Power Rack Reviews 2018

This article is going to provide a list of power rack reviews for 2018. I’ll be reviewing some basic info, like what is a power rack, what are the benefits of using one, and what are the differences between power racks and squat stands. Then I’ll go over the list of power rack reviews and cover the top 5. I’ll cover each in detail, including looking at factors such as price, stability, attachments, and design. I’ll include some alternative options and then end with my recommendation for the best power rack for most people.

Outside of a bench, I think the power rack is the most essential and most important element of a home gym. You can get a complete workout and build massive strength with just a bench, power rack, and a weight set alone. Power racks allow you to lift safely and efficiently without the use of a spotter. An investment in a nice power rack will last you a lifetime – don’t hesitate to consider one for your home gym.

TL;DR version – The best power rack of 2018 for most people is going to be the Powerline PPR200X. It’s the most well-rounded option available and is offered by a great brand. It offers stability, nice design, a great warranty, and a nice feature set with good attachments. If lat work is your thing and you want to have a lat attachment out of the box, the Valor Fitness BD-7 is the one for you. Finally, if you have a wallet big enough, having a Rogue R-6 in your home gym will make you the envy of gym rats all around the world. It is a monster of a power rack that will last a lifetime and you can’t outgrow it, but it will cost a pretty penny.

Last updated: January 2018 (minor revisions and edits, added detailed Powerline PPR200X review.)

Table of Contents

• What is a Power Rack
• Power Rack Benefits
• Power Rack v.s. Squat Stand
• Power Rack Reviews – Top 5
  • Powerline PPR200X
  • Rogue R-6
  • Valor Fitness BD-7
  • Titan T-2
  • Fitness Reality 810XLT
• Other Alternatives
• Recommendations and Final Thoughts

What is a Power Rack?

A power rack is piece of equipment that acts as a mechanical spotter for use with barbell exercises. It usually consists of 4 uprights, a set of liftoffs to place the loaded barbell on, and spotter bars that replace the function of a regular human spotter. You can usually adjust the height of the liftoffs as well as the spotter bars to align with the exercise you are doing as well as your physical profile. It’s a great piece of equipment to have. It can also come up accessory attachments that allow you to do more than just barbell exercises.

Power Rack Benefits

There are many benefits to having a power rack. It should be one of the staple pieces of your home gym. Here are a few of the main benefits:

• Safety – first and foremost, the main benefit of the power rack is safety. You don’t need a spotter to lift heavy. For example, for a bench press, you can position the spotter bars right above your chest so the barbell doesn’t fall or crush you if you get fatigued, and for a squat, you can leave the bars right above your shoulders at the lowest point of your squat. Having this safety gives you peace of mind since most of us who lift at home do so alone.
• Limited-range exercises – it’s great for movements like rack pulls where you can adjust the height of the liftoffs/spotter bars to do the range of motion that you want to do.
• Full body work out – with a power rack, you can do all of the major compound barbell exercises, such as deadlifts, squat, and bench press. You can have an Olympic weight set and a decent power rack and that’s all you’ll ever need if you want to go the minimalist route.

Power Rack v.s. Squat Stand

If you are building out your home gym, you may face the dilemma of whether or not to get a squat stand or a power rack. Each has its pros and cons, but I will out the general details for you.

A squat stand is typically designed specifically for squats. It consists of 2 uprights with liftoffs at various heights to place a loaded barbell on. You typically walk up to a squat stand, put the barbell on your back, and walk back out. Then you finish your set of squats and the re-rack the weight. I have come across some squat stands that do have some safeties (that are not adjustable) on the sides that extend out, but the majority of them do no. The key thing to keep in mind here is that since it’s designed for squats, the height levels of the liftoffs will cater towards that movement.

A power rack on the other hand is a set of 4 uprights that are connected in the form of a cage that you walk into. It’s meant to be a more general purpose piece of equipment. Thus, there are far more height adjustments available for the liftoffs or the hooks that hold up the barbell. So not only can you perform squats, you can do deadlifts, bench press, and many other kinds of key barbell movements. The other thing to note is that power racks typically come with adjustable safety or spotter bars. These can take the place of a spotter so you can do many more movements at greater intensity using a squat rack. In addition, power racks also come up with a lot more attachments, like dip bars, pull-up bars, and lat attachments. It’s a more versatile part of your home gym.

Head to head, squat stands are typically cheaper than power racks and also take up less space. Squat stands can be placed closer to a wall and take up more a linear footprint. Power racks on the other hand take up a cubic footprint and typically require at least 1 cubic meter of space. However, squat stands are limited in terms of the exercises you can do and also safety with a lack of spotter bars.

Overall, I’d recommend power racks over squat stands. You can do more, they are safe, and you can get a nice quality power rack under $500 that can be a stable piece of your home gym.

Power Rack Reviews – Top 5

Powerline PPR200X

The Powerline PPR200X is a fantastic power rack for most people. It’s supported by a solid brand in terms of Powerline by Body-solid and is extremely good value for the money. It typically retails for around $350.  It offers a 600lb weight capacity, solid build quality, good stability, and a basic set of attachments, including dip bars and lat attachment. I never felt unsafe working out on it after months of use and it’s holding up really well. My favorite part of this rack is the wide walk-in design that offers great lateral movement. It also offers a nice design and great warranty. This is a great power rack if you are starting out your home gym.

The only caveats about this power rack that I would mention are the poor paint job on the liftoffs and the safeties and the weight capacity. The weight capacity doesn’t bother me too much because I’m not that strong, but if you are an elite Olympic powerlifter who’s squatting 600lb+, you may want to think twice about using this rack. The paint issues can be mitigated using foam padding and tape. Overall, this is an extremely well-rounded rack and provides great bang for the buck.

Read the full review for a detailed assessment of one of the best budget power racks around.

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Rogue R-6

Rogue is an elite fitness brand that’s known to weight lifters, crossfitters, and powerlifters alike. They sell some of the best equipment around, both for home gyms as well as for commercial gyms.

It should be no surprise then that Rogue also makes some of the best power racks around. In particular, the Rogue R-6 is one of their top of the line rack for home gyms. This is a premium rack and the price tag reflects that – be prepared to spend $1.5K direct from the Rogue website. I wanted to include this rack as an option on this list for people who have the money and space, or who are more serious lifters.

This is a monster rack and it needs 2 people to assemble. Since it’s so big you can’t really assemble it alone. Once you have a partner to assemble with, it takes about an hour and the instructions are really clear so you shouldn’t have any issues.

The first thing to highlight about this rack is footprint. Like I said, being that it’s a serious rack, it’s going to take up a lot more space than the budget racks. The rack is 80” deep and 53” wide. That gives you a depth of more than 6 feet in which to operate. The rack is also 90” high so you will have to make sure you have the ceiling height to accommodate it. It’s better for taller garage gyms than low basement ceilings. With all that extra space, you get a lot more room to move around and a lot more storage options.

In terms of storage, the rack provides 2 double plate posts and 4 single plate posts for storing standard Olympic plates. It also provides 6 band pegs for storing bands or chains. You will not run of space and you will not need a separate plate tree to store your weights.

For stability and build quality, this is one of the most heavy duty racks around. It’s build 2×3” 11-gauge steel. Since it’s also larger, it weighs a lot more than the other racks around – 300lbs. Once you set this up, it’s not moving and you will not outgrow it in terms of weight capacity. Fit and finish is impeccable. Every piece is laser cut and individually inspected after the powder coat process. You won’t get fading or chipped paint on this rack.

The tons of add on accessories are a great selling point. As far what comes in the package, the fat/skinny pull-up bar and an multi-grip bar come standard with the R-6, as well as a set of Infinity j-cups and pin/pipe safeties. It’s compatible with Infinity products, so there are a ton of add-ons you can get like the matador dip bar and different pull up bars or even bar storage. This rack can grow with you over the years.

Once the R-6 is yours, it’s guaranteed by Rogue for life, so you are getting one of the best warranties in the business.

The Rogue R-6 is a serious piece of equipment that will last a long time. The only question is if you can handle the initial investment.

CHECK PRICE ON ROGUE FITNESS

Valor Fitness BD-7

Valor Fitness is a newer brand, but well-received and offers a wide variety of fitness equipment. Their BD-7 power rack is a sturdy 2”x2” steel power rack that offers a ton of features out of the box at a great price. It can be found in the sub $500 range on Amazon and offers some of the best attachments and expandability of the racks that made this list.

It has a pretty small footprint at 59”D x 63”W x 86”H. The shorter height makes it suitable for lower ceilings. The in-cage working space is 23.5” deep by 43.5” side to side, so pretty good area to move around in. The lat attachment and storage pegs for weights (more on both those features below) actually don’t require a ton of additional rear space, which is good. The lat attachment protrudes about a foot in the rear of the rack. The product arrives shipped in 2 large boxes and is fairly easy to assemble. You should not have any issues – full assembly only requires 2 wrenches.

The weight capacity of the rack is pretty good, and Valor Fitness does provide the specs on weight capacity based on how the rack is being used. For liftoffs outside the cage, the max is 500lb. For inside the cage, it’s 650lb and the safeties support up to 800lb. Thus, it’s about middle of the pack in terms of how much weight you pack on it. If you are a beginner to intermediate lifter, you will not feel limited at all. There are 27 different variable positions for the bar liftoffs located along 17.5” to 68” in height from the floor.

Where this rack really shines is the fact it comes bundled with a lot of great features and there are so many options/accessories available that you can use. This is one of the few racks that comes packaged with lat attachment and pulley system out of the box, whereas other racks require you to pay extra. The lat attachment allows you to do a standard lat pulldown motion as well as a standing and seated row. It comes with a standard bar and chain. There are a lot of different accessories you can buy from Valor Fitness like the MB-A Dip Handle Accessory Set. Or you can purchase other compatible packages to make the rack even more useful. A really good option is the Champion Cable Attachment Package Pack, which includes a lot of good stuff for cable movements. You get a nice straight bar, triceps rope, and a v-bar.

Another nice thing this rack has that some other racks don’t have is storage for your plates. It comes with six plate holders – two on the lat pulldown attachment and four total along the sides. Having storage for your plates means you don’t have to purchase a separate storage tree.

The unit arrives with a pull up bar located at the top of the rack. It’s build of solid steel and has a knurled grips. I’d recommend taping the bar or using gloves to keep your hands from ripping. The pull-up bar measures 83” from the floor. Keep that in mind if you have low ceilings – you’ll need enough clearance for your head. Valor Fitness says the pull-up bar is rated for up to 350lbs. Loading up the storage pegs with weight will also keep the rack from wobbling if you are doing pull-ups.

There a few minor issues to be aware of with regards to this power rack. First, the plate holders are standard size (made for 1”) rather than Olympic size (2”). You can still put Olympic size plates on them, but a better idea is to use an adapter kit, like the Body-Solid 8 Inch Olympic Adapter Sleeve with Hex Nut Locks. These go over the existing plate holder and convert them to Olympic plate holders. The second issue to be aware of is the metal cups on the small balls on cables of the pulley system. These cups are sharp and can shred your cables. The solution here is to tape the cups to the balls on both sides. Do this before you use the cables and you shouldn’t have any problems.

Overall, this rack is a great solution if you want a lot of options and an all-in-one package at a very reasonable price.

CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON

Titan T-2

Titan is a reputable brand and one of the leading online distributors of fitness products in the U.S. Their equipment lines range from cages and racks to kettlebells and weights. Like Rogue, they tend to be geared towards more of a CrossFit audience. They make heavy duty equipment and the Titan T-2 is certainly no exception.

The Titan T-2 is their entry level rack. On Amazon, it retails for around $300. They also offer the T-3 and the the T-6 which are more expensive, but the T-2 is a solid rack in its own right and I think it’s the right fit for someone looking to start out their home gym.

Once ordered, the T-2 rack arrives very quickly. Titan has a reputation for shipping fast. The key thing to keep in mind when it first arrives is to make sure all the components are there. Like some other racks, sometimes there are parts missing so you’ll want to audit all the contents of the boxes to make sure you have everything to put the rack together.

Assembly is a snap. Like other racks, it’s usually a 2 person job but if you are handy and patient, 1 person can put it together with no problem. By yourself, it may take about an hour.

The rack has a nice, smaller footprint so it should be fine with lower ceilings and in smaller home gyms. The dimensions of the rack are 83”H x 59”W by 48”D. The rack is very stable and weighs in at 107lb. The uprights are 2”x2” solid steel. It does not need to be bolted down. There are plate holders in the back where you can add some plates for added stability. The frame is 3 sided and opens up in the front. The weight capacity of the rack is 700lb which is about middle of the pack. Great range for beginner to intermediate lifters. The vast majority of people won’t even get near the 700lb limit. The fit and finish of the product is also very good.

The rack comes with a pair of spotter bars and also a pair of J-hooks. The J-hooks are a nice touch over some of the standard liftoffs for the bar on the other racks. They are also easily movable for maximum adjustability. The rack does come with a bare metal pull-up bar at an 80” height. Since it’s bare metal, you’ll want to either use tape or some gloves so you don’t rip your hands.

Titan offers a number of great accessories for this rack. I would definitely get extra pairs of J-hooks (to use in the front) and pair of the dip bars. I would also get extra plate holders as well so you can attach them to side of the rack and not have use the ones in the back all the time. The one accessory that’s conspicuously missing from Titan’s offering is a lat attachment. This could be a deal breaker to some, but if it’s not to you, then it shouldn’t be a problem.

As far as cons, one of the design flaws of the rack are the weight plate posts on the rear of the frame. If you want to use them, you’ll need a good bit of extra space from the rear wall – probably about 2 feet. This takes away from the smaller footprint of the rack. It’s kind of an awkward place to put them and hence I recommend the extra plate holders. Also, the ends of the some of the cap beams sometimes do not fit – it’s kind of hit or miss. They are purely aesthetic in nature, so not a big deal functionality wise if they don’t fit, but may need to dock some points for that.

Overall, this is a great no-frills rack for beginner to intermediate lifters. Titan is a solid company and this is a solid product if you don’t mind not having a lat attachment for your power rack.

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Fitness Reality 810XLT

Fitness Reality is a rebrand of the popular IRONMAN® Fitness Cardio and Strength lines. It’s a brand that offers a wide array of fitness equipment (unsurprisingly, suited to triathlon training), including ellipticals, treadmills, and bikes, as well as strength equipment. The Fitness Reality 810XLT is one of the most affordable power rack options on the market, and is well suited to be paired with the Fitness Reality 1000 weight bench.

The first thing to note is the price. Sold as a power rack only, it retails for $199 on Amazon. With the weight bench, it retails for $299. That’s in an incredible deal, easily the most affordably priced rack on this list. If you are very budget conscious, that is a huge plus. The question is whether or not the quality of the rack is subpar because it’s so cheap.

If you are of the lucky ones who received all the necessary components of the rack in one piece (one of the few flaws, it’s kind of hit or miss when you order), then you should be in good shape. It typically arrives in one cardboard box the dimensions of which are 1’x1’x7’. If it wasn’t torn apart in transit, you’ll find that it is pretty well packaged.

The parts list (important) is as follows – 4 uprights, 2 base pieces, 2 top pieces, 2 rear braces, the pull-up bar, and the necessary hardware to assemble. The paint finish on the metal is pretty good. It’s fairly easy to assemble. You can do the sides by yourself, but probably will want a second hand to join the sides together. Much easier with 2 people. Like many of the other racks, don’t tighten everything until it’s assembled and in place.

The footprint of the rack is 50.5”L x 46.5”W x 83.5”H. The 83.5” is to the top of the pull-up bar, which protrudes up a bit, but the actual top of the cage is about 79”. It also weighs 133.5 pounds, so it’s pretty hefty. This rack boasts a weight capacity of 800lbs which is a good bit more than the Powerline PPR200X and some of the other racks. The welds are a bit sloppy, but they are still solid. Build quality overall is pretty good and you should not have any issues with stability, which is a key concern for a rack this cheap.

One of the major positives of this rack is the pull-up bar. It’s a multi-position pull-up bar, which is important for someone like myself who has wrist issues. The pull-up bar allows for neutral grip, regular grip, and angled wide grip. There isn’t a whole lot of knurling on this bar, so keep that in mind with regards to your grip. You’ll probably want some gloves that give you some extra grip.

The spotter bars are 1” solid steel and slide easily in and out. The bar liftoffs or catches are hollow. J-hooks are probably preferable, here, and if you want to go that route, the Titan T-2 J-hooks work fine.

One of the shortcomings of this rack is the lack, or rather the confusion, of attachments and accessories. Fitness Reality doesn’t really make many add-ons to the rack, except for bundling it with their bench. So far as as dip bars or lat attachments, it’s a bit of a guessing game. There is no built in storage on this rack for plates, so a set of 2” Olympic plate holders (Titan Fitness T-2 plate holders) is a good idea. They can even stabilize the rack more if you load them up with a few plates.

The warranty is decent – 1 year on frame and 90 days on parts, but not he best in the world. That’s to be expected at this price point.

The rack is solid and probably better than you expect for the price of $199. If you are in the market for a bench, the $299 bench + rack deal is hard to beat. It may not have the most options, but it stacks up well in terms of build quality and stability to other racks on this list.

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Other Alternatives

For those who are looking for a squat stands (in case you don’t have room for a full power rack), I wanted to include a few options for the sake of completeness:

The Cap Barbell Exercise Stand is one of the more popular options and serves as sort of a hybrid between a conventional squat stand and a power rack. It’s super affordable retailing at $100 on Amazon. It has 2 uprights and is comprised of 12” and 14” steel. It offers a pull-up bar which a lot of squat stands do not. Also, the hole patterns adjust low enough to where you can also use it for movements like bench press. The lower weight capacity of 300lb may give you some pause, but if you don’t weigh much or aren’t planning on pushing very heavy weights, this stand may suit you.

The Titan T-3 Squat Stand is a heavy duty and is a great alternative. It offers a 1000lb weight capacity, 2”x3” steel construction, a pull-up bar, as well spotter arm extensions. It retails for slightly less than $400 off of Amazon. Some of these specs exceed those of some of the power racks in the list above, so you should consider it if you want to save some space.

Finally, like with the power racks, I wanted to feature a premium option from Rogue on the list. The Rogue S-3 retails for $455 direct from Rogue and features a pull-up bar, both 1” and 2” hole spacing, as well as 2”x3” steel tubing. The weight capacity is 1000lbs so you won’t outgrow it, and like the Rogue R-6, it’s compatible with Infinity series add-ons and accessories. A set of safety spotter arms would be a great addition here.

In general, I greatly prefer power racks to a squat stands for the added flexibility as well as safety, but these 3 squat stands are good alternatives in case you want to go the squat stand route.

Recommendations and Final Thoughts

The best power rack of 2018 that I would recommend to most people is the Powerline PP200X. It is one of the most well-rounded yet affordable racks available. It’s supported by a solid brand in terms of Powerline by Body Solid. The price is right and it offers great stability and moderate weight capacity at 600lb. It also has some decent attachments, including a lat attachment and more if you want to expand the functionality of the rack. I would not hesitate to recommend this rack as a really great option for beginner to intermediate lifters.

If money is no object and you want the best of the best, then the Rogue R-6 fits the bell. Rogue’s name is synonymous with quality, customer service, and elite fitness products. This behemoth, though it takes up a lot of space, has everything you’ll ever need in a power rack, including plate storage, space, pull-up bars, and many different types of attachments and accessories. It’s built like a tank (literally weighing hundreds of pounds), so you will never outgrow it. It ain’t cheap, but top of the line premium products are never going to be cheap.

If attachments and accessories of paramount importance to you, the Valor Fitness BD-7 comes with a lat attachment out of the box is also a solid contender.