A power rack, or power cage, forms the solid foundation for any home gym and makes it possible to perform a variety of exercises safely. But what should you pay attention to when purchasing a power rack?

DIMENSIONS

The width and depth will not be such a problem, but do you keep in mind that a power rack is about 220 cm high? Some racks are up to 240 cm high. This can cause problems in a room with a suspended ceiling. It would be a shame if you only found out about this during the build…

LOAD CAPACITY AND STABILITY

A good power rack is heavy duty and stable. This stability is obtained by the construction, its own weight and by anchoring the rack to the floor if necessary. Most racks are made of 2 mm thick steel, the sturdier ones of 3 mm thick steel.

Note that the load capacity refers to the rack as a whole, not to the load capacity of the storage hooks and emergency supports, which is lower.

For most beginners, a rack with a load capacity of up to 300 kg is sufficient.

SPACING

The storage hooks and emergency supports are height-adjustable. To accurately set hooks and supports, it is important that they are adjustable in small steps.

Most racks have a spacing of 50 mm. Some racks – often only at the height of the bench press – have a spacing of 25 mm, for a very accurate setting.

It is also helpful if the heights are numbered so that you can quickly adjust the hooks and supports to the correct height for a certain practice.

SAFETY/EMERGENCY MOUNTS

The terms ‘safety props’ or ’emergency props’ are not entirely correct, because many people use these props not only in an emergency, but also for example to bench press or squat from the bottom position.

Make sure that the emergency supports, like the storage hooks (J-hooks), can be heavily loaded.

The cheaper squat racks are equipped with emergency bars, the more expensive ones with emergency bars. There are also belts.

If you also want to train safely outside the rack, you will need to purchase a set of spotter arms.

PULL-UP BAR

Practically every power rack has a pull-up bar, ranging from a ‘normal’ straight bar to a monkey bar, for handling various grips.

ACCESSORIES

Most power racks are expandable with various accessories, such as a lat pulley, with weight stack or with disc holder for the use of weight plates. A dip bar is another favorite accessory. In the better racks you can fit tire pegs. Those are pins for training with resistance bands.

ALTERNATIVES

Don’t have room for a power rack or is your budget insufficient? Then consider purchasing a half rack, squat rack or separate barbell supports (free rack/stands).