I’m interested in the 10-week at home weight plan. I am a complete novice when it comes to anything weight-related. I have found enough info to get the correct ViPR tubes and kettlebells, but am a bit lost on the weight(s) needed for the squats. I’m trying to be as frugal as possible, since these are only going to be used for 10 weeks/year. I’ve seen options for pouring your own using concrete. Any other options on the inexpensive side? And how much/what kinds of plates should I acquire? 6’1” 155lb male, if that helps inform what I need.
Hi Ryan - a traditional squat bar weighs 45lbs and if you had up to 150lbs, you’d be set, so that leaves 105 lbs to account for in the the plates which come in 45, 35, 25 and 10 + 5 lb increments.
Don’t forget, unless you plan on cleaning (weightlifting movement, not soap) the bar for every set, you will also need a squat rack of some kind. You should also get collars for the bar (clips that prevent plates from sliding off the ends)
For plates, just get iron. They’re much less expensive and in normal times at least, you can find them used on Craigslist pretty easily. Don’t pay more than .50 per pound used, new iron goes for around $1 per/lb.
Finally, there are two main types of bars and plates, “Olympic” which has a sleeve diameter of 50mm (just under 2") and the plates have a corresponding size hole and “standard” which is a 1" diameter bar/hole. Get Olympic size if you can. It’s what everyone uses, they tend to be of much higher quality and they have “sleeves” on the end which allow the plates to rotate which in turn makes easier to move properly.
Standard sets have the advantage of being much less expensive but tend to use low quality steel and are more difficult to use with pulling movements such as DL, cleans, etc.
