Thanks for those thoughts guys, have been reading through the numerous power rack threads here and looking very seriously at getting one now. A couple more newbie questions in the meantime:
Space is no issue for me in my double garage (except height may be a little tight, looking at potentially inverting the chin up bar on this power rack), therefore are the commercial versions worth the extra money?
(eg: HPRSP Commercial Power Rack) Built in weight storage definitely has appeal, right now my plates are on the floor.
Possibility I might move overseas in a couple of years, do the commercial units hold their resale value any better generally?
And finally, is rubber flooring recommended with power racks simply to protect the floor beneath, or for grip, or what? Floor is concrete in my garage, don't need to protect it from scrapes, but perhaps need to protect the barbell and plates in case they get dropped...?
Not a good idea to do heavy squats or anything on rubber (or runners). You will loose some power through the floor or your shoes or both...
who recommends rubber under racks?
Cheers for responding to questions from a few pages back. I have seen several people (including here on AusBB) recommend rubber flooring for under a rack. At least one recommendation to use horse trailer mat. Starting Strength by Rippetoe i think recommends both plywood then rubber mat on top...
Re: GymDirect. I am less than enthused about calling up a company with my credit card details if they can't even respond to emails. It sucks having done all this research on their racks and now i'm back to square one. Any more recommendations for racks/retailers...?
re racks get the thickest gauge you can get (if your on a budget) at the best price otherwise spend a crapload and buy something made in the USA or here. dont get the virtual pressed metal jobs they are just too flexible - ask the gauge, size and weight of the racks. I had problems with the rack i originally ordered as it was light, was flexible and was supposed to be commercial....(its not the one your looking at). In the end i spent a crapload on a hammer strength but its solid as...
Your also going to need some fractional plates, .5, .75, 1kg x2 so you can increment up slow. I found the 1.25 hence 2.5 kg jumps on the benchpress/shoulder press too heavy.
the above represents our main mistakes and needs.
cheers
Seriously mate what are your lifts. Unless your squatting in excess of 220kg I think your stressing needlessly about the quality of your gear.
I bought a $450 powerrack and it is fine. When it arrived it was the same as the one in a commercial gym I used to be a member of. It wobbled a bit but that was because my garage floor is shit. Coupla dynabolts and now it is solid as a rock. Makes no difference whether your racks are 2mm or 3mm except for the weight. Your pins are doing the work and they are taking the load through the box section. I would say solid 30mm pins sitting across 4 x 2mm box sections are stronger then the dicky looking connection on the hammer strength safety rails.
The lower end force rack is shit and the $350 no name specials are pretty shitty but you can get very good sub $500 racks with welded flanges bolted and decent chin up bars.
I also got suckered into buying fractional plates and their a waste of time. Progress in 2.5kg jumps and if thats too much progress in reps at 2.5kg less until you can handle the 2.5kg jump.
I'm abandoning GymDirect and, it seems, the muscle motion racks as I haven't found any other retailers who do the MMs. I'm now looking at the Force USA F-PC, which most seem to be very happy with here. GymandFitness seem to be competitive with price and freight, and have a package that suits my needs. Apparently you can get a good deal if you buy off them via eBay, but they don't have any packages listed there currently.
Did you do it by email or one of those online enquiry things?
I never use the online things cos I don't think I've ever gotten a reply from one lol