GROUPS
Waco, Texas USA (Fridays @ 6:30pm) - Contact Josh at contact@biblesandbarbells.com or 254-248-4758
Pitt Meadows/Port Coquitlam, BC, CAN - Contact Calvin at cgray@live.ca or 604-219-1434
Waco, Texas USA (Fridays @ 6:30pm) - Contact Josh at contact@biblesandbarbells.com or 254-248-4758
Pitt Meadows/Port Coquitlam, BC, CAN - Contact Calvin at cgray@live.ca or 604-219-1434
Starting this weekly men's group has been such a blessing for me, and if you're thinking about doing the same wherever you are, I want to do whatever I can to encourage and support you. Here's a guide to answer questions you might be asking.
If you have a home or garage gym, you're ahead of the game! I'm hosting weekly meet-ups in my "barn gym," which is just a glorified garage gym (It's in a separate metal building, so we call it a barn!). Just make sure you have a few places to sit: Extra folding chairs are usually inexpensive, from somewhere like Home Depot or Lowe's, and get out of the way when you're lifting. I also have an old drum stool which doesn't take up much space as an extra chair. And if you have a flat bench or two, or a plyo box, those work great, too.
If you don't have a home gym, you have two options: Find someone who does have a home gym, or look to host at a local gym.
Ask guys at church or work: Start asking around at church if anyone would be interested in opening up their home gym for a couple hours one day a week. Ask them if there are any times or days where that would work. Work within their schedule, and tell them you'll take responsibility for cleanup!
Approaching a Gym: If you want to host at a gym, I'd suggest looking for an independent gym. You're going to have better luck speaking with an actual human being, as opposed to getting the run-around from employees who probably can't make special arrangements without involving multiple layers of management. Independent gyms can be difficult businesses to keep open, and can use your support. Ask if there's a time or day that would be possible for a weekly gathering. Ask about what they expect: Would each person need a membership? Could you compensate as a group each week, if that's the only time these people will be in the gym? Is there a space that would work best for the Bible study portion, separate from the lifting portion? If they can't accommodate a space to do the Bible study, you might consider doing it outside in the parking lot as a "tailgate Bible study." Or perhaps there is a restaurant near the gym where you could all migrate right after lifting to do the Bible study.
Order: It's ultimately up to you, but here's what I think works best: Start with the lifting. People show up at different times, usually over the course of 20-30 minutes, so you can start lifting as soon as your time slot starts, and people can get started as they arrive. If you're an experienced lifter, offer help where it's needed. Help new lifters learn the basics.
Then, after 30-60 minutes, however long you'd like to lift (I generally do about an hour), everyone should be good and wiped out, ready to sit down and rest. That's the perfect time to do the Bible study.
Bible Study: I like to find a good chunk of scripture each week, enouch to fill a page or so of a 3-fold flyer. You can always print out any of our flyers here on BiblesAndBarbells.com to guide your Bible study! That's why I upload them here each week. When I was young, my Grandpa would always lead bible readings by having each family memeber (even the kids!) read a verse out-loud until we'd read through a chapter, and it always stuck with me. We do something like this, going around in a circle, each person reading a verse until we complete the passage. Some people don't like reading out loud, but I feel this is a great way to get everyone engaged. We all struggle with weird Bible location names, and it makes for a good laugh! It's worth making everyone get over this discomfort enough to read a bit. There's something special about reading scripture out loud--don't underestimate it!
We then review any study notes in the printout, and discuss anything that might come to mind. Honestly, it doesn't take much to get a discussion going: Most of the time people have plenty to discuss.
I'm a big proponent of Starting Strength. They have a great website, YouTube channel and book that go over the key barbell lifts: Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Overhead Press and Power Clean. There's certainly more you can do, but this is plenty!
You'll almost certainly find that the people in your group are at all different levels of lifting experience: Some will be true gym rats, and some might've never touched a barbell before. I don't try to create a "lecture" environment to teach the lifts, expecting everyone to listen. I find it's better to offer exercises to people. "Do you guys want to do some deadlifts?" Some might be interested. Then you can ask "How much have you deadlifted before?" You can gauge their experience level, and help meet them where they are. If they've never lifted before, help them get setup, and watch their form. Give notes. I strongly suggest studying up by reading The Starting Strength Book and/or watching their videos to have a solid grasp of the technique.
You need less than you might think. Start with a single barbell station that can handle squats, benching and deadlifts. You'll be helping each other out and taking turns, and this is totally OK. You don't all need to be lifting at once. Help each other load and unload plates, take a rest, and rotate in and out of the lifts.
Here's what I suggest you get to get started. I'm listing a few options at different price points, to try to make flexible.
Squat Rack or Stand: A 4-post rack with safeties is going to be your best bet. You can then squat and bench inside the rack by yourself safely. Most come with a set of "J-cups" that make it ready-to-go for squatting and benching. Many also have a pull-up bar included as part of its structure. Each of these companies offer many other rack options that will work well, I just picked some basics from each company to list here. I'm currently using a Rogue RML-490C in red, converted to a 6-post (so more like the RML-690C, technically). And if you don't want to buy a rack, you can build one! In early 2020 I made this homemade squat stand that allowed me to do squats, benching and pull-ups (by putting the barbell on the top hook). If you're just getting started with barbell training, this should be strong enough to handle the weight, and has a rugged look! One downside is that it's not adjustable to different heights for different people, so find a general height for each exercise when assembling. If your group includes Danny DeVito and Manute Bol, maybe it's time to invest in a squat rack!
Barbell: Don't skimp on your barbell. This is what you'll be interacting with on each lift: It's worth the money to get one of the standard bars from any of these major companies. The Rogue Ohio Power Bar is my favorite, and my current daily driver, but each company listed here has great bars.
Iron Plates: You don't have to get iron plates, but I'll be honest, these plates look and sound the way I want my gym to look and sound! Unfortunately a lot of iron plate manufacturing moved to China over the years, and it wasn't until 2020 that some companies started production in the USA. My pick here are The Strength Co. plates: They're made in the USA, they look and feel great, and have a thin profile on the bar (1.25"), which keeps the mass closer to your center-of-gravity during lifts. Did I mention they're shiny? That's pretty cool. Some people prefer the Rogue Deep Dish look and feel, and that's fine too. They're also made in the USA. You can get Chinese plates for a little bit cheaper from York (I do love the look of these too, and have a couple sets), or the "Standard" old-school style plates from Rep or Rogue (Rep has free shipping). You can also look over Craigslist in your area and see what plates are around! Heavy plates aren't fun to ship, so local sales through Craigslist or other local marketplaces are usually where you'll find these, as opposed to eBay. All prices listed are for a pair of 45-pound plates.
Bumper Plates: You're probably familiar with these from most commercial gyms. They make less noise, and do less damage to floors, but they take up more space on the bar. Some bumpers can get pretty pricey, but I like to stick with good ol' Hi-Temp bumper plates, made in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They make these things out of iron and old tires, and in my opinion they don't look out of place in a gym with a bunch of iron plates. These look like you'll be doing some Army fitness test with them, or doing cleans out in the driveway. I basically keep these around for when I might be needing to drop the bar on the floor, usually with cleans. I have a set of 10s, 25s, 35s and 45s, although you can surely skip getting the 35s: I just have them because I needed some weight in early 2020 when all the plates were sold out everywhere, and wouldn't you know it, Rogue still had some 35s in stock. I'm also including REP Black Bumpers here as an option: They looka bit "cleaner," but are made in China, for about the same price. All prices listed are for a pair of 45-pound plates.
Bench: You'll want a bench, so you can BENCH! Flat benches are going to be the most inexpensive, but an adjustable bench will allow you to do some incline benching as well! If you're only going to have one bench, you'll probably want to have an adjustable one for the variety. I have one flat and one adjustable, and I do use my flat bench the most. It's nice to not have the gap in it while you're flat benching. The Rogue monster flat bench is pretty awesome: It's super solid, and you start appreciating that as you move up in your bench weight.
Flooring: You can go all-out and get gym flooring installed, but it can be pretty expensive. I'm providing a link below to Advanced Excercise, which can give you a quote for a wall-to-wall flooring install like we did in our barn gym (We did a white fleck in black). Whatever you do, make sure you get hard rubber floring, and nothing soft. Horse stall mats from a place like Tractor Supply Co. will be the go-to solution for most garage gyms. It's enough keep the iron off the concrete, allowing you to deadlift with your iron plates. And you can get away with just a few mats! Just get enough so that you can set down each end of your barbell. I would suggest you keep your deadlifting area an even flat floor, so you're standing at the same level that your plates are resting on the ground. Ddon't leave a gap in the middle where you stand. You can also build super-cool deadlifting platform, which could be another fun project!.
Dumbbells: I think sticking with the barbell excercises and the equipment above is more than sufficient, but a lot of people do like to do a few dumbbell excercises. You can go with a full set of dumbbells across a weight range, or you can get a pair of adjustable dumbbells. If you're hosting a group, the sets might be more useful so that more guys can use them at once, but the adjustable dumbbells are much more cost-effective. Hex dumbbells are less expensive, while Urethane are more expensive, but provide shorter heads and better coating on the heads.
This is up to you. If your group is meeting a someone else's gym, it's likely they will make you and your members sign a liability waiver. That's just the world we live in (no one wants to get sued). If you're meeting at your home, it's really no different than if your kids have friends over and they go on your trampoline and then hurt themselves: Their parents might sue you--it's a risk. But we don't have every person who walks into our home sign a liability waiver. So it's up to you. You can download template liability waivers from many websites if you'd like to do one.
