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I have a garage set up. It works for me. Mine paid for itself in around a year of saved gym fees. One thing I would say is make sure, if you get a bench, it is sturdy enough for bench presses etc. I looked at an Adidas one which was rated for 100kg. I’m 88kg so that wouldn’t be safe.
Availability will likely be the problem at the moment. The various posts here show the difficulty and cost of getting plates etc. -
My main thought/concern is whether it’s totally stupid to be lifting solo in my garage?
The sensible answer is probably yes, however I've been training alone since day 1 (what's that, like 4 / 5 years?) and have only ever failed one squat and 2 bench - both times having the spotter bars set at the right height saved me (not catastrophic failure, just not able to get past half way so had to ease it down)
But then I also cold water swim on my own and happily throw a motorbike around London so perhaps I'm not the best person to ask regarding risk aversion.
As TGR said, check your capacities. And when it comes to racks/bars, take into account inertia of dropped weight. 180kg 7ft bars will turn to cheese if you drop 150Kg with one side hitting the ground before another.
As with the weights though, it's an expensive time to buy. -
It’s totally fine lifting on your own, the only exercise you can get in trouble is bench press and you just have to be sensible and when one rep is a real struggle you don’t do the next one. I make use of pyramids and drop sets etc in place of monster PB reps.
Any other exercise you can just dump it if needed.
I have more issues with putting the bar over head in a low ceiling garage!
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@ewanmac
Aside from lack of stock, is it stupid for me to be considering buying an Olympic bar/squat rack?
I used to do quite a lot of strength work (3x week heavy lifting for 5 yrs) but I’ve barely set foot in a gym for 10 years. I want to get back into a bit of lifting for swim/bike/run S&C but I know I’m not going to go to a gym regularly. I’ve been doing some bodyweight stuff but want to move towards heavier 5-8rep stuff.
I was thinking barbell setup over dumbbells because that’s what I’m more familiar with. I’d want to keep it pretty simple but I’d be doing mostly leg stuff so was thinking of a squat rack and a bench.
My main thought/concern is whether it’s totally stupid to be lifting solo in my garage? In the old days all my weights sessions were paired so I always had a spotter and most were coached. Now I’m just a MAMIL with delusions that I can lift the same as I did in my 20s. I’ve not done much with dumbbells but maybe that would be a cheaper/more flexible/safer option?