fitness equipment shopping list for 400bucks

[abc]

my job gives a 400buck gym credit kinda thing... what would you recommend i buy to best utilize the credit.... what would your shopping list be to start a fitness regimen.

 

[BillGates]

Guns. Lots and lots of guns.

 

[Kelvrick]

A bench set that will allow incline and decline, with an olympic sized bar and weights will run you maybe 150-200 bucks. Get a power tower for pullups and such things for another 100 or so. Spend another 50-100 bucks on a good pair of running shoes, weight-lifting gloves, and a quality jump-rope. Maybe another 50 bucks on dumbells and that'll be plenty.

<== monkey dance

EDIT:
150: Regular and incline/decline bench set with bar
100: Power tower
070: Running shoes
015: Weight-lifting gloves
015: Jump-rope
050: Dumbells

 

[Lucky]

what are your goals? lose weight, gain muscle...?

 

[abc]

goals? have some popping veins (heh heh) adding more strength to the upper body.

so dumbells, no curl bar?

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: abc
goals? have some popping veins (heh heh) adding more strength to the upper body.

so dumbells, no curl bar?

DON'T get weight gloves. Real men don't bother just use your hand. It hurts but you get use to it. The gloves will just weaken you, go without and you get better grip strength and calouses also.

Just use the olympic bar to do curls on. Just as good. When you get more advance *maybe* and interested then see if you want to get a curl bar but I wouldn't bother.

Bench press
Deadlift
Squats

CORE of any real body builder.

The core 3 big exercises will be good for you still.

I can tell you right now that if you want to have a big and strong upper body you will HAVE to work your legs. That is the MOST and FIRST thing people get wrong. If you want to get big upper body you work your arms. But it will take you ages and probably won't change much over time if you do. But if you do SQUATS you will go much further and faster.

Do squats and then your upper body exercises and you will get stronger upper body.
Do compound movements (movements that involve more then one joint movement = bench press, dead lift, squats, clean and jerks or power jerks etc *note* that curls the way you do them only involves one moving = less muscles working and also your arm muscles are much smaller then your leg muscles.

If you build your legs up you will also thicken our your upper body also.

It will also increase your metabolism and testosterone so your body can work better.

btw the equipment you get will be relatively cheap and not great quality but quality costs a lot in training equipment. The olympic bars I train with cost $1500k EACH the dics are $400 a pair. So don't drop them too much on the ground also they'll be metal discs so they are not suppose to be dropped. The rubber dics you can but they are pricy.

Good luck in training. The main thing is that you train with STRICT and good FORM. Work your back also most people neglect this.

(I could be a dam good Personal Coach. SE England Champion WL U21)

 

[gotsmack]

I don't understand how not doing squats holds you back from developing upper body strength

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: BillGates
Guns. Lots and lots of guns.

AND KNIVES TO ST@B PPL.

 

[abc]

if i get a bench that is 'olympic' do i have to necessarily get barbells that are olympic? I say no, as long as they're long enough

to sit on the bench.

 

[ZaneNBK]

Originally posted by: gotsmack
I don't understand how not doing squats holds you back from developing upper body strength

Squats are not just a leg workout, they work most of your body (though legs are the primary focus). Leg building doesn't have much to do with upper body strength. Squats OTOH will help increase your upper body strength along with your lower body. So, don't expect calf presses or leg extensions to help with your shoulders any time soon.

I think arms are the only muscle group not worked by the squat.

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: ZaneNBK

Originally posted by: gotsmack
I don't understand how not doing squats holds you back from developing upper body strength

Squats are not just a leg workout, they work most of your body (though legs are the primary focus). Leg building doesn't have much to do with upper body strength. Squats OTOH will help increase your upper body strength along with your lower body. So, don't expect calf presses or leg extensions to help with your shoulders any time soon.

I think arms are the only muscle group not worked by the squat.

Ditto. I was going to answer you gotsmack but ZaneNBK has it mostly right. If you do squats you work a bigger muscle group and it helps to increase your testerone levels and thus *helping* you to have build a stronger upper body faster then *if* you had not been doing squats. The squats don't help directly but because they work such a vast array of muscles it helps.

abc I'm refering to the olympic bar as its just to a *standard* length and weight but any bar you can use.

Olypic bar 20kg and to a certain length *can't* remember off the top of my head......

 

[Spamela]

here's what i'd get (what i already have):

inzer lifting belt $80
flat (wrestling) shoes for squatting & deadlifting $40
chalk $10
big gym bag $30 (travel bag works well, too)
1 kg. creatine $30
protein powder $20
water bottle $3 (i use a bicycle bottle)
notebook $2 (to record/plan workouts)
subscription to Powerlifting USA magazine $35 (good for motivation & training tips)
ammonia caps $5 (if you really want to be hardcore)
some aspirin/ibuprofen & deep heating rub $10

only women are allowed to use gloves or put pads on the squat bar. when you approach a bar with a pad on it, you MUST tear it off & throw it with a look of disgust.

 

[Jfur]

Originally posted by: Spamela
here's what i'd get (what i already have):

inzer lifting belt $80
flat (wrestling) shoes for squatting & deadlifting $40
chalk $10
big gym bag $30 (travel bag works well, too)
1 kg. creatine $30
protein powder $20
water bottle $3 (i use a bicycle bottle)
notebook $2 (to record/plan workouts)
subscription to Powerlifting USA magazine $35 (good for motivation & training tips)
ammonia caps $5 (if you really want to be hardcore)
some aspirin/ibuprofen & deep heating rub $10

only women are allowed to use gloves or put pads on the squat bar. when you approach a bar with a pad on it, you MUST tear it off & throw it with a look of disgust.

so how many times do you lift the notebook up and down

 

[Geekbabe]

Originally posted by: Jfur

Originally posted by: Spamela
here's what i'd get (what i already have):

inzer lifting belt $80
flat (wrestling) shoes for squatting & deadlifting $40
chalk $10
big gym bag $30 (travel bag works well, too)
1 kg. creatine $30
protein powder $20
water bottle $3 (i use a bicycle bottle)
notebook $2 (to record/plan workouts)
subscription to Powerlifting USA magazine $35 (good for motivation & training tips)
ammonia caps $5 (if you really want to be hardcore)
some aspirin/ibuprofen & deep heating rub $10

only women are allowed to use gloves or put pads on the squat bar. when you approach a bar with a pad on it, you MUST tear it off & throw it with a look of disgust.

so how many times do you lift the notebook up and down

Hahaha,good one !!! score for Jfur

 

[Spamela]

Originally posted by: Jfur

Originally posted by: Spamela
here's what i'd get (what i already have):

inzer lifting belt $80
flat (wrestling) shoes for squatting & deadlifting $40
chalk $10
big gym bag $30 (travel bag works well, too)
1 kg. creatine $30
protein powder $20
water bottle $3 (i use a bicycle bottle)
notebook $2 (to record/plan workouts)
subscription to Powerlifting USA magazine $35 (good for motivation & training tips)
ammonia caps $5 (if you really want to be hardcore)
some aspirin/ibuprofen & deep heating rub $10

only women are allowed to use gloves or put pads on the squat bar. when you approach a bar with a pad on it, you MUST tear it off & throw it with a look of disgust.

so how many times do you lift the notebook up and down

it's also good for recording comments from other people, like "you're too old to be that strong."