When you want to lift weights to improve your fitness and strength levels, squat racks are a crucial piece of kit. The best squat racks will enable you to carry out a range of exercises within the space you have available, whether you’ve got loads of space for a home gym, or hardly any at all.
We’ve taken a look at the range of options available out there and come up with the best squat racks for your home gym, to ensure you lift safely during your workout.
What is a squat rack?
A squat rack is basically a support frame that helps you to lift weights safely and get into the right position more easily.
It has a strong, wide base that supports two vertical arms where you can rest the barbell while you get into position between them.
There are also one or two horizontal bars across the top to connect the two vertical arms. These help to make the frame more stable, and you can also use them for pull ups.
You can get a pared down version known as a squat stand, which doesn’t have the horizontal bars at the top. These are generally cheaper, although they can’t hold as much weight.
Serious weightlifters should go for power racks or power cages, which have four vertical arms.
The enclosed frames mean you won’t be able to do some positions but because these feature catch bars, which stop barbells from dropping on you or rolling away and injuring other people, you can use them without a spotter.
How much is a squat rack?
The price of squat racks can vary enormously depending on what fittings it comes with, how sturdy it is and how much weight it can handle.
They can start from as little as £100 and go up to thousands of pounds.
We’ve rounded up a range of different price points below, and included power racks as well as squat stands.
Best squat racks at a glance:
- Best cage: Fitness Reality 810XLT Super Max Power Cage
- Best all in-one-rack: Corength weight training rack
- Best adjustable rack: K-Sport squat stand
- Best premium rack: GymGear squat rack
- Best value rack: Gym Master adjustable square rack stand with spotters and dip bars
Gym Master adjustable square rack stand with spotters and dip bars
- Gym Master adjustable square rack stand with spotters and dip bars, £74.99 from Amazon – buy here
This squat rack has a 250kg maximum load and is fully adjustable with 13 different rack heights and 10 different widths. Spotter height is 85cm.
Use it for squats, dips, or bench presses. The plate holder provides extra stability as well as storage.
108.5 – 168.5cm (H) x 72 – 117cm (W) x 69cm (D).
Maximum load: 250kg, rack heights: 13, grip bars: yes, plate holders: yes
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