We have always said that the foundation of a solid home gym, is a versatile power rack. With the advance in power rack attachments, there is no reason why your power rack should be limited to squatting and other barbell movements.

Nowadays, there are so many attachments that you can essentially mimic any gym machine from the comfort of your home gym. To help you navigate the hundreds of options, we have written this comprehensive guide on squat rack attachments where we break down all the different types of attachments and discuss their uses and compatibility.

Power Rack Attachments Explained

Power racks are already useful with the number of exercises you can do with just a rack and a barbell. Attachments take that to a whole new level:

Strap Safeties

These straps have similar functionality to the traditional safety arms that came with your squat rack. The difference is that the straps can have a valley in them depending on how you set them up. The advantage of this is that you can maximize your range of motion while still being safe during your heavy lifts

Dip Attachment

With just one attachment you can have a dip station within your home gym. Given how effective dips are for building your upper body, I consider this one of the must-have attachments.

Storage Pegs

These storage pegs are great if you struggling to find a place to put your weight plates. You can also use them to hang chains, resistance bands, and lifting belts.

Pulley Systems

When people transition to a home gym, one of the things they miss the most about commercial gyms is the cable machines. With this simple pulley setup, you can bring the versatility of cables to your own home. These pulley systems are also usually marketed as a lat attachment since you can also do lat pulldowns with them.

The only downside is that you have to manually load the peg every time when you change the weight. This is far from the convenience of the pin setup at your local gym but still better than not having cables at all.

Pull Up Bars

Most squat racks come standard with a pull-up bar. However, the built-in pull-up bar often lacks grip options so you cannot do angled or neutral pull-ups. These attachments allow you to bring more versatility to your pull-ups.

Also, you can buy a laddered pull-up bar to make your pulls ups more challenging.

Landmine

The landmine allows you to do t-bar rows. meadow rows, and landmine presses within your home. Very easy to set up and affordable as well.

Rollers

Generally, there are two types of rollers. First, there are utility rollers that can be used for exercises like Bulgarian split squats or nordic curls. Next, there are therapeutical rollers that are intended for recovery/warming up.

MMA Attachments

Given how interlinked the sports of MMA and weightlifting are, it makes for power racks to even be used for MMA training purposes.

There exists a boxing bag and hand-striking attachments that you can use for cardio or practice your skills.

Utility Arms

While I generally prefer barbell training, I can understand why some people would miss the controlled feeling of gym machines. The arms allow you to mimic the set weight path of machines at home.

Once set up you can move the arm up or down to replicate machines like the chest press or chest-supported row.

Are Attachments Universal?

No, unfortunately, any attachment that inserts into the rack’s holes will not just work on any rack. However, there are a few attachments that are universal but they tend to either hang from the rack or strap on somehow.

How Do I Know If An Attachment Is Compatible?

The easiest way to ensure that any attachment you buy is compatible is by buying the attachment from the same brand that your power rack is from. For example, every Rogue attachment is compatible with the Rogue Monster Rack and Rogue Monster Lite.

If this is not possible, you are going to have to look at the specs of the attachment and compare them to your rack. Generally, what you want to look at is the size of the pegs that insert into the rack as well as the dimensions of the uprights.

Can I Use Attachments That Are Not Compatible?

Theoretically, you could use any attachment if you can get it to fit. The problem is that it likely will not be as stable so it could lead to some unsafe situations. At the end of the day, it is up to you but I think it is worth spending the extra money or time to get a compatible attachment.

Benefits of Rack Attachments

These are the main reasons why you should consider getting some attachments for your home gym setup:

Saves Space

If you were to get a standalone machine for every movement you wanted to do, even the biggest home gyms would run out of space quickly. By turning your squat rack into a multi-use station, you can enjoy many of the same movement patterns without wasting space. For example, a full-on dip station would be a total waste of space when you just have a pull-up bar and dip attachment on your rack.

Budget Friendly

The whole point of rack attachments is to provide cost-effective alternatives for what tends to be pricey gym equipment. Also since many attachments are cross-compatible across different brands, it ensures that you can shop around for the best deal.

Makes Your Home Gym More Versatile

At the end of the day, nobody wants to feel like they are making any compromises by working out at home instead of at their local gym. With an ever-expanding attachment market, there is probably something out there that can help you address any need you may have.

What Rack Attachments Do I Need?

The truth is that you do not need any attachments if you do not want them. I have seen plenty of people be perfectly content and make great gains working out with just a barbell and squat rack from home.

But if you want to venture into the world of rack attachments, you need to first figure out what you really want to get out of your home gym. If you want the option to do more bodyweight exercises then get a dip attachment and pull-up bar.

If you find that you miss the constant tension of cable exercises, then go ahead and get a pulley system.

This is the beauty of squat rack versatility, you can truly turn your rack into whatever you want. It is up to you to decide what gear you view as worth it for your needs.

Should I Consider Attachments When I Buy My First Power Rack?

If you are just building out your home, I would 100% recommend choosing a rack that has compatibility with plenty of attachments.

Even if you are not going to get the attachment right away, it is always nice to have that option. It will just make your life easier down the road as your continue to expand your home gym.

Final Thoughts

It really does not take much equipment or money to have a home gym that is comparable in terms of capability to that of a commercial gym. With just a power rack and a few attachments of your choice, you can essentially do all of your favorite exercises from the comfort of your own home.

For this reason, it is important to plan ahead and get a squat rack that is compatible with plenty of attachments. From there, you can pick and choose which items seem worth it to you and expand your home gym over time.

FAQs

Michael K.

Daniel Mesa, CPT, is a trusted fitness expert and founder of  FitDominium. With his extensive experience and commitment to helping others, Daniel is the go-to source for reliable fitness advice and recommendations.