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Best Power Racks in the UK 2022

What is the cornerstone of any good home gym? That’s right, the power rack.

A top-quality power rack allows you to perform countless different exercises and lets you safely handle heavier weights. 

This article will review the best power rack brands in the UK and considerations when buying a power rack.

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Best Overall – Primal Strength V2 Power Rack

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The Primal Strength V2 Power Rack made our list for many of the same reasons as the Gymano Ultimate. It offers excellent build quality, combined with the added extras essential for any versatile home gym.

The result is a rack with a high load capacity, and all the amenities required to make your home gym a success. 

Another benefit of this rack is that the pulley system and weight storage are compatible with 2” Olympic plates. This could be a negative if you already have a 1” plate but larger plates are usually the 2” Olympic variety.

This means you will have an easier time sourcing weights to use in your new home gym. We actually also prefer the default J-cups included with the V2 over those of the Gymano.

Most people building their home gym will want to include a pulley system. This is one of the reasons the Gymano and V2 have made it onto our list.

You get the added benefit of being able to do lat pull-downs, tricep extensions, bicep curls and the like, included with your power rack.

Unfortunately, the Primal Strength V2 does not come with a bench or dip attachment. Despite this, however, the V2 is rated as suitable for loads of up to 300kg.

This might make it a better choice than the Gymano if you are regularly doing heavy movements like squats, deadlifts, and shrugs.

Pros

  • Rated to 300kg
  • Includes pulley system
  • Compatible with 2” Olympic plates

Cons

  • Fewer attachments than the Gymano

Bottom Line

The Primal Strength V2 has fewer attachments included than the Gymano, but supports a higher weight limit. This might make it a better choice for those of you lifting heavier weights. Bear in mind, you can always purchase additional attachments you want, at a later date.

Best Budget Rack – Mirafit M100 Power Rack

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Most people will be looking for racks with lots of attachments, but some will want a no-frills rack or be on a budget.

The Mirafit M100 Power Rack is an excellent budget choice for athletes who just want a no-frills power rack. The M100 offers a great base for any cost-conscious home gym.

There are lots of things to like about the Mirafit M100. The build quality is absolutely solid, and it is slightly larger than the previous racks.

Many people won’t care too much about appearance but we think the colour scheme of this rack is stylish and attractive. Another nice feature is that the rear base bar is stepped back to allow more room for a bench. 

The rack is rated to 250kg and comes with bar catchers, j-cups and various pull-up grips. A key feature of this rack is that it is too wide to accommodate a 6ft barbell, so you will need a 7ft Olympic barbell.

This could be good or bad depending on whether you already own a 6ft bar. For people who want a rack mostly for compound movements, this is a good thing because you will have more space to work in. 

A couple of minor niggles with this rack are that it doesn’t include weight storage and has steel spotter bars. If you have a very nice Olympic bar, we don’t recommend steel spotter bars as they can damage your bar over time.

The M100 is compatible with most of Mirafit’s power rack attachments, should you require any.

Pros

  • Excellent budget option
  • Built for olympic sized barbells
  • Looks great
  • Compatible with a full range of attachments

Cons

  • Few included attachments
  • 250kg weight limit is low for an Olympic size rack

Bottom Line

The Mirafit M100 is a great choice for people who are either on a budget, or want to focus mainly on the big lifts. Be sure to properly measure your home gym before purchasing, because Olympic-sized racks tend to have a larger footprint than others.

Great Heavy Duty Rack – Proform Carbon Strength Rack XL

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If you are looking for a rack that’s going to last a long time, and allow you and/or your friends to lift heavy weights, this is the rack for you. It is the only rack we have reviewed rated as semi-commercial.

This means that the build quality of this rack is a cut above racks that aren’t commercially rated. The build quality of this rack is excellent, due to its steel construction, four-post design, and reinforced joints.

One of the best features of this rack is the adjustable spotter arms. They allow you to perform exercises outside of the rack itself, in a safe and secure way.

When combined with the resistance band attachments, this allows you to perform banded exercises inside and outside of the rack. Having resistance band attachments is a huge advantage, and greatly increases the number of exercises you can perform. 

The Proform XL is rated to support 277kg, more than enough for all but the most serious weightlifting athletes. If you are worried about stability, this rack comes with the option of bolting it to the floor, for extra stability.

Another excellent feature is the weight storage, it has more than any of the other racks we have reviewed, making it great for small spaces.

The main drawback of this rack is the cost, but, we believe this is more than made up for by the build quality.

Pros

  • Excellent heavy-duty rack
  • Weight storage
  • Resistance band attachments
  • Adjustable spotter arms

Cons

  • Few included attachments
  • Large footprint

Bottom Line

The Proform Carbon Strength XL is an excellent choice for those looking for a sturdy rack that can take a beating. Its semi-commercial, heavy-duty construction makes it perfect for people who intend to frequently lift heavier weights.

Great Power Rack for the Basics – BodyMax CF475 Heavy Power Rack

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The BodyMax CF475 is an excellent middle-of-the-road option. It has a great build quality and will be perfect for people who want a basic rack to start their home gym. It is one of the strongest racks we have looked at, rated to a user capacity of 363kg.

This could be considered confusing, though, because it also says that the bar hooks and safety catchers are rated to 280kg. This point aside, it is still a very sturdy rack. 

One of the best features of this rack is the bar catchers. They are full-length, square, and have rubber padding along the top. These are considered the best type of bar catcher, both in terms of safety and being bar-friendly.

Round, steel bar catchers can do considerable damage to an expensive Olympic bar over time. This makes it a great rack for people who are going to buy an expensive Olympic bar for compound movements. 

Pros

  • Rated to 280kg
  • Robust
  • Compatible with a range of attachments

Cons

  • Few included attachments
  • No frills

Bottom Line

In terms of additional features, the only ones included are a multi-grip pullup station. What you are getting with the BodyMax CF475 is a well-built, robust rack, perfect for people looking to really focus on compound movements. If there are attachments that you can’t live without, you can buy these separately from BodyMax.

Best Squat Rack and Bench Combo – Gymano Ultimate Power Rack

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It is the only power rack on this list that comes with a bench. This is a huge bonus because most home gyms are going to require a bench, which is usually an additional purchase. 

This rack is rated to hold 250kg, comparable to other racks on this list, and more than enough for most home gym users.

Whether you are just starting out on your fitness journey, or you are already an advanced lifter, this rack would be a solid base for your home gym.

One of the main reasons we love this rack is the incredible amount of additional features. For most people, this is important, because purchasing everything required for a home gym can be expensive.

The Gymano Ultimate comes with an adjustable bench, weight storage, pullup attachments, pulley system with handles, and dip attachment. All you need to get your home gym up and running is this rack, weights, and bars and you are good to go.

You won’t need to spend hundreds of pounds on attachments. This rack comes with everything you need to execute almost any workout plan to a tee.

The one drawback to the Gymano Ultimate is that the pulley and weight storage are designed for 1” plates. This isn’t a deal-breaker, however, as they have included 4 Olympic adapter sleeves.

These allow 2” Olympic plates to fit snugly on a 1” bar. 2” Olympic plates will still hang from 1” weight storage with no issues. 

Pros

  • Bench included
  • Lots of additional attachments
  • Excellent value

Cons

  • Attachments designed for 1” plates
  • 250kg limit is on the medium to low end

Bottom Line

The Gymano Ultimate Power Rack offers a great value setup. It comes with many of the attachments you would usually need to buy to perform most workout routines. The build quality is good and you really get what you pay for with added extras. 

Considerations When Buying a Power Rack

A power rack is a big purchase, and you want to get it right the first time. We have prepared a list of the key considerations you should consider before purchasing a rack.

Hopefully, they help you choose the perfect rack for your home gym and fitness goals. 

Fitness goals

The most important consideration when purchasing a power rack is your personal fitness goals. Your goals will have a huge impact on what the best rack for you is.

If you are looking to keep fit and lift some weights, then you won’t need a large, solid rack to achieve this. In this example, you could get away with buying a smaller rack that includes lots of additional features, like the Gymano Ultimate.

If however, you are looking at serious strength training, with a focus on compound lifts, a larger, sturdier rack will be a better choice for you.

Build Quality 

Build quality is one of the first things you should look at when buying a power rack. As we have discussed, your requirements will vary depending on your fitness goals.

The racks we have looked at today are all built to a decent standard. These will be suitable for most people, and most won’t need to worry about weight limits.

Some of the racks we have looked at, such as the Proform XL and Bodymax CF475 are more sturdy and solid than the others.

If you know you are going to be lifting heavy weights frequently, then go with one of these.

Size

For most, size will be a very important consideration.

Home gyms come in all shapes and sizes, many of us don’t have huge spaces to use as gyms. This is why you need to carefully measure your space and check that the rack you have chosen will fit.

Bear in mind that, you will also need a decent amount of clearance around your rack to use it effectively.

Roughly 1m clearance around the footprint of the rack is a good place to start. Height should be carefully double checked, as spaces such as garages and basements can have lower than average ceilings, and some racks are quite tall.

Attachments 

The attachments you need for your rack will depend on your fitness goals, and budget. We would recommend that people with more general fitness goals consider a rack with lots of included attachments.

This will give you the versatility needed to perform most workout plans in your home gym. People with more specialised workout plans should decide whether they need any attachments before purchasing.

For example, trainees focusing mainly on compound lifts may not require any attachments.

Those on a tight budget should generally consider going for a rack with several attachments. This will help you get as many options as possible from your budget.

Extra Features

Some racks come with extra features, such as the ability to bolt it to the floor, or resistance band attachments.

Once again, carefully review your fitness goals and decide for yourself what specialty features your workout routine is going to require.

  • Will you need a pulley system?
  • Will you be using resistance bands?
  • Will you need to bolt the rack to the floor?
  • Will you be using a bench?

These are all important questions that can impact your choice of power rack.

To Sum Up

There are lots of great power racks to start your home gym here.

Remember to figure out exactly what you’d want from a power rack in terms of the exercises you plan to do. And remember you’ll need to fit it yourself or get someone to do that work.

But with multiple options available, a good power rack will enable you to do all the big exercises you want to do from home.