Customizing my power rack is going to be my 2024 home gym project. I’m calling this rack, which is an old Williams Strength collegiate six post rack, my Forever, In Between Power Rack because I plan to keep it forever and it’s going to be my rack in between racks that are sent to me to review. It’s also a great opportunity to walk you guys through the process of customizing equipment so that it’s a reflection of your personal fitness goals and needs. Let’s take a look at how it’s going to work.
Considerations When Customizing My Power Rack
There are a few key factors I’m keeping in mind as I go through the process of customizing my power rack. Over the course of my twenty plus years of home gym ownership, I’ve found that most pieces of home gym equipment I buy as part of home gym setup fall into at least one of these categories:
- Attachments I Need Regardless Of What Phase of Training I’m Currently In
- Attachments I Need Specifically for a Particular Phase of Training
- Attachments That Are Nice to Have but Not Essential
Attachments I Need All Of The Time
Some attachments are necessary all of the time. For example, whether I’m pushing heavy weight or going lighter and concentrating on high volume, I’m going to need spotter arms and/or safety bars for my power rack. The style of safety bars or spotter arms can vary but I’ll always want to have something to catch the weight if I miss the groove in a lift or for whatever reason I can’t complete a lift and re rack the bar. Similarly, I’m going to always need J Cups of some type. Barbell lifts typically begin with a lift off from J Cups and end with returning the barbell to J Cups. So I don’t NEED monolift attachments necessarily but I DO need something that looks and acts like J Cups. Products that fit into this category of things I’ll always need include: Power Rack Step Up plates to allow me to do Deficit Bulgarians (Deficit Sumo Deadlifts), Extra Plate Storage Horns to get my 100lb plates off the floor and ideally store my bumper plates on the rack instead of spread out around the gym.
Attachments I Need for a Particular Phase of Training
Something like a landmine attachment fits neatly in this category. For some of you, a landmine is an integral part of your training year round. For me, Landmine Presses replaced Barbell Overhead Presses because my mobility coaches could tell that although I could Standing Press 205lbs for one rep, I was compensating in order to complete the lift. So they had me swap out Overhead Presses for Landmine Pressing because I can perform those correctly without compensating so that’s one of my main pressing movements while I do supplemental work to bring up my upper back muscles and open up my lats so they’re not pulling my arms forward so I have to arch my ribcage to press overhead. So I need some sort of Landmine attachment to be able to do Landmine Presses without tearing up my rack or the walls in my garage gym. Another attachment that fits in this category is a multi grip pull up attachment with a grippy surface so I can do Passive and Active Hangs and to make it easier on my grip when I progress to One Arm Hangs. For multi grip pullup handle, I’m looking at the Black Widow Training Gear Multigrip Pullup and for the Landmine, I like the Bells of Steel rack mounted Manticore Landmine attachment but I also like the AbMat Barbell Bomb which isn’t strictly speaking a rack attachment but I love that it can be used anywhere there’s open space on my mats.
Some Cool Products I’m Considering for Customizing My Power Rack
Attachments That Are Nice to Have but Not Essential
I honestly don’t need a functional trainer attachment. I have a Spud, Inc. Tricep Pushdown and Low Pulley Combo that gets the job done for any cable accessory movement. It sometimes takes some creative setup but it gets the job done. I also have bands that I can attach in multiple ways to do most of what I can do with a cable attachment. But. A functional trainer makes EVERYTHING I just mentioned SO MUCH EASIER and CONVENIENT! So despite the fact that I don’t really NEED one, I’m going to keep an eye out for a functional trainer solution that’s compatible with my Forever In Between Power Rack. Options I’m looking at include the UPS Bundle from Surplus Strength, the Bully Glyder from Buffalo Bully Fabrications and the Dialed Motion Sidewinder. But I’m not ruling out the Rogue Slinger family of products either.
Customizing My Power Rack Isn’t An Overnight Process
Like all of you reading this, I’ve got a budget to keep in mind and other responsibilities that demand my financial resources not all be thrown at power rack toys. So this will be a slow, deliberate process where I’m going to look for deals anywhere I can find them. But watching this process unfold should give you guys ideas for how to optimize your home gyms into the best gym in town for you and your fitness goals WITHOUT breaking the bank!
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