I have limited space in my home gym (A.K.A. livingroom. hehehe). Currently I have a typical “all-in-one” olympic bench that is 48" wide and nearly as deep. Luckly it folds up a bit when not in use. It’s suitable for most exercises, but has no safety features for squats. I’m hoping to replace this with a cage of some sort to eliminate that issue, as well as enable dips and pull-ups.
I’m looking for the smallest cage possible while still being stable and functional. It doesn’t need to be super strong, as my biggest lift so far is 355 pounds. If I ever get up to 500+, I’ll be happy to get a new cage to support that. Ideally it would have an option for a lat pull-down that uses Olympic plates for weight (rather than a weight stack, as I already have plates and a weight stack adds about $200).
In case it matters or you have advice on the bench, I intent to get a Body Solid GFID71 bench to use with whatever cage I buy.
Does anyone have any recommendations?
Thanks in advance.
However, you wouldn’t have the full capability of a cage. Specifically, you couldn’t set the bars to a high position. And while they have a dipping attachment, you couldnt’ do chins. But a doorway device can work for that.
For the sake of space, some squat stands would probably be best, but like Bill said, you lose some of the benefits of a full cage. I guess it depends on what exactly you are looking for in a rack.
Well, I do have just barely enough space for a rack. Really there is plenty of space, except that anything over about 40" wide and 40" deep cuts into space that we like to use for other things when not working out. I can cut into that space a little, I’d like to keep it to a minimum. And the slanted ceiling is about 83" high where the back of the rack will be. Here’s some that I’ve been looking at:
They might be measuring the base of the Powertec. I have this rack. I can measure it if you’d like. The only think that sucks is I’m limited on overhead stuff. I’m 5’9" and can do overhead presses IF my legs are a little wider than shoulder width…and it helps if I’m barefoot. I guess you already know you won’t have room to do chinups/pullups. I don’t either, so I just do chin negs. The dip bars suck. I can’t work with the angle the bars are set at.
[quote]leaftye wrote:
I have this rack. I can measure it if you’d like.[/quote]
That would be great. Mostly the base. If something at the top sticks out, it won’t matter. Bummer to hear the dip attachment sucks. That’s one of the things I am interested in.
I’m hoping I can do pull ups with my head tilted or something. With my slanted ceiling, the pull-up side should have maybe 4 more inches than the back. Or maybe from a bar racked at the top rung. In other words, I know it is at least going to suck, but I’m hoping it is possible.
I also have the Powertec. I’ve had it for close to 3 years. For it’s price, it’s one of the better racks as far as weight capacity goes. Also, the angle of the dip handles doesn’t bother me.