I figured I should write something on the topic of building your own leg exercise equipment. This may sound like an easy way out if don’t have enough money for those fancy squat racks from the Amazon, but it is not that simple. This actually depends on few factors. OK, let’s break it down.

There are basically three options that you are presented with when it comes to spending money on such stuff; buying new, buying used and building your own. Building and used usually cost the same, although both of them require some work. For the first you need to find someone who is selling his old stuff while making from scratch requires finding someone to do it for you if you don’t know how. If you’re on a budget, it’s best to build a squat rack. This is by far cheaper solution than buying a completely new squat rack.

What Exactly do You Need?

To build a squat rack or any other construction for exercising you need to know what you are doing. That includes having a plan about what material you will use, finding the necessary tools to actually do the job and of course blueprinting the whole shebang (calculating dimensions, spacing, etc).

One note about material; it’s best to build these constructions out of metal. It guarantees a long life and can be maintained very easily, which can’t be said for wood. I have seen quite a few people that made their constructions using wood. If you squat seriously that party won’t last long, trust me. My advice would definitely be to go with metal. You won’t need a lot of material. The most of it will go into assembling heavy side post.

Since metal requires welding, in case you never did this, don’t worry, there are plenty of services out there that do this and it’s not even that expensive. Just visit the nearest workshop with your blueprint and let them know about your plan. You can be surprised how cheap you can get by. I have built a few racks this way, each came out about $100 – $150.

Recently I came across a blog called Harry’s Mobile Welding. Apparently this guy offers services that I mentioned above. I never tried him myself, but as you will see on his blog, he has done plenty of metal power racks and has a lot of experience with gym equipment, especially intended for leg workout. His location is Clearwater, Florida. Maybe it’s not close to you but is definitely worth asking how much does he charge for such service.

Pros and Cons

Definite pro is lower price in oppose to out of the box fancy stuff. By making custom stuff you are risking some inexperienced person to do the welding, which can result in poorly measured and badly assembled angles of the construction. Although this rarely happens, be sure to double check his previous work.

Since my reasons to train are professional I do need some reliable equipment that can’t be custom made that easily. But I do recommend you to build a squat rack because this is one of the simplest things to make, even if you’re not that crafty. Roll your sleeves or hire somebody else to convert your ideas into reality.

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I was wondering if you felt the New York Barbell rack was sufficient to hold (and not move) a 6′4″ 200 pound man doing chinups…

Well, in this case the answer must be twofold. I weight around 180 lbs but I know and workout with really heavy guys, some are even well beyond 300 lbs. Our NY rack is holding up pretty well, even when doing some major explosive barbell bouncing during partial squats or deadlifts. Now, as for the chinups, I have never seen this power rack move, but I guess it depends on how exactly you perform them. I bet if you swing like crazy you would be able to move it back and forth. But, what’s the point with such technique anyway?

Nevertheless, this got me thinking about stability. I remembered a piece of equipment I used in the past for heavy good mornings and my lower back. This one was actually intended for squats with either narrow or wide (sumo) stance – New York Barbells C92565W Sumo Rack.

Rack Dimensions and Feature Description

Buy C92565W Sumo Rack Online!

Dimensions of this squat rack are: 52.5 inches x 48.5 inches x 66 inches of height. It weighs 112 lbs, which is pretty solid. There is 26 inches of distance between side posts which I believe is enough room to wiggle, even with leaning forward too much while squatting.

As always with New York Barbells, there are two strong self locking “J” hooks and solid steel 1 inch side catcher pins to grab the bar. This model is actually shorter than its brother C92563W, which may be more suitable for low ceiling rooms. Because of the wide base, extra wide end caps and short construction, swinging is reduced to a minimum.

Price: $320

Although this model may be a sturdy and stable enough solution, I think that higher price makes it less appropriate for normal budgets. As always, it depends on your goals. If for some reason you need a wider stance base for your squatting, then go for it. Set of Olympic plates would go great with it.

All in all, New York Barbells seems never to disappoint, at least not in my experience with their squat racks and related leg workout equipment.

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The Power in Powerlifting – Leg Workout

One clarification before I begin. Different names are used to describe family of similar products. Although they differ in few details, they all usually refer to same product. Those names include: power rack, squat stand, power cage, squat cage, etc.

How much the squat rack costs? Most often talked about aspect today is the price. No wonder with this present economy downturn. Therefore, I’ll do my best to reconcile the quality and wallet depth.

Heavy duty frames are imperative when it comes to strong and reliable training. Construction should be well balances and heavy to allow secure and safe workout. Usually good ones are counterbalanced at the bottom.

Stop holes/pins should be positioned with high frequency, with distance of no more than two inches between them. This increases variety of movement.

Safety side catchers are not present in every squat rack, but in my opinion they are a must when it comes to developing the ultimate power of the squat. Usually they add a little more to the price, because they require cage like construction, but they are worth every penny. They should be adjustable because that increases the possible range of motion, in oppose to fixed ones.

Champion Step Squat Rack (Price: $255)

Buy Champion Step Squat Rack Now!

Frame dimensions are 65 inches (depth) x 60 inches (height) x 48 inches (width). Heavy duty construction provides impressive stability. Pins are starting at the height of 28 inches (first one) and increase incrementally to the height of 60 inches (last one). There are 4 built in sidebars for storing weight plates.

You can perform squat and front squat, either full or partial range, military (standing shoulder) press, biceps curls, upright rows, good mornings, shrugs and a lot more exercises.

Note: Barbell and weights are not included in the price so you’ll need to purchase them separately.

Although not much versatile because of the fixed height this one stands out in his simplicity and construction strength.

Body Solid PowerLine PSS60X Squat Rack (Price: $155)

Buy PowerLine PSS60X Squat Rack Now!

Actually this is not a rack at all; this classic piece comes from a family of respectable squat stands. Dimensions of the frame are 30 inches (depth) x 37 inches (height) x 48 inches (width) x 51 lbs or 23 kg (weight). Bar support adjusts from 30 to 60 inches which gives plenty of height options. There is a 10 year warranty on the frame and 1 year on the rest of the parts, which is excellent. Construction is built out of 2 by 2 heavy-gauge steel bars. Wide base gives it enough stability even for using the heaviest of weights.

Possible movements are flat, incline, and decline bench presses (if you have an adjustable bench), squats, curls, upright rows, shoulder shrugs, calf raises, and a few others, just be creative in your workout.

It is much narrower than cage type structures so it takes a lot less space, which is useful if you plan to use it at home or garage. You’ll need around 10-20 minutes to put the parts together yourself, it is very easy.

A downside is that holes for height adjustment are 3 inches apart which slims your choice of options, especially with benching, which requires more subtle distances than squatting. Since this is a stand and not a squat rack or a cage you definitely need a spotter for monster squatting unless you have a death wish and try to do this with nobody around to catch the weight. A definite tip is to put it on the rubber mat or back end against a wall to prevent shifting, which can occur with such heavy poundage.

Note: Barbell with collars and weights are not calculated in the price. One reminder though; only bars with at least 45 inches of length between plates will fit on this stand, so be careful not to buy a shorter one than that. If you are in a hurry or on a tight budget you can always search for cheap barbells ($40) or plates ($0.7/lbs). Try Wal-Mart or something if you are that desperate.

All in all this is one tough cookie, which can satisfy even the most demanding appetites.

New York Barbells C92563W Power Rack (Price: $299)

Buy C92563W Power Rack Now!

Maybe not one of the pretties power racks but sure one with all features. Cage dimensions are 48.5 inches (depth) x 82.5 inches (height) x 48 inches (width) with 26 inches distance between posts. Strong construction weighs 152 lbs (69 kg). There are 28 holes for side catchers. There is 2 inch distance between them which is excellent for practicing partial movements. It has holder for Olympic weight plates, 2 strong “J” hooks, 1 inch round solid steel pins and chinning bar at the top of the cage which is deep knurled for secure grip.

Cool thing about this one is that you can install a whole bunch of add-ons. Some of them include: chinup bar with lots of different grips, lat machine with 200 lbs weight stack with triceps press down short bar.

This squat rack is actually my favorite piece of equipment because of its impressive range of powerlifting movements. I’ll just number a few: whole variety of squat, shoulder press and curl exercises, good morning, deadlift, partial or full and a bunch more of them. Check out his shorter cousin from New York Barbells made specifically for sumo stance squats.

Note: You will need to acquire plates and bar independently.

If neither of these options work for your budget I advise you to search for some cheap used squat racks.

If you have some questions feel free to leave a comment. I can even do a review of some squatting equipment at your wish. Contact me and I’ll be glad to post it here.

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Squat Racks in a Nutshell

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When reality comes into play naming conventions disappear while leaving the important differences amongst the names lost. In that case power rack is the same thing as squat rack, which is the same thing as power cage, which is then the same thing as squat cage. You can freely use these names interchangeably without hesitation. But, there are some slight differences amongst them, which are especially important to remember when buying one for yourself.

Where Exactly Lays the Difference?

Cage is built out of four strong vertical posts that have movable horizontal bar catchers on each side. The posts are linked at the top and at the bottom for additional strengthening of the construction. Racks in oppose to cages, usually, are comprised out of just one vertical post with additional bottom support for prevention of an accidental turn over caused by overloading and instability. Although they posses bar catchers, in difference to cages these are fixed at the average squat bottom position.

In general, such iron constructions are designed to ensure a safe and enhanced free weight workout. They can carry barbells of various kinds. In difference to usual stands, racks and cages are much safer because dropping the weight will result in it being caught by the side bar catchers. Also, there are no movement restrictions imposed by apparatus such as the Smith machine or a hack squat. Since squat racks are simpler they are considered the granddaddies of power racks.

Range of exercises that you can do on these apparatus’ is broad. Apart from full blown compound exercises like squat and military presses I like to do partial movements. Partial bench press, partial squat and partial deadlift is just some of the stuff I practice on these bad boys. Partial movements are excellent for using bigger weights in a safe way, while overloading the muscles for producing greater strength and growth.

Choose and Commit

Basically, one of these pieces of equipment will be more useful to you over the other depending on what you’re going to do with it. If you’re a full time squatting machine like I am, you don’t need anything more than a simple power rack to fit all of your needs. But in spite of my desire to have a clean single purpose machine, there are some useful non intrusive additions to the construction like built in pullups, chinups and dips bar. Unfortunately, when you try to compromise multiple machines in one the quality of each goes down the drain, which is sad but most of the time true. This is why “home gym” stuff is just a crap from beyond even if you are not that serious about getting in the zone with it.

Now you are equipped with some basic understanding of the power rack stuff. Go now and find one for yourself.

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If you are reading this, chances are that you either need some useful tip on where to buy cheap squat racks or you need some leg workout information, professional or for beginners. Lately I had a lot of people asking questions on both matters. Well, the good news is that you all are going to find something to your benefit.

For those of you, who are not new to this topic, please bare with me, while I explain some basics about squat racks because we have a lot of beginners reading this.

You Gotta Squat!

Since I have promised to devote most of the time and space of this site to talk about leg exercises and training machines I will begin with the squat. Well, not literally, at last not right now. Squat is, hands down, the king of all compound movements and strength builders. If done properly, it can make wonders for your overall physical performance, regardless of the goals. There are a lot of different techniques used, one being more useful than the other, depending on what did you set to achieve. I will try to explain each and every one in detail on this site.

To harness the power and strength that comes with squatting you need to use strong and reliable training equipment. Otherwise, you’ll be just shooting blanks. In oppose to squat stands, which are preferred standard for doing squats in almost every gym, you should use a squat rack or a power rack. Why? Believe me when I say that it has many benefits. For the sake of shortness, I’ll try to state just the obvious ones. First of all, safety is improved by far! Cage like construction of the rack will always take the hit in case your legs go mellow on you during exercise. Second, I always find myself emitting much more raw power than usually when using racks. Wanna know why? Because there is no fear of falling down with the loaded bar and possibility of an injury is reduced to a minimum. Without that worry in mind you can truly set the inner beast loose when doing your thing. Third benefit is definitely versatility. You can easily do dozens of additional exercises on it.

Shopping For One

Now let’s talk little about what prices to expect when buying squat racks online. Stands are usually cheaper than racks, that is a fact, but if you opt for them, you sacrifice a whole bunch of benefits and raise the need for much better exercise performing technique. Also, the truth is that quality ones make you dive into your wallet much deeper, and none of us want that. Then what to do? I promise you that it is possible to search and buy cheap squat racks online and this site is aimed to provide you with help in doing that.

Related Posts

The Power in Powerlifting – Leg Workout

Best Squat Rack – Reviews of Price and Quality

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New York Barbells C92565W Sumo Squat Rack