Looking for one piece of equipment that can complete any home gym and help you to build muscle, fast? Read on to find out which piece of equipment you need in your home gym.
With high gym prices and longer working hours, many people are starting to turn their heads towards building a home gym, with the right equipment to meet their needs and 24/7 access (not to mention the severe lack of people hogging equipment or sweating all over you) it’s becoming a more appealing idea by the day.
The difficult part is trying to find the right piece of equipment for your needs and in this article, we are going to introduce one essential piece of equipment that anyone who is looking to build muscle must have in their gym, a power cage.
What is a Power Cage?
Known as a power cage or a power rack, a standard structure has four vertical steel posts and two horizontal bars to support both ends.
It’s found in most gyms and looks very similar to a full squat rack, however, rather than just have clips for squatting, you are fully enclosed in the cage, as you train.
Many cages come with additional accessories that can be attached to the cage. These normally include cables for pull-downs or rows, chin-up or pull-up attachments and hooks or clips to store weights, some even include a landmine station.
With a power cage, you can do all standard exercises, such as bench, squat, deadlift or rows and by adding an accessory you can replicate almost every gym-based exercise, excluding a few select machines.
Benefits of a Power Cage
Power cages are extremely popular for people that like to lift weights at home, especially those that train by themselves and they offer a range of benefits, especially when it comes to safety.
Some exercises are difficult to spot and some are unsafe to do alone without a spotter, a power cage can help with that as it has bars and hooks that can be adjusted along the cage to ensure you are safe if you cannot complete your lift. These can be used for all lifts, including heavy squats and provide a great degree of safety when training.
The strong and efficient design also allows for a greater amount of weight to be lifted and stored on the cage, giving more experienced lifters a higher limit than most squat racks or home bench press options.
Finally, power cages can drastically cut down on the amount of equipment that is needed, saving space and making storage much easier for those that are short on space.
They can be quite big and wide, but in reality, that shouldn’t be an issue as all you really need is a standard ceiling height and enough length to fit in an Olympic bar.
They are perfect for use in a garage but could also be used in a spare room that has been converted to a gym. Once you’ve got one, you shouldn’t need to be anything else.
Power Cage Vs Squat Rack
Many people are tempted to opt for a squat rack instead of a power cage and I’d bet good money that most of the time those people are only doing so because of the name.
People want to squat, hear the phrase squat rack then think they’ve got it all figured out.
However, if you’re going to do more than squat, if you’re going to bench, or row or do pull-ups then you need something extra and that’s why you need a power cage.
In reality, if all you’re going to do is squat, you probably still want a power cage.
It can do everything a squat rack can do, and more, including offering extra support when going heavy and lifting towards your max.
Squat racks are one dimensional and can meet their intended need, but power cages offer much more.
The only real benefit of a squat rack would be the size, but unless you are extremely right on space, it wouldn’t be a good enough reason to miss out on a power cage.
Do You Really Need One?
The main thing to consider when buying a power cage is what type of exercise you like to do and what your overall goals are.
Power cages are all about building muscle and lifting weights and are perfect for anyone that follows a full-body strength program. You can complete all your traditional movements in a power cage such as bench, row, squats, and deadlifts and they offer you a level of support that you otherwise cannot find when training alone at home.
With attachments, allowing for dips, pull-ups, cables, and pull-downs a power cage could be the only piece of equipment you ever really need in your home gym.
If you enjoy lifting weights and resistance training then you might want to consider a power cage.
Other Considerations...
It’s also worth considering a few other factors before you rush out to get your new Power cage.
Often, they come as a cage only and nothing else, which means you will have to buy a bench or a barbell separately. This may not always be the case and there is always the chance that you can pick up a good deal or bundle, but it’s worth knowing beforehand that often, you’ll only be getting the cage.
It’s also worth thinking about the space that you have available.
They can differ in size so you must make sure you measure up accurately, before purchasing, but the plus side is it will likely be the only piece of equipment you need to buy.
Final Thoughts
If you want to lift weights, build muscle and complete full-body resistance workouts then you can't go wrong with a power cage.
It is the ultimate piece of gym equipment and could prove to be the single best investment you ever make for your home gym.
It’s the safest way to lift heavy whilst training alone and the best way to perform barbell exercises at home.
If you enjoy lifting weights, you want to get stronger and you have the space required then a power cage is absolutely the right piece of equipment for you and your home gym.
