3 years and 2 EFS racks

[ButcherPLer]

3 years ago I bought an elite fts rack and it has served me extremely well. I decided after 3 years and finally having someone over to the house to lift with that lifting was a much bigger hobby than guns were, so I sold off some guns and started expanding the basement gym. The first thing I did was put together a second platform and get another rack and bar.



The first rack I bought I added top and bottom band pegs, extra spot pins, extra j-hooks and weight storage. This time I only did bottom band pegs and extra j-hooks. The pictures don't show it well, but the additional 2x2 tubing for top band pegs sticks up through the floor joists. I can't change the band peg positioning because the pin is trapped by the floor joists. With where the 2nd rack was going I didn't have clearance for top band pegs. I originally ordered the additional spot pins because I figured it would be better to have them than not have them. In three years I have not ever used both sets at one time. The j-hooks I ordered doubles because the first rack came with off brand j-hooks (pictures below) and I wanted the pictured ones, doubles let me use them on both racks. Weight storage costs $245 and while I really like it, I didn’t feel it was worth the money or the increased footprint of the rack. Space is tight for something that takes up a relatively large amount of space.

Hole alignment was a concern, although it wouldn't have been a deal breaker. I was hoping after 3 years they were still working off of the exact drill pattern and they were. This makes knowing pin and j-hook settings easier since all the holes line up between the two racks. I was actually reading an article a few days ago on elite's site where the author mentioned two elite monolifts do not have the same hole pattern from a few years difference.


The shiny band peg is 3 years old, the dull colored one is new. Other than that they are constructed the same. Band peg holes are also the same.



The top j-hook is 3 years old and the bottom one is new. Based off a discussion in the powerlifting forum I decided to contact elite about this, as I wasn't ever happy with the design and this design has never been featured on their website. I was basically told that wasn't from them. Realisticly I figure after 3 years I give up my right to bitch about it.


You can see from the angle of the two rack I have a warped basement floor. I will just pretend that it isn't there. The first rack had every hole on all 4 posts labeled. I won't do the same for this one. By the time I realized it was a huge pain in the ass it was too late to stop. I will just label the important ones that actually get used.

I am also very happy with the elite bench. I was dead set on getting a legend flat bench as I had used one in the past. I gave up that idea when I realized there was no way around the high price of freight. I called elite and asked if it could be added to the order. I got very lucky as the rack was supposed to ship that day. They held my order, added the bench and I didn't have to pay extra for shipping.

[ProtienandIron]

Great post mate, reps on the way when I recharge.

[AttyGuy]

Sell guns for weight equipment? Never, ever, ever! Flip weight equipment for more weight equipment and more guns (and ammo)? Yes.

[ButcherPLer]

Haha, 6-7 years ago I would have agreed with you. But I haven't shot in about 4 years. I kept my first riffle to make my son's first riffle one day and a pistol and an AR, more cause I am afraid I will regret getting rid of them than an actual desire to hang onto them.

To expand on the old J-hooks that I didn't like, due to the amount of j-hook that sat below barbell height I couldn't use the saftey pins for 3 board and larger presses. For that I had to use chains hanging down to keep me safe. The do offer just a little extra clearance to avoid pinching your fingers on squats, assuming your hands are close to as wide as the rack, maybe 3/4".

[Aussieguy101]

nice set up mate

not exactly sure why you need two racks even if you had a lifting partner, what happening to alternating work sets ?

I think one monster rack (elite fts signature etc) would have been a better option

[ButcherPLer]

At most there would be a max of 5 (counting myself) at once, 2 to 3 is more realistic. I am not looking to create a situation where everyone does the same thing. I have my own training to do as do others. I know some people might disagree but thats my thoughts on it.

[jackbravo]

just awesome. so do you appreciate the 1" hole spacing or do you think it's unnecessary?

[ButcherPLer]

I really appreciate it for benching. I have never wished I could change the J-hook location by 1" for squats though. My elite bench is just a little different height than the other one, so the pin was just a touch too high. I could still do full ROM but was occasionally tapping the pins. A 1" drop was perfect, a 2" drop would have probably been still safe, but very uncomfortable in the case of a missed lift.

[817boy]

Haha, 6-7 years ago I would have agreed with you. But I haven't shot in about 4 years. I kept my first riffle to make my son's first riffle one day and a pistol and an AR, more cause I am afraid I will regret getting rid of them than an actual desire to hang onto them.

To expand on the old J-hooks that I didn't like, due to the amount of j-hook that sat below barbell height I couldn't use the saftey pins for 3 board and larger presses. For that I had to use chains hanging down to keep me safe. The do offer just a little extra clearance to avoid pinching your fingers on squats, assuming your hands are close to as wide as the rack, maybe 3/4".

Nice setup, completly understand why you added the 2nd rack.

How did you like the chain suspended safeties. I just got some spud inc rack savers for Xmas and i got some chain for it and yesterday i noticed every other time i would rerack the barbell on the right side the chain would catch and the bar would rerack on top of the chain

Like in this pic

[ButcherPLer]

I never liked using chain safteys except when neccessary. The old j-hooks were narrow enough I never or rarely racked the chain under the bar. I have used them sometimes for Anderson squats which is nicer than off the pins because you can swing the bar into perfect position, where pins kind of force you to start the lift from the position you set up in. However I was always worried about the chain swinging to the side and pinching my fingers between the bar and chain so I never did a lot of them.

[817boy]

I never liked using chain safteys except when neccessary. The old j-hooks were narrow enough I never or rarely racked the chain under the bar. I have used them sometimes for Anderson squats which is nicer than off the pins because you can swing the bar into perfect position, where pins kind of force you to start the lift from the position you set up in. However I was always worried about the chain swinging to the side and pinching my fingers between the bar and chain so I never did a lot of them.

Well i squatted today and i fixed the problem it was pretty easy fix. The chain never once got caught on Jcups. Ill post pics tomorrow or i might just start my own thread (to give people the idea).

I understand what you are saying about not wanting to use the chains as safeties, but i have a crappy Power Rack and the hole spacing is 5.5 inches. So the safeties wouldnt work on bench and i almost crushed my sternum (a month ago). I was able to grind it out but then i was done for the day, cuz it took so much out of me.

The safeties worked ok on squat, but it was close. Meaning if i went 1-2 inches below parellel i would hit the safety and it usually hit just on one side of the bar and it would throw me off balance a lil but never made me miss the lift.

[swimmer32]

not exactly sure why you need two racks even if you had a lifting partner, what happening to alternating work sets ?

If I had the room, I would want two racks also. I do a lot of supersetting, so it would be great for that, as well as having someone over to lift with me - as changing weights every set would be a pain unless you're somewhat the same strength.

[tombro]

awesome use of space man! let that glute ham raise know whos boss!