Critique this Rack

[FatButWeak]

Okay. So I'm considering buying a new power rack for my home. My current rack is just a 1/2 rack, so it has no safeties. But, it does have a lat pull attachment, which my wife really likes. My wife wants a full rack with safeties as her squats and benches are getting heavy and she frequently trains without me. But she wants to keep the lat pull attachment concept for lat pulls (she cannot do chins yet) tricep push downs, etc.

So, I found a pretty decent rack (2x2 steel, not commercial quality but good enough) which has a lat pull attachment (rare) and storage space for plates. The price is right. BUT its not a full cage. Its an open cage like this one:

http://www.samsonequipment.com/Produ...=71&sku=111MHH

(note: this is not the power rack I am considering, but one with a similar configuration insofar as the uprights go)

Thus, the issue is the front uprights are lower than the rear uprights and the top is open. Other than not being able to rack the press for presses when standing outside the rack, are there any drawbacks to this configuration of the uprights? I suppose that If I'm squatting inside the rack and I lose my balance while standing there are no uprights behind me to impede the bar's backwards progress. And I cannot squat outside the cage since the uprights are too low (I measure - they are 4'9")

Can anyone else shed some light on the weaknesses of such a configuration?

[Erok]

My former home rack was an open-top, 2x2, with front uprights lower than the back. It worked well enough, but it wasn't very deep (only about two feet between front & back uprights - wife hated that), wasn't very tall (so no press lockouts or chinups) and the safeties couldn't go low enough for flat benching (exciting at times, but not recommended). The lower front uprights made it easy to switch from squats/overhead press to floor lifts, as I could rack the bar, walk it out/clean it, walk it back in, which I really liked. Never had an issue with losing balance and going backwards. I never used the lat attachment, but would have preferred some kind of overhead bar for chins/pulls. When my squats approached 300, however, I started getting nervous, as the tube construction would flex a bit, and had visions of the rack tipping over (never happened, though). My humble opinion: only buy it if it's cheap, and you can save $ for a full rack later on.

[Bradley]

I suppose that If I'm squatting inside the rack and I lose my balance while standing there are no uprights behind me to impede the bar's backwards progress.

I never even thought this was an issue until I saw someone do it in a gym once. They were inside a power rack and lost their balance backwards and the bar impacted the rear uprights. I'm not even sure if colliding with the back uprights is better than having nothing there and dumping the bar.

There are some movements you cannot do with a sumo rack versus a full rack. There is an example in the Olympic Press Platform Video.

[cutlet#]

This thread is NOT what I expected from the title. I am disappoint.