POWER RACK 72″ HIGH

This rack is perfect in my basement with 7ft ceilings. It was easy to put together. It shipped quickly. The rack is sturdy and will hold all the weight I care to use. The safety bars and j-hooks slide easily through all the holes. It looks just like the picture and has the numbers. The numbers are very helpful. It had a few minor scratches due to shipping (it is heavy metal after all). Given the purpose of a rack, a few scratches and chips in the paint will be inevitable. I’ve added some minor scratches through normal use, and the rack still looks awesome. The paint has been very durable.

I’m tall (about 6’4″). I was initially hesitant to buy the rack because I was concerned it might not be tall enough for me. Now that I have it, I wish I’d bought it sooner. Still, the main reason for me buying a short rack is my low ceiling. If you have a spot for the rack with 8ft ceilings, then I’d recommend the regular size rack from this same company (I expect it is equally awesome).

I’m sure others may have concerns about how well this rack works for taller folks, so I’ll describe my experience with some common lifts in the rack (particularly those where height can be a problem).

Bench Press – My height is not a factor for flat, incline, or decline bench presses. I’ve found my perfect settings for each, and I love being able to safely bench press heavy weight (between 200 and 300 pounds is heavy for me). The rack is always stable when I return the weight. In fact, it is so stable that I can’t imagine the rack ever tipping over even with much heavier weight.

Pull-ups – I didn’t buy this rack for pull-ups, but I can do pull-ups with it. It works pretty well. I just need to lift my legs up to my chest. I have plenty of head clearance under the 7ft ceiling. It isn’t the ideal height for a pull-up station, but I could make it work. I have a place upstairs where I prefer to do my pull-ups.

Squats – I prefer to rack the weight in the front to avoid hitting my head on the pull-up bar. It is just as stable in the front as it is in the back. The highest setting for the J-hooks is plenty high for my starting point. When assembling the rack, I adjusted the top bars as high as possible to allow me an extra inch or so of clearance. While standing with the bar on my back, I have about 2-3 inches between the barbell and the top bars (perfect).

Calf Raises – Obviously, 2-3 inches of clearance isn’t enough for standing calf raises in the rack. I can do seated calf raises in the rack, but I prefer standing calf raises on a 2×6 block of wood. I’ve been doing these outside the rack. I’m comfortable with this because I always stay over the hooks. The J-hooks go on the outside of the rack the same as they do for the inside. For added safety, I put an Olympic rack that came with my bench near the front of the power rack (it is conveniently narrow enough to just fit in the power rack). I place it so that I have hooks in front of me and behind me.

Military Press (seated, of course) – This one could depend on your bench and the length of your arms. My bench has a slight angle for the military press setting. I can do military presses without hitting the top bars, but I come very close to the top bars. If my bench was perpendicular to the floor, I’d be hitting the top bars.

I’ve been using this rack steadily for 2 months now, and I love it. It supports all the exercises I want to do. I think a person who is one or maybe two inches taller than me could still do squats in the rack. If I needed the rack to be a little taller, I can imagine (at my own risk) a way to raise it. I’d put a couple 2x8s (fastened together) under the bottom footprint of the rack and strap the rack to the boards. That would raise it about 3 inches and should be safe. Fortunately, I haven’t found that to be necessary.

I highly recommend this rack to anyone needing a power rack in a place with low ceilings.