Squat Stands vs Power Rack vs Assault Rack

I've been granted permission to start a home gym in my garage. Initially, I'm going to do the Starting Strength program, so just the basic lifts. I may get into some Oly lifts later on, depending how things go.

Unfortunately, I'm constrained by space, and I need to be able to get a second car into the garage (during storms, etc) so I need to be able to pack the gear into a small footprint easily and quickly.

On some threads, I noticed that others have similar space constraints and have opted for squat stands as a result. I like the look of these:

Adjustable Width Squat Stand - Force USA

However, I've seen some spectacular fail vids on YouTube and (after I finished lmao, of course) I'm a bit worried that the safeties on these stands aren't up to catching a failed squat. In particular, I'm worried that the safeties don't extend far enough to be of any real use and that they'll tip if any sizable weight is dumped on them. Does anyone have any thoughts on these stands and how safe they are for squatting?

Another option that I am favouring is the MMPR from GymDirect. The problem with a power rack, though, is that I'll have to dismantle it when I want to get the car in. Also, I'll need additional space to do overhead pressing, power cleans and Oly lifts.

My third option is the Assault Rack from Iron Edge. It looks the goods, but it is BIG. I've got to pay $50 extra just to fit it under my roof! It will also have to be dismantled when I want to get the car in, but I think that will be easy to do by removing the back cross brace and the chin bar and then stacking the lot against the wall. Probably 5-10 minutes job each way. The Assault Rack will let me do all my lifts in the one area, so it is a bit more of a space saver from that perspective, and I also like the plastic on the j-hooks and the safeties.

So I'm after people's opinions and experiences with any of these products and whether it is viable to disassemble them when I need to get the car in, and re-assemble them come workout time.

Thanks
D

What are your dimensions of your garage plus cars and other bids and jobs you have in there.

Mate I have those exact problems, I chose to go squat stands that were tuff as fuck but were not joined together as I wanted the versatility of being able to put them more places in the shed etc to get them out of the way.
I ended up going with the squat stands from Iron Edge:
Iron Edge Squat Stands - Australian Kettlebells/ IronEdge

I can attest to the quality of these stands, they are strong, very very heavy duty. I recommend these stands if you want good quality.

Alternatively, UGE is getting the Werk San stands, these are joined together ones. Nick emailed me a pic of them, they look awesome and I was going to get them, but i really wanted single squat stands in the end so went with the IE ones.

Here is a pic of the Werk San ones Nick sells/will be selling @ Underground Elite, he said the pic doesn't do them justice as they are very thick guage steel.



Another EDIT: I looked at the other racks you mentioned and I would of loved to get a full cage, but I just couldn't fit one. On the safety side of things, I too was worried about that as i like to go as heavy as I can every 3rd squat day, I still haven't come up with a solution to this problem yet as I train alone or with my wife so I don't have spotters so I am just going to practice dumping the weight behind me on some rubber matting. That's the only solution I can think of really, and it only applies to my max effort days so I am safe otherwise.
One thing that having no safeties does is make you listen to your body allot more, I go by how I feel now instead of the records of weight lifted, but I still keep records and try to lift beyond them of course. But, for instance, I may go into my pit of pain with no intent of a max effort day and decide as I am training that the time is right to go heavy.

You'll get tired of dismantling and reassembling a rack very quickly if it storms much.

Not sure why the car must come inside, rain won't hurt it.

If it simply must for whatever reason, I would go with squat stands. As mentioned, dump the bar if you need to.

Stands are good, just make sure they can go low enough to bench out of otherwise you'll be buying a separate bench press

i'd go with stands. no fucken way would i be dismantling a cage everytime it rains

Yes Hambs hit a good point there, I had to make a custom bench (about 10cm higher than usual) to bench from the Iron Edge stands.

Thanks for the quick responses.

@moons - yeah, rain isn't a problem - in fact it saves me washing the damn car. It's the tropical storms with the hail and flying debris that I'm worried about and will need to move the car inside for.

@sookie - the garage is a double bay 6m x 6m. The Rav4 takes up the first bay (car dimensions 4.6m x 1.815m). The mitsubishi will only go into the second bay when there is a big bad storm (car dimensions 4.23m x 1.69m). There is a door and a workbench next to the door on the far wall of the second bay (i.e. the wall closest to the front of the car when it goes in nose first), which cuts down on the usable space in the second bay to ~5m length wise.

Size of the gear I already have is:
* Back extension board - .97m x .53m
* Power Tower - 1.31m x .62m at the base, ~1m width because of the chinning bar at the top.
* Exercise bike - .9m x .5m
* Weight stand - .67m x .6m, but it will be holding a trap bar so the width will be closer to .75m, rather than .6m

With the Power Tower side on, and as close to the side wall without actually touching it, I can get the second car in if I get within a few centimetres of the tower and fold the mirror in. In this position, the base of the power tower is ~.9m from the wall, so I was using that as the measure for any squat stand or power rack I get. I haven't found any power racks that are 90cm deep, only some squat stands, like the one I linked earlier.

@Rambodian - I'm the same - I'll be working out by myself, mainly because it will be at weird times due to family commitments (oh, and because when I want a bit of kit, I want it NOW, mister). I read your earlier posts where you were tossing around ideas on what to get (great setup btw - I saw the pics too).

I've thought about whether I can just dump the bar behind me. Problem is, there was one time where I really screwed the pooch and overbalanced forwards. Luckily it was in a squat rack so no dramas (other than a bit of hurt pride). My main concern is that I'll have that in the back of my head and so may not push as hard as I would if I knew I had the safeties to back me up. Then again, as you say, it will mean I have to concentrate a lot harder and feel each rep, rather than mindlessly banging away. So maybe it is worth a try.

@everyone else - I kinda figured that it would suck donkeys balls to disassemble and reassemble the gear a lot. Probably wouldn't be necessary at all in autumn and winter, but in summer we usually get a massive storm several times a week.

So it looks like squat stands are the winner here.

Mate you won't be disappointed with stands, they are awesome. Yeh having no safeties is the only crap thing about stands but the versatility is worth it for me and like I said, you concentrate allot more.

What's that old saying........if the weight don't scare you, you ain't lifting enough....LOL, I fully understand that now

Nah, to be honest I just make sure I'm ready for heavy days and concentrate on form, you won't feel silly without safeties and I haven't felt unsafe yet.
Good luck with the purchase, don't forget we love pics of new set-ups.

Personally I would go for the assault rack due to its versatility and relative footprint. But if stands are all you can get then you will be able to make do.

I appreciate safeties on a rack for bench press more than any other movement.

Same ^

Still don't use em though

Iron Edge will also customise any of their rack products to suit, so it is possible to get the squat stands made to a certain height so you can bench off it, or get another hook welded to the front at a set height.

The Hamburgler said:

Stands are good, just make sure they can go low enough to bench out of otherwise you'll be buying a separate bench press

Click to expand...

I was just going to post this

I'd love an IE assault rack or one of those commercial power racks. Hell, I'd get one of each if I could fit them in.

But for my current circumstances, I'll aim a bit lower. I think I'll go for the Force USA squat stands I linked in the first post. They seem fairly solid for the price and come with safeties that can be used for benching, if not squatting. I just read on the Gym and Fitness site that they give a 14 day satisfaction guarantee, so I guess I can return 'em if they don't live up to expectations and get (most of) my money back. Just means I'll have to do a workout a day in the first 2 weeks to fully test them out.

I'm planning on pairing the stands with the following gear from Gym Direct:
* Commercial flat bench
* 7ft Oly bar with thrust bearings rated to 600kg
* 5ft Oly bar
* the new MM Bumper plates 150kg set
* some rubber coated plates and the fractional plates set
oh, and some chalk, too.

And I'll hit the landscaping centre this weekend to get about 70kg more sand for my sandbag.

I reckon that'll be good enough to get me started.

Mate that sounds like a great little set up right there, if you got somewhere to do chins/pull ups your totally set mate.

I already have one of those chin/dip stations, so chins and dips are sorted.

I also have a trap bar, so shrugs, trap deads and farmer's walks are good, too.

Now, if only I could stop she-who-must-be-obeyed from hanging the washing from the chin bar...

bwahahahaaa, you need to lock her ass outa there LOL.
Mate you won't regret training at home, and you never be able to have an excuse not to train either so progress will be a side effect.
Good luck and we want pics when your set

Cant comment on the first two options as I have not tried them but I do have an Assault rack and it is amazing.

Really simply to put together and it`s bomb proof. Really well made and great for all the big lifts. I have a set of rings and bands that I hand from the chin bar to add heaps of variety.

I would get another in a heartbeat.

D-Man said:

I'd love an IE assault rack or one of those commercial power racks. Hell, I'd get one of each if I could fit them in.

But for my current circumstances, I'll aim a bit lower. I think I'll go for the Force USA squat stands I linked in the first post. They seem fairly solid for the price and come with safeties that can be used for benching, if not squatting. I just read on the Gym and Fitness site that they give a 14 day satisfaction guarantee, so I guess I can return 'em if they don't live up to expectations and get (most of) my money back. Just means I'll have to do a workout a day in the first 2 weeks to fully test them out.

I'm planning on pairing the stands with the following gear from Gym Direct:
* Commercial flat bench
* 7ft Oly bar with thrust bearings rated to 600kg
* 5ft Oly bar
* the new MM Bumper plates 150kg set
* some rubber coated plates and the fractional plates set
oh, and some chalk, too.

And I'll hit the landscaping centre this weekend to get about 70kg more sand for my sandbag.

I reckon that'll be good enough to get me started.

Click to expand...

Hey D-man,

Was just wondering if you went through with this?

If so, was it a good product? Looking at picking up the Force USA squat racks the two separate unit ones -

Force USA Squat Stands

wondering if anyone had any experience with them?

Yep, I bought everything I listed above. The various bits were delivered a bit over a week ago. When I get some spare time, I'll post photos of it all set up.

But to answer your question, the stands that I bought are OK. Very solidly built, but they have the deficiencies I was expecting, so I'm not disappointed. I think it was the right decision for my current circumstances, but that may change in a few years if I progress to any sort of significant weight on the bar.

Looking at the stands in your link, they are a different design from the ones I got, so I don't think they are directly comparable.