Power Rack suitable for very low ceiling

I have a ceiling that is around 190cm (about 6 feet 3 inches). Unfortunately, I've had trouble finding a power rack that will fit inside that space that is available in Australia. The only two options I've found are overseas:
POWER RACK - 6 ft
and
SUMO RACK

Unfortunately, while the prices on those are quite good, the shipping is over $500, so I'd love to be able to find a local alternative if possible.

I'm largely relying on trap bar work to replace squats, so I'm mainly after the ability to safely bench press at home. I know there are half racks that would fit the height requirements, but I'd really prefer the extra safety of a full rack.

Does anyone know of a full rack (or something with equivalent safety) that would fit those height requirements available in Australia?

Buy a bench press with safeties like the Force USA Commercial one on the gym and fitness site.... ?

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This would just scrape in there - ROGUE S1 SQUAT STAND - Rogue Fitness Australia



and you can get safetys for them SET OF SAFETY SPOTTER ARM - Rogue Fitness Australia

jj1 said:

I have a ceiling that is around 190cm (about 6 feet 3 inches). Unfortunately, I've had trouble finding a power rack that will fit inside that space that is available in Australia. The only two options I've found are overseas:
POWER RACK - 6 ft
and
SUMO RACK

Unfortunately, while the prices on those are quite good, the shipping is over $500, so I'd love to be able to find a local alternative if possible.

I'm largely relying on trap bar work to replace squats, so I'm mainly after the ability to safely bench press at home. I know there are half racks that would fit the height requirements, but I'd really prefer the extra safety of a full rack.

Does anyone know of a full rack (or something with equivalent safety) that would fit those height requirements available in Australia?

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It would be very easy to chop the tops of 4 posts and drill some extra new holes for the crossbeams to attach.
We could do this for you at Gym Equipment, Fitness Equipment, Home Gyms, Weight Training Equipment, Exercise, Strength for the MMPR power rack.

Commercial squat rack.

Iron Edge will pretty much custom build the uprights on a matrix or assault rack for you if you don't mind paying a little bit extra

There was a commercial rack the same as the one above for about $250 on eBay recently.

If you are handy on the tools it would be an easy fix as mentioned by hulk
All you would need is a 4 " or 5" grinder with a cutting disc and drill and some drill bits to suit the bolt diameter.
If your no comfortable doing it yourself or don't have the tools you could consider taking it to a welding/fabrication shop. It should not take them any more then an hour.

Cheers

Thanks everyone for your replies. As a backup plan, I'd been considering setups similar to sam's and NightFallTech's suggestions with safety rails attached to a non-closed-rack type equipment. However, if possible, I'd really wanted the full cage, while I'm sure the safety rails on the squat stands/benching setups would handle most safety issues that come up while benching, I'd still feel better when the bar is fully enclosed in the cage. The possibility of the bar escaping in the horizontal plane with safety rails, while pretty low is something I'd prefer to avoid.

A customised Ironedge setup would be great, but probably a bit outside my budget at this stage.

I like The Hulk's suggestion of cutting down the MMPR to fit, as it was one of the pieces of equipment I'd already been looking at , and wishing it would fit into the limited space I have. Also, while I'm mainly interested in something for safe benching at this stage, it provides some longer term flexibility other options don't provide. Would it be possible to get a quote for the modification in the forum, or should I contact you directly via gymdirect?

jj1 said:

I like The Hulk's suggestion of cutting down the MMPR to fit, as it was one of the pieces of equipment I'd already been looking at , and wishing it would fit into the limited space I have. Also, while I'm mainly interested in something for safe benching at this stage, it provides some longer term flexibility other options don't provide. Would it be possible to get a quote for the modification in the forum, or should I contact you directly via gymdirect?

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Would do this for you for free, but could not offer the 10% AUSBB discount as well.
So $595 for the modified rack + free singlet - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...24839456.69410.281443271935778&type=1&theater

You can contact me directly if you want to proceed with this.
Adrian@gymdirect.com.au

Thanks

The Hulk said:

Would do this for you for free, but could not offer the 10% AUSBB discount as well.
So $595 for the modified rack + free singlet - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...24839456.69410.281443271935778&type=1&theater

You can contact me directly if you want to proceed with this.
Adrian@gymdirect.com.au

Click to expand...

Thanks Hulk! That is a great offer, I've emailed you.

jj1 said:

Thanks Hulk! That is a great offer, I've emailed you.

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OP, did you proceed with the purchase?

Just wondering how it worked out for you in the end as I'm also in a similar situation with low ceilings.

Hi dajackal,

Yes, I did. I was very happy with the result. Hulk cut the rack down to 187cm (measured to the top of the pull up bar). Which in my setup is enough to still have the excellent pull up bars in a usable state, as the height limiter for me was exposed beams in the garage, and positioning the rack so my head bobs up between the beams worked perfectly (it probably helps that I'm only just under 170cm too, taller folk might have more of an issue).

The rack seems extremely solid for the price, and I'd recommend the setup to anyone with a low ceiling who still wanted the safety that comes with a full rack. Hulk mentioned that getting the cut-down perfect was trickier than they expected in terms of not messing up where other things had to line up, so I'm not sure he'd offer the modification for free again, but it doesn't hurt to ask, and not being too handy myself , it was the only convenient option I had available, and if that is the case for you, might be worth paying a premium for (it would certainly be cheaper than trying to cheap the closest equivalent cut-down version from the US).

jj1 said:

Hi dajackal,

Yes, I did. I was very happy with the result.

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Thanks jj1, awesome review. I was almost going to give up looking for a rack and instead sign up for a gym membership. I just shot Hulk an email to ask if he'd cut it down for me...

I'm also limited by the exposed beams in the garage. I'm glad I'll be able to do chinups inbetween the beams, but I'm worried that the weight plates will hit the beams when doing standing overhead presses, as the plates will be running parallel to the beams and my beams are spaced roughly 1.5m apart. Perhaps if I stand off center it'll be alright.

Do you mind posting up a pic of your garage and new setup?

dajackal said:

Thanks jj1, awesome review. I was almost going to give up looking for a rack and instead sign up for a gym membership. I just shot Hulk an email to ask if he'd cut it down for me...

I'm also limited by the exposed beams in the garage. I'm glad I'll be able to do chinups inbetween the beams, but I'm worried that the weight plates will hit the beams when doing standing overhead presses, as the plates will be running parallel to the beams and my beams are spaced roughly 1.5m apart. Perhaps if I stand off center it'll be alright.

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I'd guess standing overhead press might be a problem. It is for me, as even without considering the plates, I couldn't get a full range of motion, as the bar would hit the beams before I reached full extension. My beams are also much closer together than yours, so even standing dumbell presses are a bit tricky, as there is only limited clearance on either side if I try to dumbell press into the gaps between the beams. Currently I just overhead dumbell press in another space (basically I walk outside), but that is getting to the point where it is becoming tricky to get the weight of the bells up into a pressing position. You could always do your overhead press seated instead of standing, which I might move to at some point.

Do you mind posting up a pic of your garage and new setup?

Click to expand...

I'll need to do a bit of tidying first