This thing consitutes the cornerstone of my dungeon gym.
Assembly was easy enough. They recommend a tape measure, though I don't know why, a 1/2" socket or crescent wrench, but in truth you need a 3/4" and a 1/2" socket. The nuts are 1/2" but the bolts are 3/4". Also, you'll want to lay the mats first, obviously, and assemble them so you don't scratch the finish.
The various pieces are zip tied together and it's advisable to have a good wire cutter with you.
I started with the caps, then went to the uprights, leaving the bolts loose until the very end. After the uprights I put the cross bar on. This was the hardest part and probably should be a two person job as one of the plate holders takes up it's position there. So that's three pieces I was trying to juggle at once.
Once the cross bar was on, I tightened down all the bolts, put on the top plate holders, then the saw teeth bar holders. Between laying the top layer of mats, assembling this beast, moving mats and rack, it took about four hours. There was significant changes to the mats, since they are of different firmness, I movd the botton, firm layer to the top and the softer mats to the bottom, then after doing all this, I decided to move them closer to the wall and have the rack rest entirely on the mats (I orginally had it half on, half off).
I ended up having the move the assembled rack several time over not so small distance. During all this the thing moved as one solid unit, with negligable sway in the component pieces.
My first workout came the day after. I've been slack the last 1.5-2 months, so didn't take creatine during this time, so I'm fully deloaded. While doing the front squats, I hit a point so low I couldn't get the bar back up and had to unload it on to the spotting arms. They are the same thick gague as the rest of the rack and held up nice.
I also tested putting the barbell in the top position (14) and using it as a pull-up station. I didn't notice any shaking or sway, so I find I don't need a VKR tower anymore.
Makes a great combo with the GFID-71 bench.
This piece gets a big thumbs up!
Assembly was easy enough. They recommend a tape measure, though I don't know why, a 1/2" socket or crescent wrench, but in truth you need a 3/4" and a 1/2" socket. The nuts are 1/2" but the bolts are 3/4". Also, you'll want to lay the mats first, obviously, and assemble them so you don't scratch the finish.
The various pieces are zip tied together and it's advisable to have a good wire cutter with you.
I started with the caps, then went to the uprights, leaving the bolts loose until the very end. After the uprights I put the cross bar on. This was the hardest part and probably should be a two person job as one of the plate holders takes up it's position there. So that's three pieces I was trying to juggle at once.
Once the cross bar was on, I tightened down all the bolts, put on the top plate holders, then the saw teeth bar holders. Between laying the top layer of mats, assembling this beast, moving mats and rack, it took about four hours. There was significant changes to the mats, since they are of different firmness, I movd the botton, firm layer to the top and the softer mats to the bottom, then after doing all this, I decided to move them closer to the wall and have the rack rest entirely on the mats (I orginally had it half on, half off).
I ended up having the move the assembled rack several time over not so small distance. During all this the thing moved as one solid unit, with negligable sway in the component pieces.
My first workout came the day after. I've been slack the last 1.5-2 months, so didn't take creatine during this time, so I'm fully deloaded. While doing the front squats, I hit a point so low I couldn't get the bar back up and had to unload it on to the spotting arms. They are the same thick gague as the rest of the rack and held up nice.
I also tested putting the barbell in the top position (14) and using it as a pull-up station. I didn't notice any shaking or sway, so I find I don't need a VKR tower anymore.
Makes a great combo with the GFID-71 bench.
This piece gets a big thumbs up!
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