, when in reality you’re doing less of the basics which really get the results and more supplemental work which is less effective. Plate loaded machines definitely have their uses but in terms of bio-mechanics they will never be as effective at engaging practically every muscle in your body in the way things like squats, deadlifts and overhead presses do.
 


I got some more plates for this lockdown from an engineering company who saw the opportunity. Decent prices too.

Obviously it’s easier to churn out metal plates than full dumbbells as it’s pretty much just a case of getting a metal forging and boring a 2 inch hole in the middle. Nonetheless, if you have a bar and some plates you have everything you need.

I don’t have a squat rack so I do mostly rows, deadlifts, barbell hack squats (underrated), complexes on top of bodyweight stuff, and when I want to do shoulder press or squats I have to clean the bar into position which adds some extra intensity to the workout. I’ve seen more improvement from this than I have in the last six months of being in the gym (previous lockdown not withstanding).

It made me think that having a fully equipped gym with lots of machines and such is nice, but you can fool yourself into thinking you’re doing more, when in reality you’re doing less of the basics which really get the results and more supplemental work which is less effective. Plate loaded machines definitely have their uses but in terms of bio-mechanics they will never be as effective at engaging practically every muscle in your body in the way things like squats, deadlifts and overhead presses do.

Yeah, I'm not exactly up on the science of it, but my understanding is using free weights you use more of your core muscles to support yourself.

Managed to get some off a Polish guy in Gateshead. Haven't got off my lazy arse to use them yet though.
 
Yeah, I'm not exactly up on the science of it, but my understanding is using free weights you use more of your core muscles to support yourself.

Managed to get some off a Polish guy in Gateshead. Haven't got off my lazy arse to use them yet though.
Yeah. Basically in a nutshell, the stress you can apply to one part of your body at a time working in relative isolation can never add up to the same stress that can be applied to the whole body working as a system. The potential to create physical change using compound movements which utilise most of the muscles in your body at a given time will always be greater.

As I said, machines and such like still have their place, though.
I cut different lengths of scaffold tube... Filled with cement ... Cheap but do the job...
I like your style.
 
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I started with a broomstick on my shoulders doing 10 squats. No weight as such, but it's surprising the amount of muscles you have to use to keep good balance and posture.

Just an after thought: The gym culture really took off in the early nineties when obesity stood at less than 2%. Thirty years of gym growth and the obesity rate is now 29%. WTF happened there?
 
Anyone after equipment I recommend Mirafit. I’ve upgraded my rusty old shit to a power rack, Olympic bar and 180kg plates from them for a total investment of £80 after selling everything I had amassed.

They have new stock coming in daily, pick what you want and leave your email for an alert if it’s out of stock. Great service from them fast delivery and top quality gear with a cool black and orange colour scheme.

I’m currently putting together a dumbbell rack. Got 5s 10s and 15s, gonna get 20s 25s and 30s. Got pretty much a full gym in my flat
 
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