Power cage or half rack

A rack is the one purchase that decides what the rest of the gym can be. Squats, presses, pulls and pull-ups all hang off it, and it is the piece that catches a failed rep. The two shapes on offer are a full power cage, with four uprights and safety bars running between them, and a half rack, open at the front with spotter arms instead of bars. The differences are in how they catch the bar, how much room they take, and how much they are rated to hold.

Cage or half rack

A full cage puts you inside the frame. Safety bars run from the front uprights to the back ones, so a failed squat or bench press lands on steel at whatever height you set, on both sides, without you having to steer the bar anywhere. That is the reason cages suit lifting alone.

A half rack is open at the front. The bar racks on J-hooks at the front uprights and spotter arms stick out to catch it. There is nothing in front of you, which is easier for walking out a squat and for setting up a bench, and the frame takes less depth in the room. The trade is that the spotter arms are shorter than a cage's safety bars, so the bar has to come down on them.

The rated loads

Each rack lists a rating for the frame and separate ratings for what bolts to it. The two H-0076 Power Cages are rated to 450kg, and their chin-up bars and dip handles to 180kg each. The Crossfit Assault Rack, the half rack in the range, is rated to 400kg in total, with its J-hooks at 180kg and its spotter arms at 200kg. The Power Cage Fitness Multifunctional Rack lists 200kg on the spotters, 130kg on the pull-up bar and 100kg on the dip handles.

Those attachment ratings are the ones that bite first. A rack rated to 450kg is not the limit for pull-ups if the pull-up bar is rated to 180kg. Read every number on the page against the way you plan to use it.

Cable systems

Two of the racks add a lat-pulldown and low-row cable system on the back of the frame. The H-0076 with attachment and the Multifunctional Rack both do this, and on the Multifunctional Rack the lat bar and low-row bar are each rated to 80kg. A cable system turns a rack into most of a gym for pulling work, and it is the difference between the plain H-0076 and the one with the attachment.

Height, footprint and anchoring

The cages stand 205cm tall on a 101cm by 118cm footprint. The half rack stands 238cm tall on 183cm by 122cm. Measure the ceiling before anything else, and remember that a pull-up on a 205cm bar needs headroom above it. The H-0076 cages have welded footplates with bolt holes, so they can be anchored to a concrete slab, which is worth doing for kipping pull-ups or heavy rack pulls.

What to check on the product page

• The frame rating and the separate ratings for pull-up bars, dip handles, J-hooks and spotter arms.
• Overall height against the ceiling, with room above the pull-up bar.
• Plate storage fitment. The racks list 25mm or 28mm standard and 50mm Olympic.
• Whether a cable system is included or the rack is the plain frame.
• What is not included. Every rack ships without the barbell, plates, bench and collars.

The RooFitness racks compared

Related

All power racks · Squat stands · Weight benches · Olympic barbells · Plate trees and storage