Building a studio gym (formerly: Beefy half rack questions)

[donforeman]

It is Yukon. I tried it in the guys basement with no weight on it. I already paid for it and some other stuff and am waiting on delivery. I really hope that your wrong, I was pumped to get this. Thanks for the response though.

http://www.amazon.com/Yukon-VLP-154-...owViewpoints=1
Two out of four people that reviewed it halfway liked it? Maybe I just tried a bad one?

[OSUDimond]

Wall mount may be ok, but be sure to get a good bag and good handwraps and gloves.
Reps for the ridiculous deals you have been getting!

I used to box back in high school and it's still one of my favorite cardio activities so I have a few sets of gloves and a handful of wraps. Any good bags to buy under $150? I checked Dick's and Sports authority and didn't find anything up to par. And to Matrix, If I had the money and space I would love to invest in one of those, but after I get the rest of the equipment in and some cardio machines I am not going to have a ton of extra space. And Don was right. That Yukon vertical leg press is a piece of garbage. I got it delivered tonight and tried it out and it is just terrible. If I can't sell it I may hang on to it simply for the Donkey calf raises. It actually works well for that.

[OSUDimond]

http://www.amazon.com/Yukon-VLP-154-...owViewpoints=1
Two out of four people that reviewed it halfway liked it? Maybe I just tried a bad one?

The people like halfway liked it are idiots. I failed to notice that in order to actually perform the exercise you have to fully remove two safety pins and then somehow manage to slide them back into the holes while holding the weights up in the air. It is borderline dangerous. I got a deal on the plates and, bar, and adjustable bench so I'm not mad.

[thedickus]

The people like halfway liked it are idiots. I failed to notice that in order to actually perform the exercise you have to fully remove two safety pins and then somehow manage to slide them back into the holes while holding the weights up in the air. It is borderline dangerous. I got a deal on the plates and, bar, and adjustable bench so I'm not mad.

The only vertical leg press that I like are the ones that load from the sides like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Yukon-Fitness-...m_cr_pr_sims_i
I don't like having to load the plates on top, very awkward, especially with 100lb plates.

[CDMMA]

Anyone have any experience with this TKO heavy bag wall mount. I like the fact that it can rotate so the bag is out of the way if space is needed. Or any better suggestions of a wall mount that allows the bag to move out of the way.

I used to box back in high school and it's still one of my favorite cardio activities so I have a few sets of gloves and a handful of wraps. Any good bags to buy under $150? I checked Dick's and Sports authority and didn't find anything up to par. And to Matrix, If I had the money and space I would love to invest in one of those, but after I get the rest of the equipment in and some cardio machines I am not going to have a ton of extra space. And Don was right. That Yukon vertical leg press is a piece of garbage. I got it delivered tonight and tried it out and it is just terrible. If I can't sell it I may hang on to it simply for the Donkey calf raises. It actually works well for that.

You could alternatively get a ceiling mount if you have some joists in the position you want the bag. I haven't had a problem hanging a 70lb bag from a single joist using only 2 wood screws.

As much as I'd usually not recommend it, TITLE has some decent bags. I personally have a TITLE body/grappling heavy bag, that relatively mimics the human form w/out arms. It's held up on me thus far and I've put it through several months of "abuse". Not that I don't take care of it, I mean more so in the sense of knees, elbows, kicks, slams, etc. etc. I believe mine may be a synthetic leather as well, cloth filled. Only thing is that the bottom "leather" cracked a few weeks to months in, probably from the slams, but it's still holding up strong.

[buffbrown21]

I used to box back in high school and it's still one of my favorite cardio activities so I have a few sets of gloves and a handful of wraps. Any good bags to buy under $150? I checked Dick's and Sports authority and didn't find anything up to par. And to Matrix, If I had the money and space I would love to invest in one of those, but after I get the rest of the equipment in and some cardio machines I am not going to have a ton of extra space. And Don was right. That Yukon vertical leg press is a piece of garbage. I got it delivered tonight and tried it out and it is just terrible. If I can't sell it I may hang on to it simply for the Donkey calf raises. It actually works well for that.

I bought a 6' 100 lb Muay Thai bag from Combat Sports ( www.combatsports.com ) for $100 shipped. Not a bag only, it was prefilled. Check their closeout section.
Its the best bag I have ever owned (I have had 3 prior, plus a Wavemaster that I still use).

Also check Title and Ringside websites.


Lets see...
Here is a Throwdown brand Muay Thai bag for $100
http://www.combatsports.com/csi/punc...-thai-bag.html

Of course they have regular heavy bags too. I personally like the longer muay thai style so I can practice leg kicks and such. But thats a pretty damn good price on that one I linked.

[OSUDimond]

I bought a 6' 100 lb Muay Thai bag from Combat Sports ( www.combatsports.com ) for $100 shipped. Not a bag only, it was prefilled. Check their closeout section.
Its the best bag I have ever owned (I have had 3 prior, plus a Wavemaster that I still use).

Also check Title and Ringside websites.


Lets see...
Here is a Throwdown brand Muay Thai bag for $100
http://www.combatsports.com/csi/punc...-thai-bag.html

Of course they have regular heavy bags too. I personally like the longer muay thai style so I can practice leg kicks and such. But thats a pretty damn good price on that one I linked.

I am going to order the 6' 100 lb muay thai bag. That looks like exactly what I was lookin for. Thanks for the advice.

[OSUDimond]

Finished painting today and took some pictures after moving equipment back into place. Commercial incline bench and military press and standing calf raise should be arriving tomorrow.

Store in front of the gym.


DB and flat bench corner


View from back of gym


Rack Corner. I am having a muscle motion style pull up bar made to replace the straight bar in the rack.


Me doin work in the front

[OSUDimond]

Picked up this ugly yellow beast this morning. Samson incline bench. Paid 120 and am very happy with how heavy duty this thing is. I will eventually paint it black when some time opens up.

[Keetman]

The people like halfway liked it are idiots. I failed to notice that in order to actually perform the exercise you have to fully remove two safety pins and then somehow manage to slide them back into the holes while holding the weights up in the air. It is borderline dangerous. I got a deal on the plates and, bar, and adjustable bench so I'm not mad.

Usually this wouldn't apply, but since you live in Columbus there's a chance you could run into one of these:




If so, its a very basic, but very strong easy to use piece. It was sold by Berry's Barbell in the 80's or 90's and I'm sure there are more around our area...but this is the only one I've seen in 4 years of looking. It only downsides are that it top loads and there is no head rest....but I added one that works fantastic, so if you ever need to see how I did it let me know.

The only other one I've seen that was worth getting was the powertec, but it isn't even sold anymore. It was a nice machine with SS Guiderods, linear bearings, and was side loaded. Not at all sure why they stopped selling, but I imagine it was lack of demand since most people want a sled/hack machine instead of a vertical press.

There are some commercial models out there that look promising, but I've never seen one. Well actually I did see one a couple of years ago that was owned by a guy from West Jeff that had an all commercial gym in his back garage. I think all of his stuff was either promaxima or bodymasters. It was nice, but I wasn't there for that so I only quickly looked at it and moved on.

[OSUDimond]

I bought a 6' 100 lb Muay Thai bag from Combat Sports ( www.combatsports.com ) for $100 shipped. Not a bag only, it was prefilled. Check their closeout section.
Its the best bag I have ever owned (I have had 3 prior, plus a Wavemaster that I still use).

Also check Title and Ringside websites.


Lets see...
Here is a Throwdown brand Muay Thai bag for $100
http://www.combatsports.com/csi/punc...-thai-bag.html

Of course they have regular heavy bags too. I personally like the longer muay thai style so I can practice leg kicks and such. But thats a pretty damn good price on that one I linked.

So I went to purchase the 6' thai bag for $119 but shipping is an extra 75 dollars. Did you have some kind of free shipping coupon code?

[OSUDimond]

Usually this wouldn't apply, but since you live in Columbus there's a chance you could run into one of these:




If so, its a very basic, but very strong easy to use piece. It was sold by Berry's Barbell in the 80's or 90's and I'm sure there are more around our area...but this is the only one I've seen in 4 years of looking. It only downsides are that it top loads and there is no head rest....but I added one that works fantastic, so if you ever need to see how I did it let me know.

The only other one I've seen that was worth getting was the powertec, but it isn't even sold anymore. It was a nice machine with SS Guiderods, linear bearings, and was side loaded. Not at all sure why they stopped selling, but I imagine it was lack of demand since most people want a sled/hack machine instead of a vertical press.

There are some commercial models out there that look promising, but I've never seen one. Well actually I did see one a couple of years ago that was owned by a guy from West Jeff that had an all commercial gym in his back garage. I think all of his stuff was either promaxima or bodymasters. It was nice, but I wasn't there for that so I only quickly looked at it and moved on.

Metro Fitness in Worthington (Formerly World's Gym) just got an incredible vertical press machine. I will check the make next time I am in. I can tell it was probably a couple grand so it is not in my price range. That is really the only one that I have tried that was well built and felt great.

[john-t-b]

Finished painting today and took some pictures after moving equipment back into place. Commercial incline bench and military press and standing calf raise should be arriving tomorrow.

Store in front of the gym.


DB and flat bench corner


View from back of gym


Rack Corner. I am having a muscle motion style pull up bar made to replace the straight bar in the rack.


Me doin work in the front

You're living my dream of owning a gym.
Someday I'll get there. I'm still buying and selling until I get the equipment i want. I just picked up a welder for Christmas and started making some of my own stuff out of scrap until i get better at it.
Wish you the best of luck and success.

Good Luck.

[tjp15785]

I have the fighting sports version of that heavy bag mount, received it as a x-mas present. I too wanted to be able to move it out of the way, I have a much smaller space than you. I mounted a 145 lb heavy bag to it it, a 6" spring and it does bounce a little. I would not mount directly to the wall. I lag bolted two 50" 2x4's behind the strapping so that I could hit four studs. This is in my home so it was typical 16" on center studs. If you are going into concrete it would not be necessary. My push pin was missing and is shipping out so I haven't really put a full workout in on the bag.

I am actually thinking of cutting the arm back 6" to 8" so stiffen it up a bit. Just a little nervous with it right now, I may actually also drop down to a 100lb bag. Time will tell.

[OSUDimond]

You're living my dream of owning a gym.
Someday I'll get there. I'm still buying and selling until I get the equipment i want. I just picked up a welder for Christmas and started making some of my own stuff out of scrap until i get better at it.
Wish you the best of luck and success.

Good Luck.

This has been my dream for as long as I can remember. I am extremely lucky and grateful to be where I am today. Putting this gym together has been tons of fun already. I start training clients in there next week.

Messed around with the Combat sports website and figured out that shipping on the 6' heavy bag was 78 dollars but for the Throwdown bag it was only $4 shipping. I ordered that one, now I just have to wait for that mount to come.

[john-t-b]

This has been my dream for as long as I can remember. I am extremely lucky and grateful to be where I am today. Putting this gym together has been tons of fun already. I start training clients in there next week.

I'm trying to set things up for 3-5 years.
I want to set up a powerlifting gym myself and also sell supp., clothing and equipment. Looks like you have a 50/50 split gym/store from the pictures. I want to do more of an 80/20 gym/store but, that's just me. When i get a little better at the welding possibly even sell my own equipment. We'll see what happens. The only thing holding me back right now is the family. I have three young kids so money is tight right now. I'll get there though.

Again Good Luck.

[qaz123]

I'm trying to set things up for 3-5 years.
I want to set up a powerlifting gym myself and also sell supp., clothing and equipment. Looks like you have a 50/50 split gym/store from the pictures. I want to do more of an 80/20 gym/store but, that's just me. When i get a little better at the welding possibly even sell my own equipment. We'll see what happens. The only thing holding me back right now is the family. I have three young kids so money is tight right now. I'll get there though.

Again Good Luck.

I know a guy who built all the equipment for his gym. He used to knock up prototypes out of 2 x 4 lumber to get the angles right and then he didn't have to guess when he made the steel version. One thing he did do which was smart was to make each piece somewhat modular (ie. bolt together) so that it could be stored in less space.

[OSUDimond]

Well I managed to get $100 out of the Vertical Leg Press. I am just glad to get that piece out of my gym. Was wondering if any of you guys have any knowledge about a leg ext/curl type of setup like this. Made by Valor Fitness. I have my eye on a pair of cybex extension and curl machines but they will take up a lot of space.

CC-4 Valor Fitness Leg Curl/ Extension Machine

[Northernmoris]

Body solid has one, around $365 shipped, Legends is around 4ish plus shipping.

[buffbrown21]

I am going to order the 6' 100 lb muay thai bag. That looks like exactly what I was lookin for. Thanks for the advice.

How do you like that heavy bag?

[OSUDimond]

How do you like that heavy bag?

I just got confirmation that it was shipped today. I think I am really going to like it. I will keep you posted once it gets here.

[OSUDimond]

The Supplement store was supposed to open on Monday... Probably not until Friday now because of terrible delays and excuses from contractor. Finally got the plexiglass window and doorframe put into place today. Actually starting to looking like a store and finished gym.

[buffbrown21]

I just got confirmation that it was shipped today. I think I am really going to like it. I will keep you posted once it gets here.

Yeah man, I think you really will like it. Its made well, in my opinion and the price is great.

[OSUDimond]

Finally got my Trotter Military press station. I did a quick image search and didn't find anything. It came from a high school gym so I am guessing it is pretty old. The guys i bought it from coudldn't lift the standing calf raise with 300lb stack onto the flatbed so I don't think I will be getting that. Anyone know what kind of bar that is that came with it?

[OSUDimond]

Yeah man, I think you really will like it. Its made well, in my opinion and the price is great.

Heavy bag arrived. Because it was my first order I had to have the bag shipped to my apartment and transport it about 10 miles in my Honda civic. I looked ridiculous with about 3 feet of bag hanging out the back of my trunk. This thing looks incredible, especially since it was only $100 with $4 shipping. Great advice on that bag man.

[matrix563]

how heavy is it? looks like you could do grappling with it possibly?

[buffbrown21]

how heavy is it? looks like you could do grappling with it possibly?

That is a 6', 100lb bag. Im not sure about the grappling idea. But its a dang good bag, especially for the price.

[OSUDimond]

how heavy is it? looks like you could do grappling with it possibly?

Buffbrown is right it is a 6 foot 100 pound heavy bag. The thing is incredible I cant wait to get it hung up and start beatin on it. I considered just buying a different mount but I have my mind set on the TKO mount because I can swing it out of the way when not using it so I am going to wait a few weeks for that. I want to be able to maximize space in this place.

[qaz123]

Did you need a permit to put a gym in a retail space?

[OSUDimond]

Did you need a permit to put a gym in a retail space?

Hope not