How much room do i need to bench press in a power rack.

Options
Cisseismint
Cisseismint Posts: 53 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am about to order a power rack, but the room its going in is very narrow - 5foot 6 inches wide. So If I put the back of the cage up against the wall and slide in my bench will I have room to do a bench press?
ta very much!

Replies

  • richln
    richln Posts: 809 Member
    Options
    Not sure what kind of cage you have, but if it is the standard type then you won't be able to put the back up against the wall. You will need at least enough room to allow for the diameter of your plates while it is racked, which is somewhere around 8 inches. I suppose you could could keep the bar racked on the front rails if you had to, but then you would also have to slide your bench out further. I can check my dimensions when I get home.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Options
    Aren't you going to have trouble getting the plates on? You need room to slide them on and off.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    Options
    An olympic barbell is 7 feet, 2 inches long. So you won't be benching much of anything, unfortunately, unless you use dumbbells.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    Options
    I've read the ideal minimum space for free weights at home is a 10' x 10' room.

    Any smaller than that and you're going to start having issues.
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    Options
    bostonwolf wrote: »
    An olympic barbell is 7 feet, 2 inches long. So you won't be benching much of anything, unfortunately, unless you use dumbbells.

    This.

    My power rack is over 5ft wide

    http://www.atlantisstrength.com/en/power-racks/c-410-8-multi-rack-8
  • Cisseismint
    Cisseismint Posts: 53 Member
    Options
    bostonwolf wrote: »
    An olympic barbell is 7 feet, 2 inches long. So you won't be benching much of anything, unfortunately, unless you use dumbbells.
    The room is 5'6 by 12' so I have plenty of width for the bar. I want to know if 5'6 from front to back is enough room to bench press without my legs or feet banging against the wall.
  • Cisseismint
    Cisseismint Posts: 53 Member
    Options
    jemhh wrote: »
    Aren't you going to have trouble getting the plates on? You need room to slide them on and off.

    I have 12' the other way so getting plates on will be fine. The 5'6 dimension is from front to back, ie the way I'll be lying for bench press.
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    Options
    Cisseismint wrote: »
    bostonwolf wrote: »
    An olympic barbell is 7 feet, 2 inches long. So you won't be benching much of anything, unfortunately, unless you use dumbbells.
    The room is 5'6 by 12' so I have plenty of width for the bar. I want to know if 5'6 from front to back is enough room to bench press without my legs or feet banging against the wall.

    What dimensions are you rack??
    How tall are you?
    How long is the bench

    The one I linked to above wouldnt fit.
    Let alone trying to get the bench in and out.
  • Cisseismint
    Cisseismint Posts: 53 Member
    edited April 2015
    Options
    richln wrote: »
    Not sure what kind of cage you have, but if it is the standard type then you won't be able to put the back up against the wall. You will need at least enough room to allow for the diameter of your plates while it is racked, which is somewhere around 8 inches. I suppose you could could keep the bar racked on the front rails if you had to, but then you would also have to slide your bench out further. I can check my dimensions when I get home.
    If you could measure and tell me what kind of rack you have that would be grand. I can bench press in just over 4ft if I push my bench right up against the wall but that won't be possible with a rack and barbell as I'll have to come forward to line up with the rear posts.
  • Cisseismint
    Cisseismint Posts: 53 Member
    edited April 2015
    Options
    lishie_rebooted wrote: »
    Cisseismint wrote: »
    bostonwolf wrote: »
    An olympic barbell is 7 feet, 2 inches long. So you won't be benching much of anything, unfortunately, unless you use dumbbells.
    The room is 5'6 by 12' so I have plenty of width for the bar. I want to know if 5'6 from front to back is enough room to bench press without my legs or feet banging against the wall.

    What dimensions are you rack??
    How tall are you?
    How long is the bench

    The one I linked to above wouldnt fit.
    Let alone trying to get the bench in and out.
    Bloody hell that thing is massive. I haven't bought a rack yet. But I've seen a few that are roughly 4 ft square. Like the rouge r4 for example.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited April 2015
    Options
    Cisseismint wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Aren't you going to have trouble getting the plates on? You need room to slide them on and off.

    I have 12' the other way so getting plates on will be fine. The 5'6 dimension is from front to back, ie the way I'll be lying for bench press.

    That makes a bit more sense. I thought you were going to be some sort of bench pressing Harry Potter, lifting weights under the stairs. Is the room closed on all sides, with a door or is this a nook off a bigger room, open on one side?

    I have my bench on a platform that is 5 foot long and it is enough room for me. I am 5'6". My husband, who his 6'2" has tried it on the platform and his feet are off the end.

  • Cisseismint
    Cisseismint Posts: 53 Member
    edited April 2015
    Options
    Hey, thanks for your help. Yeah it's a separate room with 4 walls and a door. It's currently my sons walk in toy cupboard, but he doesn't play with his toys anymore so I'm claiming it. It does have roof windows, so not quite Harry Potter like, lol. Are your husbands feet more than6 feet off the end? And is your power rack on the same platform. I guess the thing that's worrying me is that benching in a rack will mean I can't push the bench right up against the wall. It will need to come forward to allign with the uprights of the rack.
  • richln
    richln Posts: 809 Member
    Options
    Cisseismint wrote: »
    richln wrote: »
    Not sure what kind of cage you have, but if it is the standard type then you won't be able to put the back up against the wall. You will need at least enough room to allow for the diameter of your plates while it is racked, which is somewhere around 8 inches. I suppose you could could keep the bar racked on the front rails if you had to, but then you would also have to slide your bench out further. I can check my dimensions when I get home.
    If you could measure and tell me what kind of rack you have that would be grand. I can bench press in just over 4ft if I push my bench right up against the wall but that won't be possible with a rack and barbell as I'll have to come forward to line up with the rear posts.

    Sorry I think you are out of luck. I have a Powertec cage and the base footprint is 51" deep. I have mine 3" away from the wall, but I could push it all the way to the wall if I wanted because the base goes back further than a plate hangs over the back rail. I have the cage on a 6 foot fatigue mat, so my total working depth is 78" wall to mat edge (51+3+24). I use every bit of that working space, pushing the bench out to the edge of the mat for various exercises and also the room out front needed for pull ups (like you see in my profile picture). I have empty space beyond my mats, and it would feel extremely cramped loading/unloading the bar and doing work if I had an actual wall there.

    As an absolute minimum I would need 67" (51 cage base +16 of my legs hanging out past the cage base). And it would be a nightmare to work in such a confined space.
  • richln
    richln Posts: 809 Member
    Options
    Cisseismint wrote: »
    richln wrote: »
    Not sure what kind of cage you have, but if it is the standard type then you won't be able to put the back up against the wall. You will need at least enough room to allow for the diameter of your plates while it is racked, which is somewhere around 8 inches. I suppose you could could keep the bar racked on the front rails if you had to, but then you would also have to slide your bench out further. I can check my dimensions when I get home.
    If you could measure and tell me what kind of rack you have that would be grand. I can bench press in just over 4ft if I push my bench right up against the wall but that won't be possible with a rack and barbell as I'll have to come forward to line up with the rear posts.
    Also, LOL at the bolded part. Don't ask a woman to do that or you might get banned from here.
  • Cisseismint
    Cisseismint Posts: 53 Member
    edited April 2015
    Options
    richln wrote: »
    Cisseismint wrote: »
    richln wrote: »
    Not sure what kind of cage you have, but if it is the standard type then you won't be able to put the back up against the wall. You will need at least enough room to allow for the diameter of your plates while it is racked, which is somewhere around 8 inches. I suppose you could could keep the bar racked on the front rails if you had to, but then you would also have to slide your bench out further. I can check my dimensions when I get home.
    If you could measure and tell me what kind of rack you have that would be grand. I can bench press in just over 4ft if I push my bench right up against the wall but that won't be possible with a rack and barbell as I'll have to come forward to line up with the rear posts.
    Also, LOL at the bolded part. Don't ask a woman to do that or you might get banned from here.

    Lol. And thanks for your help in the post before that. It seems like I could just about manage to bench press in there, but it will be a tight squeeze. I guess I could squat and do rack pulls, rows inside the cage, and even oh press is I use dumbbells. and I can bench sticking out a bit as you say. Hmm, I think I'll order the rack and try it. If it's really too tight, I can move to the garage or use one of the spare bedrooms or something. The wife doesn't want a rack in a spare bedroom, but screw it, they only get used about twice a year when we have guests. They can sleep in the thin toy cupboard room if necessary. Thanks everyone.
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
    Options
    Get you wife to lift too.
  • richln
    richln Posts: 809 Member
    Options
    Cisseismint wrote: »
    richln wrote: »
    Cisseismint wrote: »
    richln wrote: »
    Not sure what kind of cage you have, but if it is the standard type then you won't be able to put the back up against the wall. You will need at least enough room to allow for the diameter of your plates while it is racked, which is somewhere around 8 inches. I suppose you could could keep the bar racked on the front rails if you had to, but then you would also have to slide your bench out further. I can check my dimensions when I get home.
    If you could measure and tell me what kind of rack you have that would be grand. I can bench press in just over 4ft if I push my bench right up against the wall but that won't be possible with a rack and barbell as I'll have to come forward to line up with the rear posts.
    Also, LOL at the bolded part. Don't ask a woman to do that or you might get banned from here.

    Lol. And thanks for your help in the post before that. It seems like I could just about manage to bench press in there, but it will be a tight squeeze. I guess I could squat and do rack pulls, rows inside the cage, and even oh press is I use dumbbells. and I can bench sticking out a bit as you say. Hmm, I think I'll order the rack and try it. If it's really too tight, I can move to the garage or use one of the spare bedrooms or something. The wife doesn't want a rack in a spare bedroom, but screw it, they only get used about twice a year when we have guests. They can sleep in the thin toy cupboard room if necessary. Thanks everyone.

    Forgot to mention I am 5'10". If I had my cage in a theoretical 67" deep room, my toes or knees would be touching the wall when I benched. If you are taller than me, you would need even more room.

Categories