If I'm going to purchase real bumper plates?

I train at a local weightlifting club and would also like to practice at home.
I do mostly olympic lifting and I will be dropping the weight on concrete floor.:confused:

Weight plates versus concrete = not good....


I would definitely go with some thick rubber matting....maybe 2 or 3 layers if you're going to let 'em freefall...:eek:

You only need 2 "area" pieces for where the weights are going to hit the floor.

I wouldn't go with just the rubber around the edge of a weight plate.

yep gotcha.

I was thinking of maybe not buying flooring anymore, when I saw this video (http://youtube.com/watch?v=JHJRz00E3lo) on youtube. The person demonstrates the durability of bumper plates when dropped on concrete.

Here are plans for a weghtlifting platform:

http://www.geocities.com/washingtonweightlifting/Articles/PlanforaQuiet.htm


You might only need a few bumper plates ($$$$) to help buffer your iron plates if you go that route.

Once I own a house I will be building one so I can utilize bands for deadlifts.


Nate

My mistake...I thought you were talking about those weight-plates with the rubber edge around them.

Those 'bumper plates' look pretty good from the YouTube vid.

I have bumpers and drop them on the floor all the time. I like dropping them actually. It's something you could never do with metal plates. I used to use some of those rubber padding things that fit together like jigsaw pieces but don't really need them.

One thing you will need is a quality bar. The cheap ones that come with a weight set wont last long when dropped alot.

You don't necessarily need a platform if you're using bumpers, but a platform can be home-built very inexpensively. However, as crupeia mentioned, you do need a quality bar, specially designed for Olympic weightlifting. Besides ensuring the quality and strength of the metal, the sleeves must be fashioned in such a way that there are no bolts to work loose. Cosmetically, you'll also want the absence of a center knurling, elsewise your upper chest and neck will continually be one gigantic bloody scrape. Quality bars also tend to "spin" nice, which makes a big difference in the feel of the lifts.

I have bumpers and drop them on the floor all the time. I like dropping them actually. It's something you could never do with metal plates. I used to use some of those rubber padding things that fit together like jigsaw pieces but don't really need them.

One thing you will need is a quality bar. The cheap ones that come with a weight set wont last long when dropped alot.

But, will they retain more longevity if you had plywood/rubber flooring?

Or it really doesn't matter since bumpers were basically made to be dropped on any smooth surface?

Btw, what brand bumpers do you have? I'm planning on purchasing a china branded set, either DHS, Taishan or S.T.C, since they're being sold as sets here in Australia and their waaay cheaper than eleiko/uesaka/buffalo/australian barbell. The bar that comes with the set is the "spinning" type with needle bearings.

You don't necessarily need a platform if you're using bumpers, but a platform can be home-built very inexpensively. However, as crupeia mentioned, you do need a quality bar, specially designed for Olympic weightlifting. Besides ensuring the quality and strength of the metal, the sleeves must be fashioned in such a way that there are no bolts to work loose. Cosmetically, you'll also want the absence of a center knurling, elsewise your upper chest and neck will continually be one gigantic bloody scrape. Quality bars also tend to "spin" nice, which makes a big difference in the feel of the lifts.

Thats good to hear. The thing is, the materials needed to build a platform here in Australia, is very expensive.

There are sellers here that have those specifications you mentioned, although I'm opting for the china imported brands. I'd very much settle for these, as they look durable enough for 1 person, home use. They also come in sets.

I'm not opting for Eleiko or Uesaka, as I feel its just too expensive for personal use. I won't be putting up tremendous poundages anyway like Dimas or Kono. :eek:

But, will they retain more longevity if you had plywood/rubber flooring?

Or it really doesn't matter since bumpers were basically made to be dropped on any smooth surface?
I recently picked up some weights on Craigslist. Included were two 25kg Eleiko bumper plates. They're both cracking around the circumference and being held together by duct tape. While I don't have any experience with bumper plates other than this, the cracking gave me the impression that repeated drops over a long period of time would cause similar damage. With the costs of bumper plates, I'd personally put something down if I thought it would make them last longer.

100% rubber bumpers can be dropped on concrete every day for quite a few years before they start to wear out, crack, and need to be replaced.

in a perfect world, you'd have some hard rubber flooring down. it's a little healthier on your joints and everythign if you're doing jumps / jumprope / etc. but if youre using 100% rubber bumpers, it's not mandatory.