Good news is the kiddo sold his car, so the garage is empty again and he wants to get a power rack ASAP. Dude’s been on a roll, lifting 5-6 days a week for a year or so, went from 135ish to 165ish at 5’10" at roughly the same fat level. All while training at Planet Fitness. Yes, despite the reputation, he somehow managed to go put on over 30 pounds of good size by training in The Judgment Free Zone. Gee, it’s almost like the place isn’t as bad as its reputation. Anyhow…
Bad news is he’s insisting on ordering a rack from Amazon because he has Amazon Prime and can get free shipping (I’m guessing shipping fees on most power racks are killer, so this is kind of a plus). But that means no Rogue, EliteFTS, or other extra-awesome brands, just whatever’s available there.
Figured I’d crowdsource some opinions. Any suggestions?
Interesting. Some of those might be overkill, but then again, maybe not. Ha. Taking a look around, I also see they’ve got an econo-type rack in their “3 ships free” section.
That’s what I bought about 9 years ago for about the same price. I got it because it was the cheapest one I could find that would work for the basics like squats, bench, chin ups, etc. It is not fancy at all, doesn’t feel super heavy or anything but it will hold a few hundred pounds very easily.
Not sure what his budget is, but that works. I will advise you get a couple sandbags or something though and put them on the bottom back corners to prevent any potential accidental tipping. It was never an issue for me since i only ever put the weight inside the rack, but a friend of mine put the weight on the outside of the rack “holders” (I don’t know the actual term, but where you normally set the weight) and went to pull himself under for a squat and the whole thing tipped over and about killed us both. It was a lot of weight he had on there, but still. Throwing a couple sandbags down on the back corner counterbalances it and prevents that from happening.
I have no idea if other racks are like this, but I’m guessing unless they are incredibly heavy and have a wide base they all do to some degree.
I just ordered that ES-1 rack recently. My friend has that same rack and it is just fine. Crappy thing is the all metal jhooks (Just get some rubber and glue it on there) and no pull up bar. Can’t get spotter arms either. But besides that super easy to move and stable as hell. Definitely built to last a lifetime. I just ordered collars and chalk so all 3 shipped free lol. I personally always feel confined in a rack, so I like the squat stands.
My buddy has this one, he got it from our old gym. It’s held lots of weight and dealt with the the abuse of gym bros before finally making it to his basement.
This one by Bells of Steel is fantastic. It has everything you need for residential use. Check it out here. They also have a website bellsofsteel.com if you don’t wanna go through amazon. They are one of Canada’s top suppliers yet haven’t gone crazy with their pricing yet like some others.
Appreciate all the feedback, thanks. I’ll run through the suggestions, figure out what we can fit where, and will check back after we’re setup with whatever.
So, definitely appreciate all the input and firsthand reviews you guys threw out. But… kiddo ended up finding one on his own that caught his eye, so we went with the Fitness Reality 810.
I haven’t given it a full run-through, but it definitely feels sturdy and stable. The pull-up handle up top is a really nice touch with the neutral-grip bars and the front/back posts are spaced just right so I can lay two barbells perpendicular on the safety bars for dips.
So, I built it as soon as it came in and, the next night when he gets home from work, I see him in there squatting for his first workout with it. #ProudPapaBear.
He already asked for a multi-angle bench as a graduation present, so that’s the next thing. Right after we clean the damn garage. Geez.
I like racks like that although it’s going to be a pain if you cant re rack it after failing a squat and you’ll end up deadlifting it off the floor to rack it
