How necessary are these for a home gym? I recently just purchased horse stall mats. I am not able to put plywood under or double up since I am in a low basement. I am literally at the maximum height I can be at. I have only dropped the weights hard once on power cleans, but as I am getting into heavier deadlifts and cleans, I feel I will end up dropping more often. The horse stall mat seemed to work great so far, but I fear heavier weight and continued wear and tear will break down the concrete underneath. The main reason I am asking is because I can't find any bumper plates around here at all. I would have to travel about 2 hours out of town to get them. As we all know, shipping is a bitch as well as gas at the moment. I need to get more weights anyhow, so in your opinion is it worth the drive or should I just pick up more regular plates?
A sheet of plywood and a few rubber mats end up being cheaper than bumper plates. Make a cheap lifting platform and you'll be less likely of damaging the concrete and plates.
You definetely don't need them for deadlifts, and as long as you drop the bar evenly they are fine for power cleans like Tak said. The problem is when you drop shit from overhead and it lands unevenly, there is not enough to absorb the shock and your bar is going to be fucked.
Thanks for the input. I go overhead but I don't plan on dropping from overhead ever. My main concern is on power cleans and deadlifts. I'm just going to get the basic oly plates.
QFT. The 1st bar I ever had I dropped from a locked out DL w/315 on. It landed unevenly and the bar broke. It was only a shitty one from Dick's but lifting was a bitch until a got a new bar.
my personal opinion is that deadlifting with bumpers is easier on your shoulders. I deadlift on a real oly platform with great bumpers and when i deadlift at regular gyms i can feel it when i lower the bar. I would just relax and watch craiglist. I live in the bay area and lots of personal trainers go belly up, then you go in and buy, buy, buy. I hope this post goes though I'm downloading a lot of porn....each word takes 10seconds to see.
my personal opinion is that deadlifting with bumpers is easier on your shoulders. I deadlift on a real oly platform with great bumpers and when i deadlift at regular gyms i can feel it when i lower the bar. I would just relax and watch craiglist. I live in the bay area and lots of personal trainers go belly up, then you go in and buy, buy, buy. I hope this post goes though I'm downloading a lot of porn....each word takes 10seconds to see.
