Olympic Strength Training 101 – the Ultimate Home Gym Essentials

Equipping a home gym might seem like an easy thing to do as all you need is a clean space and a couple of pieces of equipment. But how do you choose which ones exactly to get, and does it all begin and end with just that? In today’s blog post we will take a close look at what exactly you need to do Olympic weightlifting at home. Without further ado, let’s talk details.

• Olympic barbells have whip (the ability to store elastic energy) which good lifters use to their advantage when working out
• they have smooth rotating sleeves which allows you to get under the bar quickly without having to release your grip, which reduces elbow and wrist discomfort
• they are built in such a way that they can withstand repeated drops from overhead positions
• women’s Olympic barbell is different than the one made for men – it has a diameter of 25 mm, it weighs 25 kg and has no centre knurling.

• they should withstand the repeated ‘abuse’ every time you will drop them on the ground from an overhead height
• most bumper plates are the right diametar, meaning, the 5kg, 10kg, 15 kg, 20kg have the same diameter as the bumper plates of 25kg which is the standard Olympic plate size.

A Good Pair of Shoes

You might think shoes are not as important as they don’t play a direct role in your lifting abilities. However, the truth of the matter is, the right shoes will help you maintain stability when all that weight on your shoulders ends up shaking your legs.

An Olympic Belt & Chalk

To protect your waist when heavy-lifting, you will certainly need the all mighty Olympic belt. This awesome accessory will give you that much needed intra-muscular pressure when your abs tense up. Also, for that super strong grip that you’ll need when lifting, chalk is your best friend. However, if you don’t want all that powder making a mess in your home gym, you can get liquid chalk as it does pretty much the same job.