Help-What to buy

[dko323]

I have recently decided to put together a reasonable no frills gym in my basement. I am not looking for anything too pricey as I won't be entering any competitions any time soon.

I recently looked at a Golds Gym XR37 at Sports Authority. Has lat pull down, squat rack, bench (incline, decline), etc. It is selling for $199. Is this a decent bench or can someone recommend something similar in the same price range? Whats important to me is a decent bench that inclines/declines, lat pull down would be nice, squat rack (not a must) and the other basics.


Ill also be looking for an Olympic free weight bar and weights.....Again priced in SA they go for $150 or so. Any suggestions here would be greatly appreciated.

[HoboWithaRolex]

well, how much are you willing to spend

i have a golds gym combo thing and i regret buying it, not because its poor quality, but because its very limited

the bench does not go to full incline, close, but not full, this can cause for bad form when doing db shoulder presses. I would occasionally like to military press, but cant, because there is nowhere to rack it

also, the leg extension gets in the way of benching, so i took it off, and now theres a big thing sticking out where the leg ext attaches too

if you fail during a squat, there is nothing to catch you, you must throw the weight off your back which is dangerous and can damage your weights

also, the bars on the sides to hold your bar sometimes get in the way when dumbell pressing

the bench is held up by a curved peice of metal with holes in it allowing you to adjust the incline/decline, the bench wobbles a little because the metal is too thin

also, there is a raised part of the pad that is suppolsed to like fit the lower part of ur back, but id prefer it be flat all over


my bench is the golds gym xr25 which is very similar to the one you saw but it dosent have the lat option, but i tried one with the lat option and it isnt smooth at all


the best thing you could buy is a power rack and either an adjustable bench or a nice bench press

the powertec power rack is great, i just ordered it, you can do squats and be spotted so its safe to workout alone and also you can do pullups on it and it comes with a dip attachment which is one of my favorite excercises

the rack sells for 350 on the powertec site, but i got it at omni fitness for 299

for an extra 250$ you can buy a lat option which has lat pulldowns and cable rows, i wana buy this when i get more money


the powertec utility bench is great quality also, it inclines to a full 90 degress providing proper back support for shoulder pressing

you can move it inside your rack if you want to military press and re rack your bar

also, nothign will get in the way when dumbell pressing for your chest

if thats the option you go, you can bench press in the power rack

if you want a seperate bench, go with the powertec olympic bench, its 300 but you can get one for 250, best bench available