Second hand Olympic Weights?
#26
Calsun , I have to tell you, it's statements like this ("get over yourself") that make me often avoid asking questions on forums like this. Be assured that all of your inquiries are welcome and legitimate. Now, Leisestirm does have a point: you can join a gym for as little as $10 a month (Planet Fitness), which will give you all the equipment you need. I personally built a home gym so that I can just walk into my garage and workout without driving anywhere. Whatever fits your needs. I am blessed enough to be able to afford whatever equipment I may desire or need. I understand that is not everyone's reality. But if you can afford around $750-$1,000, then you can obtain all your ever need for a home gym, especially if you can get some used equipment. But for $1,000 you can get over 8 years of membership at a Planet Fitness! Just b sure to figure in the gas....
My nearest gym charges a great deal more than $10 a month. All the "local" gyms entail a 40 minute round trip drive or longer and that 40 miles costs me auto expense of $600 a month which is not trivial. The IRS allows $0.67 and they are by no means being generous. I do not look at how much gas I need which would be over $200 per month but also the wear and tear on the vehicle. I also know that if I get to the gym and it is crowded or someone is hogging a machine it will turn my 45 minute workout into a 70 minute or longer one.
The local gyms I checked out prior to the pandemic had machines and dumbbells on racks but no weight plates and no rack cages with safety pins or straps or spotter arms. I would not trust my life and limb to the people working at these places. I also do not want to pick up the flu or RSV or Covid during a workout and then give it to my wife. So it is far safer for my wife and I to use a small home gym setup. The money spent at a gym and driving there and back are sunk costs. I get no instruction from the ones in my area.
I have roughly $25,500 invested in bikes for myself and my wife. Investing several thousands dollars on equipment I can have in the garage is not a concern. What is a concern is our long term health and both weight training and cardio workouts are equally important. Too many people complaining about how some hobby is now too strenuous or how touch the stairs are around their house or at public event. I myself was having muscle strain from lifting a 50 lb bike rack and getting it in the hitch or putting two bikes up and over the tailgate and mounting them to a board or working outside on my very steep acre of land and hauling branches and carrying a 4 gal backpack sprayer and other activities. The more I work out with the free weights the less sore I get from these activities and where I live there are no teenagers interested in doing yard work for any amount of money.
#27
Full Member
Calsun, I was quoting a different poster, who posted a statement in reply to you: "get over yourself".
The gym is always a convenient cheap option. But I agree with you. With all the stuff going on nowadays, I just stay away from big sweaty crowds, if I can. If you have the money, go get a nice rack, a good bar, and about 300# of weights. And as much as I love biking, moving the heavy weights is a must.
Good luck!
The gym is always a convenient cheap option. But I agree with you. With all the stuff going on nowadays, I just stay away from big sweaty crowds, if I can. If you have the money, go get a nice rack, a good bar, and about 300# of weights. And as much as I love biking, moving the heavy weights is a must.
Good luck!
#28
Over the past thirty years the local roads around my house have become much more dangerous with drivers not paying attention to the road but rather to their cell phones. The nearby elementary school has no children walking to the school but rather use school buses and a great many parents with cars dropping off and picking up their children. It would be a 15 minute walk at most but the parents consider walking or bicycling to be too dangerous and I agree.
Getting strength training in a 5x6 foot space works well enough, although I do need to pull the car out of the garage. I am adding a rowing machine that folds so it only takes up a 2x3 foot space when stored. The rowing machine will provide excellent cardio workout on a daily basis.
Many people think nothing about spending $6,000 or more on a bicycle and so spending a couple thousand on a home gym or $1,000 on a rowing machine should not seem extravagant but a practical investment in ones health.
Getting strength training in a 5x6 foot space works well enough, although I do need to pull the car out of the garage. I am adding a rowing machine that folds so it only takes up a 2x3 foot space when stored. The rowing machine will provide excellent cardio workout on a daily basis.
Many people think nothing about spending $6,000 or more on a bicycle and so spending a couple thousand on a home gym or $1,000 on a rowing machine should not seem extravagant but a practical investment in ones health.
#29
Been Around Awhile
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Burlington Iowa
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Over the past thirty years the local roads around my house have become much more dangerous with drivers not paying attention to the road but rather to their cell phones. The nearby elementary school has no children walking to the school but rather use school buses and a great many parents with cars dropping off and picking up their children. It would be a 15 minute walk at most but the parents consider walking or bicycling to be too dangerous and I agree.
#30
Full Member
Calsun, I agree with your train of thought. It all depends on one's particular circumstances. I have an absolutely insane gym 1 mile from my house. $30 a month. It has everything anyone would want. I also have a free gym through my HOA. Really nice too. But I choose to work out in my garage, by myself, really early in the morning, like some hermit....