The Official Power Rack Thread - August 2010 version

[jprockjr]

another vote for the Rogue racks for your school.

- good price
- customization (you can talk to them)
- well built (in the U.S.)
- great customer service
- and most important always in stock (will most likely ship out the same day you order)

[FastCatChamp]

What's the budget for the cages? If it's small then I agree Rogue would probably be the way to go, they will do discounts for several cages but so will most companies... So it really just depends on the budget.

We are thinking 1500 for cages

[atglenhillbilly]

Found a body solid wppr82 for 180$ on cl. I like the powertec but haven't found a descent price on one yet. What do you guys think of the body wppr82. I mostly want something for safety. I don't want to be scared to try more weight.

[Kodokan]

We are thinking 1500 for cages

1500 for each cage, or is that the total budget and you need more than one? If it's for all three, this one from promaxima (fw-28) might be an option for you:



I've got a set of hooks and pins from them which I put on another custom rack and they're quite solid. I think if you could swing a deal from rogue or legend on some of their cages that might be better, but I believe this one would be in your price range shipped.

That being said, if this is for a tiny high school maybe you don't need 3 cages. Maybe just 1, or 2 with one being devoted to bench. You could get more rack that way having more money to spend on it.

[matrix563]

i had that rack. i didn't use it (decided i want one with closer together holes) but let me tell you it is very heavy duty and rated to 1k pounds.

[wugazi]

...

[GSpotSoldier]

So hard to find and decide. I have 8ft basement ceiling. Need a power rack that has smooth lat pulldown and lower pulley. Then I will need an awesome quality bench that will fit, that has a good leg developing attachment, or the option to attach a quality one. With good padding. Leg curls and extensions. Still looking...Under $1500 total...

[eMtz15i]

[/QUOTE]

lol

What power rack do you guys recommend, i'm on a 300 dollar budget.

[Northernmoris]

So hard to find and decide. I have 8ft basement ceiling. Need a power rack that has smooth lat pulldown and lower pulley. Then I will need an awesome quality bench that will fit, that has a good leg developing attachment, or the option to attach a quality one. With good padding. Leg curls and extensions. Still looking...Under $1500 total...

With that budget buy a good rack and a separate lat pull/low row.

[dumb.bell]

Then I will need an awesome quality bench that will fit, that has a good leg developing attachment, or the option to attach a quality one.

This is pretty much a contradiction. A high quality bench will not have a leg attachment on it. If you want a leg attachment on your bench you will have to settle for consumer grade.

I also agree with Northernmoris regarding the lat attachment on your rack. They only get in the way.

[irongrandpa]

i've never used a leg attachment on a bench that felt right. on some, the leg extensions were ok, but none of them worked well for leg curls.

[haku123]

Hey guys, what's a fair price for the following:

1) northern lights (canada brand) power rack with lat attachment (+various attachments for high/low pulley)
specs:
Height: 85 in
Weight: 175.5 lbs
CONSTRUCTION:
Frame: 11-14 gauge steel construction

2) northern lights FI bench with leg attachment
3) 7' oly bar with 250lbs in plates (+ plate holder)
4) heavy duty gym mats (2x)


They were asking $700 --> now $650 (I guess no buyers?)


Thanks!

[Kodokan]

lol

What power rack do you guys recommend, i'm on a 300 dollar budget.[/QUOTE]

the powerline, or look used on craigslist.

[irongrandpa]

Dsc02764.jpg disregard this post. it's not put in right.

[desijut]

I'm looking for a power rack that I can do squats, standing press, pull ups and dips with. Basically, a power rack with a pull up bar, dips attachment, and 2 safety hooks outside the rack for a standing press.

I've looked at getting the Bodycraft F430, with F433 Extra Bar Hooks and F432 Dip Attachment(~£480) or Bodymax CF475 with Dip Attachment (~£300)

I'm swaying towards the bodymax kit (of course) but the only problem is the standing ress will be difficult to do as it does not have extra bar hooks to go on the outside. Help? I'm open to other power rack suggestions/

[therope]

After mulling over this thread and weighing all the options I think I've narrowed it down. I'm just getting started so I think a cheap starter rack is the best option for me. I think the two I'm between is the Fitness Gear Power Cage from Dick's (Can't post links, don't have 50 posts) and the Power Rack from ebay/Amazon.

I went and looked at the one from Dicks today and it seemed sturdy enough. Has anyone purchased it? If so, what are your thoughts?

[rthawker]

After mulling over this thread and weighing all the options I think I've narrowed it down. I'm just getting started so I think a cheap starter rack is the best option for me. I think the two I'm between is the Fitness Gear Power Cage from Dick's (Can't post links, don't have 50 posts) and the Power Rack from ebay/Amazon.

I went and looked at the one from Dicks today and it seemed sturdy enough. Has anyone purchased it? If so, what are your thoughts?

Do a search for Protocol power rack here and you will find quite a few threads on the Dicks rack. They are the same rack just different names. I think they also went by the name Proviction at one time as well.

[shoryuken369]

Hey guys, does this look like a decent power rack for a beginner? A guy is selling it cheap. It's either between this or a Body Solid Multi press Rack for basically the same price. I'm going to use it for bench pressing as well if it matters.

No info regarding it, besides the pic though.

[Iakovos]

Hey guys, what's a fair price for the following:

1) northern lights (canada brand) power rack with lat attachment (+various attachments for high/low pulley)
specs:
Height: 85 in
Weight: 175.5 lbs
CONSTRUCTION:
Frame: 11-14 gauge steel construction

2) northern lights FI bench with leg attachment
3) 7' oly bar with 250lbs in plates (+ plate holder)
4) heavy duty gym mats (2x)


They were asking $700 --> now $650 (I guess no buyers?)


Thanks!

For us in Canada I think that's a really good deal. I'm not really a fan of northern lights equipment but if I were looking I'd totally grab that. Especially with the lat attachment included.

[Iakovos]

Hey guys, does this look like a decent power rack for a beginner? A guy is selling it cheap. It's either between this or a Body Solid Multi press Rack for basically the same price. I'm going to use it for bench pressing as well if it matters.

No info regarding it, besides the pic though.

I don't recognize the rack in the photo but in general it's wise to choose a full power rack over a half rack, which is what the body solid multi press is. With the half rack if you fail a squat and come down away from the rack you can easily miss the small safeties and find yourself in a bad situation. A full power rack has you covered in every direction, making them a much better buy.

[pumping4life]

It's a so-so pic, but it looks like a very solid rack. The only potential negative I can see is the large distance between the holes.

[irongrandpa]

after watching cl for nearly a year,the closest good power rack was over 4 hrs. away. so i built this one out of materials i already had. it turned out really solid.

[KBKB]

after watching cl for nearly a year,the closest good power rack was over 4 hrs. away. so i built this one out of materials i already had. it turned out really solid.

Nice job!

If you don't mind snapping a few more photos, I'd like to see close-ups of the bar supports and spotting arms. I can't make out those details in your photo.

[irongrandpa]

Nice job!

If you don't mind snapping a few more photos, I'd like to see close-ups of the bar supports and spotting arms. I can't make out those details in your photo.

the bar holders lift up & out to move, the safety arms work the same,they have 18" steps inside the 2x3 tube, one from each side, one is bolted to the tube, the other end is unattached to allow unhooking the steps. it's not as efficient as a $1500 rack but i only use this rack for squats & dl. i do trap bar work from the raised block in front of the rack. i do other bb work on my body solid half rack where my benches are.

[KBKB]

the bar holders lift up & out to move, the safety arms work the same,they have 18" steps inside the 2x3 tube, one from each side, one is bolted to the tube, the other end is unattached to allow unhooking the steps. it's not as efficient as a $1500 rack but i only use this rack for squats & dl. i do trap bar work from the raised block in front of the rack. i do other bb work on my body solid half rack where my benches are.

Very nice. Thanks for taking the time to post the additional photos.

[ProtienandIron]

Great build quality. What sort of weight have to tested the bar supports and the safeties to?

[irongrandpa]

Great build quality. What sort of weight have to tested the bar supports and the safeties to?

the manufactures specs allow 600lbs. on each step. each safety bar has a 18" step on each end plus the 11ga. 2x3 tube covering the steps. so each safety would allow up to 1200lbs. each bar holder or weight plate holder will likewise hold up to 600lbs. each.

[layitdown33]

I spent a few days reading this thread. I learned some things and some things I dont know if the matter to me (yet). I am in the new phase as far as building a home gym. I had a membership at the local Any Time Fitness. When I lost my job, it became hard to continue to afford the membership so I switched to a Golds that had a $20 a month membership (x2 for me and my woman). However the commute is something serious, especially now that I am back working. I would switch back to the Anytime, but they are limited in equipment as compares to Golds. I do understand that A.T. will have more equipment then I can afford at the moment, but I figure this will be an investment in my body. With that said

I need a Cage/Rack that is affordable. If I can get something around or under $500 that would not require me to upgrade right away that would be great. I would like to be able to get the Lat attachment on which ever cage/rack I get so that I can do Triceps and Biceps and Leg workouts. I rent the place I am staying so I would like to set it up in my garage. I will need to purchase a bench (please suggest about 4 or 5 nice affordable benches) and a dumbbell set (please suggest the brand & style I should be looking at) down the line. I do want the Chin up attachment and I think I would need band pins (not sure of all the uses of this, but I have seen that you can use the pins for leg exercises).

Please give me some help and names. I tried looking at the Protec those are not that cheap, Body solid isnt that cheap also, when it compares to some of the more expensive higher quality sets I seen some of you have bought. The debate over the R3 and the R4 left me baffled to where it seems I should just stay away from it all together. Body Craft I seen as another highly discussed one, but again I am not sure.

I know for sure it will be me and maybe a buddy or two working out on my equipment. I am not exactly sure how much I will be spending all together but I want to start on this soon so I can cancel this Golds Membership and get down into a solid consistent schedule for my routine.

My check list of needs would be
Cage/Rack
Weights
Bar
Bench
Dumbbells

I think those are the immediate needs right now. Total for all, not sure - Please help

[Northernmoris]

I spent a few days reading this thread. I learned some things and some things I dont know if the matter to me (yet). I am in the new phase as far as building a home gym. I had a membership at the local Any Time Fitness. When I lost my job, it became hard to continue to afford the membership so I switched to a Golds that had a $20 a month membership (x2 for me and my woman). However the commute is something serious, especially now that I am back working. I would switch back to the Anytime, but they are limited in equipment as compares to Golds. I do understand that A.T. will have more equipment then I can afford at the moment, but I figure this will be an investment in my body. With that said

I need a Cage/Rack that is affordable. If I can get something around or under $500 that would not require me to upgrade right away that would be great. I would like to be able to get the Lat attachment on which ever cage/rack I get so that I can do Triceps and Biceps and Leg workouts. I rent the place I am staying so I would like to set it up in my garage. I will need to purchase a bench (please suggest about 4 or 5 nice affordable benches) and a dumbbell set (please suggest the brand & style I should be looking at) down the line. I do want the Chin up attachment and I think I would need band pins (not sure of all the uses of this, but I have seen that you can use the pins for leg exercises).

Please give me some help and names. I tried looking at the Protec those are not that cheap, Body solid isnt that cheap also, when it compares to some of the more expensive higher quality sets I seen some of you have bought. The debate over the R3 and the R4 left me baffled to where it seems I should just stay away from it all together. Body Craft I seen as another highly discussed one, but again I am not sure.

I know for sure it will be me and maybe a buddy or two working out on my equipment. I am not exactly sure how much I will be spending all together but I want to start on this soon so I can cancel this Golds Membership and get down into a solid consistent schedule for my routine.

My check list of needs would be
Cage/Rack
Weights
Bar
Bench
Dumbbells

I think those are the immediate needs right now. Total for all, not sure - Please help

Powerline rack if new. Everything from Craigslist is your best bet, but you should know that if you spent a.couple.days reading through here.

[pete21121]

Sup guys, first time poster on this site. Im in the market for a new rack, and im stuck between the powertec and the bodysolid GPR378. I like the look of the powertec better, and its also about £50 cheaper here in the UK, but the bodysolid looks better quality, and i like that its 3x3. Any advice?

Also, anyone else think that the choice of gym equipment we have over here is plain terrible? If i was looking to set up my own warehouse style gym (which i am eventually), i have literally no idea what racks id buy.

Watson Gym Equipment are the only place i can find that make anything half decent, other than hammer etc and even then theyre so overpriced its unreal. They make a nice rack, but not 2.5 grand nice. And its yet another place that seems like its designed by guys who cant deadlift bodyweight. Bench pad heights anyone? Pad widths? Hole Spacing? And check out the angles on their SSB.

Do you think if we hassle EFS enough, they'll get themselves an EU distributor? Haha, anyway, rant over. Cheers guys.