Buying equipment

Wai Jia: The Kung Fu Forum Kung Fu Training and Health
1

Question for you all…

I’ll be buying some weight equipment for my school and have spoken to several of my students and it seems that the consensus is that we buy the following:

  • Olympic bench
  • Olympic 300lbs set
  • Medicine balls
  • Dumb bells w/ rack
  • Interlocking mats for the weight area

Is there anything else that you guys would recommend we purchase?

Now, please keep in mind that this will mostly be used by my fighters so we’re not looking for a full gym set-up. I’m trying to provide a good environment so my guys can save some money instead of going to a separate gym for their weight workout.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you.

2

How about a pullup and dip station and maybe some kettle bells or clubbells.

3

“pullup and dip station” is this what you mean?

here

“kettle bells or clubbells”

Pardon my ignorance but I’m not too familiar with weight equipment, what are those?

4

pullup and dip station is a good idea.

Anything that can be done with kettle/clubbells can be done with dumbbells in my opinion, close enough to not warrant the extra money you spend on those when you could just purchase more weight for your dumb and bar bells.

5

I couldn’t get to your link. Here’s some pullup and dip stations. http://www.fit-senior.com/acatalog/Fit_Senior_Vertical_Knee_Raise___Chin_Station_119.html

Red5 makes a good point about the kettle bells and clubbells.

Here’s a good site to check out: http://www.crossfit.com

6

I think we can fit one of them in the budget

Chief Fox - I like your pullup+dip link better! :smiley: and thanks for the other link, it looks really informative.

7

Originally posted by red5angel

Anything that can be done with kettle/clubbells can be done with dumbbells in my opinion, close enough to not warrant the extra money you spend on those when you could just purchase more weight for your dumb and bar bells.

Have you used kettlebells and clubbells? 'Cause I wouldn’t quite put it like that. They might not be available where SaekSan is though.

8

I"m pretty sure he can get them in Wisconsin :smiley:

No, I have not used club or kettlebells, because I use dumbbells instead :wink:

9

yeah, they are pretty expensive pieces of training equipment. I might recommend the adjustable kettlebell from www.uskettlebells.com for your class though. They are made in Rockford IL so you could even drive down and pick one up.

I think you can pretty much make a clubbell, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be as nice as the premium version.

10

Ok, cool now I know what they are… I’ll look into those as well although I’m still inclined to get the other equipment first, may purchase a kettle bell and club bell later.

Thanks FJ and Red!

Is there anything I should consider when buying the olympic bench?

11

I would just get a flat sturdy bench, with adjustable rack. I’m not sure what an Olympic bench is.

12

I like a bench that has variable heights on it for incline and decline bench. It’s not as necessary unless your bodybuilding but it still helps to change things up from time to time. And you get sweet t!ts

13

fa_jing…

This is the olympic bench I’m currently looking at:

http://www.mcsports.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1386674&cp=1170115.1170136&parentPage=family

14

Power Rack … or something that can hold a bar up for you when you wanna do heavy squats.

Also, you’ll probably want more weight than 300lbs if you’re gonna end up lifting heavy. Esp. if your 300lbs won’t all fit neatly on your olympic bar.

15

FSY,

Not really sure we’re going to go really heavy. We’re looking to supplement the fighting program so besides the regular workout and bag work they have some weight equipment too nithing fancy just the basics (for now).

I’ll take a look at power racks though, thanks for the info.

16

Originally posted by FngSaiYuk
Power Rack … or something that can hold a bar up for you when you wanna do heavy squats.
What he said. A bench alone is fine, but a rack opens up so many options. At the very least I’d get a squat rack. And with the matting, those interlocking ones are pretty thick aren’t they? I’d do what I did and get thin rubber instead. If it’s too thick you might have stability issues - that’s why most guys lifting heavy here like flat soled shoes or bare feet for the heavy stuff over e.g. running shoes. Go to a rubber place and you can buy it off a big roll in whatever length you want - it’s not cheap though.

What about a heavy bag? A thick (like a dockyard) climbing rope? Doing Oly lifts - a lifting platform (make your own)?

17

Hi Saeksan,

You may want to save money by getting some of those things on your list second hand. Check the classifieds in your area. Ebay has some good buys as well. Weights are weights-- if they are a little old, a little spray paint will do just fine. With the money saved, you can get the other things on your list in better quality.

mickey

18

Originally posted by mickey
[B]Hi Saeksan,

You may want to save money by getting some of those things on your list second hand. Check the classifieds in your area. Ebay has some good buys as well. Weights are weights-- if they are a little old, a little spray paint will do just fine. With the money saved, you can get the other things on your list in better quality.

mickey [/B]

Excellent tip. I bought most of my weight set of over 600lbs for $100 used.

19

I would get the bench and rack separately. Then you can use the rack for squatting.

20

Yeah, don’t bother with that fancy ass bench. Get a pretty standard flat bench and a seperate rack so that you can squat. Even if you’re not planning to go heavy, having safety in mind is important as the people will be trianing in your school, therefore under your liability. And check second hand for sure - save yourself heaps of cash.

Clubbells and kettlebells are a little too specific I think. Get the dumbells and at least two or three barbells, then several people can train at once (bench and squat rack for example) and a dip/pullup station is pretty essential.