Me: is content with home gym, total is 1200$ Brandon: I'd rather spend a little money more long term Me: ok, ur right Also Me: total after new purchases, 10,000$
I live 5 miles from a really great used sporting goods store made my home gym with used equipment made my own pulley system and my own squat rack 65.5 years old still lifting
Bro, the cast iron plates don’t come seasoned. You just gotta break em in a bit, follow these steps: Scrub plate well in hot soapy water. Dry thoroughly. Spread a thin layer of melted shortening or vegetable oil over the plate. Place it upside down on a middle oven rack at 375°. (Place foil on a lower rack to catch drips.) Bake 1 hour; let cool in the oven.
The old cast iron plates from the 70's are more accurate. I bought a pair of Cap plates, poor quality to say the least. My 40 year old Weider kilo set is surprisingly accurate.
That's not always true if you ever weighed the old York plates back in The early 90s they were certainly not accurate, and that comes from having weighed them as they get weighed for comps .
I am still using my weider plates I bought when in high school '78. Surprisingly accurate, a 10lb plate is 10lb plate. I got the 'fancy' ones with the gold finish. LOL!. Still using the wooden bench I built in wood shop class. Working my way to a 4 x my age bench next Jan, 2022 when I will turn 60. - Cheers
I have weighed a bunch of metal plates at the gym I go to. I just weighed them on the scales and wrote on them what they actually are. The diameter is all the same for most 45 pounds plates but They vary from 41 pounds to 47 pounds. When you are benching in the 500-700 pound range a few pounds can really throw you off.
My York new standard plates are pretty good. All my 45’s are within 2% based on my digital scale. York rep told me me they switched foundries recently and the standard plates are molded very accurately and they will be moving the milled plates to that facility too. The Rep recommended them over their milled for the price savings. I’m very happy with them.
Yes, please do a bumper plate video. Cost vs quality comparison like this one, as well as the different materials used and their benefits. Love your videos and thank you for letting the world know about Strong Arm bars.
Great video. I found the best bang for the buck is if you can find used old York American cast steel plates. Milled ones are a bonus. Actually cobbled a set together at my firehouse gym from all the weights at the different stations in town. Especially when they have a nice patina to them. Pretty much all cast plates come out of China nowadays. I think Iron Grip is the last American company casting general usage plates.
@@davideldridge1124 yeah, and it will wobble like crazy. Ive had 325kg on the bar with mostly comp steel plated. Felt more comfortable than 250kg in bumper plates (equipped benchpress). And that was with a powerbar.
I have the 360lb set of echo bumpers. They are only off by ounces and both plates weigh the exact same. I also have iron plates from rogue they range from 43.5-44.8 lbs, not terrible.
I got pretty lucky with the CAP plates I bought, they're all within a couple of lbs of each other. The price was hard to pass up, so I bit the bullet on them.
Do one about dinner plates? Plain or patented, floral or abstract, China or earthenware, these are the question we need answers to. Nice video. I think the morale of the story is you get what you pay for.
I have collected a 600 plus lb set of 12 sided Marcy grip plates I restored in hammertone gray. Very proud of these even if slightly heavier than stamped weight.
Last month, I bought 12 45lb cast iron plates from Titan Fitness. They were on sale, and had (and still have) free shipping and arrived in a couple of days. They are stated spec'd within 2% weight, "448 mm" in diameter and with a 50.5mm center hole. I found all of this to be true once they arrived. I weighed each plate and found them within 1% if I'm not mistaken. Center holes I measured with a caliper and found them all to be 50.55 to 50.7 mm, and the 2 mm difference in the plate diameter seemed to be just to say they aren't 450 (compared to the two old standard 45's I had - they seemed to match up exactly). I had a couple of small chips in the finish, and one of the center holes seemed a little rough (turned out to just be a finish imperfections). I still can't tell if I lucked out or if they are really that good, but I was impressed with the purchase. The boxes called them "calibrated" plates, but they seem like they mean they were machined after casting. I was going to get the York G-2 cast iron grip plates (which were\are also on sale) but weren't spec'd to a percentage and would have run an extra $125 in shipping. However the price with shipping is currently less than the non-sale price of the Titans. Not that you are looking for them, nor do I still think you'd seriously look at them now, but I thought the info was relevant to the video topic.
Glad to hear! I remember when they first came out with these, they advertised them as regular diameter but were actually only 15" so they pulled them all from the site.
This gonna lead us eventually to what you decided to go with? I learned something new today.....didn’t realize that cast & milled were actually different.
I'll get there, not sure these videos will be a clear path like the rack series though, people just seemed to want to know why I did/didn't go with certain plates.
I want to see a video of best number plates that are not too pricey or cheap bumpers that are not tire crumb. Thanks love the content been watching you for years.
Understand the concept of plates having variable weight differences, but as long as they match , such as brand. I'm good with it. Thanks for the great information
Over weight plates can be drilled with a press to lighten them and create uniformity, but it's probably more trouble than it's worth. I do like the vintage small plates for loading dumbbell handles, they have a nice look in a home gym.
I’ve got 45lb, 35lb , 25lbs, 10lbs and 2.5lbs all standard barbell weight plates and they do the job. Those weights has help built me a great body and has got me very strong! These were pasted down from my grandpa, they are still in great condition and I still use them now. I feel no need to buy expensive weights when these are perfect in my opinion but what works for me might not work for anyone else…
I care about all that but I have no other choice but to get the cast iron. 3 kids one on the way no way I can get some of them nice ones. Maybe I'll put it on my bucket list. I will say for the cheap ones that I do have I guess I got lucky because they all the same size the center hole same size and they do weigh on point. Bedside to it is like you said my deadlift I have to control it all the way down and I cannot bench too much because I'll be afraid to drop my weights off onto the floor, well cuz it could be ugly. But I do appreciate you for your heartbreaking but honest truth about the weights.
i have one set of cheapies,”vtx”, and i use them thusly. deadlift day i put 3 yorks and then when i get to 4 plates i slide on the cheapies which have a smaller diameter and go on oh so easy, and there you have it friends!!!!
I have a standard diameter 45lb bumper plate. All my iron plates are smaller than that, so deadlift is at the right high, but i hace a deadlift bar so i don't get the full benefit of it. Works for my home gym
@@BasementBrandon I am about to have the same setup as 24mrich. deadlift bar, 2 45 rogue bumpers at standard height, the rest of my 45's are Weider iron cast with smaller diameter. Why does 24mrich say "don't get the full benefit of it"? would a deadlift bar's efficiency somehow be impacted by there being weights that don't touch the ground? Hopefully you can clear this up for me because I hope that's not the case. I understand the impact going to the 2 bigger plates could damage them over time but unfortunately I don't have any other options at the moment. Ive seen people drop 700+ with a similar setup without damaging the larger plates before... so hoping I will have the same luck as them. Any feedback would be appreciated!
@@chrisweintraub3245 I think the thought was that since all plates aren’t touching you won’t get as much whip (benefit of deadlift bar) but in my experience it has no impact.
I have a bunch of plates that are over the rated weight, and a few below. Got them stickered so i use the lower ones on my weaker days and higher ones on the stronger days. It all comes down to budget though. Who wouldn't want 2 full sets of calibrated zink coated plates
Yes please do the machined and calibrated. As I'm rebuilding, I'm leaning toward calibrated for best accuracy, so would love your thoughts, and hell why not bumpers too :)
Around 2015 I picked up some used Weider plates and an Olympic bar for $200 cad. 22, 33, 44 lbs. I finally refinished then this weekend. Time to weigh them and see how accurate they are. The only issue I have is I purchased a tree to hold them and these weights scrape up the arms and also are chipping away at the plastic end caps. Otherwise no issues.
More videos!!! Also it would be really nice to have a , home gym build if you live in Europe, there is not that much info running around. Saw some good reviews on ATX racks but thats about it. Great Vids !
I didn't know about the diameter thing. But I think for me it's just another thing to look out for when buying used. The weight variance is not a big deal because you can weigh plates and just buy the ones within a pound or less.
Basically: if you’re just trying to get big at home and not participate in professional competitions you’re okay going the cheap route, but consider that cast iron plates can be wrong by usually ~5 pounds (up or down)
Great advice all around. Being that I was buying during COVID, quality plates were unobtainable even online in a lot of cases. Also, a lot of the used CAP plates were going for $3 per pound which beyond stupid. I go a hold of a smaller set used for $1.50, cast Sports Authority. They do exhibit some of the problems discussed but I am ok with it given they are pandemic plates. I can’t wait to buy some decent machines plates from Rogue once they are actually in stock.
@@blairbennett3493 On craigslist Boston if you search for Olympic plates it's a guy named Tom. Great guy and he typically has pallets of plates and other gear. Sorry I can't be more descript I haven't got his information handy
Ha, this video made me run down stairs and weigh my plates. I have "standard" cast Iron plates that I ordered from Rogue. Went with cast Iron because of the low cost and because I like the sound of metal plates clanging. Anyway all mine seem to be a pound or two heavier than what they are supposed to weigh.
Benefit of using cheap plates: I immediately added 8 pounds to all my lifts when I took the time to weigh my VTX pos 45s. The cheap Rogue plates I bought were right on the money...No gains at all.
2" difference in diameter =/= 2" difference in distance of bar from ground... It would be only a 1" difference, but your point is still valid, since an inch could be significant on a heavy deadlift.
@@BasementBrandon Right, but the difference in distance from the floor would be the same as the difference in radius, not diameter... It would be half the difference in diameter, just as the radius is half the diameter. Once more, your point is valid, your math is just off. I'm currently pulling with a cheap set that is just under 16", but that only puts me less than an inch closer to the floor than the olympic standard. I got a cheap 300 lb. set (just started lifting this year at 56 y/o), and I need some more weight. I'm trying to decide whether it makes sense to spring for a beefier set rather than just buying plates because my bar is only rated at 300 lbs. I thought about getting another 300 lb. set for $200 for the plates, then see how long it takes to destroy the cheap bar, but that will leave me almost certainly needing to still get a better bar, but stuck with a bunch of cheap plates... I'm poor, so money is an issue. I don't even have a rack yet, so I'm loading squats from my bench, which is not even close to optimum. I have to lift it from pretty low, and can't get directly under the bar to do so.
Well, I dunno. Bought all my 45 and 100lb Oly plates (4x100 and 14x45) on craigslist and they all seem to be the same diameter. My old Weider 44's are a tad smaller so I put them on last.
Great video. I've trained in places where where my numbers were suspiciously high. I figured it was because they had lighter weights. Its annoying lol and definitely throws you off.
Man, I have an entire gym in my basement: rack, cable machine, lat pull, etc. I bought all of my equipment in 2000 and for weight plates I got CAP cast iron. Never had a problem with them. Also, I spent about $15,000.00 for my gym equipment and that was in 2000. Cast iron plates were 47 cents/lb where steel plates were close to 4-5 dollars/lb. I couldn't afford any more. If I bought my stuff now, I know it would easily run over $30,000.00+.
I wish watched this video before I started building my home gym. I didn’t buy a lot so that’s ok. I started buying used Olympic 2” weight plates. They are from the 70-80s. And they are machined. Troy and AFS plate weights. Well used but I’m prob gonna refurb them to remove the rust.
Yeah. I bought a cheap, home gym. I assumed everything was "standard" and after a few workouts started strutting around the house marveling at how quickly I was gettin' powerful. Then I weighed my cheap, Chinese bar and realized it was only 37 pounds. Wind outta my sails. So, being the OCD guy I am, I bought a brand new Ohio Bar. Now I'm lifting my cheap, non-standard, too short, cast iron plates in style....
I had a few cast iron plates that were fine, pretty accurate, a bit small, but uniform. Needed another set a few years later, same manufacturer, same shop. They are smaller, have a different color, and one plate is 1 kg too light. My OCD is raging hard even by looking at the plates on the bar.
Cheap plates are the worst. I bought cheap cast iron plates a few months back because they were on sale. I had to wait 2 months for them to arrive because they were out of stock. When I used them for the first time I noticed that the bar felt miss loaded so I weighed the plates. The lightest one was 20kg (44.1lbs) and the heaviest was 22.5kg (49.6lbs). The average weight was 21.1kg (46.5lbs). I contacted the company about this and they let me send the stuff back and get all my money back. The whole process of sending the weights back took about 6 hours. I basically waited 2 months for 6 hours of work. Never in my life will I ever buy cheap weights again :/ Usually I like the higher end stuff when it comes to training and I don't mind spending extra. The reason I went cheap was because there is a lot of people on the internet saying that "weight is weight" and "what weight you use don't matter". I would like to take this opportunity to tell those people tho go F themselves :P I 100% agree with Brandon on this one.
sam wroblewski It would not feel right to have nice equipment with garbage plates. Kinda like building a 3k computer with a 20 dollar mouse and keyboard :P
@@hampusbrydling6459 not really. Gains are gains I'm in this to put in work, not flex on Instagram. If you're not competing or practicing Olympic lifts the equipment starts mattering less and less. Order of importance goes bar > rack > weights.
@@BasementBrandon ya man I failed a lift recently with cast iron plates and I wondered why it felt so heavy. This has convinced me to use machined or calibrated plates at my gym.
Great video. My plates at the moment (REP V2) have an overall diameter of 17.5 inches. It is about a quarter inch off of comp specs. I have a set of comp bumpers and when I lay them on top of the comp bumpers the difference in diameter is there but not glaring. That is why I have been looking at strength co plates. What do you think? Issue or non issue?
Hey Brandon, any experience with Bells of Steel? They’re a Canadian company and have the cheapest prices I’ve found plus free shipping. I have their reverse hyper (they call it “back swing”) machine and love it so far. Might be popular amongst the budget-conscious folk like myself. Thanks man
Will you please do a review on bumper plates budget bumper plates and high quality bumper plates reviews thanks appreciate your videos keep up the good work two health and fitness
Hey Brandon, Thanks for this video and I would certainly like to hear from you about machined, milled etc. It would also be great to know what your opinion is on used plates.
Bumpers are the way to go. +/- tolerance is much better than cast iron. Train w/ bumpers for a month then go to a commercial gym w/ iron and plastic coated plates, you'll feel like superman
Bumpers can be nice in some regard, but they're also usually more expensive and depending on the bumper, you might not be able to fit more than 4-5 45s per side.
Brandon Campbell Diamond that’s a good point, and thanks for the reply. I started a channel recently so I’m trying to pick up little tips like that from successful youtubers.
When buying weights at walmart, grab a scale from the bathroom department and bring it to the weights. Save yourself the trip. Lol
😝
i understand its not cool to reply to old comments but i thank you a lot for your incredible idea
That’s if you trust the accuracy of a bathroom scale. ☝️🥴
@@EnlightenedRogue24 both very good points 👍
I'll actually did that, saved a ton of money cause I just need them to be accurate in the weight :)
Me: is content with home gym, total is 1200$
Brandon: I'd rather spend a little money more long term
Me: ok, ur right
Also Me: total after new purchases, 10,000$
Erick Heera I feel this
Haha easy for it to get out of hand!
Thats alil culty
*People in the USA right now* $1200 you say? 🧐
@tahlin how do i get a mold for them
I live 5 miles from a really great used sporting goods store made my home gym with used equipment made my own pulley system and my own squat rack 65.5 years old still lifting
Nice dude!
You definitely gotta do the bumper plate video now🤷🏽♂️
Looks like it.
😱
@@BasementBrandon Fringe Sport bumpers too! They've got a crazy durable design.
Bro, the cast iron plates don’t come seasoned. You just gotta break em in a bit, follow these steps:
Scrub plate well in hot soapy water.
Dry thoroughly.
Spread a thin layer of melted shortening or vegetable oil over the plate.
Place it upside down on a middle oven rack at 375°. (Place foil on a lower rack to catch drips.)
Bake 1 hour; let cool in the oven.
sounds like a better use for them
😂
now I know what I was doing wrong
Make them more rust resistant, and if done correctly, theyll be a beautiful shiny black :)
I mean it works with cast iron pans, why not with plates!
I am shocked at how many comments Brandon reads and replied to. It’s impressive. I don’t know how you have time for all of them.
Hah if I keep up on them for a few minutes each day it's not that bad!
I want all the videos MR. Diamond
Hey now
The old cast iron plates from the 70's are more accurate. I bought a pair of Cap plates, poor quality to say the least. My 40 year old Weider kilo set is surprisingly accurate.
Agree, the old plates (even machined/milled) seemed to be so much better.
That's not always true if you ever weighed the old York plates back in The early 90s they were certainly not accurate, and that comes from having weighed them as they get weighed for comps .
I am still using my weider plates I bought when in high school '78. Surprisingly accurate, a 10lb plate is 10lb plate. I got the 'fancy' ones with the gold finish. LOL!.
Still using the wooden bench I built in wood shop class. Working my way to a 4 x my age bench next Jan, 2022 when I will turn 60. - Cheers
I have weighed a bunch of metal plates at the gym I go to. I just weighed them on the scales and wrote on them what they actually are. The diameter is all the same for most 45 pounds plates but They vary from 41 pounds to 47 pounds. When you are benching in the 500-700 pound range a few pounds can really throw you off.
Wouldn't know :(
Please do a video on bumpers from Rogue 🤞👍
Dakota Platz yes!
I can likely do that, anything specific you'd like to see?
@@BasementBrandon At least something on Comp vs Training. Maybe something about that urethane stuff
I agree, Rogue echo bumpers 👍
Eleiko too
My York new standard plates are pretty good. All my 45’s are within 2% based on my digital scale. York rep told me me they switched foundries recently and the standard plates are molded very accurately and they will be moving the milled plates to that facility too. The Rep recommended them over their milled for the price savings. I’m very happy with them.
Good to know!
You got a link for purchase on those plates !!
Yes, please do a bumper plate video. Cost vs quality comparison like this one, as well as the different materials used and their benefits. Love your videos and thank you for letting the world know about Strong Arm bars.
Thanks Robert!
Yeah, count me into the bumper plate video-wanting camp.
Not that I haven't already bought bumper plates, but, well...
Haha will do
ALL THE VIDEOS. I'M EATING THESE UP LIKE BREAKFAST. I promise Im not yelling. Just excited. I love you, dad.
hey now
Good information as always, I was originally going to go with the cheaper plates, but will not be doing that now, thx!
All depends on what you want to get out of it!
Please teach us about bumber plates. q: Are they as or even more variable than iron?
Depends on the type! But I can probably do a video.
Brandon Campbell Diamond yes pls! Thanks!!
Only down fall to bumpers they bounce to much doing deadlifts
Great video. I found the best bang for the buck is if you can find used old York American cast steel plates. Milled ones are a bonus. Actually cobbled a set together at my firehouse gym from all the weights at the different stations in town. Especially when they have a nice patina to them. Pretty much all cast plates come out of China nowadays. I think Iron Grip is the last American company casting general usage plates.
Right on!
Rogue echo bumpers, 1% weight difference and I believe $129 for a pair of 45s. Cheap af
But you can't fit much weight on the bar with them
You can fit 605lbs on a bar with them. Not a huge amount but with even 2 calibrated plates it can easily hold enough.
Def some good value.
@@davideldridge1124 yeah, and it will wobble like crazy. Ive had 325kg on the bar with mostly comp steel plated. Felt more comfortable than 250kg in bumper plates (equipped benchpress). And that was with a powerbar.
I have the 360lb set of echo bumpers. They are only off by ounces and both plates weigh the exact same. I also have iron plates from rogue they range from 43.5-44.8 lbs, not terrible.
Great vid! I’ve weighed so many cast irons and they’re always off! I explain that to my clients all the time! Same with the dumbbells.
You know I never even considered dumbbells being off!
I got pretty lucky with the CAP plates I bought, they're all within a couple of lbs of each other. The price was hard to pass up, so I bit the bullet on them.
Nice!
Do one about dinner plates? Plain or patented, floral or abstract, China or earthenware, these are the question we need answers to.
Nice video. I think the morale of the story is you get what you pay for.
Paper plates FTW
@@BasementBrandon paper plates suffer from a lack of rigidity, inches matter here Brandon. No one wants a floppy... plate 👍
Once I weighed some plates on a bad scale. Talk about total mess!:)
Hah yeah that's a good point, most people dont' have calibrated scales anyways!
I have collected a 600 plus lb set of 12 sided Marcy grip plates I restored in hammertone gray. Very proud of these even if slightly heavier than stamped weight.
Nicely done!
Last month, I bought 12 45lb cast iron plates from Titan Fitness. They were on sale, and had (and still have) free shipping and arrived in a couple of days. They are stated spec'd within 2% weight, "448 mm" in diameter and with a 50.5mm center hole. I found all of this to be true once they arrived. I weighed each plate and found them within 1% if I'm not mistaken. Center holes I measured with a caliper and found them all to be 50.55 to 50.7 mm, and the 2 mm difference in the plate diameter seemed to be just to say they aren't 450 (compared to the two old standard 45's I had - they seemed to match up exactly). I had a couple of small chips in the finish, and one of the center holes seemed a little rough (turned out to just be a finish imperfections). I still can't tell if I lucked out or if they are really that good, but I was impressed with the purchase. The boxes called them "calibrated" plates, but they seem like they mean they were machined after casting. I was going to get the York G-2 cast iron grip plates (which were\are also on sale) but weren't spec'd to a percentage and would have run an extra $125 in shipping. However the price with shipping is currently less than the non-sale price of the Titans.
Not that you are looking for them, nor do I still think you'd seriously look at them now, but I thought the info was relevant to the video topic.
Glad to hear! I remember when they first came out with these, they advertised them as regular diameter but were actually only 15" so they pulled them all from the site.
talk about bumpers. me weightlift. me like bumpers
Will do
This gonna lead us eventually to what you decided to go with? I learned something new today.....didn’t realize that cast & milled were actually different.
I'll get there, not sure these videos will be a clear path like the rack series though, people just seemed to want to know why I did/didn't go with certain plates.
Bumper plates next please! What are your thoughts on Titan Fitness bumper plates?
I've heard good things actually
A reduction in diameter of 2.00" will only drop you 1.00"...
You get the point
I want to see a video of best number plates that are not too pricey or cheap bumpers that are not tire crumb. Thanks love the content been watching you for years.
Great suggestion!
Hi Temp bumper plates. Work great for my routine. Involves a little bit of dropping, but not excessive.
S E my issue there is you can’t fit more than 4 per side, so pretty limited in progression.
Brandon Campbell Diamond that’s because you are an animal!
But I agree, for powerlifting it is not ideal.
Yess. We need a bumper plate video too
Gotcha
Understand the concept of plates having variable weight differences, but as long as they match , such as brand. I'm good with it. Thanks for the great information
Yeah def doesn't matter for all!
The problem is that they never match. You end up with a different amount of weight on each side of the bar.
Love the Crowder reference😂
I missed it. What was it?
Darren Cunningham it’s about 20 seconds into the video
It's the "change my mind" guy :)
@@BasementBrandon Duh. Thanks guys!
Shout out to louder with Crowder👍🏻🇺🇸
Hah thought it fit here
Over weight plates can be drilled with a press to lighten them and create uniformity, but it's probably more trouble than it's worth. I do like the vintage small plates for loading dumbbell handles, they have a nice look in a home gym.
If you take the time to drill you could always calibrate them yourself too, as you mention, prob not worth it thought!
I’ve got 45lb, 35lb , 25lbs, 10lbs and 2.5lbs all standard barbell weight plates and they do the job. Those weights has help built me a great body and has got me very strong! These were pasted down from my grandpa, they are still in great condition and I still use them now. I feel no need to buy expensive weights when these are perfect in my opinion but what works for me might not work for anyone else…
some people starting new might not have that option, but totally get it!
I care about all that but I have no other choice but to get the cast iron. 3 kids one on the way no way I can get some of them nice ones. Maybe I'll put it on my bucket list. I will say for the cheap ones that I do have I guess I got lucky because they all the same size the center hole same size and they do weigh on point. Bedside to it is like you said my deadlift I have to control it all the way down and I cannot bench too much because I'll be afraid to drop my weights off onto the floor, well cuz it could be ugly. But I do appreciate you for your heartbreaking but honest truth about the weights.
Awesome to hear, congrats on the 4th!
Thumbs up just for the Crowder nod 👍 Nice place info as well though.
Thanks man!
The jokes, the inches... hahahah oh man. You don’t find anyone else doing humor and gym reviews like this hahah
Niche market :)
You and Coop have helped me a lot in my purchases, Thanks
Glad to help
Dig the video! Bumpers next!
Haha will likely get to it at some point.
i have one set of cheapies,”vtx”, and i use them thusly. deadlift day i put 3 yorks and then when i get to 4 plates i slide on the cheapies which have a smaller diameter and go on oh so easy, and there you have it friends!!!!
Haha smart thinking! VTX is owned by Troy I believe.
I have a standard diameter 45lb bumper plate. All my iron plates are smaller than that, so deadlift is at the right high, but i hace a deadlift bar so i don't get the full benefit of it. Works for my home gym
I had issues with a set up like that (the captain america plates), as when the weight got heavy all the impact just went to the 2 bigger plates.
@@BasementBrandon I am about to have the same setup as 24mrich. deadlift bar, 2 45 rogue bumpers at standard height, the rest of my 45's are Weider iron cast with smaller diameter. Why does 24mrich say "don't get the full benefit of it"? would a deadlift bar's efficiency somehow be impacted by there being weights that don't touch the ground? Hopefully you can clear this up for me because I hope that's not the case. I understand the impact going to the 2 bigger plates could damage them over time but unfortunately I don't have any other options at the moment. Ive seen people drop 700+ with a similar setup without damaging the larger plates before... so hoping I will have the same luck as them. Any feedback would be appreciated!
@@chrisweintraub3245 I think the thought was that since all plates aren’t touching you won’t get as much whip (benefit of deadlift bar) but in my experience it has no impact.
I bought a pair of cast iron from REP and one is 44.6, the other 45.4, pretty happy with that. 129.99 free shipping and no tax.
Right on!
I have a bunch of plates that are over the rated weight, and a few below. Got them stickered so i use the lower ones on my weaker days and higher ones on the stronger days.
It all comes down to budget though. Who wouldn't want 2 full sets of calibrated zink coated plates
appreciate the response
Yes please do the machined and calibrated. As I'm rebuilding, I'm leaning toward calibrated for best accuracy, so would love your thoughts, and hell why not bumpers too :)
Lol
Around 2015 I picked up some used Weider plates and an Olympic bar for $200 cad. 22, 33, 44 lbs. I finally refinished then this weekend. Time to weigh them and see how accurate they are. The only issue I have is I purchased a tree to hold them and these weights scrape up the arms and also are chipping away at the plastic end caps. Otherwise no issues.
Nice!
More videos!!! Also it would be really nice to have a , home gym build if you live in Europe, there is not that much info running around. Saw some good reviews on ATX racks but thats about it.
Great Vids !
I've heard good things about ATX
I didn't know about the diameter thing. But I think for me it's just another thing to look out for when buying used. The weight variance is not a big deal because you can weigh plates and just buy the ones within a pound or less.
Def true.
Me: Standard plates are 45 centimeters
Brandon: 450 m i l i m e t e r s
Every millimeter matters!
Basically: if you’re just trying to get big at home and not participate in professional competitions you’re okay going the cheap route, but consider that cast iron plates can be wrong by usually ~5 pounds (up or down)
Really just depends like most things in life.
Great advice all around. Being that I was buying during COVID, quality plates were unobtainable even online in a lot of cases. Also, a lot of the used CAP plates were going for $3 per pound which beyond stupid. I go a hold of a smaller set used for $1.50, cast Sports Authority. They do exhibit some of the problems discussed but I am ok with it given they are pandemic plates. I can’t wait to buy some decent machines plates from Rogue once they are actually in stock.
Right on! In this market you get what you can while you can!
Thanks for the video Brandon. Very helpful
Thanks DC!
There are a few guys near Boston that I get my plates from. They buy in bulk and sell used plates fairly cheap. Look on craigslist
Right on
@@BasementBrandon Often times they've got decent stuff. I got some nice Ivanko revolvers from them 😉
@@stevemf11 who is it? Im moving to Boston and will be looking for some gear soon
@@blairbennett3493 On craigslist Boston if you search for Olympic plates it's a guy named Tom. Great guy and he typically has pallets of plates and other gear. Sorry I can't be more descript I haven't got his information handy
Steve thanks a bunch! That helps
Ha, this video made me run down stairs and weigh my plates. I have "standard" cast Iron plates that I ordered from Rogue. Went with cast Iron because of the low cost and because I like the sound of metal plates clanging. Anyway all mine seem to be a pound or two heavier than what they are supposed to weigh.
Same here except my 50's, they weigh 49.6.
That's not too bad IMO, better to be lifting more than less! If they're within a pound it should be a 2% variance, which is the sweet spot.
Benefit of using cheap plates: I immediately added 8 pounds to all my lifts when I took the time to weigh my VTX pos 45s. The cheap Rogue plates I bought were right on the money...No gains at all.
Lol
Finally! I’ve been waiting for the plate videos.
Hah will get to them all eventually!
2" difference in diameter =/= 2" difference in distance of bar from ground... It would be only a 1" difference, but your point is still valid, since an inch could be significant on a heavy deadlift.
I'm using rough numbers. Some plates are more or less than a 2" difference
@@BasementBrandon
Right, but the difference in distance from the floor would be the same as the difference in radius, not diameter... It would be half the difference in diameter, just as the radius is half the diameter. Once more, your point is valid, your math is just off. I'm currently pulling with a cheap set that is just under 16", but that only puts me less than an inch closer to the floor than the olympic standard. I got a cheap 300 lb. set (just started lifting this year at 56 y/o), and I need some more weight. I'm trying to decide whether it makes sense to spring for a beefier set rather than just buying plates because my bar is only rated at 300 lbs. I thought about getting another 300 lb. set for $200 for the plates, then see how long it takes to destroy the cheap bar, but that will leave me almost certainly needing to still get a better bar, but stuck with a bunch of cheap plates... I'm poor, so money is an issue. I don't even have a rack yet, so I'm loading squats from my bench, which is not even close to optimum. I have to lift it from pretty low, and can't get directly under the bar to do so.
Please make a bumper video
Will try to get to that.
bumper plates. I work out solo and I want to be able to dump them if I need to
Gotcha
Well, I dunno. Bought all my 45 and 100lb Oly plates (4x100 and 14x45) on craigslist and they all seem to be the same diameter. My old Weider 44's are a tad smaller so I put them on last.
Yeah those old Weiders are notorious for being smaller!
I just purchased 2 sets of Rogue Olympic plate, the standard barbell. I'm very happy, the plates fit snug over the bar and the weight is dead on...
nice!
Great video. I've trained in places where where my numbers were suspiciously high. I figured it was because they had lighter weights. Its annoying lol and definitely throws you off.
Prob made you feel pretty good at the time lol
Man, I have an entire gym in my basement: rack, cable machine, lat pull, etc. I bought all of my equipment in 2000 and for weight plates I got CAP cast iron. Never had a problem with them. Also, I spent about $15,000.00 for my gym equipment and that was in 2000. Cast iron plates were 47 cents/lb where steel plates were close to 4-5 dollars/lb. I couldn't afford any more. If I bought my stuff now, I know it would easily run over $30,000.00+.
I think you could come in under those numbers if you shopped around, some great offerings these days, just depends on what kind of build you want!
My old University used to have cheap plates to the point where I would have to pick up a bunch of 45s before finding a pair that were the same.
Def know the feel!
Just sold my 35 lbs pair for $159. Adding that towards the 6 shooters when in stock!
Damn it!
You’ll definitely need to use the rogue stock bot to have a chance at buying those. Probably won’t even be in stock for a minute.
Lmao, “the type to not always use collars”, so you mean never using collars?
:)
I wish watched this video before I started building my home gym. I didn’t buy a lot so that’s ok. I started buying used Olympic 2” weight plates. They are from the 70-80s. And they are machined. Troy and AFS plate weights. Well used but I’m prob gonna refurb them to remove the rust.
Troy is solid.
I would like to see a video on bumper plates, thank you
Will put it on my list.
I got deep dish “EYE Van KO” that I got of Craigslist for super cheap I love them
Thanks for the video Brandon 🙏🏽👍🏽
I weighed a few Ivankos, a few were not accurate =/. Like more than 2% off.
Def wanted some myself! But no one has enough 45s :(
Well thought out video. Thanks for the break down
Thanks for taking a look!
Holy shit brando I just ordered two 100lb plates 😬... they done got a Playa!
Nice job!
Yeah. I bought a cheap, home gym. I assumed everything was "standard" and after a few workouts started strutting around the house marveling at how quickly I was gettin' powerful. Then I weighed my cheap, Chinese bar and realized it was only 37 pounds. Wind outta my sails. So, being the OCD guy I am, I bought a brand new Ohio Bar. Now I'm lifting my cheap, non-standard, too short, cast iron plates in style....
Haha all good, just keep movin!
I had a few cast iron plates that were fine, pretty accurate, a bit small, but uniform. Needed another set a few years later, same manufacturer, same shop. They are smaller, have a different color, and one plate is 1 kg too light. My OCD is raging hard even by looking at the plates on the bar.
Hah that would drive me nuts.
Good run of videos!!
Thanks man!
Would you say Rogue bumper are higher in the spectrum of better than cast iron plates? With diameter, stated weight, finish?
They can be, but they are also pricier and take up too much room on the bar IMO
Cheap plates are the worst. I bought cheap cast iron plates a few months back because they were on sale. I had to wait 2 months for them to arrive because they were out of stock. When I used them for the first time I noticed that the bar felt miss loaded so I weighed the plates. The lightest one was 20kg (44.1lbs) and the heaviest was 22.5kg (49.6lbs). The average weight was 21.1kg (46.5lbs). I contacted the company about this and they let me send the stuff back and get all my money back. The whole process of sending the weights back took about 6 hours. I basically waited 2 months for 6 hours of work. Never in my life will I ever buy cheap weights again :/
Usually I like the higher end stuff when it comes to training and I don't mind spending extra. The reason I went cheap was because there is a lot of people on the internet saying that "weight is weight" and "what weight you use don't matter". I would like to take this opportunity to tell those people tho go F themselves :P I 100% agree with Brandon on this one.
Hampus Brydling which brand?
Or, go to used sporting goods stores and make sure the weight of the matching plates is equal.
Brandon Campbell Diamond Some imported no name plates :/
sam wroblewski It would not feel right to have nice equipment with garbage plates. Kinda like building a 3k computer with a 20 dollar mouse and keyboard :P
@@hampusbrydling6459 not really. Gains are gains I'm in this to put in work, not flex on Instagram. If you're not competing or practicing Olympic lifts the equipment starts mattering less and less. Order of importance goes bar > rack > weights.
Please do a video on those painted decorative dinner plates that old people hang on their walls.
You mean you want to see my nascar plate collection?
I'd like to see you do bumpers and used plate videos.
Noted, thanks!
Thanks for the info!
You bet!
Great series!!
Thanks Greg!
This was super informative!
Glad it was helpful!
@@BasementBrandon ya man I failed a lift recently with cast iron plates and I wondered why it felt so heavy. This has convinced me to use machined or calibrated plates at my gym.
Can you self adjust a plate?
You could with weighted magnets or something I"m sure. Just not worth the hassle IMO
Great video. My plates at the moment (REP V2) have an overall diameter of 17.5 inches. It is about a quarter inch off of comp specs. I have a set of comp bumpers and when I lay them on top of the comp bumpers the difference in diameter is there but not glaring. That is why I have been looking at strength co plates. What do you think? Issue or non issue?
Don't think it's a big issue TBH!
or at walmart just grab a scale in the home section and weigh them right there. or bring a scale with you wherever you buy.
I know some who have done this.
Hey Brandon, any experience with Bells of Steel? They’re a Canadian company and have the cheapest prices I’ve found plus free shipping. I have their reverse hyper (they call it “back swing”) machine and love it so far. Might be popular amongst the budget-conscious folk like myself. Thanks man
I have a few of bells/strongarm bars actually! Also have heard great things about the strongarm calibratred plates.
Will you please do a review on bumper plates budget bumper plates and high quality bumper plates reviews thanks appreciate your videos keep up the good work two health and fitness
Check out the channel "As Many Reviews As Possible" he recently did a video that covered most of the above!
A second hand equipment video would be nice! I don’t have much money. Specifically Craigslist in the Indiana area
I did a home gym build on craigslist video awhile back, but it's slim pickings right now.
Hey Brandon, Thanks for this video and I would certainly like to hear from you about machined, milled etc. It would also be great to know what your opinion is on used plates.
I think I'll try to cover the used market next, but need to get out some other videos first!
@@BasementBrandon Great, thanks.
Any thoughts on the rubber coated ( not bumpers) joints? Been eyeing IVANKO’s Encased EZ lift sets
Most of the ones I see don't age very well.
i just got a locally made cast iron plate from a nearby metal foundry for 50 cents a pound, and i will weigh em tomorrow and calibrate em myself
Nice.
Bumpers are the way to go. +/- tolerance is much better than cast iron. Train w/ bumpers for a month then go to a commercial gym w/ iron and plastic coated plates, you'll feel like superman
Bumpers can be nice in some regard, but they're also usually more expensive and depending on the bumper, you might not be able to fit more than 4-5 45s per side.
Got my hands on a gym that went out of business and made the choice to only buy dumbell that are over 100 lbs for rowing
Nice!
I disagree unless you are preparing for a competition
Why?
Good video. Here's a question not related to plates: when editing, do you set the volume higher on purpose?
I set it so that it peaks around -3db, which is considered average. I find people often don't set the volume properly (too low).
Brandon Campbell Diamond that’s a good point, and thanks for the reply. I started a channel recently so I’m trying to pick up little tips like that from successful youtubers.
you should try telling xmark that the diameter should be 17.5". They claim that 16.5 is the standard.
Yikes they have a bunch of funky plates as is (bumps, angles, etc)
I have a weight plate that's misspelled and says STANDRAD instead of STANDARD 😂 that what happens to me for being cheap.
that just means it's rare right?!
@@BasementBrandon it maybe worth some good money then🤔😂
i managed to get 2” cap plates. 505 lbs for $300. .60/lb is a steal
Nice.
For garage gyms... how often do you have to maintain weights, bars, etc??
Weights not much, bars depends on the finish and your environment.
2:33 What type of plate would you use for snatch?
bumpers