Power rack recommendations?

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MRivera422
MRivera422 Posts: 62 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello,

I am making my home gym and I definitely want to get a good solid power rack. I was looking into the Atlas power rack but it is now unavailable on Amazon :/ I don’t want to spend over $500 and something with no more than a 2 inch gap between the holes would be preferable. Does anyone have any recommendations? Any help is appreciated!

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  • JohnBarth
    JohnBarth Posts: 672 Member
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    I've been very happy with this rack. It's a little narrow inside the cage, but I wanted top and bottom pulleys, and it fits the bill nicely. I added a set of dip bars available on Amazon.

    http://www.sears.com/valor-athletics-bd-7-power-rack/p-SPM11734412915
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
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    Well, it's just over $500 but some guys I know are happy with their Rogue RE-3 Echo R-3.
  • gsayler860
    gsayler860 Posts: 25 Member
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    I recently bought a PPRX200 rack from Amazon. It works pretty well at a good price. Im not sure about the gap between the holes but I think its just a couple inches.

    Pros:
    Solid and stable
    Holds lots of weight (600+ pounds)
    Includes pull up bar
    Cheap (less than $300 plus free shipping)

    Cons:
    Depending on your height you have to bend your knees to do pull ups.
    Depending on your height you probably cant do OHP in the rack
  • MRivera422
    MRivera422 Posts: 62 Member
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    JohnBarth wrote: »
    I've been very happy with this rack. It's a little narrow inside the cage, but I wanted top and bottom pulleys, and it fits the bill nicely. I added a set of dip bars available on Amazon.

    http://www.sears.com/valor-athletics-bd-7-power-rack/p-SPM11734412915

    hmmm this looks interesting. Never thought of getting a power rack with pulleys.
  • XavierNusum
    XavierNusum Posts: 720 Member
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    Dick's Sporting Goods carries a Fitness Gear half rack and full cage. I have the full cage and love it. But to do it again I might go with the half rack for space reasons.
    Full cage $449
    Half rack $349
  • smitup
    smitup Posts: 23 Member
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    Im almost ready to hit the purchase button on this. I love the idea of being able to save so much space.

    http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-rml-3w-fold-back-wall-mount-rack
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    edited August 2015
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    There are TONS of good ones out there... steel is steel, so as long as it's bolted together well, you should be ok. 2x2 is the minimum I'd go with, preferrably 3x3 (especially for stronger folks moving more weight). The biggest difference for me is how easy it is to move/adjust the safety bars/cups. Sometimes they are really easy, sometimes they are more fussy. The other thing I'd look at is height- Can you do OHP inside the cage? Do you need to? Can you do pull-ups? Lastly, make sure you can position a bench well inside the cage. Sounds silly, but some cage/bench combos "fit" better than others.

    Personally, I have the BodySolid 3x3 cage and it works well for me. I've got a couple of Rogue attachments and a set of gymnastics rings... I'l never outgrow the setup.

  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
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    Here's a Power Rack Wiki:
    http://bodybuilding.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Power_Racks
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    smitup wrote: »
    Im almost ready to hit the purchase button on this. I love the idea of being able to save so much space.

    http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-rml-3w-fold-back-wall-mount-rack

    Those are handy, just keep in mind that it's got no safety bar setup. You have to add external safeties like their spotter bars (another $150 or so if I remember). Or get the deeper version of the rack and use the safeties on the inside if you prefer.
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
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    You can't go wrong with Rogue. They are pricier but you get what you pay for. I would have gone with the R-3, but was worried I would spend the money and eventually it would become an expensive clothing rack. I went with the TDS rack http://www.amazon.com/Super-Power-Squat-Cage-NYB/dp/B00QZ2G7FY/ref=sr_1_11?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1438893712&sr=1-11. I brought it locally and saved a few dollars over amazon's price.
  • rrrca
    rrrca Posts: 8 Member
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    my box has rogue kit, I'd say go with what works. Rogue.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
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    I adore the Rogue SML-1 with spotter arms. If I remember it was around USD 600 delivered.
    The big benefit is it uses West Side spacing - two inches in the range for the hooks for squats, and one inch in the range where you'll be bench pressing.
  • Makhai_
    Makhai_ Posts: 146 Member
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    Don't want to start a fight; Rouge is a very solid company with great products. But does any one here have any experience with EliteFTS? Think we have it down to these two companies. Getting difficult to pull the trigger on one.....
  • MRivera422
    MRivera422 Posts: 62 Member
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    loulamb7 wrote: »
    You can't go wrong with Rogue. They are pricier but you get what you pay for. I would have gone with the R-3, but was worried I would spend the money and eventually it would become an expensive clothing rack. I went with the TDS rack http://www.amazon.com/Super-Power-Squat-Cage-NYB/dp/B00QZ2G7FY/ref=sr_1_11?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1438893712&sr=1-11. I brought it locally and saved a few dollars over amazon's price.

    I have actually been leaning towards this since the atlas rack is no longer available. How do you like it?
  • MRivera422
    MRivera422 Posts: 62 Member
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    CipherZero wrote: »
    I adore the Rogue SML-1 with spotter arms. If I remember it was around USD 600 delivered.
    The big benefit is it uses West Side spacing - two inches in the range for the hooks for squats, and one inch in the range where you'll be bench pressing.

    Love this! However, I am under the impression that Rogue requires the rack to be bolted to the floor. Is this true?
  • MRivera422
    MRivera422 Posts: 62 Member
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    smitup wrote: »
    Im almost ready to hit the purchase button on this. I love the idea of being able to save so much space.

    http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-rml-3w-fold-back-wall-mount-rack

    This looks great except that I am in an apartment so no drilling huge holes in the walls for me lol
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    edited August 2015
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    MRivera422 wrote: »
    loulamb7 wrote: »
    You can't go wrong with Rogue. They are pricier but you get what you pay for. I would have gone with the R-3, but was worried I would spend the money and eventually it would become an expensive clothing rack. I went with the TDS rack http://www.amazon.com/Super-Power-Squat-Cage-NYB/dp/B00QZ2G7FY/ref=sr_1_11?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1438893712&sr=1-11. I brought it locally and saved a few dollars over amazon's price.

    I have actually been leaning towards this since the atlas rack is no longer available. How do you like it?

    I've had it for 5 months and am happy with it. It's used 5-6 days a week with no issues. One of the reasons I went with TDS was the availability of add-ons. I purchased jumbo hooks recently. You can see these and other features on their website at http://www.newyorkbarbells.com/
  • giantrobot_powerlifting
    giantrobot_powerlifting Posts: 2,598 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Because of my space and height limitations, I just purchased this rack from Rogue - received it on Tuesday and have already worked out with it a couple times.

    sml-1-specs.jpg

    It was very cost effective and at 70" high it works in my garage where the ceiling height is just an inch under 90 inches and after I add the platform there would be even less ceiling height. Plus the Westside hole spacing is very nice feature to have. When I thought about it, I really didn't need a full rack, just the heavy-duty spotter bars since I like to squat out of the rack anyway.

    So yeah, definitely, measure your space twice and buy once and yeah I am another SML-1 Rouge lover.
  • giantrobot_powerlifting
    giantrobot_powerlifting Posts: 2,598 Member
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    MRivera422 wrote: »
    CipherZero wrote: »
    I adore the Rogue SML-1 with spotter arms. If I remember it was around USD 600 delivered.
    The big benefit is it uses West Side spacing - two inches in the range for the hooks for squats, and one inch in the range where you'll be bench pressing.

    Love this! However, I am under the impression that Rogue requires the rack to be bolted to the floor. Is this true?

    Nope. Actually the hardware to bolt the racks is a separate purchase. The rigs, I think, must be bolted, but racks, no.

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