Anyone own a good home squat/power rack?

[CrouchingWayne]

I'm looking to stop going to the gym and instead take it back to the garage! Generally I tend to focus on free weights at the gym so was thinking about buying a power rack, decent bench and set of Olympic weights.

I looked into this a few years ago and the racks were very pricey however now they can be had from £185 (on ebay). Has anyone got one and can offer any guidance on what to look for?

Would like to keep the cost reasonable, had factored in about £500-700 total for the rack, weights and bench. Fairly flexible either way if it's a deal breaker.

Any advice would be great!

Cheers

[Moominho]

I found an old gym power rack and Olympic bar on Gumtree. Cost me about £200.

[CrouchingWayne]

A great idea but unfortunately nothing around me at the moment, keeping an eye on Gumtree and ebay though just in case.

[CaptainSlow]

Where are you? I have some weights and rack for sale.

[CrouchingWayne]

In Aberdeen, where about are you based? I'd imagine quite far away!

[CaptainSlow]

Yes sadly, oh well.

[skibum]

I bought a rack for my garage that I think was about £160 - http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-cf415-...

It works for me for Squat and for bench as well as overhead press. The reason I went with this one, was for the catchers as I work out on my own. It also has a 250kg capacity and feels fairly secure - no complaints from me.

[Hoofy]

How about a saw horse. Just saw a pair for £50, total max weight 450kg.

This kinda thing: http://amzn.to/MfeNEz

Edited by Hoofy on Thursday 13th February 11:59

[CrouchingWayne]

Thanks for the links guys.

I'm using a half rack like that one just now at the gym. I also work out on my own and was leaning towards just spending the extra up front and getting a full rack which I can use for chins etc. Basically thinking of trying to get a kit similar to the below, but making sure it's decent:

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/premium-streng...

Can't say I had thought about a saw horse but a good idea none the less. Would there be any safety issues with the weight rolling off?

[jeebus]

I've made a power rack out of 3"x4" timber it cost about £50 all in to make and you can add things as you see fit. Google wooden power rack for various designs

[LordGrover]

Without the pulley that is pretty much exactly what I have. Good kit,I used a lot for the first few months but slowly lost interest. Back to gym for me now. A shame, but I just don't feel the same working out on the garage alone.
Maybe I'll get the bug again when it warms up.
Back on topic, I recommend that kit, not commercial gym quality but better than some of the cheap crap out there.

[Hoofy]

CrouchingWayne said:

Can't say I had thought about a saw horse but a good idea none the less. Would there be any safety issues with the weight rolling off?

Glue some stops on so the weight won't roll off.

[GranderTransit]

I have this power cage from strengthshop.co.uk, I cannot fault it.
https://www.strengthshop.co.uk/power-cage.html
I also have...
https://www.strengthshop.co.uk/strength-shop-train...

I have a third rack as well but that was £1500 and is slightly different. But it got me thinking about how I used it in the past. If you get a half rack with a protruding pull up wing you can use loading straps from wickes etc as catchers. Just make sure that they are rated high enough for what you are squatting.

Something like these...but not these because I think they are too light duty
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Automotive/Lashes+...

Keep an eye on the strengthshop site, they put up weekly specials and the racks sometimes come up.

[CrouchingWayne]

Great, thanks - haven't seen that site before.

Quite like the look of the cage you posted. It is a fair bit more than the one I posted and doesn't come with the lat pulldown add on, any idea why and should I go for the more expensive for any particular reason? Presumably it's to do with maximum load capacity?

[GranderTransit]

CrouchingWayne said:

any idea why and should I go for the more expensive for any particular reason? Presumably it's to do with maximum load capacity?

Yeah it was the maximum load that swayed it for me. On the StrengthShop one it is 400kg I couldn't find a maximum on the powerhouse one. The bench was a bigger issue for me. This one has a load rating of 300kg. Some seemed to be around 200kg. When you combine a 100kg person, that doesn't allow all that much as a bench press 1RM.

I use it for my business so I needed to consider over weight but strong clients and didn't want to be buying a second any time soon!

[CrouchingWayne]

Yea that makes sense, think the powerhouse is around 250kg.

It's purely for a home gym so I probably won't need something too over engineered but you are right that I will need to watch that all components are sufficiently sturdy for higher weights. Currently operating well within the 250kg limits as is!

[mattikake]

For beginners/those uncertain to stick at it:-
http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/multi_press_ra...

Good enough for anyone:-
http://www.fitness-superstore.co.uk/multi_press_ra...

We currently have an ex-demo one going for £295 and being that it can support nearly half a tonne, it's a pretty serious bit of kit.

[GranderTransit]

I wouldn't recommend squat stands for training alone. I always use safeties.

If you are interested in squat stands instead of a power rack then get some with a decent load capacity
https://www.strengthshop.co.uk/equipment-and-bars/... - rated to 250kg rather than ~140kg

[br d]

I bought one of these a few years ago and it's been solid:

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodycraft-f430...

I added some extra hangers to put up high and use for shoulder pressing and the like, it's a great piece of kit.
Just use it for benching now as my knees have gone.

[CrouchingWayne]

Thanks for the links.

With regards to making my own - I'm a bit concerned about the wood twisting etc. as well as the fact my DIY isn't legendary. Some of the ones on Google do look pretty good.

I think I'm set on a full cage as it means I can do chins etc. in the same cube of space as well. This does unfortunately rule out some of the cheaper options!

Has anyone had experience of the difference price points of cages? I don't want to buy twice, and am slightly dubious of the racks with just pole catchers. Some of the heavier duty ones linked above have sturdier looking bars - is this worth additional premium?

I'm pretty light (73kg) and don't lift huge amounts of weight (squat maximum around 100kg just now), but it is nice to have security and headroom for lifts improving in future?