Dropping Rogue bumpers

[ambivalens]

Hey guys. I've acquired some rogue bumper plates, and I'm looking into what I need to do with my home gym floor to be able to drop them without wrecking them or the floor.

The floor in my basement is straight up concrete, nothing fancy.

I've been looking for some cheap rubber mats, and came across these:

http://biltema.no/no/Fritid/Sport/Tr...gsmatte-14754/

Ignore the norwegian blabber. They're 1.2cm thick, so I think I might need atleast 2 or perhaps 3 on top of eachother to make it useful. Any thoughts?

[BigB]

Here in the states we use horse stall mats on top of plywood. I live dangerously, and just drop the bumpers right on concrete. Of course, I've never dropped anything over 300lbs.

[hollismb]

Are they Hi-Temps, HG's, or Competition plates? Your floor will probably be fine regardless, but the hi temps are going to land softer (and bounce more) than the other types, so protecting your bumpers a little with some flooring is going to help too.

A better route would be to see if you can get some horse stall mats (from tractor supply or somewhere similar), which are 3/4 of an inch thick, 4X6 feet, basically indestructible, and won't slip around like those small sections will. Or you could go one better and build a dedicated lifting platform with plywood and stall mats.

[veryhrm]

The floor would be fine as is. The bumpers might get scuffed on cement but you could drop them on carpet.

If you want to go the next step, those kind of mats aren't usually dense enough so they'll be squishy to walk on. Not what you want for your DL or OL. See if you can find some horse stall matts. http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/stor...at-4-ft-x-6-ft They're literally meant for horses to stand on them. And since horses are heavy and hooves are relatively small in surface area... they need stiff mats.

Still for the best experience you should make a platform so that you stand on wood and the plates are on mats.

[ambivalens]

Thanks for the feedback guys! They are Hi-Temps by the way.

I was hoping to build a platform, but my basement ceiling is so low, and I have such limited space that I'd have to have my power rack on top of the platform. I'll do some measuring again, perhaps it's doable after all. Will also check the farms around here to see if I can get some horse stall mats there!

To be honest, what I'm most worried about is wrecking the bar by dropping it alot. Those suckers are expensive as hell over here :/

[Mr_Rogers]

I don't have much clearance in my basement either but I still press, c&j and snatch. The mistake I made was having 3 layers of plywood, I lost some valuable clearance. Luckily laundry/furnace room is not finished so I can do all overhead work in between the joists. It royally sucks if you're slightly off and hit one on a press or a jerk or standing up a snatch.

My advice would be to use thinner materials if clearance is an issue. Even take a look at some russian training videos. They have thin rubber for the weights to land on and a different thin material for the lifter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERc0VO_yfK0

Something else to consider: Build a lifting platform and then an extension for the power rack so it's not on the platform but directly on the cement.

[hollismb]

You can drop Hi-Temps pretty much anywhere, even on asphalt, and it won't mess them up. As long as it's a decent bar and you're dropping it evenly and controlled, you're equipment will be fine. The stall mats help deaden noise too, and will protect your floor and equipment if you drop it, but are also solid enough that you can lift on them if you don't want a platform (or have a ceiling height issue, since platforms are taller). Mats are going to be just the 3/4 inch, but a platform is going to be closer to 3 inches tall. I've got a 8 foot ceiling with a 90 inch tall squat stand sitting on top of stall mats, and my only issue is that I can just barely touch the ceiling with the bumpers when I press if it's a little uneven.

[atb5161]

Although Hi-Temps are a really solid and well made bumper, I would advise trying to avoid dropping a bar with anything less than 115# on it (a 35# per side). The 25# hi-temps and below can probably handle it, but refraining from dropping a bar with just 25s on it will go a long way towards the longevity of the bumpers.

Edit: or whatever the kg equivalent plates are

[ambivalens]

Although Hi-Temps are a really solid and well made bumper, I would advise trying to avoid dropping a bar with anything less than 115# on it (a 35# per side). The 25# hi-temps and below can probably handle it, but refraining from dropping a bar with just 25s on it will go a long way towards the longevity of the bumpers.

Edit: or whatever the kg equivalent plates are

Yeah, that seems like it's good advice. I won't drop anything less than 50kgs (2x15kg, which I would assume are 35lbs plates), as the lighter plates feel too thin to take repeated abuse.

[BigB]

Rogue says not to drop the small plates by themselves.