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Amstaff TR023 Power Rack Review

January 19, 2012 — 37 Comments

The Amstaff TR023 is the Canadian version of the Force USA F-PC power rack with band attachments. I bought it from FitnessAvenue.ca, but it's also available on Amazon.ca.

It’s inexpensive, almost perfect for my needs, but has some flaws.

Here’s my review:

Introduction

I've debated about getting the Amstaff TR023 power rack or one of the Rogue Fitness power racks (such as the R3 or R4) for a long time, but finally decided on the Amstaff.

Rogue Fitness equipment is awesome, but I took a risk with a unknown brand.

Here's why:

It's cheaper (probably because it’s made in China)
Includes dip bars, whereas Rogue sells it as a separate attachment (Rogue Matador)
Includes monkey bars for chin ups & pull ups
The width of the Amstaff rack is wider (50.5” compared to 43”). I’ve found that I would have to be extra careful with racks that are too narrow. There’s been a few time where I would re-rack the bar from the squat, and almost catch my pinky in between the bar and J-hooks. Also, because the Amstaff rack is wide, I could perform wide stance squats inside the cage, allowing me to make use of the safety pins.
2 pairs of J-hooks (compared to 1 pair for the Rogue R-3 and R-4)
8 band pegs for band work (compared to 4 for the Rogue rack)
The stabilizer bar on the Amstaff rack is positioned so that you won't hit your foot/shins while you're setting up or racking the bar during the squat. The Rogue rack looks like it would be in the way if you squat.
Doesn't need to be bolted to the ground. I don’t have the tools to bolt a power rack onto the concrete floor, so this would be an additional cost. Also, if I decide to move my rack, it would be a pain to un-bolt, and re-bolt the rack elsewhere, along with having to repair the basement floor, which I do not know how to do.
The height of the rack is lower (the height of the Amstaff rack is 84”, or 7’. The Rogue power racks are 90”, or 7’6”). I was going to have my home gym in the garage, but after finding out that the garage floor was sloped, I decided to move it to the basement. The ceiling of my basement is too low to accommodate the height of the Rogue power racks

With these points in mind, I went with the Amstaff TR023 power rack.

Initial Impressions

I was pretty excited to get the power rack, since it’s a must-have piece of equipment for any home gym.

It arrived in separate boxes which was well packed.

Assembly

Assembly was pretty easy. I was able to put it all together myself in about 2-3 hours.

The worst part about assembling the Amstaff TR023 power rack was the assembly manual. The pictures and text quality are clear, but the instructions looks like it was translated from Chinese to English. Check out the picture below to see what I mean:

Some Details

After I finished assembling the rack, the first thing I did was take my Olympic bar that I purchased from Kijiji (eBay’s version of Craigslist) and put it inside the rack.

IT DIDN’T FIT!

Note: B&R bar is the top bar. The Kijiji bar is on the bottom.

The width of the Amstaff TR023 rack (50.5 inches) is wider than the shaft of my Olympic bar, which is 50 inches.

It turns out that the Olympic bar I had wasn’t even made to standard specifications. The spacing in between the collars for an Olympic bar should be 1310mm, or 51.57 inches in length. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbell). (So if you’re thinking of buying a used barbell from Craigslist, make sure take measurements first!)

At this point, I had a good reason to purchase a new barbell (I am now a proud owner of the B&R bar from Rogue Fitness, which fits inside the Amstaff TR023 power rack).

But now that I have a bar that can fit inside the rack, I can write a detailed and accurate review!

Using the Rack

Even though I have the B&R bar which fits inside this power rack, it appears to be too wide for my liking.

For the B&R bar, the spacing in between the collars is 51.57 inches. Since the Amstaff TR023 rack is 50.5 inches wide (NOTE: It’s listed as 51 inches, but I measured it to 50.5 inches), I only have 1.07 inches to work with!

That’s a little more than 1/2 inches of “wiggle room” on each side of the rack.

The good part about this is that it’s not difficult to center the bar with the rack. With power racks that I’ve used in the past, sometimes I would need to shift the bar 5-6” to get it centered. With the Amstaff rack, I only have to move the bar a fraction of an inch.

The bar part is that since I don’t have much space move from side to side, I have to be extra careful when taking the bar out of the rack, and putting the bar back onto the J-hooks.

When taking the bar off the J-hooks for a set of squats, sometimes I wobble out of the rack, moving the bar from side to side. With power racks that are more narrow, it is possible to do this without the 45lb plates hitting the side of the rack. With the Amstaff TR023, I need to walk straight back before setting up my stance for squats.

Also, because the cage is wide, the width of the safety pins are wide too. Meaning that my body needs to be centered with the rack when I squat, or else the collars would hit the safety pins once I descend to the bottom.

When placing the bar back onto the J-hooks, again, my body (and the bar) needs to be nearly centered with the rack or else I would hit the collars onto the J-hooks. This can be difficult after a heavy set of squats, when you’re out of breath, seeing stars and barely have enough strength to walk the bar forward.

Lastly, I was planning to do standing overhead presses inside of this power rack, but because of the width of the rack, sometimes I would hit the top of the rack with the 45lb plates.

Although it’s usable, the width of the rack forces me to be extra careful. Still, I would prefer a little wiggle room just in case.

Stuff I Like

Pin Holes

The hole spacing is about 1.5 inches apart. Other power racks I used in the past had hole spacing of 2-2.5 inches. This is awesome because I can adjust the height of the J-hooks for bench press & squats to the right height.

There are 42 pin holes from top to bottom. Although I won’t be using most of them, it’s nice to know I have that option.

Frame

The frame is 2.5”x2.5” and feels solid.

The blue and black colour (or "color" for you readers from the US and A) combination looks pretty cool!

J-Hooks

There are 2 sets of J-hooks (total of 4). This makes it convenient because I can set a pair of J-hooks for squats, and another one for bench press, meaning I don’t need to take them off and put them back on ever time I change exercise.

And according to the product description, the J-hooks should be able to hold 1000lbs. I won’t be approaching that weight anytime soon, but it’s nice to know that these hooks will be able to accommodate any weight I can lift.

Monkey Bars

There are 2 bars that run parallel to each other, and another set of bars that are angled (See pictures below). I like the angled set of bars when doing pull ups & chin ups because it feels more natural, and isn’t painful on my elbows as straight bar pullups & chinups.

The knurling on the monkey bars aren’t as aggressive as I expected, since it’s covered in blue paint.

Although there isn’t a fat and skinny bar like the chin up attachment on the Rogue power racks, I’ve attached a pair of Fatgripz to mimic a thicker pullup bar.

Expansion

I can purchase additional attachment for this power rack. They include lat pull down/low row combo, pec dec, and cable cross overs.

Dip Attachments

I’ve read somewhere that “dips are the squats for the chest”, so I wanted a power rack that included a dip attachment.

The dip attachment for the Amstaff power rack are sufficient.

There are 2 bars that attaches itself the same way as the J-hooks. When attached, the dip bars are parallel to each other.

The padded handles on the dip attachment comes off quite easily. I’m not sure what these handles are made of, but it doesn’t offer much in terms of padding. Also, it looks as though the dip bars are hollow.

I haven’t tried performing weighted dips on these yet, but they hold up quite well with my body weight of 190lb.

Band Pegs and Band Peg Holes

There are 8 band pegs with 8 spring collars to keep the pins in place on the rack.

18 pin holes on the bottom, and 15 on top.

I haven’t incorporated bands into my training (yet) and I don’t have any bands to test out the band pins. But it’s great to know I have a wide option of holes and 8 band pegs to work with once I do.

Stuff I Don't Like

Power Rack Width

(See above).

No Plate Storage

It doesn't have plate holders attached to the rack, but at this price point, it’s no surprise. That means I'm going need a weight tree. I ended up getting 2 CAP standard weight trees, which I review here.

No Numbered Pin Holes

The pin holes are not numbered! Other versions of this power rack (Force USA) has numbers on the side of the rack to show what pin hole you’re using, whereas the Amstaff TR023 has none. A bit of a pain when I’m trying to set the left & right J-hooks and safety pins at the same level. In the future I’ll probably end up buying a metallic marker and writing in the numbers myself.

Overall

The Amstaff TR023 power rack is almost perfect.

It’s half the price of a Rogue power rack, and has a TON of features. The only issue I have is the width of the rack. It may not be a problem with others, and I think I’ll probably get used to using a wide power rack over time.

The Amstaff TR023 is great value for money, even if this is not a well known brand.

In Product Reviews Amstaff TR023, force usa F-PC, power cage, power rack, Power Rack with Band Attachments, review, rogue r3, rogue r4, squat rack

Burgener & Rippetoe (B&R) Men’s Bar Review

January 17, 2012 — 8 Comments

The Burgener & Rippetoe Men's bar (also known as the B&R bar) from Rogue Fitness is a hybrid, jack-of-all-trades, all-in-one barbell for powerlifting and weightlifting movements. It is the best Olympic bar I've ever used, and the price along with shipping costs is very reasonable. Here’s my review of the B&R bar:

Introduction

Originally, I had plans to use the so-called “Olympic bar” that I bought from Kijiji (a classified ads website similar to Craigslist that’s popular with Canadians -- I got the bar with 240lbs of Olympic plates for $170 delivered). But that used barbell was too short for my power rack (it has a center length of about 50”, whereas my power rack is 51” wide). Also, the Kijiji bar was crap. The chrome plating is flaking off, and I would also have to tighten the sleeves every now and then because it would unscrew itself a little every time I power cleaned the bar.

Because of these issues, I had to get a new Olympic barbell.

I wanted a barbell that would last a lifetime, but wouldn’t cost me an arm and a leg (such as the Eleiko or Invanko bars).

I also wanted a bar that wouldn’t permanently bend from heavy squats & deadlifts, but also have enough whip for the occasional power clean.

After a lot of research, I decided on the Burgener & Rippetoe Men’s bar from Rogue Fitness.

Up until now, I have only used chrome plated, bolted-at-the-ends Olympic bars that are commonly seen at commercial gyms.

The B&R bar easily blows them all out of the waters.

I’ve read many reviews and user experiences about the Burgener & Rippetoe Men’s bar on forums such as Crossfit.com, Bodybuilding.com & StartingStrength.com, and they mostly had high praise.

Also, it’s designed by Mike Burgener and Mark Rippetoe, and manufactured by York barbell. I’m not familiar with Mike Burgener, but I’ve had success with Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength program, and own his books Starting Strength, Practical Programming and Strong Enough? Thoughts from Thirty Years of Barbell Training. Rip’s work is amazing, so when I was choosing a bar to purchase, I expected the same Rippetoe quality to be infused in the bar (if that makes any sense).

Some Details

The B&R bar is designed as an all purpose bar that’s suitable for powerlifting and Olympic lifting. It has dual markings at 32” and 36” apart for powerlifting & weightlifting movements.

The spacing between knurls at the center of the bar is wider than normal allowing a slightly wider stance during conventional deadlifts and Olympic lifts (so it doesn’t scrape the shins).

I believe it’s the strongest bar that Rogue sells, with a tensile strength of 205K. I’m not sure exactly what that means, but apparently the higher then tensile strength, the stiffer the bar is and the less likely it is to permanently bend.

Since I’m focusing on powerlifting movements (and want a bar durable enough that I can pass onto my grand kids), I’m looking for a bar that does not flex as much, and the B&R bar appears to be the best answer.

First Impressions

The B&R bar was delivered by Purolator (the delivery guy said I had a package that was long and heavy. I wanted to say, “...that’s what she said”). It was packaged in a long, sturdy cardboard tube that was duct taped at both ends.

Inside the tube at both ends was crumpled paper to cushion and protect the ends of the bar.

Overall it seemed packaged quite well, however I did receive a notice that Purolator had to re-tape both ends. I’m assuming the B&R bar came out of the duct taped ends of the package during shipment. The bar arrived fine however.

The first thing I noticed when I cut off the duct tape was that the ends of the bar did not have a bolt on it. All the other barbells I’ve used in a commercial gym had bolts, which I had to tighten from time to time.

Taking out the bar, I immediately saw (and felt) the difference in quality compared to the piece of crap I got from Kijiji, along with the other bars I’ve used in the past.

There was no comparison.

The bar was already covered in grease. I could see that my hands were greasy and covered in some black substance after taking the bar out of the package. I'm assuming this grease is to protect from rust during shipment.

The look of the bar is different than the bars I’ve used.

The B&R bar is pure steel, and doesn’t have any chrome or zinc plating on it.

When I gripped the B&R bar, the diameter of the bar felt much smaller than I'm used to. The B&R bar’s shaft is 29mm in diameter, and all the bars I have used at commercial gyms felt much thicker.

I have read that men's Olympic bars used in weight lifting competition are 28mm, while bars used in powerlifting can range from 28-29mm. So the B&R bar, at 29mm is at the thicker end of the scale suitable for powerlifting.

Is Bar Straight?

The B&R bar I received has a slight, tiny wobble to it that’s barely noticeable. Heck, I can’t even capture it with my camera, but it is there. In each picture below, I rotate the bar a quarter turn:

Personally, I’m not concerned with this tiny bend in the bar. I’ve seen and experienced a lot worst, and so far this hasn’t affected my training at all.

Stiffness

The B&R bar feels stiff and rigid. Much more stiff than all the other bars I’ve tried in my life. So far, there doesn’t appear to be any bend to the bar at all. The maximum weight I have used on the B&R bar to date is only 407.5lbs. I’m sure at higher loads this bar will not permanently bend, like some of the bars I’ve used at the previous gym I was a member at.

Sleeves

This is my first time using a bar that isn’t bolted at the ends.

The sleeves has tiny ridges on it. I think these ridges are to provide friction so that the weight plates doesn’t slide off during a set.

The sleeves on the other bars I’ve used did not have these ridges and was completely smooth. I have had times where the plates would nearly slide off a bar with smooth sleeves during a set of squats (even when paired with spring collars). So these ridges on the B&R bar is a nice safety feature.

Spin

One side spins more smoothly than the other, but after contacting Rogue, they said it was normal and that I just need use lithium grease in the sleeves.

When I spin the sleeves, it would spin for about 1 second and then stop. To be honest I expected the bar to spin a lot more, but this isn’t really an issue for me because my focus is the slower lifts (i.e. squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press) rather than the faster lifts (cleans, snatches etc).

In the future, I’ll probably end up investing in another bar that’s suitable for Olympic lifts (maybe another Rogue bar or one of the Pendlay bars).

Markings

There are 2 sets of markings on the bar, one for Powerlifting and another for Olympic lifts.

Although this is a nice feature, personally I only use the powerlifting marks, even for power cleans. I’m not sure if I’ll ever make use of the Olympic markings simply because it feels too wide for me. But for other people the dual markings might be more useful.

Knurl

The knurling on the B&R bar feels awesome. It’s not too deep, and it’s not too shallow either. It feels just right.

When I grip the bar, it almost feels as though it’s sticking to my hands.

Other bars I’ve used in the past felt a bit slippery (probably because of the chrome plating). But since the B&R bar is bare steel, the knurling is not covered up with any sort of plating so you can feel the full texture of the knurl.

I’ve never used a bar with aggressive knurling, but I’m sure the B&R bar won’t shred up my palms during use.

This bar also has a center knurl, which is one thing I wanted in an Olympic bar. I tend to sweat a lot, especially on my back. The last thing I want is a silky smooth bar sliding down my sweat soaked shirt during a heavy set of squats. The center knurl is definitely a plus when it comes to squats.

Overall

Let me put it this way: the B&R bar is awesome.

Pro’s:

Solid, stiff bar
Fine knurling makes gripping the bar easy
Center knurl keeps the bar in place on my sweaty back while squatting
Bare steel looks manly
Dual markings for powerlifting and Olympic lifting

Con’s:

Because it’s bare steel it will require more maintenance to prevent rust
Shipping to Canada took a few weeks so it wasn’t as fast as I hoped (took almost a month! To be fair, I ordered it a few weeks before Christmas and things mail much slower around that time)
Doesn’t have a lifetime guarantee like the other bars sold at Rogue

Take a look at the Burgener & Rippetoe Men's bar at Rogue's website for additional details.

In Product Reviews b&r bar, B&R bar review, Burgener & Rippetoe bar, Burgener & Rippetoe men's bar, olympic barbell, rogue fitness

Cap Barbell RK-1 Standard Plate Rack: Review

December 17, 2011 — 1 Comment

So after getting tired of seeing weights scattered on the floor of my basement home gym (and nearly tripping over them a few times), I decided to get organized and bought 2 Cap RK1 Standard plate racks for each side of my power cage from Amazon for $49 each (with free shipping!).

They arrived on my front door in 3 days.

Here's what the box looks like:

I've considered the Olympic version of the plate rack, but from my experience training at a variety of gyms, unloading weight plates from 1" pins are a lot easier than those designed for Olympic plates with 2" pins.

What's In The Box

1 triangle frame
2 base frames
Bag of bolts (4), nuts (4) and washers (4)

Assembly

The only tools I needed was:

a socket wrench
adjustable wrench

Assembly was a snap. All I had to do was align the holes of the base frames to the holes of the triangle frame, insert the bolts, place the washer & nut on the bolt and tighten. I used the adjustable wrench to hold the bolt in place while I tighten the nut with the socket wrench.

It only took about 10 minutes for each plate rack to unpack & assemble.

Use

Since I have a lot of 45lbs plates, I need to use the bottom-horizontal pins on both ends of the weight tree.

The vertical pins on the center of the plate rack can only hold weights that are small in diameter. I can place 10lbs weights on the center-bottom pin, and 5lbs weights on the center-top pin.

The weight capacity is supposedly 500lbs, but I'm able to store 520lbs of weights on the rack, with some room to spare (pictured below).

What I Like

My home gym is a little bit more organized! The floor no longer looks like a landmine of weight plates since they're now stored on the plate rack.

And since the diameter of the pins are 1", and the diameter of the hole on Olympic plates are 2", it's really easy to load & unload the weights on and off the rack.

What I Don't Like

The base of the plate rack is not leveled, so it tilts from side to side. It's more of a minor annoyance than anything, since it doesn't interfere with the function of the plate rack, which is to hold weight plates.

The paint was scraped off right away when I placed my rusty York Olympic plates onto the holding pins. I suspect this wouldn't be a problem if your plates aren't rusty on the insides like mine. I have since added some oil onto the pins and they seem to slide on much easier.

Lastly, there's no bar holder. But even if there was, it would probably only hold a standard 1" diameter barbell.

Overall

If you have a bunch of Olympic plates (or standard plates) lying around and considering a plate tree, get yourself something that is designed to hold standard 1" plates such as the Cap barbell RK-1 standard plate rack. It's a lot easier to slide Olympic weight plates on and off the tree, it can hold 500lbs+ of weights without any problems, and having all the plates on the rack and not on the floor or leaning against the wall will certainly impact the look of any home gym.

In Product Reviews Cap Barbell RK-1 Standard Plate Rack, Cap Barbell RK-1 Standard Plate Rack review, RK1, weight storage, weight tree