Set of bumpers only? Or do i need iron too, and why

[preston811]

Been lurking+researching for a few weeks now. Building a home gym in a smallish carpetted spare bedroom I have, almost done. Going to be starting a Starting Strength kind of program. I'm not into crossfit or anything yet but I like to keep my options open.

My only hangup involves what weight plates to get. I was just going to get a set of decent bumpers and be done with it, but I've seen in numerous posts that say something like "use bumpers for olympic lifts, iron for everything else (bench/squats)", but no justification of WHY really. Is it just personal preference? Is there anything wrong with just getting a quality set of bumpers and using for everything? (and some smaller general change plates) The money isn't really a consideration - I like to buy things once, right the first time. However space and frugality (buyers remorse) are slight considerations.

And if I do "need" iron, what are some recommendations? I've checked play it again sports (only had crappy looking gray new ones for $1/lb), and CL but I don't have the patience and I want new or like new stuff. I found some general CAP ones on amazon which look decent for $1/lb, but i'm a little nervous of their reputation and QC. And some rubber encased CAP ones on walmart.com which look pretty decent actually.

So i see 3 general options
1) get all iron for now, and bumpers later if i decide to
2) an iron set + some "HG" style bumpers
3) get a sweet set of bumpers now and be done with it

Also, in terms of bumpers, really on the fence on that 35lb and/or 55lb, or whether to go with the classic 45/25/10/10/5/2.5 mode.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks

[Northernmoris]

You could have any plates you want, weight is weight. But what your missing here is that bumper 45lbers are at least twice the thickness as metal 45lb plates. You won't be able to load up as much weight on a bar with bumpers. Now depending on your strength, etc maybe it will never matter. Price wise it's a boat load cheaper to get used Olympic though.

[fat1977]

I believe they recommend iron for those because they are thinner and you can fit more plates on the bar. Remember, these guys deadlift and squat more weight than we own so the capacity of the bar they use means something. Some of them buy special thinner plates to fit more weight on the bar. But idk for sure if that's the only reason. You can get strong lifting rocks so...

[ironwill2008]

Bumper plates are only required for training the Olympic lifts, where the loaded bar will be dropped from overhead.


Even just decent bumpers are a good deal more expensive than common iron Oly plates, and that's money much-better-spent on equipment you really need and can put to good use.

[RestoringTally]

And if I do "need" iron, what are some recommendations? I've checked play it again sports (only had crappy looking gray new ones for $1/lb), and CL but I don't have the patience and I want new or like new stuff. I found some general CAP ones on amazon which look decent for $1/lb, but i'm a little nervous of their reputation and QC. And some rubber encased CAP ones on walmart.com which look pretty decent actually.

So i see 3 general options
1) get all iron for now, and bumpers later if i decide to
2) an iron set + some "HG" style bumpers
3) get a sweet set of bumpers now and be done with it

Also, in terms of bumpers, really on the fence on that 35lb and/or 55lb, or whether to go with the classic 45/25/10/10/5/2.5 mode.

Bumpers have several disadvantages. As mentioned earlier, they are thicker than iron plates, so fewer will fit on your bar. And because bumpers are all the same diameter, they take a lot of storage space. They will not fit on a typical weight tree. Bumpers are also less convenient to move around than grip plates.

I would avoid Dicks, Sports Authority, Academy, etc. weights. Check the center hole. If the hole does not have a smooth bore, you do not want them. You can get new name brand weights if you shop around and do not mind shipping costs. Or shop Craig's List. That may take a while but you can end up with some really good stuff at reasonable prices.

If you are just starting out, I suggest either getting a weight set, in which case the sizes will be predetermined, or buying 45, 25, 10, 5, and 2.5. Initially you can do without the 35s. If you see a need later on, you can get them, but they are not necessary to start out.

[natlajoie]

I was in a similar situation as you when deciding on what plates to keep as the only set. I started with Troy VTX bumpers, and I've owned Ivanko metal grip plates and Troy VTX Rubber grip plates. I sold all of these and ended up keeping Pendlay Elite bumpers as my final set. Currently I have 8*45 blue bumper plates and 2*25 green bumper plates. I also kept a pair of the 25 Troy VTX grip plates because they are smaller in diameter, and slip on easily between sets for deadlifts. For change plates I have the Pendlay change plates in 2 pairs of 10LB, 1 pair 5LB, and 1 pair 2.5 lb. But any brand will do for these smaller weights. They work perfectly the same as any other weight for whatever lift you do, and they are pleasing to the eye as well.

I only have a 1/4" thick mat though. After lifting with iron, rubber coated, and bumpers, the bumpers were better for my situation. If you're going with the all bumper set, you will definitely want to go with the thinner model bumpers to be able to fit more on the bar if price is no issue. As you get stronger you can buy more as needed.

The 35s and 55s are not a neccessity. In all the sets I had where I owned a pair of 35s, they sat on the plate tree or ground and stayed there.. For that you can buy a pair of 25 and a pair of 10. It makes setting up your work sets better because it just makes more sense as an in between denomination of weight when using 45s. If you got 55s, then the 35s would seem to be the better choice for an in between weight.

[Jeremy0203]

i have bumpers and then iron in 5lbs and 2.5 lbs.

[Wildtim]

Really for anything you are likely to do the bumpers aren't strictly needed at all. A nice set of iron is all you will need.

[tnelson1134]

I normally only use one bumper and then the rest of the plates iron

[AttyGuy]

Really for anything you are likely to do the bumpers aren't strictly needed at all. A nice set of iron is all you will need.

Black iron. From York, or Sinking Springs.

[dumb.bell]

I agree with everyone that you don't need bumpers. However, need and what you want are two different things. However, if you decide on just bumpers, I would recommend the Pendlay Elites because they are thinner and you can get more weight on the bar. As long as you don't plan on lifting over 500lbs I think you will be fine with Pendlays.

If you do decide to buy iron, I would purchase older used York, Ivanko, etc, or just pick up some new Ivanko plates. These are high end plates and you won't ever have to worry about replacing them. New Ivankos will likely cost you as much as the Pendlays though.

[djslik916]

I started with bumpers and added iron also. Bumpers are great for work outside the rack like cleans and even deadlifts. You're not supposed to drop deadlifts but sometimes it's CONVENIENT if you do drop a random deadlift. It's nice to know you can dump an OHP if you feel like also. Is it required, NO, is it a nice LUXURY for power lifters , YES. If you plan on incorporating Olympic lifts then there is really no question.

Keep in mind that storing bumpers is like storing all 45lb plates on a tree because of the diameter. I bought the Troy bumper plate tree to deal with this issue, it's over 4ft tall haha. I can fit maybe (3) 20kg pendlay economy plates plus a 10kg plate on each side of my bar, you'll run out of space for dead lifts with economy bumpers eventually.

The only reason you need bumpers on starting strength is for cleans and that's debatable. How about get used irons or even nice Yorks, Ivanko, etc and then see if bumpers make sense as you go along. If you got the money and space then buy both.

[congore]

Was in the same situation as you - iron or bumpers and how much space for storage? I was definitely planning on doing dead lifts and cleans and was concerned with limited space as well. I also had the added concern of teaching my kids to lift (big 3 and cleans) and wanted to be as safe as possible. I ended up with horse mats from Tractor Supply and full set of color Rogue Competition bumpers (same as Pendlay Elite, just look for who has best sale). Cost was a consideration, but the thinner competition/elite bumpers and color for safety locked it in for me. In the end, I only wanted to make this investment once and not have to second guess. I just don't have the luxury to search on Craigslist for months at a time. Take the time to research your bar as well though, I went with the Pendlay bushing (bearing bar just seems like overkill). I'm only getting back into upper 300s, so nowhere near what some of monster on this site are doing. Its just awesome feeling your body get stronger again - just recently got my bench back over 300, but my squat still sucks. Starting to have flashbacks of my college days. Good luck and enjoy the ride man.

[aj2754]

I've got 250# worth of bumpers. If I really got back into weightlifting I'd make sure I had another hundred or so pounds, however at this point I'm not chasing that 405# C and J. I do like having bumpers and iron though, because sometimes you just gotta Snatch.

Storage is a non issue for me. I stack them up and use them as either a barbell holder or mid-high landmine port.

[thejosef]

Was in the same situation as you - iron or bumpers and how much space for storage? I was definitely planning on doing dead lifts and cleans and was concerned with limited space as well. I also had the added concern of teaching my kids to lift (big 3 and cleans) and wanted to be as safe as possible. I ended up with horse mats from Tractor Supply and full set of color Rogue Competition bumpers (same as Pendlay Elite, just look for who has best sale). Cost was a consideration, but the thinner competition/elite bumpers and color for safety locked it in for me. In the end, I only wanted to make this investment once and not have to second guess. ...

I did the same thing. Had crappy Cap iron plates, but was ready to get serious. It was either Ivanko iron or Bumpers. After MUCH deliberation, I went with Rogue color competition bumpers. I have 10s and 15s in the black HG variety, and 25s, 35s, and 45s in the color comps. I haven't regretted it one bit. The way I looked at it, I could do powerlifting and olympic lifting with bumpers. You really can't do Olympic lifts as effectively with iron.

That being said.. I WILL have Ivanko revolvers one day. One day..

[Skip65]

If you are just starting out, I suggest either getting a weight set, in which case the sizes will be predetermined, or buying 45, 25, 10, 5, and 2.5. Initially you can do without the 35s. If you see a need later on, you can get them, but they are not necessary to start out.

I agree. I have owned, at various stages of my life, several sets of weights and have always opted out of 35 lb plate ownership. I know some people like them for various reasons; they just never seem to fit my need.

I recently set up a home gym in a carpeted spare room, much like OP describes, with 8x45 lbs, 2x25 lbs, 4x10 lbs, 4x5 lbs & 4x2.5 lbs and an Olympic bar, power rack, with lat/row set-up, and 3-75 lb dumbbell set-up and racks/tree. Plates are rubber cased, but not "Bumpers." Wife and I did look at bumpers, nice plates. However, we found them harder to handle than rubber cased and regular iron plates. The cost was MUCH more than rubber cased and nearly three times what regular iron plates cost. Paid around $1.30 a pound by the time all was done; delivered and set-up.

The bumper plates are nice, but were $1.75 per pound locally...

We looked every place we could think of locally for used items... OM...G!! The price people had on used equipment was the same as new; no-brainer, bought new.

Good luck with setting up gym. It is nice to have the ability to workout whenever my schedule permits.

[blazer326]

I personally like bumpers. I just grabbed a set of HG's. Its weight, weight is weight. I just personally like the look of them and don't wanna have to stress about dropping weight.

[Silentpoet]

I have, but have not used a set of rubber bumper I guess you would call them sleeves. They fit around your regular 45s and turn them into bumpers. Might be a solution if you find you need bumpers. I don't use bumpers, but the option is nice.

[preston811]

Thanks all. I went with the Pendlay classic elites white on black and some rubber coated metal change plates. Now if only the 5/2.5lb would come back in stock..

[Bench905]

Thanks all. I went with the Pendlay classic elites white on black and some rubber coated metal change plates. Now if only the 5/2.5lb would come back in stock..

I sent them an e-mail on their rubber change plate set and they said this on Feb 8th: "We are not expecting our Pendlay Black Rubber Coated Change Weight Plates to come back in stock in 60 to 90 days." It's worded weird, not sure if it's a typo and they mean it'll be in stock in 60 to 90 or that it'll be 90+ days at least till stock.

[djslik916]

Thanks all. I went with the Pendlay classic elites white on black and some rubber coated metal change plates. Now if only the 5/2.5lb would come back in stock..

Well that is an amazing first set of plates, congrats and please post pics.

[jamesovercome]

You can definitely get away with just using bumpers. They will be thicker, harder to move around and store but when its all said and done: its weight. I use bumpers and grip plates because of their accuracy. Unless you're deadlifting/benching 4-500lbs, I wouldn't worry about space on the barbell, especially if you have a decent barbell the sleeves are longer than a cheaper one.

[djslik916]

You can definitely get away with just using bumpers. They will be thicker, harder to move around and store but when its all said and done: its weight. I use bumpers and grip plates because of their accuracy. Unless you're deadlifting/benching 4-500lbs, I wouldn't worry about space on the barbell, especially if you have a decent barbell the sleeves are longer than a cheaper one.

He grabbed the more expensive Pendlay Elites which are thinner than the Economy bumpers.

[thejosef]

Thanks all. I went with the Pendlay classic elites white on black and some rubber coated metal change plates. ..