help me:choose a Commercial power rack!

Hi AUSBB wise members,

I have decided to get a commercial power rack and have narrow my choices to the three below. I know there is some threads on some of these racks which I have read all but it does not seem to answer the questions I have in mind and decided to create my own thread to help me make my choice. I like a sturdy solid rack which does not move when racking on/off or releasing the barbell into the support bar hence I am going commercial and price is not a deciding factor as the three racks listed is within my affordable budget.

I'll leave my questions in each rack models and hopefully everyone who owns one will be kind to leave your answers.

non branded commercial power rack.
Commercial Power Rack
3mm steel includes dip
how much does this rack weigh?
is it sturdy?
is dead lift inside this rack possible?
is military press inside this rack possible (Im a 170cm in height)?

muscle motion commercial power rack
Muscle Motion Commercial Power Rack
3mm steel, weighs 200kg very sturdy
good chin up bar option
can't dead lift inside
is military press inside this rack possible (Im a 170cm in height)?

force USA commercial power rack
Commercial Power Rack
good chin up bar option
dips included
2mm steel (bands and closer spacing)
since its only 2mm, is this rack sturdy and solid compare to MMCPR?
how much does this rack weigh?
is dead lift inside this rack possible?
is military press inside this rack possible (Im a 170cm in height)?
what is the distance between each spacing?

Ultimately my deciding factors is on sturdiness and features. IF the Force USA rack even thou its only 2mm but since its classified as commercial, is as sturdy as the mmcpr it would be my pick. Unfortunately living in Perth we don't have a retail shop which has this racks that I can personally inspect so your help and information provided is much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I have the muscle motion commercial rack. I would get that over the others and recommend it to anyone.

I've got the force USA. No issues with it. It does wobble a bit if I slam weight into the frame but you'll get that on any rack
Should be able to MP press and deadlift inside it too, however it's not hard to take the bar outside the rack and do it there.

Force has the thingos to use bands with...

THe MM one is sturdy and hasnt falted me yet...

U cant MP in either rack i belive (im 177cm)

The Hamburgler said:

I've got the force USA. No issues with it. It does wobble a bit if I slam weight into the frame but you'll get that on any rack
Should be able to MP press and deadlift inside it too, however it's not hard to take the bar outside the rack and do it there.

Click to expand...

Bullshit. The MMCPR rack weighs over 200kg empty, over 300kg loaded

It doesnt wobble one bit

A 2mm rack is fine if you simply want to hang washing on it.

We use racks from Gym Direct at PTC

PTC said:

Bullshit. The MMCPR rack weighs over 200kg empty, over 300kg loaded

It doesnt wobble one bit

A 2mm rack is fine if you simply want to hang washing on it.

We use racks from Gym Direct at PTC

Click to expand...

I agree,

I dumped a 210kg squat onto my safety rails thing has never moved...

Its still in the exact same spot that i put it in. Its more sturdy then the onei had at my old gym.

I think its just Graheame trying to justify buying a shitty rack

Not fair on MM, they are very solid

Ok so I tried shaking it with all the weights on it and it didn't budge.
And the rack isn't even level.

Guess I was wrong It must have "wobbled" (and by that I mean it probably moved 1mm) before I put anything on it.

Thanks for the infos guys,

Can anyone post a real world pic of their MMCPR with dip attachment if possible.

Graham- is that the force USA commercial rack you have?

I have the MMCPR and love it, it is solid as a motherfucker. Don't know about the force usa one, and it's probably a good rack, but I got a force usa barbell set with their 1500lbs rated barbell and its fucking garbage, it bent from 180kg deadlifts! piece o shit.

Now I know it's a cheap barbell, but the same price MM barbell is still rock solid with over 200kg on it, and I know sometimes you get a faulty product, but that doesn't inspire any trust in force usa from me. Their 20kg weight plates are only around 400mm diameter as well which is a pain in the ass.

I'd go MM everyday.

edit- You also say you have narrowed your choice to those 3? If pressing in a sturdy rack is a high priority and you can afford there's always this rack

http://www.gymdirect.com.au/item/Commercial-Olympic-Heavy-Duty-Multi-Power-Rack/614.htm

tofu_muscle said:

muscle motion commercial power rack
Muscle Motion Commercial Power Rack
3mm steel, weighs 200kg very sturdy
good chin up bar option
can't dead lift inside
is military press inside this rack possible (Im a 170cm in height)?

Click to expand...

interested in getting the mmcpr too
but just wondering y u cant deadlift inside the rack?

ROBiO said:

interested in getting the mmcpr too
but just wondering y u cant deadlift inside the rack?

Click to expand...

the bottom bars are too high off the ground.

deadlift in front of the rack, there is no benefit at all to deadlifiting inside the rack. you go inside the rack when you need spot bars (squat, bench) you lift outside when you don't (military press, deadlift)

dam that sucks. jus that it would save more space
looking forward to getting one of these soon. but seems like gymdirect is out of stock.. rawr

hey, whats the clearance on the muscle motion commercial rack between the groun and cross-members. i need about 10cm for it to clear part of a raised drain in the backyard!

Force vs MM

Hi,

I am facing the same dilemma - force commercial vs muscle motion commercial. There is no difference in the price I am being offered so it comes down to features and quality.

Force wins on the features - dip and band pegs come standard, the force has closer hole spacing than the muscle motion. I have also read a criticism of the muscle motion in that the j-hooks are a bit too deep.

Build quality - ??

I have read that the force uses 2mm steel versus 3mm in the muscle motion (the sales staff I spoke to actually said the Force was thicker) - I can't find published specs for the force to establish who is right, however when comparing dimensions to weight the claim that the MM is uses thicker steel seems right.

Force
Height: 230cm
Width: 168cm (to outside of weight poles)
Depth: 193cm
Weight: 220kg

Muscle Motion
Height: 220cm
Width: 167cm (to outside of weight poles)
Depth: 161cm
Weight: 200kg

Despite the thickness of the steel the Force is a bigger cage and weighs more - provided you have the space this is in the Force's favour. It was however claimed in this thread that the force had moved under a dropped weight (later retracted), while owners of the Muscle Motion claimed it is rock solid and would not move in those circumstances.

Final point - the Force has a lifetime warranty vs 10 years for the MM. However it is hard to make a claim from under 500kg of collapsed cage and weight.

So, in my opinion the Force wins on paper - annecdotally however the muscle motion has more supporters in this forum. Is there someone familiar with both systems, and most importantly objective, who could weigh in on this topic?

I own both in my powerlifting gym.

Everybody uses the MM cage.
It has better J hooks, the force ones are way deeper.
It has rubber feet so it doesnt slide when racking the bar, the force doesn't, and mine rocks. That could be due to poor setting up though.

From a buyers point of view, the MMCPR is more compact and prettier lol.
Also you get 10% off it for being a ausbb member.

What more can you want

Thanks for your speedy response! One last question - what do you think of this rack in comparison to the others?

Commercial Olympic Heavy Duty Multi Power Rack

I think its porn!
I don't have one yet, so I can't really tell you to much more than that. I do however have a few gym direct products in my gym, and the quality of the products is outstanding. I imagine this rack would be no different.

As soon as my tax comes through, that rack it's on my list of things to get.