If youre using irons, it should be fine too because youre likely not dropping weights. If youre just looking for an insane deal on a power bar, the ISF is also the best youre going to get for the price. If you wanted the better built and quieter training tool for your home, I would pick the Rogue all day. The Ceracolt retails for $369 with free shipping. All the recommendations for this barbell are beating a dead horse, but its tried and true and one of the best all arounders you can get. The Colorado bar has medium depth knurling similar to the Rogue, only comes in zinc, but only retails for $250 not including shipping. These DBs are what I use in my CrossFit affiliate and even with the amount of stress I put them through, I havent had a single one break. J-Hooks are equally as nice as the rack and are UHMW lined. Luckily, a lot of manufacturers have really stepped up their build quality when it comes to these so options for good ones are plentiful! Slightly softer than the Rogue balls, but still hold their form well enough. These V2 balls also have an improved texture to the synthetic leather shell so that theyre a little easier to grip. Though they look like your typical run of the mill budget stands, theyre built 100x better with 11ga steel, UHMW lined j-hooks and spotter arms and have a 5/8 pin! These DBs are what I use in my CrossFit affiliate and even with the amount of stress I put them through, I havent had a single one break. Everyone loves the look of competition plates, but theyre not really going to dictate your lifting experience unless youre going for some heavy deadlifts, in which case you might be better of getting iron plates. 28.5mm shaft means that its going to have some whip for Oly, but its not going to be too whippy for squatting and presses.
The Fringe has two options for knurling depending on the color you go with (orange: light, green: aggressive) and comes with cerakote but the coating adds a fair amount of thickness to the bar making it over 29mm. Im usually pretty critical about Titans finish but for something like this pull-up bar, they should be fine. Kahoots, Red Barn, or Tractor Supply has them in Southern California for about $45-50 per mat with discounts if you buy in bulk. I know in CrossFit, bench pressing isnt quite so valuable, but I still LOVE it! They even have wheels for ease of moving them around! Like with DBs, shipping becomes a big factor when shopping, so make sure you look into that when picking a brand. If you wanted to step it up to something a little bit nicer than normal plates, or youre trying to focus on Oly on a budget, theres nothing better for the money than these. 8mm should be fine for protecting your floor in conjunction with bumper plates. Free shipping throughout the range too! 28.5mm shaft means that its going to have some whip for Oly, but its not going to be too whippy for squatting and presses. You can order normal denominations or you can get a bulk set if you wanted to really kit yourself up and maximize the savings. Like the Rogue, you can head to the hardware store to swap the pull-up bar with something uncoated and daisy chain them. They dont offer free shipping on these, but their prices are low and shipping is cheap (to California at least) enough to still remain cheaper than both Fringe and Rogues offerings. The better machine here is the Rogue by far, but its not the standard plus its a little bit harder. Ive had one for YEARS and its still doing just fine; started in my garage but ended up as the door timer in my affiliate. IF you can buy local, thats always the best bet since you usually get a local discount! If youre just looking for an insane deal on a power bar, the ISF is also the best youre going to get for the price. Previously Dynamax was the standard, but I honestly think that Rogues outer shell is a little more durable. You can spice things up by doing a standing ride, or not and just enjoy the show. ProMounds 8mm Rubber Flooring If you dont have a tractor supply nearby, this is a pretty good option for something thats shipped for free. You can get these from 10-100lbs! That being said, I do think that you should budget the most you can into your barbell, then spend whatever else on your plates. The Fringe has two options for knurling depending on the color you go with (orange: light, green: aggressive) and comes with cerakote but the coating adds a fair amount of thickness to the bar making it over 29mm. The industry standard is Concept2, but we now have a lower priced, compelling option for you to get your fitness on with if you dont plan on using them for a competition. Rogue Fitness 28MM IWF Oly Bar Lets be real here, if you had all the money in the world, I would recommend dropping it on a Uesaka Competition bar, which is my favorite oly bar of all time. Best of all, they include free shipping on these wall balls! You can also step this bar up and get cerakote, but keep in mind that it does dull down the knurling a little bit. In my testing, I found this bar to be stiff with minimal bounce for squatting and the knurling to be aggressive, yet still comfortable with ceramic coating. Bells of Steel Squat Stands 3.0:Free shipping on this one makes it one of the best buys you can get when it comes to independent stands. Pretty much all of Rogues Oly bars come with EU steel now which provides excellent whip and feel. These V2 balls also have an improved texture to the synthetic leather shell so that theyre a little easier to grip. They hold their shape well enough for longer sets and the surface of them is easy to hold on to even when things get a little sweaty. Rep Fitness 3-1 20x24x30 Box Reps plyobox comes puzzle cut with pre-drilled holes so that all you need to do when you get it is screw them in with a screwdriver! I Sell Fitness Power Bar CrossFit or Oly not your thing? But, if you love benching like me and plan on putting up big numbers, you might want to look into something sturdier. Theyre durable, low bounce, use a current style mold where the heavier plates are a little thinner and lighter plates are a little thicker. Roughly 1.25 per lb across the range with FREE SHIPPING. 28mm, 190k PSI tensile with great whip, 10-needle bearing AND ceramic coating for UNDER $200? Honestly, if you just needed something to get it done, this is one of the best options. Rogue Fitness Kettlebells In todays equipment climate, there arent a lot of options to get cheap-ish kettlebells, so you might as well go with one of the best. What makes it an all around barbell? Unfortunately, thats not really a reality for most people, so I think if you still had a good amount of change to drop on a bar, the Rogue 28mm IWF approved Oly bar is the one to go with. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Arguably the most important part of your home gym. Id take this over any 28.5mm barbell any day of the week. In total, it weighs 67lbs which will be fine for stability on the 20 and 24 sides, though I wouldnt recommend using this one for 30 jumps (the soft layer makes it a little less stable). PRX, Titan, Fringe, Rogue all are leading the charge. These basic bumper plates use a little bit of an older style mold (Rogue HG 1.0), but its not a bad one and works well despite the bumpers being a little bit thicker than more current designs. Not to mention theyre backed with a solid 3 year warranty on the bigger plates and a 1 year on the smaller ones. Found this really interesting, thanks for sharing! I have a spare room here, and I cant wait to start renovating it and making it my own. Vulcan Scull Rower Though you might not be able to use it for the CrossFit Games, this rower offers the closest experience to a Concept2 rower than any other rower has before. They come with two sets of side straps so depending on if youre smaller or bigger, you have options. Keep in mind that these will absolutely damage your barbell sleeves, but if youre shopping for irons, you probably dont care. Prices range from 1.70/lb to 1.30/lb, with the option to pick these up which furthers the savings! Rogue Flat Utility Bench This is the bench that I personally use and has always done right by me. Cap Barbell Olympic Cast Iron PlatesNot planning on dropping your weights and just need to get the job done on the cheap? Vulcan Strength H-Basic Squat Stand or Oly-1 These two squat stands are some of the best youre going to get for the money AND they include free shipping. Couldnt agree more with starting with flooring and then knocking out the DBs and KBs next. If youre living on the West Coast, shipping from Rogue can get pretty costly, so Rep Fitness offers just as high quality kettlebell as Rogue does, with cheaper prices and shipping. Some companies will offer free shipping, but that cost will just be rolled into the actual price of the KB. They all offer great prices if you can pick them up! With all Rogues pull-up systems, they include a powdercoated bar, but you can head to the hardware store and pick up a 1.25 bare steel bar to replace that for better grip. 23 11ga steel tubing and features both 2 and 1 spacing! You can also daisy chain these together to make a long pull-up rig. Retails from $495-545 with free shipping! Thanks for sharing this detailed guide. Shipping is the make it or break it on this one If youre around Vulcan to pick-up or get cheaper shipping, its a steal. You want to be at or under $1 per lb, plus free shipping which most of these are from Wal-Mart.com. Honestly, I wouldnt spend a whole lot here if youre looking for a wooden box, because they all pretty much perform the same. So shop any of these products with confidence! Still, I personally prefer that so I dont tear my hands up doing kettlebell movements. Titan Fitness 3-in-1 Heavy Foam Plyo Box If youre one of those people terrified about jumping on boxes, this one will ease your mind. Theyre durable, low bounce, use a current style mold where the heavier plates are a little thinner and lighter plates are a little thicker. You can spend a TON on DBs, but with the right care, you wont have to because even cheaper ones hold up well. They have extremely low bounce, the center hub is rock solid, they fit tight onto bars and they have a 5 year warranty backing them. Honestly, dropping bumper plates in your garage probably wont destroy the floor but gf you want to further protect the ground, make sure you get some flooring. Obviously there are going to be better choices for actual military or LEO use, but for fitness, the minimal size of this one makes it the best choice. Also, the most important thing about these is that they come with a lot of velcro hook and loop for all your patches! Luckily, pull-up bars alone are pretty inexpensive so even just starting with one is a cheap way to get your hanging movements done and likely wont impact your purchasing decision, say you want to go with a squat/power rack that has a pull-up bar on it. They also bounce off the wall a little bit more so you wont run into that dead fall that a normal medicine ball will do if theres not enough force applied to it. Unlike most weighted vests, the plates on these load through the side and the fit is very streamlined so theres not a lot of empty space. From 1.99/lb to 1.39/lb. Collars are co-molded into the plate so you dont have to worry about the inner ring becoming loose over time. The value of this one really depends on the person and what theyre doing. Not to mention that it takes up a little less space and for me, the ergonomics (seating position) works better. If you wanted to go for another alternative that you can pick-up on Amazon that comes with ergonomic plates included, the Northgym carrier is an excellent option. Rep Fitness Kettlebells If youre living on the West Coast, shipping from Rogue can get pretty costly, so Rep Fitness offers just as high quality kettlebell as Rogue does, with cheaper prices and shipping. Titan Fitness Wall Mounted Pull-Up Bar Honestly, if you just needed something to get it done, this is one of the best options. Each size has a lip that makes picking them up a little bit easier to do, handy when picking them up when laid flat on the ground. A 160lb ($319) set should be okay for beginners, but if youre edging the advanced side, I would recommend upgrading to the 260lb($419) set. CrossFit or Oly not your thing? Surprised this doesnt have a section for wall mounted rigs, which truly are a god send for home gym owners. Honestly, these are so good, theres no reason to look elsewhere. Or maybe youre just looking to finally piece together that home gym. And, for that price, it falls flat to many competitors. I spent a lot of time on this bench and though I never personally surpassed a 300lb bench on this, Im sure it would handle it just fine. I personally had input on the knurling and whip of this barbell, the final product is exactly what Im looking for in a CrossFit/Oly training barbell. So cheap you can buy two of them! I personally dont think you should cheap out on a wall ball since they take a beating and you want them to last. Also, theres a 7% discount for LEO/Military! You can either hang it from the ceiling or from the wall and it extends 32 away from what you mount it to. Absolutely NONE of the things Im recommending are things that I wouldnt use personally! Ergonomics are a little different, but not totally game changing; I prefer the pedal width on the Vulcan but I do like the more upright seating position of the C2 more. Northgym Adjustable Weighted Vest If you wanted to go for another alternative that you can pick-up on Amazon that comes with ergonomic plates included, the Northgym carrier is an excellent option. The alternative to this bench is the Amazon Basics bench, which is also decent to just get by, but I do prefer the pad on this bench a little more (theyre both flimsy). Another thing I dont care to do on soft boxes is DB box step overs because the movement can make the box tip as well. Rogues KBs have a very grippy texture and matching handle sizes so even the lighter ones grip the same as the heavier ones. ALSO, keep in mind that this is going to be the best way to do bar muscle-ups! Left without a gym to get your workout in at?