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Thread: Do softer bumpers result in meaningfully less noise?

  1. #1
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    Default Do softer bumpers result in meaningfully less noise?

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    We've been training in our newly outfitted garage a home for about a month and got our first noise complaint from a neighbor this weekend. I was doing cleans and dropping them with my newly acquired bumpers on my newly constructed platform. We like our neighbors and have good relationships with them, including the guy who complained and so don't want to be belligerent about it. The bumpers we have were bought second hand and are way to the hard side of the continuum. If buying more expensive, softer bumpers would help dampen then noise then we'd bite the bullet and do that, but I don't want to spend several hundred dollars more on additional new equipment if it isn't going to meaningfully change the situation.

  2. #2
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    The "softness" of bumper plates does not vary to any significant degree, since it would affect their bounce, which must be controlled. the noise is the result of the weight hitting the platform. I guess your HOA needs to pass an amendment to their CC&Rs prohibiting the Olympic lifts in the neighborhood.

  3. #3
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    Where’s your platform? Can you soundproof the room?

  4. #4
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    Those of us who do not like neighbors having input into our affairs have chosen not to have neighbors.

  5. #5
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    I went with the Vulcan Alpha bumpers for my garage. They come in at ~$2/lb delivered, advertise low bounce and 25% less noise vs whatever they tested it against. I have been happy with them other than not realizing they were made in China when I ordered them. I don't do olympic lifts so my review is pretty pointless. Deadlift is the only time they get used and I could just as easily have used iron plates for that. Sounds like I wasted my money and contributed nothing to this thread... damn it!

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    Those of us who do not like neighbors having input into our affairs have chosen not to have neighbors.
    That is the dream, but it is increasingly difficult when your country's population has almost doubled in 50 years, placing you in the third most populous country in the world. Or when you live in China. Or India. Or Britain, which keeps trying to grow its population through immigration despite constant environmental claims that the island has already far exceeded its population capacity.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yngvi View Post
    That is the dream, but it is increasingly difficult when your country's population has almost doubled in 50 years, placing you in the third most populous country in the world. Or when you live in China. Or India. Or Britain, which keeps trying to grow its population through immigration despite constant environmental claims that the island has already far exceeded its population capacity.
    Wow! That escalated fast. From bumper plates to world population growth. Congrat's to you Mark for presiding over one "big picture" forum!

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by JFord View Post
    Wow! That escalated fast. From bumper plates to world population growth. Congrat's to you Mark for presiding over one "big picture" forum!
    Wow.

  9. #9
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    For the people who did not decide to jump out of their chairs outraged over a simple factual observation, the point was that noise can present a problem for home gyms wherever you live. A solution would be beneficial to many people if there is one.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Acoustic insulation is the only thing that might work. But dropped plates make noise.

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