danasti
New member
P-CURLS said:K to you bro. thanks.
No problem - I know exactly what you are going through. I just went throught the whole thing myself and it takes a good bit of research and there are just a shitload of products. I've used plates since I was a kid though and my gym in high school was pretty sick considering it was 19 years ago.
I did this. I got a 300lbs olympic plate set w/bar. Then I got random plate all the way down 1.25lb 2.5lb and a few random extras (2x 5 - 10 - 25 - 45).
$450 about
I got a shrug bar and a weight belt. I got a smith machine and an olymic bench $300 w/leg stuff. I got some dumbells. I got a cheap ass dip station/pull-up/push-up - $120 w/shipping - and it's much more sturdy than I anticipated. So for under a grand I'm set. I got two floor mats because I have hardwood floors and some other random shit.
To me it just feels way better with free weights and the best thing is all the stuff that you can't do or can't "REALLY" do on a bowflex. Like cleans / squats / deads - balance, power and force are just not the same on that type of machine.
Good Luck with your gym man. It's a lot of fun and you can always keep adding to it.