The Official Power Rack Thread - August 2010 version

[darkfact]

With that we now have four racks listed on the first page that you can get shipped for less than $500. The two in this post are at the lower end of the spectrum while the TDS and the Powertec are probably at the higher end quality wise. I think the Ptec and TDS both have closer hole spacing, maybe someone who owns these racks can help me out there, but just looking at the pics it seems like they do.

My ptec rack (not the new redesigned one) has 2.5" spacing from middle of hole to middle of hole.

[Jimbo.]

My ptec rack (not the new redesigned one) has 2.5" spacing from middle of hole to middle of hole.

Thanks, dark. The TDS rack has 2 inch spacing, and I am guessing that the Powerline and Ebay rack have at least 3 inches center to center spacing, not sure though.

[Bassir]

I found this rack

h ttp://cgi.ebay.com/DELUXE-POWER-CAGE-RACK-Home-Gym-Fitness-Equipment-NEW-/230501977218?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0#ht_4474wt_1139

on craigslist for $100.

If you go to the link, thats the one im selling. I bought it two years ago, still in good shape (its metal). It comes with everything in that listing. Bought for 300+, will let it go for 100, non-negotiable.

Well, what do you think? Seems like a great deal, but I don't know much about the brand.

[oxbeard]

Great thread Jimbo. Repped


Good point too Zooka about the hole spacing, definitely something I've been paying attention to in looking to replace my rack. Reps on recharge

[Jimbo.]

Well, what do you think? Seems like a great deal, but I don't know much about the brand.

its a good deal, especially for someone who is 16, you will be way ahead of the game and learning to train smart at a young age.

Great thread Jimbo. Repped


Good point too Zooka about the hole spacing, definitely something I've been paying attention to in looking to replace my rack. Reps on recharge

Thanks man

[Jimbo.]

A true beast of a rack... the Sorinex Base Camp, tons of upgrades available.



http://store.sorinex.com/Base_Camp_Rack_p/base-1.html

# 4 way multi-directional hole design
# 8' Tall, 6' Deep, 4' Wide
# Numbered Holes. 1140 in all, as compared to the "traditional" 80
# Customizable plate storage in any position on the rack, texture of pins holds plates in place for safety
# Customizable band and chain storage
# Ability to change from a power rack to a half rack in under 5 minutes by customer
# Fat bar or indexing pull-up bars
# Utility seat / Step-Up attachment with anchoring positional lock
# Multi-functional Utility Step attachment for spotting, 1 leg squats, belt squats
# 42" and 22" safety bars with 10 1" receptacle holes
# Land Mine attachment integral to frame
# Can be used as a multi-station chin / dip by up to 4 athletes simultaneously
# Plastic Protection in wear areas
# Integrated sandwich type J-Cups to minimize bar wear
# Micro adjusters for 1" adjustments for lockouts and precise bar positioning
# Easily combined with platform and 0-90 bench to form a self contained work station with non-interfering bench storage
# Plate storage can be used for traditional or bumper plates
# Universal Utility Pins can be used for dips, chins, pulling dish, weight storage, safety squat handles, band and chain storage, band compatibility. Pins are compatible for use in every hole in the rack
# Roller pads lock in for abs, hypers, glute ham movements, lunges, and single leg movements
# Last For-Ever Quality - constructed with 3" X 3" 11 and 7 gauge steel. The massive frame is held together by the largest bolts in the industry
# Each of the uprights has been tested supporting a 50 ton load
# Custom 4000lb test flexible safety straps. Fitted to our unique rack hole system to allow for a safe, quiet, support for thick bars, strongman logs, push jerks, step-ups, shrugs, and pulls. Straps totally eliminate impact shock, noise, bar damage, and potential physical contact danger resulting from a missed lift. Straps can be micro-adjusted for the perfect fit

[Bassir]

Does anyone know which type of flat bench one should get for power racks that don't include one?

I think leg presses and bicep curl attachments are overrated, so a simple flat bench. Just wondering if it matters which one I should get. If not, I may just get the cheapest I can find at Wal-Mart or something.

[packemup87]

Does anyone know which type of flat bench one should get for power racks that don't include one?

I think leg presses and bicep curl attachments are overrated, so a simple flat bench. Just wondering if it matters which one I should get. If not, I may just get the cheapest I can find at Wal-Mart or something.

Get something solid...not an el cheapo. The benches are rated for weight, but make sure you not only account for the weight you're lifting, but also your own body weight.

[pag3lee]

Nice work here Jimbo, repped.

I love that 4 spot gun rack, really need one for my Samson sumo rack. Unfortunately, they don't have one for a 3 x 3 tube rack. Newyorkbarbell has one, but the peg is too small to fit into the rack, which is larger than 1 inch. Btw, nice rack.

[labuski]

Get something solid...not an el cheapo. The benches are rated for weight, but make sure you not only account for the weight you're lifting, but also your own body weight.

^^best piece of advice, if you get an el cheapo the most you can do if you are say 150 pounds in body weight is 150 pounds pressing weight, anything over that and the bench will break. well it probably won't break a LITTLE over that but it will become extremely unstable.

ive learned the hard way not to go the cheap way out. if you're gonna get something get the right thing the first time or you will end up paying more in the long run.

[darkfact]

A true beast of a rack... the Sorinex Base Camp, tons of upgrades available.

http://store.sorinex.com/Base_Camp_Rack_p/base-1.html

Sorinex has a really cool jhook design. I still haven't wrapped my head around the band peg holes on the spotter bars and k-frames, I'm sure you can get creative with them though.

[smcleod90]

heres som pics from my phone. i have the texas strength system power rack. i bought the drop in bench, lat pulldown and the rear weight storage. the hole spacing is 1" so thats great. it came with band pegs that you can put ANYWHERE you want. its a great rack for the price and its from a gym that makes their own stuff and the owner wes is a stand up guy. he will respond to your emails very quickly and he even gave me his cell phone number incase anything went wrong with the rack.







and here is a pic of the holes. they go all the way around the rack from top to bottom, inside to outside.

[Cadz]

heres som pics from my phone. i have the texas strength system power rack. i bought the drop in bench, lat pulldown and the rear weight storage. the hole spacing is 1" so thats great. it came with band pegs that you can put ANYWHERE you want. its a great rack for the price and its from a gym that makes their own stuff and the owner wes is a stand up guy. he will respond to your emails very quickly and he even gave me his cell phone number incase anything went wrong with the rack.

Very nice power rack! What is the diameter of the holes looks like 1/2" but could be 3/8" hard to tell in the pics.
Also what did it cost you with shipping?

[Jimbo.]

Sorinex has a really cool jhook design. I still haven't wrapped my head around the band peg holes on the spotter bars and k-frames, I'm sure you can get creative with them though.

yeah I don't know, I was wondering that too. Maybe something to do with this... "Universal Utility Pins can be used for dips, chins, pulling dish, weight storage, safety squat handles, band and chain storage, band compatibility. Pins are compatible for use in every hole in the rack"

Just tons of versatility I guess.

heres som pics from my phone. i have the texas strength system power rack. i bought the drop in bench, lat pulldown and the rear weight storage. the hole spacing is 1" so thats great. it came with band pegs that you can put ANYWHERE you want. its a great rack for the price and its from a gym that makes their own stuff and the owner wes is a stand up guy. he will respond to your emails very quickly and he even gave me his cell phone number incase anything went wrong with the rack.

Very cool, smcleod thanks for posting, reps on recharge. How do the spotter bars adjust up and down?

[smcleod90]

I believe the holes are 3/8. The total price was around 1500. I had it shipped to a warehouse to save me about 200$.


There is a skinnier rod that goes through the thicker one. I'll post a pic later today.

[cgc]

yeah I know, it looks like a really cool rack. I am curious about how the spotters work. Plus 1 inch spacing from top to bottom... very nice

The only thing I noticed when looking at the pricing is that the weight storage rack is NOT standard...it's an addition. So, I was a little disappointed in that...but oh well. I'm probably going to have to stick with my powerline for a couple of years.

It gets the job done although I would personally like to have something that does not wobble all over the place when doing pull-ups...and that my knees don't just about touch the floor when doing them as well...lol.

[Cadz]

I believe the holes are 3/8. The total price was around 1500. I had it shipped to a warehouse to save me about 200$.


There is a skinnier rod that goes through the thicker one. I'll post a pic later today.

Thanks, I wonder how strong 3/8" would be tho?
Shipping is always a killer.

[smcleod90]

I don't think any racks have a rear storage for that price. An with all the 45's I have it would take 2-3 weight trees atleast and those are about 100$ a piece used. So it was a good price for me to add it on.

Ya I bolted mine down so it doesn't wobble at all. And the chin up bar isn't a problem for me.

[Essexlad]

Thanks, I wonder how strong 3/8" would be tho?
Shipping is always a killer.

3/8th rod, going through a 1.5-2" pipe makes an incredibly strong safety. That rack isn't going to fail any time soon.

[pag3lee]

Let me help contribute this thread

When I first consider about building me a home gym, I stumble upon this forum and had me convince about purchasing a Powertec rack, until I found another one to be much bigger and stronger, all for the same price. With a 3 x 3 tube of 7 gauge steel, you can't go wrong with this one.






The only problem with this rack is that its hole is larger than 1", making a problem for most attachments to fit into the rack.


Even though its a sumo rack, no need to worry about pull-ups. I have one mounted in the wall, and it really does the work.

[Jimbo.]

nice, thanks for posting that. made by Samson Equipment right? Doesn't seem to be on their website though.

http://www.samsonequipment.com/freew...owerracks.aspx

[pag3lee]

nice, thanks for posting that. made by Samson Equipment right? Doesn't seem to be on their website though.

http://www.samsonequipment.com/freew...owerracks.aspx

Yes its by Samson, but its an old rack. The seller got it from a weightlifting gym in Muhlenberg College of Pennsylvania, probably being used by college football athletes.

[cgc]

Thanks, I wonder how strong 3/8" would be tho?
Shipping is always a killer.

If you look at their website http://www.texasstrengthsystems.com/powerracks.html
At the bottom they have a video of a guy doing rack pulls with 700lbs and dropping the weight.....I think they'll work just fine

[buffbrown21]

Let me help contribute this thread

When I first consider about building me a home gym, I stumble upon this forum and had me convince about purchasing a Powertec rack, until I found another one to be much bigger and stronger, all for the same price. With a 3 x 3 tube of 7 gauge steel, you can't go wrong with this one.




The only problem with this rack is that its hole is larger than 1", making a problem for most attachments to fit into the rack.

Looks somewhat similar to my custom made rack (hole size and spacing, etc).
My posts are 4x4 rather than 3x3 though, and it is a full cage. But otherwise, it looks similar.

[Jimbo.]

Looks somewhat similar to my custom made rack (hole size and spacing, etc).
My posts are 4x4 rather than 3x3 though, and it is a full cage. But otherwise, it looks similar.

Sounds like a tank. Can we see it? Custom racks are welcome too

[dumb.bell]

Sounds like a tank. Can we see it? Custom racks are welcome too

Second the request. Would love to see it.

[buffbrown21]

Sounds like a tank. Can we see it? Custom racks are welcome too

It definitely is a tank and its huge....almost too big to be honest, because it doesnt fit well on my back porch .
It has 1.5" solid crash bars (typical ones are 1", some are less and some are hollow). It has some rust on it, which is why I keep talking about painting it one day.
Anyways, I posted a youtube video of it in the old thread. Dang it, cant get it to embed.
Someone else, feel free to embed it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrUIyXHQnCw


In the video, the dip bars are laying across it.


Not to get off track too much, but anyone interested can see my other videos, which are the Ironmind dip belt review, burpees 101 and tractor tire exercises.

[hypnojedi]

Who makes power racks with a smith machine combo / option? I'd love to get a smith machine but space is a problem.

[darkfact]

It definitely is a tank and its huge....almost too big to be honest, because it doesnt fit well on my back porch .
It has 1.5" solid crash bars (typical ones are 1", some are less and some are hollow). It has some rust on it, which is why I keep talking about painting it one day.
Anyways, I posted a youtube video of it in the old thread. Dang it, cant get it to embed.
Someone else, feel free to embed it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrUIyXHQnCw


In the video, the dip bars are laying across it.


Not to get off track too much, but anyone interested can see my other videos, which are the Ironmind dip belt review, burpees 101 and tractor tire exercises.

That thing looks like a beast dude

[darkfact]

nice, thanks for posting that. made by Samson Equipment right? Doesn't seem to be on their website though.

http://www.samsonequipment.com/freew...owerracks.aspx

The problem with most of the SUPER beefy racks I've seen is the lack of options and hole spacing. Alot of them don't have very customizable hole options and also the holes seem to not go very low. One of my favorite exercises are rack pulls so those lack of hole options can be a problem for me.

edit: going to do rack pulls now heh