I have the Powertec rack and the lat tower. Never had an issue with the lat tower getting in my way. You can just remove the bar that sticks up for the knee pads. I dont use it for lat pull downs, I am more a pull up guy. Yah it is a little odd for a one person spot but doable. The pulley system makes you feel the weight. none of the throw a million pounds on the machine and still be able to move it easy. It makes you work and with things like side cable raises for shoulder, it makes you feel like a puss. only complaint is the rubber stoppers break over time using decent weight. I just duct tape them a go on. I am also able to reverse my adjustable bench to do incline without issues at 6’4 and stupidly long arms… let me know if you have any other questions. Someday I will upgrade to an EliteFTS power rack but it wont be because the powertec one broke.
Thanks Joebus. That really makes me want to get the tower! DARN IT! I thought I had made my decision. I was actually going to order this morning! I definitely miss cable work. Push downs, etc. Having it all in that small footprint is really appealing and is what I originally wanted. Fuck. Now I’m leaning towards getting the tower too.
A big part of the bench issue is where you like the bar when you are unracking. My eyes are right under the bar when I unrack. If you like it further down it might be a little bit of an issue with the lat tower. Thats the only other thing i can think of.
I originally purchased the Powertec rack with lat attachment several years ago. I’m not sure if the design has been modified, but I always had “binding” issues on cable movements no matter how many adjustments to the cables that I made.
Honestly, if I were you, I would be patient and wait for a used, commercial rack and adjustable bench to come up on Craigslist. That’s what I did and will never regret that decision.
Thanks Sgtncasello for the feedback. Good or bad I bit the bullet and ordered both the powertec rack and the lat tower on Saterday. I’ll be sure to state it here for others if I have any problems with the cable system. I’m hoping not and I’m pretty pumped for it to get here so I’ll report back in the future.
What kind of benches are you guys using with your racks?
[quote]GPM1458 wrote:
What kind of benches are you guys using with your racks?[/quote]
I got the old style adjustable powertec bench. 12 inchs wide which is good but I would not buy that again. had some build quality issues.
The powertec rack is a nice rack…have had it for about 6 years. My only complaint is that I can’t do incline bench press in the rack. Have to to do it off the front of the rack which is not a big deal. I believe the ironmaster bench will fit though.
I’ve got the body solid adjustable bench, which fits perfectly in my powertec rack. Incline press is no problem.
Austin - that bench looks sick, do you have any issues with it? I have a cheap body solid bench right now and i feel like its not wide enough. Also, can you firmly plant your feet? Thanks
The ironmaster bench is great. I’ve had it for about 3 years. It’s firm. Very solid. A ton of angles. Can’t go wrong. If you want to do decline, you’d have to buy the situp attachment to lock your feet into. I have the preacher curl attachment that works good too.
Sturdy as a motherfucker and $150 shipped. Rated for over 700 lbs. No decline though.
[quote]Cronus wrote:
Austin - that bench looks sick, do you have any issues with it? I have a cheap body solid bench right now and i feel like its not wide enough. Also, can you firmly plant your feet? Thanks[/quote]
No issues what so ever, it is taller than my old bench but that’s not a problem.
Main reasons I bought it were the 1000 pound weight capacity and the 11 lock out angles.
If I weight 235 and I am using 365+ lbs for my sets of benching, that’s 600+ pounds right there off the bat and most benches are only good for 600 lb capacity and I plan on getting a lot stronger over the next couple years. Also if a bench has a 600lb capacity, it is less in incline positions…It is very stable, the site weighs it in at 74 pounds so it’s not moving anywhere, I can plant my feet well and you have the option to buy a lot of different attachments. The seat can be adjusted to 3 different heights to accomadate everyone. Very happy with it.
[quote]DJS wrote:
Thanks Sgtncasello for the feedback. Good or bad I bit the bullet and ordered both the powertec rack and the lat tower on Saterday. I’ll be sure to state it here for others if I have any problems with the cable system. I’m hoping not and I’m pretty pumped for it to get here so I’ll report back in the future. [/quote]
Any update on this bench? Did you end up regretting your purchase, or was it everything you hoped for? I’m looking at picking one up in a couple of weeks. Thanks.