Many people think that to build strength and muscle requires expensive gym equipment that can only be found in a commercial gym. While this can undoubtably be effective, for those a little pressed for time and/or money can get excellent results from basic weight sets that and compact, adjustable and can be easily used in their home.
In fact you could go so far to say that a basic weight sets set is an essential addition to any home gym. A weights set, in it’s most basic form comprises of a collection of weight plates and a barbell. A weights set can either be an Olympic weight set or standard weights sets.
Olympic weight sets have standard components that includes a 7 foot barbell and weight plates ranging from 2.5 lb, right up to 100 lbs (sometimes more). Olympic sets tend to be higher quality than standard sets making them the better choice if you wish to acquire a free weight set that will last you virtually forever.
Some free weight sets include a dumbbell component as well. Dumbbells are smaller than a barbell and designed to exercise one arm at a time, or both arms using two dumbbells in sync. It is possible to purchase a dumbbell weight set as a seperate kit, or together with a barbell within the same kit. If you have more space and more money you might wish to consider a weight bench set on top of or instead of just a weight lifting set with only weight components. With a bench weight set you can perform additional exercises like bench presses and leg extensions. Advanced benches offer further variety, supporting convenient attachments such as lat-pulldown lever, pectoral attachments and squat rack.
If you are purchasing a weight set for your personal home gym use, you might consider looking for a set that features plastic coated weight plates. These can be a little bulkier than fully metal ones, restricting your ability to add more weights onto a barbell, but are less damaging to delicate floorboards when dropped.
Probably the first place you should go to when buying a weight set is your local gym store. If budget is a concern to you, then buying locally will save on shipping expenses, but truly cheap weight sets can usually be found buying second-hand. Again you probably want to stick to your local area. You could try your luck online too as some companys offer special shipping deals. Ebay and Craigslist are good places to do an online search as you can refine your search criteria to your local area with both of these websites.
Almost all your basic strength training can be performed with simple weight sets. If you are busy with work and don’t have the time to visit your gym on a regular basis, than you will be pleased to know that you can still stay in shape at your own convenience in a time-efficient way by working out with a basic weight set from home.