So, yeah...I've owned (the past tense is key here) one of these before. I think it was featured on one of those late night infomercials, and the fitness model demonstrating its use was a hot female. She had an excellent technique of shaking it up. And great eye contact. In any case, I was sold. When it arrived, I gave it an honest try. It took me but a minute to achieve something akin to "post nut clarity." The scales fell off and I realized that I was duped. I kept it around for a bit and just used it as a dumbbell. But when it became harder and harder to convince people that I "don't jerk it," I threw it away. I thought about selling it, but that would have meant letting someone know that I fell for the marketing hype. If you are stubborn and still insist on using it, observe these two rules. First, don't admit that you have one, and, two, don't make eye contact.

I know that this is made by Rogue and that it holds nine barbells, but when you search "Rogue 9 barbell holder," you'd be hard-pressed to find this model anywhere. True to its "Rogue" name, it is built like a tank, and is heavy. No bolting option is provided and none is needed. When you dig deeper into its design, it is understandable why Rogue upgraded the design of its 9 barbell holder. For one, this early model has no plastic inserts, etc. to protect the sleeves of the barbells. (It's like people back in the day expected their barbells to get scuffed during use.) Also, as one might be able to tell from the pic, it is narrower widthwise than lengthwise, which is not a problem when storing straight bars (e.g. olympic and powerlifting bars), but can be an issue when storing specialty bars. I store all of my most used bars in it, and they include specialty bars (e.g. trap, safety squat, swiss) - and they can, and do, bump into each other every now and then. Again, that is not a problem for me, but for someone who wants to keep any type of metal-on-metal contact of their barbells to a minimum, it might be a deal-breaker. (Looking at the design of the newer Rogue 9 barbell holder, it seems better suited to hold specialty bars in addition to olympic bars.)

This is an equipment from a bygone era when mass monsters roamed hardcore gyms. Its build quality is unsurpassed and, as a fan of weighted back extensions, I love not having to worry about the weight capacity of my equipment. It has a thick and comfortable padding, and the necessary split for certain anatomical features of its users. It ended up in my hands through good fortune or providence. A dear old lady whose husband had passed had listed it on FB marketplace for free (!), and I luckily was the first one to send her the annoying message, "Is this still available?" She said it was and was kind enough to hold it for me while I drove an hour to pick it up. Given the circumstances under which I acquired it, it serves as a memento mori (a reminder of death) for me that I am simply its next custodian, and that it will outlast me. I am not giving this the highest rating in terms of value because it is only available through the secondhand market, and it can be expensive (one would be lucky to find one under $500 range). For the price that one would be able to find this secondhand, there are solid options elsewhere. But if you are able to find one at a decent price, it's definitely worth getting.

When I bought my classic PowerBlock sport model (that goes up to 50 lbs) from FB marketplace, the seller threw this dumbbell stand in "for free." On it is engraved the motto that PowerBlocks are "the world's best dumbbells." Whether that is true or not, I'm pretty sure that these are not the world's best dumbbell stand. There are much better dumbbell stands out there, and these feel like relics from the 90s. So, if these were not thrown in with my secondhand dumbbell purchase, I doubt that I would have bought them. However, I've had no problems with it - thus far. But I am pretty gentle when unracking (or racking) my PowerBlocks off of (or onto) this stand. (Also, since this stand is marketed as being specifically designed for PowerBlocks, I don't know how it would perform with other adjustable dumbbells.)

If you happen to have standard (1" hole) plates lying around, these handles are great for creating "pro style" dumbbells out of them. I got one handle that goes up to 100 lbs (five pancake 10 lb plates per side) for doing one-arm rows. When tightened, the plates don't jiggle at all, and the whole dumbbell feels solid. My only grip about its "build quality" is that the knurling is a bit too passive for my taste. As for "value," it depends on whether you have standard plates around. If you don't, then it might be preferable to buy a solid dumbbell rather than making one via such plates.

This power rack has a high sentimental value to me, thus this review is totally subjective. It's one of the earliest equipment that I bought for my home gym back in 2012 when I wanted an equipment that I can squat and bench in safely. I found in on Craigslist and the gentleman who was selling it was an old weightlifting coach who was in the process of moving, and didn't want to pay for shipping to move this beast across the country - and who didn't want to see it go to the scrap heaps. I got it for mere $300 and what he told me was that it was fabricated by someone who was himself a lifter. I don't know how old it is, but it is built stoutly and to last: 3" x 3" tubing of 7 gauge steel all welded together. There are no bolts holding it together. It originally came in navy blue, but I later scraped the paint off, planning to change its color. But when I saw the grinding marks underneath, and the rugged bare steel, I liked the look of it, so I kept it unpainted. It, as a result, has taken on some surface rust. But I don't mind it, for I think it gives it character. It has patinaed as I have grayed. Power racks have evolved since I bought it, and I have been at times tempted to sell it for a newer, flashier model (something by Rogue or Rep, perhaps). But it does everything that I need it to do, and its 3" x 3" tubing with 1" holes gives it a modularity that its fabricator perhaps couldn't have envisioned. There was about a two year's time in my training history in which I took a break from the iron and did calisthenics exclusively. During that time, I didn't touch this rack once (pull ups were done via a bar on my doorway), but it waited patiently until I returned. And when I did, we picked things up right where we left off - just like old friends. I will continue to train in it until the time comes for the good Lord to call me home. Then I'll pass this on to the next steward, asking that they use it to get and stay strong - and to keep it away from the scrap heaps.

Yes, I think we've all used these clips before. I had a pair that came with a weight set that I bought from Sports Authority (RIP) many, many years ago. They do hold your plates, and it's better than not using collars at all. But there are so many better options with respect to collars that I can't recommend these in good conscience. I gave mine away years ago to someone who was starting their home gym. (If you are part of any gym that provides only these types of collars, you can be sure that they don't care about you.)

I first heard of Loeft Fitness from Carp's Gym on YouTube, when he praised their 32mm squat bar. Soon afterwards, I found their 29mm powerlifting bar and decided to purchase it. I'm glad I did. I love its aggressive knurling, which feels really sticky to the touch. At the time of this writing, I don't think there's a better powerlifting bar at the same price point. (Bells of Steel's Barenaked Power Bar is often mentioned as the best budget powerlifting bar, but its price is currently $50 more than Loeft's power bar.)