djl

I've seen a lot of threads about cages/power racks, but so far I'm still a bit overwhelmed.

Our current setup is dumbell rack with dumbells up to 30#, a fairly comfortable bench with a lat tower, and a 7' standard bar and about 250# of standard weights (this is it: http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/spo/133118906.html).

Since we've pretty much outgrown this setup, it's time for us to upgrade.

New York Barbell of Elmira seems to have nice cages; however, shipping makes them pretty much non-competitive.

The Powertec cage seems fairly nice; however, it's really too shallow for me to be happy with it.

The Bodycraft cage (http://www.dumbbellbuddy.com/bodycra...ower_cage.html) seems extremely well made. It's about $100 more than others, but that's fine as long as the quality and stability are there, and they seem to be.

Does anyone know of another cage at $499 (that includes shipping) that seems as well put together as the Bodycraft cage?

We'll be getting the lat option for the cage, as well as a flat/incline/decline bench (the bench will need leg curl/extension option). Anyone have a recommendation for a bench with the leg option? Especially a leg option that will accept standard weight plates (I'd hate to have to reinvest the money for the plates, and I don't see a distinct advantage of Olympic over Standard weights).

Feedback and links to reasonable stores with reasonable shipping, greatly appreciated!

Peaked_18

EliteFTS power racks are the best for quality, but expensive.

djl

Yeah, those look really, really nice. Shame about the price

Looking for a cage $499 or less, delivered.

Thanks, though!

Sholiz

Where are you from in Wisconsin? I know in Antigo area, I remember there being a small exercise equipment place. How far of a drive would that be for you?

__________________
You hear me before you see me, I got King Kong in the trunk

djl

Looks like a couple of hours away--I'm in the Milwaukee area.

The only shop that I've found that specializes in weight equipment is 2nd wind and the fitness store. 2nd wind specializes in higher price gym packages (hoist, etc.); the fitness store seems to specialize in higher price free weight selection (except they do carry yukon).

No stores seem to have anything on the floor for me to look at except for parabody, nautilus, and powertec.

ZackMurphy

That BodyCraft F430 looks decent enough.

Peaked's right about the Elite FTS racks, but I'll say this. Having used their racks what makes them so nice (IMHO) is something very simple: they have very precise pin placement choices, since the holes are spaced very close together. So you can set the rack to be exactly where you want it. THat's HUGE, especially if you're doing a big squat. You don't want to have to do a 1/4 squat or a calf raise just to unrack the weight.

And that BodyCraft F430 looks okay.

The Elite FTS racks are also nice since they come with band hooks, but you can use DBs for that. The Elite FTS racks are also very well made, but not worth the money if you're not loading tons of weight on the squat rack for multiple lifters with high demands of wear and tear, you know?

Just make sure you caqn unrack your weight comfortably. If you can try it out, go in there in your squat shoes and make sure it's good. I've seen some horrible racks lately, and it's all about uncomfortable squat positions.

I don't have my links on this computer, but I bought a bunch of good quality stuff from "Fitness Factory Outlet" once. Got a great flat/incline bench from them for about $150 - very durable. Bought about $900 worth if stuff - was all good quality, especially for the price.

Peaked_18

They also have special weight spotter, the metal rod and pipe system so you don't ruin your bar or break your spotting pins. They've got wide bases for sumo work and great for bench pressing specific area.

djl

Ok, I've taken a step back to figure out exactly what's going to work for me and my wife, and, if anyone cares, this is what we've ended up getting:

Body Solid rack.
Body Solid FID bench.
Powertec squat machine.

Got the Body Solid stuff today (ordered it late Saturday evening, so 5 days to deliver). Putting the bench together. Boy is that bench beefy in comparison to the bench I'm currently using. Only complaint is that the darn thing needs a metric wrench/socket set.

The squat rack is supposed to be delivered this Saturday.

Fun and excitement (and a whole lotta sweat)!

ZackMurphy

I've owned that power rack - it was a good piece.

djl

Ok, I've had the equipment I listed above for a bit now, and here are my impressions.

The rack, for me, is absolutely perfect! The spotters can be moved fairly low and high, with small height increments/decrements, and they can be entirely removed if you wish. And they've actually saved me a time or two--WELL worth the money for this piece of equipment!

The gun rack (holds the barbell inbetween sets) is a work of art. At the end of a set, you can basically push your arms back anywhere and be guaranteed that one of the hooks will catch it. This, too, has saved me a number of times (I remember my old bench, where if you missed the bar holder, you were screwed unless you had a spotter)!

Extremely high quality equipment; feels like you couldn't run it over with a tank! The only complaint is that I would like it to have one more pair of olympic weight holders--4 just doesn't cut it.


The bench... eh, it's a bench. I'm not entirely happy with it. Where the back meets up with the seat, there's a depression that kills my back (it's split about 30/70 so that when the back comes upright, the seat stays flat--well, it actually raises a bit in the front as the back comes up--where the 30/70 meat is the joint, and they angle down into the joint leaving a depression). If that depression wasn't there, then I wouldn't mind the bench.

Also, the bench is the tiniest bit wobbly--barely noticeable, but there nonetheless. I've tightened down the screws the best I could, but still no fix.

Finally, the darn bench requires metric sockets/wrenches to put together, which was a pain in the butt.


The squat machine is really, really nice, if somewhat made for shorter people (I'm 6'2"). Stable, well built, and easy to use (not to mention easy on the shoulders, though my wife puts a couple of towels on her shoulders and still gets pretty red shoulders out of a workout). I like it, and am glad I purchased it (my wife said she wouldn't buy it again).

CROWLER

GREAT read.

Some may snicker at using a weight machine like that but I know a newly crowned pro bb builder who swears he will NEVER do regular squats again after using a similar machine to that.


CROWLER

djl

Glad you enjoyed it--I figured someone might get something out of it.

Heh, snickering never hurt anyone.

And without that squat machine, I wouldn't be doing anything except leg extensions and curls--money well spent