If you look at the picture, it should be obvious that I am not using these for their intended purpose. I attached these “storage feet” to the front of my Titan X3 Flat Foot rack. I did this because I would sometimes perform some exercises like overhead press or incline press off the front of the rack and I wanted to make sure that my rack was stable and would not somehow tip over on me. Now you may ask “Was there any reason to think that the rack loaded down with weight would have any chance of tipping on it’s own?” or “Are you even pressing enough weight where tipping could be a realistic concern?” To be honest, no and no. But these eased my completely irrational and stupid fears. Also, they fit perfectly (with a few mm of clearance from the existing flat feet), and they did not stick out so far that they might get in the way of my deadlifting space directly in front of my rack or get in the way of things like my Fringesport Mammoth Belt Squat (which is all the way down in the picture and still has plenty of space). Plus, they allowed me to attach some extra things to the front like the Kynett flywheel in the picture. I got the 4000 storage feet with 5/8 holes, which were a good price compared to other options. They have a slot for the bolts which allow you to place them at varying heights and have holes on all four sides. Plus the foot portion is the perfect width for stability without getting in the way. I have no idea how these would be on a storage rack. But for my purposes, they are great!

Before the Voltra started the digital resistance craze, flywheel trainers had a moment as maybe the next big thing. There were nice but expensive flywheel trainers, like Exxentric. There were also cheap, generic ones on AliExpress. Kynett is in the middle: cheaper than the top brands, but more expensive/reliable than AliExpress. So, this was the goldilocks of flywheels. The appeal was that it could perform some cable tower exercises (which I didn’t have then), and its small size and unique resistance profile. Basically, the harder you pull, the faster it spins, and the harder it pulls you back. I bought this on sale with 4 mm discs, two ratchet straps to mount it, and some free attachments. I later got the Lift Away mount and the 10 mm discs on sale. The base model is amazing! It’s a simple design, but well made. The 10 mm discs give more resistance. You can use individual discs or combinations, so I’ve got 5 disc combinations. I have a Quick Load Pulley from F&F Steel and replaced the pulley with a wider tractor pulley for the 1-to-2 pulley hack to double resistance. I was sick of the ratchet straps so I got the mount. It works when mounted high and you pull down. But it moves too much when mounted lower. So I’m stuck using a ratchet strap to tighten it down. I still really like the flywheel. I usually leave it mounted at the bottom of my rack, as in my picture, and use it for curls and overhead tricep extensions. I can do a front squat variation with a wedge and a row handle. I can just let my energy level dictate how much effort I put in/how hard it pulls. Now with better options like the Voltra available, it’s harder to recommend this. That said, I like that it takes up very little space and that I can use it without messing with weight stacks or electronics. If you don’t want to deal with charging a device or fiddling with a screen and you can’t get a cable tower, this is worth it.

The Horizon Grip is an excellent option if you have the Bells of Steel cable tower! I have one and after viewing a bunch of Reddit posts, I did the basic DIY customization other people did i.e. I bolted a bunch of extra stuff to the top of the tower. This helps get extra height for lat pulldown movements (and some other extra options). With these additions, the range of motion is decent. There is also a similar problem with trying to do low rows on the cable tower. I set a couple of dumbbells right in front of the tower and push my feet against those, but the range is still limited. The key to the Horizon Grip is that the three attachment points are basically in line with the grips. So you can attach a single cable or dual cables, and either choice does not decrease the range of motion. The knurling is good without being too passive or too aggressive. The attachment is small, light, and easy to store. Also, if you want to increase the range of motion even more, since it has a slight curve, you can turn it upside down. But this does decrease the stability. Rep and Rogue both have their multi-grip cable attachments that offer multiple grips and can be used with a landmine. But those cost three to four times the price for those additional options, and they also seem like huge cable attachments. I already have a cheap, close-grip row handle and a Titan parallel landmine handle. I also never liked the super-wide neutral-grip position. If I am going that wide, I prefer a pronated grip like a standard lat bar or the pronated MAG grip. If you want all the extra functionality, one of those multi-grip attachments might be worth the premium price. But I just wanted a medium, neutral-grip attachment for rows and lat pulldowns that wouldn’t sacrifice the range of motion. This is exactly what the Horizon Grip does! It does this very well and for much cheaper than the alternatives!

I bought the Jacked Stand because I wanted a good deadlift jack. It has worked great for me for years! Then, more recently, I got the REP x Kleva Genesis Jack when it was on sale. The promise of a lighter, more compact deadlift jack was appealing. Also, the hype! Oh, that hype got me feeling jealous! I must say that the Genesis Jack is much smaller and lighter than the Jacked Stand. But the Jacked Stand has a longer lever, which makes it slightly easier to use on a loaded bar. It also has a more comfortable, round, rubber-coated handle. Also, the width of both jacks is basically the same, but the deadlift cradle on the Genesis Jack is narrower than the foot. So the Jacked Stand has a larger cradle area, which makes it seem slightly more stable. Also, if you really want to travel with it, the Jacked Stand handle is removable, so it can be much smaller. Truth be told, both are great deadlift jacks and are significantly better than using one of those tiny rubber deadlift wedges or trying to roll a loaded barbell onto a 5 lbs plate on the floor. The Genesis Jack would still be better if you want to carry a deadlift jack in your gym bag and want the lightest one possible. It also does look cooler. Also, the Jacked Stand is made of wood that could wear down more easily over a long period of time. But from having both in my home gym, I keep reaching for the Jacked Stand because I think it is easier and more comfortable to use and slightly superior for my needs.

The BOS Weight Stack Pin is not as heavy-duty as the Gympin version. But it is also around half the price and fits perfectly on BOS Selectorized Cable Tower. It also comes with a cotter pin to secure the weight pin to the stack and a weight collar to keep the weights on the pin. I personally don’t like the weight collar since it is a spring-style collar that requires a little extra work to place and remove. I prefer to use a clamp-style collar, but it is still nice that they include these extras with the pin. The weight rating is only 20 lbs, but I am mostly using the pin for micro loading weights, so that is fine for me. Also, I noticed that if you load too much weight on the pin, it moves the center rod on the Cable Tower off slightly so that it starts to scrape against the back inside part of the selectorized weight plates. I think that getting a Gympin loaded with extra weight might exacerbate this issue. Overall, this pin is a great choice for the BOS Cable Tower at a great price!

I think the UPS High is underrated for smaller spaces. I have a smaller gym space with a four-post power rack next to the back wall. Adding a standard lat pulldown attachment to the back of my rack would have required moving the rack out more, which would have meant less floor space for me. The UPS High allows me to have a rack attached lat pulldown coming off the side of my rack. I use a Bells of Steel leg roller to hold my legs down. I can bench and then sit up and go right into a lat pulldown. It’s expensive for what it is, and having to deal with a loading pin can be cumbersome. But it works really well. I bought a Bells of Steel cable tower and modded it for pulldowns, and I keep going back to my UPS High for any heavy lat pulldown movements because it feels superior.

I can understand why people don’t like this bar. Yes, the knurling is too passive. Yes, the curve is a little weird, and the bar can flip on you if you are not careful when loading the weights initially. Yes, there are far better options out there if you have the money to spend. But I was able to get this bar for about $250 new. This was at a time when I was having trouble squatting with a regular barbell because of shoulder issues and I was concerned I would not be able to continue squatting. I have been squatting with this bar for the past few years and have been able to squat over 400 lbs without issue. I do find it a little awkward for pressing movements, but I think it works well for squats. For loading, I have a couple of 15 lb bumper plates that I put on first before loading the 45s. So long as I do that, I have not had issues with the bar flipping. Down the line, I may try to get a better curved squat bar. But if you can get this for a good price and are aware of the shortcomings, I think it would still be worth considering.