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It's true. Even for me.
My max squat as of now is 440lbs. Here's a video of the legendary female power lifter, Laura Phelps-Sweatt, warming up with 420lbs, 470lbs, and goes up from there.
This girl weighs less than me too! (She's about 165lbs; I'm about 190lbs).
More about Laura Phelps-Sweatt in this Q&A below:
So I just purchased a home with an attached garage, and I'm going to turn it into a home gym! I haven't moved in yet, but I've been spending a lot of time planning out the garage gym. One thing I need to consider is what is best power rack for my needs.
After a lot of thinking, I've narrowed it down to the Rogue R4 or the AmStaff TR023 power rack (which is nearly identical to the Force USA PR rack) for my garage home gym.
I have considered the Rogue R3 Westside power rack, but I do not want to bolt the cage into the ground. Also, the depth of the R3 is only 30", and I'd like some wiggle room while doing my lifts. I also plan on doing power cleans inside the rack, and would like more space than 30".
I've also considered the Powertec WB-PR11 rack, but the hole spacing for the safety pins and J-hooks are too far apart (2.5" apart), which will make it a pain in the ass to get the safety bars in right position while doing bench press. It would probably end up being too high or too low for me.
Rogue R4 vs. AMStaff TR023 Power Rack
They both have some similar features, like band hole pins, enough depth to do power cleans inside the rack, and they both do not need to be bolted into the ground.
Here's a comparison table of the differences between the Rogue R4 & AMStaff rack:
Rogue R4 AMStaff TR023
Image 
Dimensions 90"H x 43"W x 48"D 84"H x 51"W x 57"D
Dip bar included? No - Extra $99.43 + $28.24 shipping Yes
Chin up bar Single Pullup Bar on Front & Fat/Skinny Pullup bar on the back Monkey (multi-grip)
Barbell hooks 2 4
Band pegs 4 8 (according to the picture)
Price $1,095.85 $449.99
Shipping $196.95 $85.23
Taxes $0 $58.50
Total Price $1,292.80 or $1420.47 with dip bar $593.71
Pro's -Discounted B&R bar & Bench if order Rogue R4 rack
-It's Rogue! Reputable brand
-Accepts Paypal
-Doesn't require much assembly (I think)
-Less than half the price of the R4 ($699.09 less)
-Includes dip bars
Con's -Dip bar has additional shipping costs
-May need to get additional stabilizer-More assembly required (I think)
-Takes up more floor space
Notes -More people use Rogue fitness equipment
-Chain safeties does less damage on the bar-I could use the $699.09-$800+ for other things, such as:
--horse stall mats for gym flooring
--bumper plates
--weight plate tree
-Can't find many reviews
One thing I noticed about the Rogue R4 rack is that it is very tall at 7'6" (or 90").
I wasn't sure if my garage's ceiling was high enough to accommodate the Rogue rack, that is until I remembered I took a photo of the garage while initially checking out the property.
(NOTE: I haven't actually moved in yet since I recently purchased the property and the closing date isn't until the end of the month)
With some educated assumptions, I've outlined the dimensions of my garage and concluded that YES, the Rogue R4 rack will fit!
It will be a few weeks until I move in, so I still have time to make a decision.
What it seems to come to down to is whether I want to spend more money to have peace of mind owning a power rack that is known to be a high quality, brand name product (Rogue R4), or save $700 and go with something that is not well known, cheaper, and probably good enough for my needs (AmStaff TR023).
Decisions decisions...
Recently I managed to score 540lbs of Olympic plates for only $50! 12 plates, 45lbs each. Check out the pictures below:
They were on the classified ads website Kijiji, which is eBay's version of Craigslist.
My brother sent me the listing, and right away I contacted the seller. A few hours later, they were mine!
Normally Olympic plates cost anywhere from $0.70-1.00 per pound.
But according to my calculations, I spent a little over $0.09 (9 cents!) per pound.
I'm in the process of building a garage home gym, so this will definitely cut down on the cost.
Details:
6 of the plates are silver in color, with the text "STANDARD BARBELL 45LBS 20.4KGS". I'm pretty sure these are crap made by CAP. I've read some reviews about CAP plates, and apparently each plate vary in how much they weigh. I'm going to have to weigh them myself to get an accurate measurement.
The other 6 plates was a pleasant surprise. They are York 45lbs Olympic plates, and judging from the looks of it, they appear to be York's "Deep Dish" version.
The weights were stored in a shed and are not in the best condition. The York plates are very rusty, but I plan on using some "Evapo-Rust" from Canadian Tire to remove it, and refinishing them with some sort of rust-proof paint.
Now to complete my garage home gym, all I need is a high quality Olympic bar, a few more plates (2x25lbs, 4x10lbs, 2x5lbs & 2x2.5lbs), a power rack, a bench and some gym flooring or horse stall mats and then I'm set.
