Up to date for 2022 with present costs and data on a pair platforms, and added one from Valor Health.
Why Do You Want a Lifting Platform?
To Shield Your Ground
Rubber fitness center flooring protects your concrete storage flooring, however even 3/4″ rubber may not be sufficient. Not all concrete is created equal. If the builder cheaped out, dropped olympic lifts will begin pulverizing the concrete or create cracks. Dropping weights is considerably tougher on concrete than your automotive rolling into the storage with its gentle rubber tires, even while you add within the issue of additional rubber defending the concrete.
supply: reddit thread
It’s the shock load that’s the issue. Something dropped onto the floor will create a shock load many instances the burden being dropped. We see that with energy racks too, the protection bars or barbell being broken while you drop a loaded barbell at freefall a pair toes onto the protection bars. In some unspecified time in the future it doesn’t matter how sturdy it’s; one thing has to provide.
A set of three/4″ rubber mats is nice in that it absorbs a number of the power, however it solely spreads out the power somewhat bit. That’s the place a platform is available in. Wooden is inflexible and can unfold the power out.
It follows {that a} bigger platform of 8’x8′ will unfold and take up extra of the power than a 8’x6′ platform.
For Luxurious Lifting or Competitors Coaching
The skilled strategy to do olympic lifts is standing on a wooden platform. Within the Olympic Video games, they’ve a top quality platform arrange the place the complete high floor is wooden. That’s tough on most wooden. You received’t possible get away with that your self long-term.
Nonetheless, wooden is finest to face on for its stability and the right easy traction. Olympic weightlifting sneakers are made for use on wooden floors, letting your toes slide simply sufficient to shift into place, with out undue slipping. Due to this fact, a platform has a wood center part and rubber sides to cushion the blow of the plates, supplying you with one of the best of each worlds.
What’s the Normal Dimension Olympic Lifting Platform?
You’ll usually see three normal weightlifting platform dimensions: 8’x4′, 8’x6′, and eight’x8′. So they’re all 8ft vast and differ solely within the distance from entrance to again.
- 4ft Deep: Completely sufficient as a deadlift platform. The bar isn’t travelling excessive. You don’t want quite a lot of house.
- 6ft Deep: Minimally sufficient for olympic lifting. You possibly can probably run out of room, inflicting the bar to roll off the platform.
- 8ft Deep: Optimum measurement for olympic lifting. A lot of house to work in, irrespective of if you happen to drop the bar in entrance of or behind you. That is additionally one of the best measurement for optimum safety of the concrete flooring, with the bigger wooden space spreading out the shock load so that every sq. footage of concrete can take much less of the load.
The 8ft (minimal) width on all platforms is critical to suit a completely loaded 7ft bar with some wiggle room.
The thickness varies, however it isn’t actually a platform until it’s a couple of 3/4″ layer of rubber and/or wooden. Two or extra layers qualifies as a platform, in my thoughts, and with that it could actually differ from 1″ to 2.25″ thick.
Do You Want Bumper Plates?
Usually, you need to be utilizing bumper plates when doing olympic lifts on a platform, to lengthen the lifetime of every thing.
The exception can be if you happen to’re utilizing comparatively gentle weight (no matter “gentle” is for you) to the purpose the place you might be in command of each rep and decrease the burden to the ground with out dropping it. On this case, iron plates shall be wonderful, however on this case you additionally don’t want a platform.
Rip illustrates this level:
Deadlifts, alternatively, don’t require bumpers. Powerlifting meets contain metal discs (that are calibrated very precisely for weight, one thing you simply can’t do as properly with forged iron) used on their platforms. It’s nonetheless not a nasty concept to make use of bumpers for deadlifts. You’ll defend your gear higher.
Can You Put a Platform on a Wooden or Carpeted Ground?
In case you have something however a concrete subfloor, you’re rolling the cube. Mild to reasonably heavy deadlifts is perhaps okay, or cleans if you happen to raise far underneath your max and received’t be dropping it. A wooden flooring or carpeted wooden flooring, as in your house, isn’t going to be pleased while you drop olympic lifts from shoulder top or above, even with the platform. Even a midway dropped deadlift will shake the room, regardless of the platform.
With a concrete subfloor, you may place the platform both immediately onto the concrete, or ideally, onto rubber flooring between it and the concrete (even 3/8″ rubber is okay) to chop the noise and vibration higher.
The way to Use a Energy Rack and Platform Collectively
A platform and energy rack makes for a flexible setup the place you are able to do presses, squats, deadlifts, and olympic lifts, multi functional space, plus all the opposite workouts you are able to do with numerous energy racks.
There are two methods to do that:
- Use an Inset
An inset is a fitted piece of wooden that matches inside your rack, with the remainder of the platform proper in entrance of the rack. This offers you a easy transition of wooden flooring from the surface to the within of the rack. - Mount the Rack to the Platform
Depart some house in entrance for doing lifts outdoors the rack, immediately off the platform. This works wonderful as a deadlift platform. For olympic lifting it’s not a good suggestion, as a result of the rack sucks up a lot platform house.
The primary advantage of mounting the rack to the platform is to safe the rack from tipping or wobbling. Open-ended racks (with no decrease cross-brace) are made to be mounted, whether or not right into a platform or concrete flooring. Mounting it right into a platform saves your good concrete.
Rogue’s Rubber Tile Platform Package
Rogue’s modular “build-your-own” platform kit comes in a 8’x6′ size with rubber tiles beginning at $935.00, or the 8’x8′ size for a little more. I really like issues that you could take aside and really transfer, and good luck transferring a daily stable platform by yourself. Mainly with Rogue’s resolution you purchase the body and a set of 1.5″ thick rubber tiles to stay in it. Performed!
One other benefit of Rogue’s is you don’t need to ever fear about wooden curling over time. There’s no glue or screws within the building. The bolted metal body retains all of it collectively, and that’s that. There’s not a lot to it. If you happen to actually need to, you possibly can change the middle rubber tiles with two layers of three/4″ plywood.
On the unfavorable facet, the bolts sticking into the metal body prevents the tiles from with the ability to cosy up in opposition to the within of the body, as a substitute in opposition to solely the bolts, inflicting another tiles to shift round somewhat that aren’t restricted by a bolt. The body was designed somewhat additional vast with this in thoughts.
Additionally, the flat metal body braces beneath the rubber tiles trigger the tiles in these areas to bulge up.
Valor has this extra conventional wood platform design for less than $1,139.
It measures 6’11” deep x 8’5″ vast x 1.25″ thick, greater in each dimension than Rogue’s 6’x8′ platform additional above. If this measurement will give you the results you want, Valor’s platform seems to be to me to be superior in each method. No points with body braces beneath the tiles inflicting bulging, as a result of right here they depend on the wooden to supply the rigidity as a substitute.
The wooden space is “bamboo lined”, that means the underside layer is probably plywood to save lots of on price, which is okay. The bamboo on high offers you smoother footing.
So far as a rock-solid, fully-constructed platform, all screwed/glued collectively, you’ll see some listed for $3,000 or so. York has a pretty good one that I bought a number of of after I ran a retailer. They cost delivery, which after all goes to be loads these days for one thing like this. I recommend avoid getting a custom vinyl logo done with them as a result of their polyurethane coating isn’t sufficient to guard it.
