sharing power rack

[konkoba98]

Anyone have experience sharing a power rack? I have a home gym with 2 squat racks but am wanting to upgrade to either a big power rack or 2 smaller power racks. R4's and larger seem big enough that 2 bars could fit and lifters could alternate using it. Am I wrong?

Also, is a smaller rack safer than a bigger one? Seems that the less distance between the front and back would make it safer in the rare case of losing balance forwards or backwards on a squat.

Thanks in advance.

Colin

[Cody]

Get the Rogue R3 and 2 pairs of safety spotters, then you can use it like a double sided half rack. They are popular in universities for cost and space savings.

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/020...g?v=1377051205

[gtl]

R3 is kind of shallow and not as heavy duty. I think if my intention was to have 2 people using it at a time, I'd go bigger.

[CraigDuffield]

I don't think I'd want to have two loaded bars inside any cage. Stripping/reloading the bar would be my preference for sharing a rack.

That said, you'd only be using up about 20 inches of space with two loaded bars and the R4 has 43 inches between the uprights, so you'd likely have space.

I think a stable rack is safer than an unstable one, so if you need to go bigger to get stability (e.g., can't bolt it to the floor), then bigger might be safer.

[Cody]

@gtl- 2x3" 11g with weight spread across 4 uprights is plenty strong for 2x people. My suggestion has them working outside the rack using spotter arms, so rack depth is irrelevant.

@Craig- I strip/add weight with my training partner. He's shorter than me, so we built him a 2.5" platform that easily slides in the rack for squats so we can keep the j-hooks same height. Bench is same height for both of us, so that's nice.

[Nate]

http://www.flexcart.com/members/fatb...cid=90&pid=757

[konkoba98]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I already have 2 squat racks and would only upgrade to a power rack to have the added safety of squatting inside the cage.

[John Hanley]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I already have 2 squat racks and would only upgrade to a power rack to have the added safety of squatting inside the cage.

If we're imagining exceedingly rare, catastrophic squat-fuck-ups: I don't think I want to squat in a power cage with a loaded bar at neck level 20-30inches fore/aft of me.

If 2 half-cages isn't an upgrade to what you've got...go with 2 small power racks.