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I'm considering some large wall mirrors for my home gym project and curious about other folks experience of buying and fitting.
I'm not sure the wall is 100% flat so imagine some of mount will be required.
Also interested in the choice of acrylic vs glass.
And, of course, recommendations for suppliers (though I might be limited by location).
I was going to do the wall in my pain cave, just not got round to it yet. Our glass supplier quoted £620 + VAT (total) for 4 No. 1200 x 2300 6mm mirrors with polished edges & 4 holes for wall fixing.
You could just stick with sikaflex i suppose but removal won't be a fun process.
Random suggestion - Ikea do tall completely mirror faced wardrobe doors. Shallow wardrobes with mirror doors on the wall in question then you also have some hidden storage?
I always think gyms shouldn't have mirrors, was always amused by how many people went to gyms to look at themselves in mirrors rather than lift weights...
Our home gym is mirror free....
Go full 'Enter the Dragon' and do the 4 walls 😉
Mirror doors are a good suggestion, even if I don't use storage behind them.
Wall mirrors are good for yoga.
I always think gyms shouldn’t have mirrors, was always amused by how many people went to gyms to look at themselves in mirrors rather than lift weights…
Our home gym is mirror free….
You must have perfect form every single rep then I guess?
Use the ones from your bedroom ceiling?
I always think gyms shouldn’t have mirrors
I mainly agree, but I think there is a role for mirrors, especially when squatting, to check form and symmetry. The trick is to get the line down the middle so you can line your nose up with the line and keep it there while squatting. Keep thinking about setting that up myself.
However I don't think form is worth checking in a mirror for the majority of exercises.
footflaps
I always think gyms shouldn’t have mirrors, was always amused by how many people went to gyms to look at themselves in mirrors rather than lift weights…
Our home gym is mirror free….
Advantage of mirrors is that you can see your form when heavy lifting, especially when squatting/deadlifting.
Mirrors in my opinion are a good thing, however lots of gym goers use the mirrors when they arent lifting anything to see how good they look.
I especially liked the guy who walked into the changing room, went straight over to the mirror, lifted his shirt to check on his 6 pack progress, nodded to himself and then walked back to the gym floor.
In regard to wall mounting id make a bracket out of 2x1 or 2x2 and fix the mirror to that. not done it in my pain cave though.
It's ok as long as you don't do any bicep curls, one of the dumbest training exercises ever conceived, done mainly by roiders and people who haven't a clue what they are doing.
Yes i have big(ish) biceps and triceps to match.
I would go with acrylic.
If you fix it to the wall sightly convex, it will make your muscles look bigger.
Dunelm do 1200x300mm mirrors for a fiver, you could stack 5 or 6 of them as a quick fix/experiment.
You must have perfect form every single rep then I guess?
If you train enough you learn good proprioception.
If I want to check form I just video myself and check back eg mirrors aren't much use when doing something like a Snatch, Clean and jerk or a Handstand as you can't keep looking at yourself and do the move properly.
In my experience mirrors are mainly used by people doing bicep curls (over a very short range of motion) which just means they don't have a clue what they're doing.
Realistically, do you have issues with your form that require mirrors, or is it more of an american psycho mirror thing ;o)
Would those lightweight roller mirrors work, easier to deploy and store i'd guess, and allow easier ability to locate if you're after certain views?
terrible idea IMO. You need to be looking straight ahead & concentrating on what you're doing, not trying to peek at what might be going on with your body whilst under a heavy weight!! Stick your phone in a Gorillapod or similar and video yourself to check form (or find a lifting partner who know's what they're doing!). But really, if there's any question over form, go much lighter until it's sorted.Advantage of mirrors is that you can see your form when heavy lifting, especially when squatting/deadlifting.
Got one of these in the home gym - or similar. It was in my old flat just at one end of the hallway to reflect light in / make it look a bit bigger. We moved to a new house and I didn’t have anywhere obvious to put it so stuck it in the garage gym. Just hangs off 2 screws if I remember correctly:
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/hovet-mirror-aluminium-50038213/
It’s useful sometimes to check form * - but not always. However it just brightens up the room a bit as it has no windows so reflects the light around a bit more.
* ok, sometimes I do just look to see progress 🙈
Ikea do wee 8" square mirrors, pretty cheap, fire them up in a pattern to the size you want with wee sticky patches, job done.
But really, if there’s any question over form, go much lighter until it’s sorted.
+1
In reality they just up the weight 5kg, loose another 20 degree range of motion and move 2m close to the mirror!
