Reddit reviews CAP Barbell Olympic Plate Rack, 2"

All I've been using is a basic 300lb Olympic weight lifting set: 1 bar, and 14 weight plates, like this. The only thing else I use is a bench, for bench presses.

Not necessarily cheap, but you can find sweet deals on Craigslist, or maybe just someone who doesn't want theirs that's been collecting dust in the garage. If you get a weight tree, it's easy to keep the weights organized and accessible.

I have no idea if this should be something to recommend to others, but I'll lay out my beginning system for you, just as an example. It is structured in a way that's really helped me get comfortable with the basic movements before moving on to a new plan. I've started with a simple, 3-day-a-week workout, picking one exercise from each of the following groups each day to practice with 1 set of 10 to warm up, with just the bar or light weight, then another set of 10 with a weight that is heavier, as my "official" set:

• Group 1
  Back Squat | Front Squat
  
  
• Group 2
  Power Clean | Clean (squat) | Deadlift
  
  
• Group 3
  Bench Press | Shoulder Press | Push Press
  
  So, on one workout day I might do a set of back squats, then do some power cleans, and then shoulder presses, and then rotate through the next workout day, etc. I keep a megadork spreadsheet on google docs to track my progress. Those numbers make me happy, and knowing I'm getting stronger feels awesome! I also like doing it at home; I have to clean the weight in order to do my presses and squats, so I feel more beastly, doing it "old school" without the "frills" (whether or not that's an accurate assessment, haha).