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Like the title says, this is what i found to be the cheapest and easiest way to make "platemates" or "microweights". It's actually so easy and cheap that i felt strongly enough about it to type this whole thing up so more people can do it with me, haha
"Why"
My father and I (mainly him) have been investing in a home gym, because there are 4 of us in the house that lift regularly, so its a much better investment for us instead of paying 4 memberships every month. He hated the "flimsiness" of dumbbells that change weights themselves, so he kept buying the solid iron DB's in increments of 10, (50's,60's,70's) which is not practical to progress on at all, but on the other hand it would be stupid to buy them in increments of 5 (money-wise). Also I hate commercial items that rip people off.
"How"
The platemates or microweights come as 1 pair of 1.25lb, or 1 pair of 2.5 lbs. each in the 25-50$ range depending where you shop. which is insane, because literally all you need are :
-four 2.5 lb plates, (doesn't matter what kind)
-duct tape
-magnets
And you now have the ability to make a pair of 60lb DB's into 62.5's, and 65's.
The hardest and most expensive part of this by far, are choosing the type and amount of magnets, there are so many different types, sizes and strengths, so i leave the part of "which do i buy" up to you. but if you get the "rare earth ones" that are super strong but break easy, reinforce them with the duct tape so that even if they crack or break it doesnt matter, they stay inside the duct tape.
I could bore you with specifics of how to duct tape them but i doubt anyone needs that. Just duct tape X amount of magnets (the amount depends on the strength of your magnet) to 1 plate, and test it out on a dumbbell. when i tested mine i found i needed 4 magnets to keep the plate from sliding if i dropped the DB from a certain height. (you obviously cant throw your DB's around even with real platemates). Then just repeat the process for the other three 2.5lb plates.
"Result"
End result? with a 50lb pair of dumbbells, I actually now have 50.0,52.5,55.0, and 57.5 (57.5 will take 6 plates obviously since its 3 plates on each DB, and you'll have to be more careful with it, but i added it anyway)
For everyone with a home gym, this should be a real money saver when it comes to buying dumbbells, and it will make it much easier and smoother to progress. Also if your at a commercial gym that has everything you need, except for DB's that increase in increments of 2.5, well there you go.
"Why"
My father and I (mainly him) have been investing in a home gym, because there are 4 of us in the house that lift regularly, so its a much better investment for us instead of paying 4 memberships every month. He hated the "flimsiness" of dumbbells that change weights themselves, so he kept buying the solid iron DB's in increments of 10, (50's,60's,70's) which is not practical to progress on at all, but on the other hand it would be stupid to buy them in increments of 5 (money-wise). Also I hate commercial items that rip people off.
"How"
The platemates or microweights come as 1 pair of 1.25lb, or 1 pair of 2.5 lbs. each in the 25-50$ range depending where you shop. which is insane, because literally all you need are :
-four 2.5 lb plates, (doesn't matter what kind)
-duct tape
-magnets
And you now have the ability to make a pair of 60lb DB's into 62.5's, and 65's.
The hardest and most expensive part of this by far, are choosing the type and amount of magnets, there are so many different types, sizes and strengths, so i leave the part of "which do i buy" up to you. but if you get the "rare earth ones" that are super strong but break easy, reinforce them with the duct tape so that even if they crack or break it doesnt matter, they stay inside the duct tape.
I could bore you with specifics of how to duct tape them but i doubt anyone needs that. Just duct tape X amount of magnets (the amount depends on the strength of your magnet) to 1 plate, and test it out on a dumbbell. when i tested mine i found i needed 4 magnets to keep the plate from sliding if i dropped the DB from a certain height. (you obviously cant throw your DB's around even with real platemates). Then just repeat the process for the other three 2.5lb plates.
"Result"
End result? with a 50lb pair of dumbbells, I actually now have 50.0,52.5,55.0, and 57.5 (57.5 will take 6 plates obviously since its 3 plates on each DB, and you'll have to be more careful with it, but i added it anyway)
For everyone with a home gym, this should be a real money saver when it comes to buying dumbbells, and it will make it much easier and smoother to progress. Also if your at a commercial gym that has everything you need, except for DB's that increase in increments of 2.5, well there you go.
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