I’m 47 years old and have been benching over 500 pounds consistently in competition for the last five years. I could not compete at this level or train as hard as I’d like without my elitefts™ 2x2 rack, especially since I train alone all of the time and in a bench shirt.

So, no hand-off, no spotters...just me and my elitefts™ rack. Many of the lifters I compete with know I train alone and always ask me how I do it. Well, my elitefts™ 2x2 rack is the best-and-only answer.

Here’s why I love the elitefts™ 2x2 rack:

1. The 2x2 is just as stable as the 3x3, especially if you get the plate storage option.

  • As a shirted bencher who uses the maximum allowable competition grip, that one inch on each side makes a big difference when you are re-racking. How many times have you almost cut off the tip of your little finger?

2. The one-inch hole spacing in the bench range is CRITICAL.

  • Getting to the bar properly is always difficult in a bench press shirt, especially in a new or very tight shirt.
  • One inch makes a major difference in your correct set up and your ability to quickly break in a new shirt.

3. Safety, safety, safety! Since I train alone and I also do a lot of board presses (especially with my new elitefts™ Shoulder Saver), having the spotter bars at exactly the right height is critical.

  • It gives you the confidence to go heavy or push for that last rep and not worry about getting stuck. There’s only one way to bench heavy, and that’s to bench heavy!
  • The 2x2 gives you an additional inch between the bar and your little finger on each side of the rack.
  • The top post is strong enough to handle reverse bands and suspension straps.
  • This is the same rack used in some of the most hardcore powerlifting gyms in the world, and it has held up to the strongest lifters.

4. On a typical power rack with a two- or even three-inch hole spacing, the spotter bars are always too high or too low, never perfect.

5. When you are training alone, having the bar at exactly the right height as you take it out of the rack is crucial. If it’s a little off, you will not be able to get it out and you run the risk of injury. The wrong rack height makes it impossible to bench heavy weights.

  • Again, without having the bar at precisely the right height, you run a significantly higher risk of injury. Your shoulders are most vulnerable taking the bar out and putting it back in the rack.
  • Having the J-cups with just the right depth, height, and angle is also important. The elitefts™ ones are perfect, and the bar comes right out.
  • The J-cups are designed to allow you to pull or arch the bar out of the rack instead of having to press or squat it out. This makes for an easier set up if you do not have a lift out on the bench, and you can arch to "monolift" it out for squats.
  • The low pin holes and safety spot pins are low enough to use with floor presses.

I meet people all the time at competitions who are getting in their shirt for the first time at the meet. They say that they can’t use their shirt effectively in their gym because their bench or rack is crap, or they tell me that they train alone so they can’t go heavy. That’s just poor planning – you need the right power rack.

Get the right power rack—elitefts™ is THE ONLY choice for me.

It’s the only and last power rack you’ll ever need.