Garage Gym Part 3 - The Rack

You've picked out your bar and plates, now you need a safe, solid, high quality rack (mind out of the gutter, people).

Do you absolutely need a rack? Well, not really. Pretty much every barbell exercise can be done by lifting the barbell directly from the floor. Unfortunately, that limits the amount of weight you can squat, because you'll only squat weight you can lift from the floor to your shoulders. That's called a clean.



Even the best Olympic weightlifters can only clean about 80% as much as they squat. And, as we know, if you want to get stronger, you have to move heavier weights. Lifting lighter weights lots of times won't make you nearly as strong as lifting heavier weights fewer times. Additionally, the squat is probably the most important strength training exercise you can do. That's why even the best Olympic weightlifters squat from a rack.



We non-genetic-freaks who train for health and recreation can usually clean about 50% - 60% as much as we can squat. That means that if you don't equip your garage gym with a squat rack, you'll severely limit the amount of weight you'll be able to squat. Considering the importance of the squat in your strength training program, training without a squat rack means leaving a lot of strength on the table.

So, my advice? Buy a rack.

If your budget is tight, you can buy the bar(s) and plates first, then save up for the squat rack and buy it later. You don't have to spend a fortune, but this is not a place to cheap out. A good quality rack will last a lifetime, so you'll only make this purchase once. I can't say that about a cheap rack. Again, I'll explain what I bought and why, then we'll go over some alternatives.

THE RACK

I don't have a lot of space, or an enormous budget. Consequently, I chose a rack that serves multiple purposes, Y-2 Rogue Yoke ($535). It serves as a squat rack, bench press rack, pull-up bar, storage rack, yoke, and sled.

I'm six feet tall, and the Y-2 Yoke is just tall enough (92 inches) for me to do dead hang pull-ups with full extension. However, that's the one part of my garage gym that I regret. I wish I'd bought a wall mounted pull-up bar instead, because the pull-up bar makes it a real pain to use the rack as a yoke.



I have to remove the pull-up bar to install the crossbar. That's no fun. Eventually, I'll buy a wall mounted pull-up bar, but for now I have other priorities.

I particularly like all the plate storage on my rack. It doesn't take up a whole lot of additional floor space, and saves me the hassle of having to build my own solution. The only problem I have with it is something I didn't anticipate, but should have. When you stack plates on top of each other, it's really difficult to get your fingers in between them to pick them up. Obviously! Fortunately, it was an easy fix. I just made spacers from scraps of 3/4 inch plywood I had laying around the garage.

So, what are your options? They're essentially infinite, so I'll only cover a few of the basics, and hopefully that'll serve as jumping-off point for you.

First, I do not recommend you buy the this kind of squat stand.

Notice that the two sides of the stand are not connected to each other. That makes them too unstable for my taste. They cost $350, but I'd rather err on the side of safety and spend a little more.

Here's a fairly basic, sturdy, high quality squat stand.

The bench, safety bars and weights aren't included, but at $365, it's only $15 more than the S-4 squat stands, which aren't connected with each other. And this SML-1 stand is much sturdier and safer. Chances are that a basic squat stand, like the SML-1, is all you'll ever need.

From Rogue's Facebook page

But, wait! There's more! So, please read on.

There are power racks. This one costs $725.

There are racks that mount to your wall. This one costs $650.

If your garage is tiny, there are racks that mount to your wall and fold. This one costs $495.

If your budget and square footage are unlimited, I'm jealous, and for you the sky's the limit.

And, accessories? You want accessories? You could spend all day browsing accessories for your squat rack. As with everything else in life, let your budget be your guide.

No matter which rack you choose, you absolutely, positively should buy some kind of safety spotter arms, or bars. Rogue power racks come from the factory equipped with safety bars, but the other racks in the photos above do not. Ensure you understand whether or not your rack includes safety bars. Mine didn't, so I bought a set of these ($162.75).

Note the chalk marks. I know exactly where to mount my safety arms for the squat and bench press. You can't do that at
Gold's Gym! 

Why are spotter safety arms so important? Safety. Duh. Sure, you can drop a bar from your back when squatting, but it's safer to set it down on a pair of safety arms that you mounted at a height just below the bottom of your squat before you started your workout.

But the real danger isn't the squat. It's the bench press. The bench press is the only lift that can kill you. In 2016, a 22-year-old man in Des Moines dropped a 315 lb barbell on his throat. In 2017, a 15-year-old boy in Brisbane, Australia dropped a 220 lb barbell on his throat. It's a rare, but very real risk, especially when training by yourself.

You can eliminate that risk by setting a pair of safety arms to a height just below the bottom of your bench press. Is your health and life worth at least $162.75? Mine is.

THE PLATFORM

A platform prevents your garage floor and your weights from damaging each other. You can buy a platform, but building one is so simple that I didn't see the need to buy one. I used three sheets of the least expensive 3/4 inch plywood I could find at Home Depot, and three sheets of 3/4 inch rubber horse stall matting from Tractor Supply. I used standard 1 inch wood screws to assemble it. I didn't bother to bolt it to the floor, because it's pretty stinkin' heavy. It ain't goin' nowhere.

Step 1: lay two sheets of plywood side-by-side on the floor.

Step 2: screw one sheet of plywood on top of the two you laid on the floor.

Step 3: cut the rubber mats to size, and screw them onto the plywood.

Dead simple, right? No need to get fancy, or spend a fortune. Although, if you want to, feel free to do so. On the other hand, you could go in the opposite direction and just set gym mats directly on your garage floor. I prefer the feel of plywood - rather than rubber - under my feet when I lift, but hey, it's your garage.

As always, I hope this has been helpful. If you have questions and/or suggestions, please feel free to comment. In the final installment, we'll talk conditioning equipment.

Garage Gym Part 1 - Overview
Garage Gym Part 2 - Bars & Plates