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If you’re like me, you were one of the many that instantly panicked at the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020. And if you’re like me, the reason you began to panic was because of the fact that many commercial gyms, with the exception of rogue ones, had to close their doors due to the fact that they were considered a non-essential business. And if you’re like me, the solution was quick and obvious, it was time to build a home gym!
I’m going to fast forward to my current set up as my initial set up consisted of a budget friendly squat rack from Amazon (Sunny Health & Fitness Squat Rack) which for the price and all that it included (landmine, weight storage, pull-up bar) it was a great start. After a few months though, I knew that my home gym or well garage gym to be exact, was going to be permanent for me so I decided to go all in and upgrade my set up to the REP Fitness PR-4000 Power Rack. Is this the best power rack for your garage gym?
Here is the breakdown of my REP Power Rack set up as it stands today:
REP Fitness PR-4000 Power Rack
- 80″ Uprights
- 24″ Cross Members
- 16″ Weight Storage Cross Members
- 80″ Weight Storage Uprights
- Logo Plate Cross Member
- Multi-Grip Pull Up Bar
- Safety Straps
- Band Pegs
- Standard J-Cups
- 12″ 2 Pairs Storage Weight Horns
- 6″ 3 Pairs Storage Weight Horns
- Leg Roller Attachment
- Landmine Attachment
- Dip Attachment
- Plate Loaded Lat/Low Row with RBS
Total Cost: Around $2100 (Purchased in 2020)
Why did you upgrade to the Rep Fitness PR-4000 Power Rack?
After a few months of having my initial set up I came to realize that I was going to be a lifer in terms of having a garage gym set up. I enjoyed not having to wonder if I was going to beat someone to a squat rack regardless of how early I attempted to show up to the gym (3am workouts did not guarantee a rack…nuts I know). Playing the waiting game for a bench, rack or even deadlifting space got old fairly quick and I was loving being able to just step into my garage to get a workout in regardless of what time or day of the week it was or not having to rush through a workout due to special gym hours. Since I realized I wouldn’t be going back to a commercial gym I decided to upgrade my equipment sooner than later as I figured gym equipment would only continue to get pricier.
Why the REP Fitness PR-4000 Power Rack Rack and not Rogue?
Confession time, the PR-4000 was not my first choice, I had actually placed an order for the Rogue RM-390F 2.0 a month prior to ordering the PR-4000. However, due to EVERYONE jumping on the garage gym train at the same time and Rogue taking too long to fulfill the order (…too long for me…ok I got impatient), I cancelled the order June 20th and on June 30th I placed my PR-4000 order with REP. The FB-5000 competition flat bench I had purchased earlier was my intro to REP Fitness which ended up leading to the PR-4000, two plus years later and I’m glad I got impatient, probably one of the few times impatience ended up being a good thing for me.
Why the REPF Fitness PR-4000 Power Rack specifically?
A few reasons which I’m going to list out for the sake of keeping things simple and to the point:
- Customizable footprint (knew I wanted a small footprint… well initially)
- Option of 80″ uprights as my garage has overhead storage aka a lower ceiling
- Weight Storage directly on the rack or via added uprights (didn’t want a plate tree)
- West Side Spacing In Bench Area for more precise J-Cup placement when benching
- Special Attachment Options (Lat/Low Row Attachment, Dip Bar, Landmine)
- 47″ Post End to Post End (more wiggle room for re-racking during squats)
- 6 Posts (uprights) I figured I wouldn’t need to bolt it down… I haven’t
- Ability to use band pegs on the rack (no issues even with it not being bolted down)
- Multi-grip pull up bar is awesome for someone that loves pull ups and variety
So the list above really is it, after reviewing a few racks it ultimately came down to one by Rogue that I wouldn’t need to bolt down and this one….and if you read above you know how I ended up with the PR-4000. Aside from that REP seemed like a good underdog, they seemed to be updating and improving products regularly and at the time I bought the rack I was hoping they’d continue to invest in R&D for special attachments and they have not disappointed (Ares Cable Attachment, Athena Cable Attachment to name a few).
Any issues or with your REP Fitness PR-4000 Power Rack set up?
Again for the sake of keeping things simple I’ll list it out:
- Backside of Multi-grip pull up bar is essentially un-useable due to lat pulldown
- Standard J-Cups are somewhat janky, the plastic liner moves around a bit
- Incline bench within rack is a no go, not enough space for bench, RBS gets in the way
- I’m 5’5″ (5’6″ on a good day)
Now I mention my height because I can reach the top of the pull-bar, and grip it completely, by standing on my tippy toes so someone 5’7″ may want to consider the 93″ uprights if they have the ceiling height for it and to ensure they have full use of the westside spacing for benching. That’s really it as far as call outs or issues. It’s been 2 plus years and I’m still very happy with my PR-4000 purchase and can’t wait to continue to upgrade it as new attachments are dropped (currently looking to upgrade to the Selectorized Lat Pulldown & Low Row System over my Plate-Loaded System).
If you feel compelled to watch me talk about the things mentioned above, I welcome you take a peek at the YouTube Video I made: My First Power Rack: REP Fitness PR-4000 6 Months Later, with a little over 21K views I have to be somewhat bearable to watch.