Why Would You Want Bumper Plates vs. Iron for a Home Gym?

With more and more people looking to set up their own home gym, consumers are flooding the internet to scoop up gym equipment they can use in their homes. Unused rooms, basements, and garages are being filled with home gym equipment and put to good use. A topic of discussion that many have, however, is whether or not they should invest in a set of bumper plates or iron plates.

In this article, we are going to look at the benefits of bumper plates over iron and why they may be a better fit to suit your home gym needs.

I have hands-on experience with bumper plates from DMOOSE, so I’m going to specifically speak about my experience with them and why I think bumper plates may be a wise choice when building out your home gym.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any condition. It is recommended that you speak with your healthcare professional before engaging in physical activity to ensure you are healthy enough to do so.

Are Bumper Plates Worth the Extra Expense?

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room to start things off. If you’re building a home gym and debating between bumper plates and iron plates, you’re going to notice that bumper plates are more expensive.

For the most part, bumper plates are iron plates coated with a rubber exterior. As you’d imagine, more material going into constructing bumper plates increases the price. However, for many, the added expense makes total sense.

If you are on a tight budget when building out your home gym, bumper plates may be a little too pricey for some. But the advantages of utilizing them for your home gym may sway you to find the extra money to make the purchase.

Below are some reasons why you may want to purchase bumper plates (such as the plates from DMOOSE) for your home gym:

1. Protect Your Flooring with Bumper Plates

Depending on the flooring of your home gym, the last thing you want to do is bang it up. Iron plates provide zero shock absorption, and if you drop the weights on the floor, you’re going to damage the floor as well as even possibly the plates and barbell.

It would be wise to invest in some rubber mats for flooring in your home gym, but I understand that’s another expense when building out your home gym, which is another reason you should look into bumper plates.

With bumper plates, the rubberized plate helps absorb the shock and provides some “give” when the plate makes contact with the ground. Even if you aren’t dropping the weights, simply setting the plates on the floor may cause indentations.

You can even use bumper plates outdoors. I enjoy using the DMOOSE bumper plates outdoors in my yard when the weather is nice. Dropping the weights on the grass is perfectly fine and does not harm the plates, from my experience.

2. Less Noise

If you go to gyms across the nation, you will inevitably hear the clanging and banging of plates. While some love the sound, your neighbors may not (or the people living in your house). Bumper plates help dampen the noise thanks to the thick rubber exterior.

Even when dropping the bumper plates, the noise is drastically lower than if you were to do the same with iron plates.

3. Protect Your Barbell

Dropping your weights can put a lot of stress and strain on your barbell because the shock is transferred throughout the entire bar when dropped. The last thing you want to do is damage your investment. Therefore, the rubber coating of bumper plates helps protect your bar and can prolong its life if doing any sort of Olympic lifts where you’re consistently dropping the weight to the floor.

4. Low Bounce

Depending on your flooring, dropping plates can cause them to bounce uncontrollably. The rubber coating on these rubber-coated plates helps minimize the bounce, and the DMOOSE bumper plates, specifically, only create a low and minimal bounce (unlike many bumper plates on the market that, if dropped from above your head, can cause the bar to return to nearly shoulder height after being dropped).

The last thing you need in your home gym are plates bouncing all around that could cause damage to items in your home and home gym.

5. Better Durability

If you were to look at the thickness of a 45lb iron plate, you’re looking at around 1.3”. DMOOSE bumper plates, for example, are 3.2” — providing 1.9” of rubber to protect the plate as well as your barbell.

The DMOOSE bumper plates are not only adequately padded with rubber, but the stainless-steel insert can take a pounding to withstand repeated drops.

Something else to take note of is where your home gym is located. If in your garage or basement, where the temperature is not regulated, the humidity and moisture in the space could cause your plates to rust. Bumper plates are a much more durable material when compared to iron plates and are much less likely to suffer rust damage unless the rubber coating is broken.

You Don’t Need to Break the Bank with Bumper Plates

While more expensive than iron plates, bumper plates like the ones offered by DMOOSE are more than affordable compared to other large fitness equipment brands out there that can be more than twice the price.

Having a set of DMOOSE bumper plates can be a worthwhile investment and one that can last a lifetime if you take care of your equipment. Building out your home gym with the essentials is key, and something like a bar and bumper plates can be a great start to a lifetime of fun workouts in the privacy of your own home.

If interested, DMOOSE bumper plates are available in 10, 15, 25, 35, and 45lb increments.

*This article was sponsored by DMOOSE.

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