gym is a bit far tbh and i have the space so why not? 
Check the convo here - might be helpful:
Bump because why not.
The last dumbbells I bought were a pair of 20lb weights two and a half years ago. Last week I ordered a pair of 15kg dumbbells from Decathlon, and they arrived today, with our building’s security guy curious what the heck was in these stupidly heavy boxes.
Wow, moving from 9kg to 15kg is a really difficult step! I can’t yet do triceps curls with at all. (“OK, over behind my head … oh … um … OK, let’s bring up the other arm and ease this around …”). My reps for everything else have dropped a lot: 55 down to 10, or 110 down to 20. Feels good and so much faster. I may feel differently about the “good” tomorrow.
Every so often I wonder if I should go to a gym instead, to access a bigger range of weights and equipment than I’m ever going to have at home, but that’s not possible at the moment. What with COVID restrictions I suppose I’m lucky I already had the habit of exercising at home.
1 Like
My setup (all from decathlon):
Bars:
1 Long bar
1 curl bar (used only a few times, wasted money there)
2 short bars
Plates:
4 1,25kg
4 2,50kg
4 5,00kg
2 10,0kg
2 20,0kg
1 Like
Yeah, if I’d known when I started this a few years ago that I’d actually persevere, bars would likely have made more sense. I’ve wound up with a sunk cost progression of eventually-too-light dumbbells. They were appropriate when I bought them, but became wastes of space - and inconvenient to store.
Plus my form probably sucks and I gather bars are better for that.
I went for bars because my wife also uses the weights to exercise and we wanted to make the setup as versatile as possible.
Here’s me hoisting gear:
2 Likes
The set up looks good and has me once again wondering if I could find a corner for a bench somewhere in our apartment.
Sort of the opposite for me: my wife has zero interest in it and also dislikes the idea of having the equipment around. I think that was one of the big reasons I opted for dumbbells rather than bars back at the beginning.
I keep trying to persuade her to start, because it seems that weight-lifting is really, really good for middle-aged women, and doing that sort of exercise now will help a lot later in life.
Buying a dumbbell is cheaper than the equivalent bar+plates. I’m really lucky having her interested in it as it making allocating money for it very easy 
We spent approximately the same amount of money on it as one year of gym membership for two people would have cost. And we’re using it for around two years now.
2 Likes
I showed my wife some YouTube that got her interested.
And this
1 Like
Actually you can do a lot with just dumbbells and an adjustable bench. You don’t need to have the heaviest weights. A lot of research has shown that more reps with a lighter weight is as effective as fewer reps with a heavy weight (but it takes longer to get close to failure to achieve the best gains).
This set is pretty neat, goes up to 32kg each side, and doesn’t take up a lot of space:
Can buy from PCHome or Momo:
3 Likes
Everyone’s an expert when it comes to this, but my two cents is that bars won’t help with form. Things that will help with form are:
-
The appropriate weight for your abilities. Jumping from 9 to 15kg is a big step and your body will need to cheat in order to make the lift.
-
Machines. Because they limit your options and give you the right places to brace yourself. I don’t like machines, but for form they are often helpful.
-
Mirrors. These are key to good form, you need to see what you are doing in order to keep good form.
Knowledge of course is power. Knowing what constitutes good form is necessary, but also you can learn tips that help. Visualize leading with your head on squats, or visualize the small of your back pressing into the floor on crunches, are examples of tips for form.
I worked out a lot, and read a lot about it, when I lived in Saudi Arabia. Was in good shape until I moved to Thailand and rediscovered my love of beer! Now I’m almost 40 but should really get back into it…
3 Likes
Home gyms is a huge craze in Taiwan right now. There is a big Facebook group where people show their set-ups.
Most get stuff from Taobao and have it shipped, which is cheaper than buying in Taiwan.
A couple of resistance bands is all we really need at home to start. With a sturdy door and a sturdy chair I think I could do all the basics that way.
I’d need to start with stretching a lot to avoid injury. And shoulder stuff, my rotator cuff has been an issue in the past but I have a great workout for that
I have a few things at home that I shipped from Canada, would get an adjustable bench and a mirror if I put in a few serious months with what I have
We could start a home workout thread if there is interest
1 Like
I think it would be a good idea. The discussion should include calisthenics and TRX-style suspension trainers as alternates or supplements to weights, since most people have little interest in using weights and would benefit from other forms of strength training.
These seem to be just a brand of
Yes, there are TRX-brand resistance bands, but I was talking about a suspension trainer, meaning this: 6 of the best suspension trainers to try.
1 Like
Oh yeah, that is different. Not recommended for beginners. I probably wouldn’t use them