With so many choices out there, deciding which option to buy for your gym or garage can be a difficult one. This is the first in a series of articles about picking the right one for you.
The first question you should ask is whether you need the stand or rack to be portable? There are many reasons why you might want portability. You may have limited space and need to reconfigure the gym for different workouts, you may be renting and not want to install anything, you may even want the ability to take the stand out to the park for workouts on nice days.
If you need portability, for the most part that will mean a squat stand. Portability is one of the big advantages of squat stands, the other is the fact that stands are generally more affordable than racks or rigs.
Traditionally there are 2 disadvantages to using a squat stand instead of a rack.
1. The stand is less stable and can move on you when racking the weight.
2. The stands do not have a spotting mechanism.
However, the ES-1, S-1, S-2 and S-3 have minimized these problems. The bases are stable enough that there is no way that you are going to knock them over racking the weight, with the addition of our spotter arms, you can squat alone in safety. If you need maximum portability and the smallest possible storage footprint, our S-4 H base squat stands are the most stable independent squat stands on the market.
When choosing from among these options here are some questions you might ask.
1. Do you need to do Pullups on the stand?
If you are looking to do pull-ups on the squat stands, the S-2 and S-3 add this capability. If you have 8-foot ceilings, the S-2 is for you. If you have 9.5 foot or higher ceilings, you can take advantage of the S-3’s extra height.
2. Do you need the Westside hole pattern?
All of these stands with the exception of the ES-1 have the Westside hole pattern. 1 inch spacing in the bench/clean/pull area and 2inch spacing everywhere else. The ES-1 has 2-inch spacing throughout. The Westside hole pattern allows for greater flexibility for your starting positions.
3. Do you need to be able to add attachments for things like spotter arms or dip bars?
All of our stands other than the ES-1 and S-4 are compatible with the vast array of Infinity Rig add-ons.
4. Do you want to be able to use the stands as a yoke?
If you want to add the functionality of a yoke while also using the stand for squats, look into the Y Series yokes, based on the same design as our S Series squat stands.
Finally, if you do not need portability and would like additional stability for kipping pull-ups, you can add mounting feet and bolt the stand into the ground.
The stands are available here.
Tomorrow: Power Racks.