Home Gym Warehouse sells the Powertec Power Rack Standalone for $349.00 plus shipping ( http://store.yahoo.com/homegym/powracsys.html) which usually tags on another $55 bucks. I just rang up MegaFitness ( http://www.megafitness.net ) and they did a kick-ass price match! Check this out...

http://www.megafitness.net/mega_price_pledge.htm

Megafitness sells the PowerTec Power Rack for $399 including shipping. They did a 110% pricematch, which brought the price for the power rack to $344 INCLUDING SHIPPING!!!!!

Here is the link to their price match guarantee :: http://www.megafitness.net/mega_price_pledge.htm

All total, $344 for the rack, another 229 for the new model of powertec utility bench, and it should be here in 7 days, dropshipped from PowerTec's HQ in Pennsylvania.

I wanted to go with a Body Solid power rack, specifically the "professional" series, because instead of pin-style catch bars, it has nice thick black metal units to catch any dropped weight. Unfortunately, they were about $449 and didnt include the dip bars, and the chin-up bar was just the straight top support bar.

Anyways, heck of a deal, and they will honor the same deal for anyone else looking to save a few bucks!

Enjoy!

:tucool:

corbint, very good find, thank you!

also, they price match for up to 60 days AFTER you buy gear for them, so if you see the price drop in the future, you can still get some $ back!

Except the HGW price includes shipping. :)

Good choice, you'll love it!

Except the HGW price includes shipping. :)

Good choice, you'll love it!
negative ghostrider... i spent 30 minutes on the phone with their sales dept and customer svc department, and when it came to brass tax, they wanted to tack on shipping. apparently the process goes like this :: you order thru the home gym whorehouse webshite, they charge you a SMALL handling fee, like 10 bux. then, it gets passed to customer service, who quotes you shipping, and hopes you actually continue the order. i basically told them to get bent to see if it was a push tactic, and they wouldnt budge. so, i rang up Billy Bob at MegaFitness (which is located in FL, your neck of the woods John!) and he gleefully matched the price!

i tried John, I truly tried, but they wouldnt give me any hookup!

negative ghostrider... i spent 30 minutes on the phone with their sales dept and customer svc department, and when it came to brass tax, they wanted to tack on shipping. apparently the process goes like this :: you order thru the home gym whorehouse webshite, they charge you a SMALL handling fee, like 10 bux. then, it gets passed to customer service, who quotes you shipping, and hopes you actually continue the order. i basically told them to get bent to see if it was a push tactic, and they wouldnt budge. so, i rang up Billy Bob at MegaFitness (which is located in FL, your neck of the woods John!) and he gleefully matched the price!

i tried John, I truly tried, but they wouldnt give me any hookup!
:confused: I ordered mine from HGW and it was $349.00, including everything - no extra fees. It says this right on their web page (http://store.yahoo.com/homegym/powracsys.html):

"*bars, bench and weights not included; Price includes freight in the U.S. (48 states). Please call for shipping in other areas."

If you place the order online it doesn't add anything extra on, so don't know what happened when you called, that's just weird.

also, they price match for up to 60 days AFTER you buy gear for them, so if you see the price drop in the future, you can still get some $ back!
hah, actually.... after reading the home gym whorehouse site CLOSELY, i see this ::

*bars, bench and weights not included; Price includes freight in the U.S. (48 states). Please call for shipping in other areas.

PRICE INCLUDES FREIGHT! Those idiots in customer service are smoking something today! Oh well, I still saved $5.00 off the price, thats almost a half tank of gas!

and I see another price match potential!

http://store.yahoo.com/bigfit/powerrack.html

BiGFitness has the power-rack for $299. Time to ring up MegaFitness!

thats almost a half tank of gas!
$5.00? Man, either you have great gas prices or a very small car! :D

I want pictures when you get that baby setup. :tu:

corbint, so mega fitness will price match any piece of equipment on their site AND plus 10% of the actual difference? I found every piece of power tec equipment on other sites for ALOT less than megafitness. If this is true, I'll call them and give them all the info to where to price match. If they price match + 10% of the actual difference + included shipping on every piece of equipment, I'll say I will buy right now if you do. I swear I found some low prices from the retail prices and if they price match and all that, wow, I can be getting a GREAT deal.

$5.00? Man, either you have great gas prices or a very small car! :D

I want pictures when you get that baby setup. :tu:
hah okay, maybe not a half tank, but it will get me to work a few times! gas here is around $1.59/gallon for the cheap stuff, and thats what I dump into our Honda minivan... hopefully I dont have to burn up that $5.00 savings to go pick up the gear from the dock. i HOPE they dont use Old Dominion to ship my gear!

i HOPE they dont use Old Dominion to ship my gear!

hahaa!


Congrats on your new gear! :)

any canadian suppliers?

Home Gym Warehouse sells the Powertec Power Rack Standalone for $349.00 plus shipping ( http://store.yahoo.com/homegym/powracsys.html) which usually tags on another $55 bucks. I just rang up MegaFitness ( http://www.megafitness.net ) and they did a kick-ass price match! Check this out...

http://www.megafitness.net/mega_price_pledge.htm

Megafitness sells the PowerTec Power Rack for $399 including shipping. They did a 110% pricematch, which brought the price for the power rack to $344 INCLUDING SHIPPING!!!!!

Here is the link to their price match guarantee :: http://www.megafitness.net/mega_price_pledge.htm

All total, $344 for the rack, another 229 for the new model of powertec utility bench, and it should be here in 7 days, dropshipped from PowerTec's HQ in Pennsylvania.

I wanted to go with a Body Solid power rack, specifically the "professional" series, because instead of pin-style catch bars, it has nice thick black metal units to catch any dropped weight. Unfortunately, they were about $449 and didnt include the dip bars, and the chin-up bar was just the straight top support bar.

Anyways, heck of a deal, and they will honor the same deal for anyone else looking to save a few bucks!

Enjoy!

:tucool:

Don't forget about Nellies.com. They have the new Powertec bench for $189 w/free shipping. It was $179 but just went up. I just got mine last Friday. :db:

Don't forget about Nellies.com. They have the new Powertec bench for $189 w/free shipping. It was $179 but just went up. I just got mine last Friday. :db:

Do you like the new bench? Do you think the decline works better on it?

Customer service @ HGW is lax @ best. I called 2 weeks ago, ready to order the power rack and they wanted to charge me $399.00, rather than the listed price on their website, $345.00. After that was taken care of, they wanted to charge me shipping, in which the website includes shipping with the price. Then, they tell me that the product is on back order until September! So, I said, no thanks and googled some more and found Alpha Fitness Equipment. They have the power rack for $345.00 with free shipping. My rack will be in Wednesday!!!

Here is the direct link:

http://www.afitnessequipment.com/afitnessequipment/html/PtPowerCage.html

i really want one of those things, but the size... :( i think i'd get shot if i wanted that in the spare/computer room.

What's the dimentions for the actual area you need to use one? obveously it's going to be bigger than the equipment it's self.

Do you like the new bench? Do you think the decline works better on it?

The new bench seems to be working well, great quality and a lifetime warranty. In the past when I worked out at the gym I always used a seperate bench for each excercise such as incline, decline etc. This is the first bench I have used that does them all. I have nothing else to compare to other than that so I can't tell you if the decline works better than on the last Powertec model. I did save $71.00 by buying from Nellies rather than buying from my local store with sales tax added. I still have not used the leg attachment as I don't have any olympic weights yet.

Don't forget about Nellies.com. They have the new Powertec bench for $189 w/free shipping. It was $179 but just went up. I just got mine last Friday. :db:
nellies was at 179, but then powertec raised the price, so they bumped it to 189. i tried to get free shipping, but since powertec raised the price YET AGAIN due to the new model, they now charge 189+shipping. trust me, i wanted to order from Nelly, but he couldnt listen to my country grammar!

trust me, i wanted to order from Nelly, but he couldnt listen to my country grammar!

BOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D

Awesome, ABF Freight just called and my stuff will be here Friday. Shipment was sourced from Long Beach, CA.... hopefully it gets here in one piece!

Awesome, ABF Freight just called and my stuff will be here Friday. Shipment was sourced from Long Beach, CA.... hopefully it gets here in one piece!
welp, my new powerrack is finally together as well as my utility bench! heres a quick review of both...

Powertec Power Rack
Arrived in 3 boxes, came with a ton of bolts, nuts, and washers, yet they were ALL the same size! Instantly I knew this gear was very high quality. The welds on the frame were perfect, no scratches on the hardware, and it went together like a dream. This is ONE HELL OF A STURDY POWER RACK. In fact, this power rack is better than the one at my gym, hands down. The safety pins could be used to beat down a gorilla, and the included dip bars are NOT to be messed with! Overall, this is a fantastic, heavy duty piece of equipment that is worth the $344 I paid for it. The instructions were kinda weak, in fact, they were basically picture diagrams, but once you understand how simple they try to convey the directions, its easy as pie.

Powertec Utility Bench
This came in a single box, with an additional smaller box for the leg attachment. Just as I noticed with the power rack, this is very sturdy gear. The upholstery on the bench is VERY nice, and rivals expensive commercial benches in quality. The bench itself is solid, and the seating area is sturdy when I sit on it, unlike the cheapo benches at Wal-Mart. The padding is nice and thick, and very comfortable. I do have a minor grip in that there is a good 6 inches of air between where the seat pad ends and the rest of the padding for your upper back begins. No problem, the small of your back covers it and during a heavy lift, will arch up a bit. The leg attachment is nice, but a bit awkward when laying down to do lying leg curls. I guess Ill get the hang of it. Also, I have yet to test if i can fit a 45lb Olympic plate on the leg attachment, as the clearance between the center post and the upper arm looks like it may barely accomodate it. Other than that, this is a FANTASTIC bench. It does incline, flat, and decline, and is sturdy as can be. The included wheels help move the bench around and it fits perfectly inside the power rack.

All in all, this is fantastic hardware that Im very happy to now own. Ill have pics added in the next day or so of my gear, along with the weights, etc. Im even thinking about purchasing the lat pull-down unit for the power rack, since you can do pull down movements for lats, tris, etc, and switch it up to do seated rows, curls, etc. Maybe in a month or so!

welp, my new powerrack is finally together as well as my utility bench! heres a quick review of both...
...
Im even thinking about purchasing the lat pull-down unit for the power rack, since you can do pull down movements for lats, tris, etc, and switch it up to do seated rows, curls, etc. Maybe in a month or so!

Thanks for the great descriptions of the equipment. I think I really like the Powertec stuff based on all the good things that have been said about it.

I would like to see that "6 inches of air" problem in a photo to better understand it.

Just a thought -- if you have the room for separate equipment, you may want a standalone lat machine instead of the one that attaches to the power rack. From what I have read, when the power rack has the lat machine attached to it, it can prevent you from moving the bench all the way back into the rack. Since I don't own one yet, I can't tell if that would be an issue.

Note: The above potential problem is only from something I remember reading -- hopefully this month I'll be able to start buying some of this equipment and see it for myself.

there's a thread on it from earlier where John describes the problems with the lat attachment and the power rack. MYOB is correct from what I recall.

Just ordered my powertec power rack and bench from megafitness!! I can't wait!

Got my power rack from Megafitness today and (with the wife's help) assembled it this evening. Whew! What a workout! ;)

It certainly is a fantastic piece of equipment. Solid and top-notch!

This is my first post to the forums. Several months ago a goon from the Something Awful Forums (http://forums.somethingawful.com/) posted about johnstonefitness.com and I became inspired to to do something about my fatness.

Tonight I bought the following items:
PowerTec Power Cage $348 from BigFitness.com
PowerTec Utility Bench $229 from Megafitness.com
500 Pounds of Olympic Plates $175 from Jesup Gym Equip.
500 Pounds of Hex Dumbbells $175 from Jesup Gym Equip.

I've got to find a good Olympic Bar and I'll be ready to start learning how to use all this stuff. (and how to eat smart, train, etc...)

I'll be looking to the forums as a guide and for inspiration.

Thanks y'all.

This is my first post to the forums. Several months ago a goon from the Something Awful Forums (http://forums.somethingawful.com/) posted about johnstonefitness.com and I became inspired to to do something about my fatness.

Tonight I bought the following items:
PowerTec Power Cage $348 from BigFitness.com
PowerTec Utility Bench $229 from Megafitness.com
500 Pounds of Olympic Plates $175 from Jesup Gym Equip.
500 Pounds of Hex Dumbbells $175 from Jesup Gym Equip.

I've got to find a good Olympic Bar and I'll be ready to start learning how to use all this stuff. (and how to eat smart, train, etc...)

I'll be looking to the forums as a guide and for inspiration.

Thanks y'all.


Hey Obscura, I plan on buying 500 lbs olympic plates and 500 lbs hex dumbbells from Jesup Gym Equip. I wanted to know what weight ranges you got for each. Thx

Hi, I'm pretty new to lifting and, while I've looked about just about every picture of the Powertec rack that I can find, I don't understand how the safety bars are going to help me if I'm lifting to exhaustion and need to get the bar off of me. In other words, if I'm bringing the bar down to my chest for each rep, the safety bars obviously aren't located any higher than my chest to catch it if I need help. Does this make any sense?

Do I need to buy a Smith machine instead?
Thanks in advance....

for bench press, you dont do it inside the cage, as the safety bars WOULD impede your movement. the safety bars have a place to hang a bar on outside of the cage, so you use those along with the other holders just like a regular bench is set up at the gym. one for the top and a lower one for you to slam the weight into when you lose it. this is how I do it, others may have their own way.

i do squats inside the rack, and put the safety pins about 2 inches below where the bar rests when im in the deep squat position. this way, if my knees go out, or something else happens, i can just drop the weight to the pins, and get outta there. i also do seated military press using the powerrack, but i do it outside set up similar to the bench press but have the holders higher on the pegs.

Hey Obscura, I plan on buying 500 lbs olympic plates and 500 lbs hex dumbbells from Jesup Gym Equip. I wanted to know what weight ranges you got for each. Thx

Here is what I chose...

Plates:
45 - 4
35 - 4
25 - 4
10 - 4
5 - 6
2.5 - 4

Dumbbells:
5 - 2
20 - 2
25 - 2
30 - 2
35 - 2
40 - 2
45 - 2
50 - 2

I thought about going every ten pounds and getting some of those 2.5 pound magnets but I didn't want to have to mess with'em.

I'll pick up a pair of 10 and 15 pound dumbbells from Oshmans or something to complete the low range of my set.

As soon as I find myself needing something heaver than 50 pounds I'll order another 500 pounds in the larger sizes.

I also added a 7' (700lb test) olympic bar and a pair of spring collars for an additional $55.00.

As soon as I have a chance to go by the warehouse and pick everything up I'll post some pictures.

for bench press, you dont do it inside the cage, as the safety bars WOULD impede your movement. the safety bars have a place to hang a bar on outside of the cage, so you use those along with the other holders just like a regular bench is set up at the gym. one for the top and a lower one for you to slam the weight into when you lose it. this is how I do it, others may have their own way.
That seems a little risky. What happens if you run out of the steam at the bottom of a rep and you can't get the bar off your chest? You'd have to roll it over your face to get it back onto the lower peg.

Hi, I'm pretty new to lifting and, while I've looked about just about every picture of the Powertec rack that I can find, I don't understand how the safety bars are going to help me if I'm lifting to exhaustion and need to get the bar off of me. In other words, if I'm bringing the bar down to my chest for each rep, the safety bars obviously aren't located any higher than my chest to catch it if I need help. Does this make any sense?

I haven't liften in years so I'm not really qualified to answer your question... But I'll add my $.02 anyway... In the past, when I was lifting, I did not lift to exhaustion without a spotter.

I would go with a leverage machine (http://www.egymequipment.com/womusy.html) before a smith. Not quite the same as free weights but much safer when lifting alone.

hahaa!


Congrats on your new gear! :)
I ordered from HGW and they used Old Dominion and 2 weeks later I called the shipper and it was still sitting on their dock! I was so upset I told them to send it back. I then ordered from Fitness Factory Direct and got it in 3 days via Fed Ex. I was so hyped about working out and then the wait was such a downer. BUT, and I do mean BUT, I DO NOT blame HGW for the mistake. They were wonderful about the whole deal and I will definitely still order from them if I need anything.

I picked up all of the above mentioned iron today from the Cap Barbell warehouse in Houston Texas.

The place was a huge warehouse, packed to the rafters with every kind of weightlifting equipment you could imagine. I signed some paperwork and they set out on forklifts driving around the warehouse lookin' for my order. After 20+ minutes they found it. When they set the palette on my little utility trailer it nearly bottomed out the leafsprings. (http://www.obscurasite.com/hardware/iron/on_trailer.jpg)

I drove carefully across town and when I got home I was like a kid at Christmas time. Everything was individually wrapped and it took the rest of the evening to open it all and carry everything upstairs to the room that will soon become my home gym.

The dumbbells are the standard hex style... seen one, you've seen'em all (http://www.obscurasite.com/hardware/iron/dumbbells.jpg). The plates were better than I expected. They are very rugged looking with a flat black finish and raised, silver letters that look hand painted (http://www.obscurasite.com/hardware/iron/25pounder.jpg). I was also surprised when I opened the bar and found out that it was chrome.

If you are thinking of taking advantage of this deal I reccomend it. It is hard to beat 35 cents a pound for decent quality NEW iron. :-)

The PowerRack should be here on Monday... No Tellin' on when the bench will show up. I am looking forward to starting up with the workouts.

Thanks again y'all for your support and encouragement.

I picked up all of the above mentioned iron today from the Cap Barbell warehouse in Houston Texas.

Sweeeet. You must have gotten a pretty good pump after lugging all that iron upstairs :flex:

I picked up all of the above mentioned iron today from the Cap Barbell warehouse in Houston Texas.

The place was a huge warehouse, packed to the rafters with every kind of weightlifting equipment you could imagine. I signed some paperwork and they set out on forklifts driving around the warehouse lookin' for my order. After 20+ minutes they found it. When they set the palette on my little utility trailer it nearly bottomed out the leafsprings. (http://www.obscurasite.com/hardware/iron/on_trailer.jpg)

I drove carefully across town and when I got home I was like a kid at Christmas time. Everything was individually wrapped and it took the rest of the evening to open it all and carry everything upstairs to the room that will soon become my home gym.

The dumbbells are the standard hex style... seen one, you've seen'em all (http://www.obscurasite.com/hardware/iron/dumbbells.jpg). The plates were better than I expected. They are very rugged looking with a flat black finish and raised, silver letters that look hand painted (http://www.obscurasite.com/hardware/iron/25pounder.jpg). I was also surprised when I opened the bar and found out that it was chrome.

If you are thinking of taking advantage of this deal I reccomend it. It is hard to beat 35 cents a pound for decent quality NEW iron. :-)

The PowerRack should be here on Monday... No Tellin' on when the bench will show up. I am looking forward to starting up with the workouts.

Thanks again y'all for your support and encouragement.
awesome setup man, im glad you got it all home in one piece!

That seems a little risky. What happens if you run out of the steam at the bottom of a rep and you can't get the bar off your chest? You'd have to roll it over your face to get it back onto the lower peg.

If you can't lock out, you don't roll it toward your face. You roll it down your stomach and rest it on your hips(be careful of the nutz-if you're a dude). Once you've got it sitting on your hips you should be able to sit up and roll it off your legs. Alternatively, if you don't use collars, you can tip the weight to the side enough so the plates fall off, then they'll fall off on the other side too.

I used to always go to failure on bench and even in a crowded gym when I got stuck no one really noticed because I used the technique described above-rolling it down.

If you roll it toward your neck you'll probably suffocate or crush your face.

The Power Rack showed up today right on time. Assembly was a breeze. Still no word on when my bench will be here or if it has even shipped.

The bench is the only missing component now. :-)

I found this deal at BodySolidStore.com:

http://www.bodysolidstore.com/berrys/catalog.cfm?dest=itempg&itemid=287&secid=83&linkon=section&linkid=83

$299 shipped. I've looked at BodySolid equipment at a local retailer, and it appears to be fairly sturdy stuff. Anyone have any experience or info?

:confused: I ordered mine from HGW and it was $349.00, including everything - no extra fees. It says this right on their web page (http://store.yahoo.com/homegym/powracsys.html):

"*bars, bench and weights not included; Price includes freight in the U.S. (48 states). Please call for shipping in other areas."

If you place the order online it doesn't add anything extra on, so don't know what happened when you called, that's just weird.


What is HWG? I