Guide to Buying Cheap Gym Equipment, From Second Hand to Fire Sale
Many beginners are concerned about the safety aspect of buying cheap gym equipment. They worry about the damaged equipment that could put them at risk of injury. My view is that exercise equipment for home use is a great investment.
My name is Andrew Gray and I use weights to compliment my road bike cycling, and have used free weights, multi-gyms and gym equipment for the last 25 years. I am going to show you how you can get fit, strong, healthy and it won’t have to cost you a fortune.
Where To Buy Cheap Used Gym equipment
There are a few different sources for cheap gyms used equipment.
- Internet
- Local newspapers
- Pawn shops
- Second hand shops
- Ex-gym directly
The internet offers some good purchases, but be very careful of transport costs. If you can’t manage to pick it up yourself, then you should watch out! But don’t think that getting the car out will be a good idea. Caste iron free weights, for example, soon add up. Don’t forget that in easy money, 10Kg is the equivalent of 1 stone (14pounds). You can put a huge amount on your axel without realising it. Best to leave the family at home, and put the seats down in the back. And watch your suspension!
If you do go through the internet, then obviously ebay is a great idea, but there are also Craig’s list and Freecycle options. You might also find some second hand shops that are local to you advertise through ebay.
The local newspapers will have some good offers. Try a month or two after Christmas, or even post your own wanted ad around this time when many people have given up on the idea of getting fit! I will explain in a moment how to inspect used items, and this applies to pawn shops and second-hand shops too which are often fantastic places to buy cheap gym equipment, particularly if you are looking for vinyl covered weights.
Vinyl weights are those plastic looking ones, often filled with some sort of heavy compound which I suspect is concrete, though having never cracked one open I couldn’t say for sure. They are much friendlier to the carpet, but 
the downside is they take up around twice as much room as iron.
It’s not just free weights though that you can get a good deal on. From spinning bikes, and the traditional exercise bike, to running machines and multi-gym equipment, it’s all available and looking for a new home.
Cheap commercial gym equipment
With the enthusiasm for getting fit and losing the pounds, there is an increasing number of outlets specialising in supplying cheap gym equipment for sale to commercial enterprises, and as those new health spas get popular, they quickly want to upgrade to better equipment. Ever noticed how shiny certain gyms are? Mainly it’s because they have to replace on a regular basis so that it all looks attractive to the people who are willing to part with large amounts of money on a regular basis. They don’t trade in because it is broken.
These gyms are more likely to have used multi-gym type machines, and electronics like spinning bikes, steppers etc..
Perhaps you could find a company in your region who supplies these kinds of outfit, and ask them if they are due to refurbish anywhere soon. Ask if it is possible for you to see anything that they are throwing out, or passing on. Offer a finders fee.
Or even just make friends with the manager of a local health club! You might even be able to add a little bit onto their order so that you can buy at commercial rates brand new equipment.
There are a number of internet companies who specialize in second hand, and often will have stored up some exchange equipment in the warehouse.
How to inspect cheap second hand gym equipment
Buying second hand, whether from a refurbish company, internet, or local paper, will probably save you around 50% off of the new price for free weights equipment, or 25% for something of a more mechanical nature like a spinning bike, depending on where it comes from and how good a condition it is still in. But how do you know what is good, and what is bad.
- Make sure that if it is mechanical all the parts move freely with no knocks or squeaks.
- If there are electronic components check that the manual comes with it.
- Inspect the battery compartment and see if there is any corrosion.
- Check ALL the features to make sure that they work, and if there is an LCD screen that there is no blurring/shadowing which would indicate it has been left in the sun or heat.
- Some equipment comes with sound, make sure that the sound is clear and the speakers don’t make a buzzing noise.
- There are some spinning and exercise bikes that come with their own air fans, check these too to make sure that they are not noisy.
Multi-gym equipment checks
There are certain areas of wear and tear. These are usually around pivot points of pulleys, trapped cable damage, bent pins (that hold the weights) and split weights. Check that although things can look a little worn, that there is nothing excessive. There certainly should be no fraying, or anything that is bent. All should be straight.
- Check the bolts too for any ‘thinning’, and the same goes for washers.
- Excessive clicking or banging of components as they move into one another should be checked out.
- Sleeves on bar ends should not be cracked, and if they are made of foam there should be no pressure indentations. This is particularly noticeable on leg curl stations wear the sponge presses on the calf muscles.
Free weight checks
There is very little that can really go wrong on free weights, they are usually pretty solid. But after years of using this class of cheap home gym equipment wear points appear. Usually they occur on ‘chromed’ bars and collars. They are really nice when you buy them, but after a while the chroming starts to peal away, and you can get a really nasty cut from the bits that are left around.
A bit of oxidisation/discolouring is usually fine however, and nothing to worry about. This is particularly noticeable around the grip areas of barbells, an where the paint on metal disks has worn away. The only real damage you should be on the look out for is that the weights are not cracked or chipped, and that on the (safer) screw on type collars (the bit that holds the weight on the bars) that they spin quickly and smoothly.
Some collars also come with a rubber ring that sits inside a small track inside the collar. That should be in good condition and not show signs of drying out, or the rubber perishing.
Finally, the collars should be in matched equal size pairs.
Final top tip about buying cheap gym equipment
Look at some brand new stuff! Seriously. Get used to knowing what brand new equipment looks like, how it feels, how it behaves under load. Try it out in a sports shop, or ask for a tryout session down the local health club. Once you know what it should look like you are far more likely to make the right decisions!
Post link: http://icyclelite.com/cheap-gym-equipment/
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[...] It is a commonly accepted fact that if you are going to get fit then it will cost you money. And in these money saving times most people are wanting to spend less, not more. So what options are there which will help you to get fit, stay fit, but not break the bank? Well honey, rip up the membership card to the local gym and buy yourself some cheap gym equipment! [...]
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