Power Rack Attachments – Types, Compatibility & Choosing [Mega Guide by Personal Trainer]

Gallons.

That’s the answer if the question is “How much sweat did it take to complete this guide?”

I feel it was worth it, though…because we created a behemoth.

I honestly believe this page is home to THE most complete guide on rack attachments out there.

My name is Steve Hoyles, I’m a personal trainer and a gym owner with over two decades of experience in the biz.

That’s 6000+ days in the gym.

Some of those days included choosing and buying rack attachments.

All days included using them.

My point is this – I know all there is to know about these things.

But enough about me…

If you’re here, you probably belong to one of the following 4 groups:

1. You already own a rack and want to figure out what attachments exist for it (and which of those you need).
2. You already own a rack and have a specific attachment in mind but you’re unsure about compatibility, prices and brands.
3. You’re just starting out your home-gym and want to create a plan that gets you a good rack and useful attachments without breaking the bank. In other words, you want clarity on what’s what before you spend a buck.
4. You’re my wife and you want to see “why in the world do I need weeks to write about stuff that I’ve been doing forever.”

Unless you’re in group #4, you won’t be disappointed.

There are a few good pieces of content on rack attachments out there.

Here’s the problem…

Most of them focus on one side of the story:

• Listing attachments types.
• Listing specific attachments.
• Compatibility in general.
• Cross-compatibility between brands.

We did all that.

We then juiced it up and combined it into one guide.

Basically, we looked at more attachments, more racks, more brands…and organized it all better.

To create this guide, we looked at 450 power rack attachments and 100+ racks from 35 sources on the web – from Amazon to brand sites.

Combined, that’s like…a lot…

We then sorted everything by type and rack-compatibility.

In a word – I wrote this guide to cover all angles (and a few blind spots).

Enough blabber, let’s dive in…

Click one of the buttons below to continue reading the part that interests you the most.

Power rack attachment types

Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need it?	Typical mounting
J-hooks	Hold the barbell	Yes	3 sides + 1 pin
Price range: $30-110
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Safeties – tubes or straps	Safety, primarily when squatting “in the cage.”	Yes- unless you have spotter arms	Typically three-side fit, one peg and (optional) extra pins.
Price range: $40-220
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Spotter Arms	Safety when lifting alone	Yes unless you have straps or pins	One peg, three-sided hug (optional extra pins)
Price range: $60-220
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Weight horns / plate-storage attachments	Storing your weight plates & stabilization	Yes- unless you have separate storage	On one side of the uprights, one peg and extra pins or screws.
Price range: $20-120
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Dip bars	Dip station on your rack.	You do if you’re big on dips and don’t have the space for a standalone station.	Three-sided hug of the upright, one hole and extra pins. Some attach to the box-tube safeties, (like the dip bars for REP 1000 series).
Price range: $50-300
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Pull-up attachments – bars, handles, and spheres	Creating a pull-up station on your rack.	You need it if you’re doing pull-ups and don’t have a dedicated space.	Various types – from attaching it to the uprights and cross-members to inserting them through one hole.
Price range: $50-400+
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Monolift arm	Better safety and more convenient lifts, especially on heavy squats and bench presses.	If you’re working out alone and lifting heavy, you’ll love a Monolift arm.	Three-sided hug of the upright, often with an extra pin on the fourth side.
Price range: $
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Crossmembers / stabilizers	Additional stabilization of racks. Sometimes they double as pull-up bars.	You do if your rack feels wobbly or you need extra space to hang stuff from.	They attach to the uprights. Nine out of ten times, this makes them unique to specific racks/brands.
Price range: $50-250
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Lever arms	Lifting with a fixed path, which translates to better isolation, motion control and safety.	You need lever arms if you want to mix it up and replace some free-weight lifts with isometric or extra explosive movements…all while staying safe. They aid shoulder recovery and mimic free-weight back pulls and presses.	They hug the upright on three or four sides and mount using one or two pegs (and extra pins).
Price range: $200-1200
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Additional Storage – shelves etc.	One-hole mounting, typically using screws. The limiting factor in terms of profile size are the side notches.	If you have things laying around the gym  (and don’t like it).	One-hole mounting, typically using screws. The limiting factors in terms of profile size are the side notches.
Price range: $30-300
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Barbell storage attachments	Preventing damage to your barbell and organizing your space.	If you’re moving barbells around between lifts…or stepping over them.	One-side attachment using screws. If the spacing and hole-size is correct, they’re interchangeable between brands.
Price range: $30-200
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need it?	Typical mounting
Rope anchor	Anchoring a rope (duh).	You need it if you’re at all into rope-training.	Three-sided hug over the rack one peg with an extra pin. Sometimes it’s just screws.
Price range: $20-60
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Pegs/pins	Attaching resistance bands and ropes.	If you’re using elastic bands for training or to vary resistance on squats, deadlifts, rows and bench presses (lifting against combined resistance of free weight and elastic bands).	You pin them through a hole. They’re inter-compatible between brands as long as the diameter is right.
Price range: around 5 bucks
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Resistance bands	Training with elastic bands or varying resistance.	Most people do, even when they don’t like the concept initially. Bands are a uniquely cheap way to mix up resistance types and add to free weights and machines. That especially goes if you’re recovering from an injury and do a lot of stretching.	You tie them to the pin, pegs, bars or the rack itself.
Price range: $10-80 Our favorite set: ROGUE MONSTER BANDS
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Rack extenders	Creating extra space for attachments outside the rack’s initial footprint.	You need an extender if you’ve used up the space for attachment on the rack, but do have space to the side/back/front of the unit.	One-side attachments that screw onto the uprights.
Price range: $150-300
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need it?	Typical mounting
Landmine attachments	Creating a station for landmine rows, presses, Russian twists etc. It’s a way to make rotational barbell lifts safer and controlled.	If you’re a serious lifter, you probably do. It’s cheap, fun and allows you to add a new level to your workouts using the barbells you already own.	Attaches to the base of the rack, typically on one side. Compatibility-wise, some of them are limited by the space on the peg.
Price range: $30-170
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need it?	Typical mounting
Cable crossover	Creating a cable crossover station on your rack.	You might need it if you don’t own a functional trainer or a standalone crossover machine…if you have the space for it.	Multiple attachment points…typically unique for a specific rack.
Price range: $400-1000 Image –
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
High and low pulleys	Adding low and top pulley stations.	Those without a functional trainer will see massive benefits from adding pulleys.	Some are simple and attached to any part of the bar. Others, like Rogue’s slinger, are robust and intricate and uniquely compatible with specific racks.
Price range: $500-2000
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need it?	Typical mounting
Leg roller	Foot positioning for a range of movements – from sissy-squats to sit-ups.	90% of home gym owners will benefit from introducing a leg-roller into their routine. And they’re cheap.	One-hole, secured with a screw or pin.
Price range: $ Image –
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Seat for lat pulldown	For seating when doing lat-pulldowns.	If you’re adding a high-pulley to your rack and don’t have a dedicated lat machine, you’ll also need a seat.	Three-sided mount, using one peg and extra pins. With some brands, you screw the seat in place.
Price range: $ Image –
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need it?	Typical mounting
Rower attachment	Adding a rower to your set up.	If you like rowing and don’t have the space for a standalone unit.	You attach it to the uprights or the bottom crossmembers of the rack.
Price range: $ Image –
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need it?	Typical mounting
Belt-squat	Performing hip belt squats – i.e. squatting without loading your spine.	If you’re squatting around a back injury or want to lower the risks, you need a belt-squat attachment….yes, even if this is the first time you’ve heard of it. It’s an awesome piece of equipment but few people have the space or budget for the standalone units.	Mounts onto one or two uprights (drop-in).
Price range: $500-2200
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Squat handles	Adding stability and increasing safety on heavy squats.	You need the handles in a few scenarios: – You have form problems, especially spine-alignment – You’re squatting with injured shoulders – You’re using a safety squat bar and the grip feels too close – You’re using a belt-squat and don’t know what to do with your hands	Three-sided hug, one peg… Sometimes extra pin.
Price range: $ Image –
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Dumbbell holders	Storing your dumbbells on the rack.	You probably don’t…unless you do a lot of super and drop series and hate reaching down or around the rack for the dumbells.	Screw into the upright from one side or hug it from three sides. The downward momentum is massive, so there should be zero wobble.
Price range: $ Image –
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Leg curl	Adding a leg-curl station to your rack.	If you don’t skip leg days and don’t own a dedicated leg-curl machine, getting an attachment is an elegant way around the problem.	Typically hugs the upright from three sides and is secured with one to three pegs and additional pins.
Price range: $300-500
Attachment	What it’s for	You need it if…	Typical mounting
Smith machine	Attaching a Smith machine to a rack.	You want a Smith machine but don’t have the space for the standalone.	Multiple attachment points on the uprights.
Price range: $300-1000 Our pick: RitFit
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Reverse hyper and GHD attachments	Adding a reverse hyperextension or a glute-ham developer station to your rack.	You might need one if you want to bring new intensity to training your glutes and hams.	Three-sided hug on the upright with a separate pad.
Price range: $300-900 Our pick: Rogue Echo
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Muscle roller	Pain and spasm relief through self-massage.	Probably yes.	Simple, typically using one pin.
Price range: $50-220
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Chalk bowl	Keeping your chalk on-hand.	Not unless you’re a powerlifter.	One or three-sided mounting using one pin.
Price range: $
Attachment	What it’s for	Who needs them?	Typical mounting
Writing surface (dry erase)	Keeping track of reps and weights if you’re short term memory isn’t great.	I knew the answer to this but I don’t remember it… …kidding…it’s a nice-to-have if you have intricate workout plans.	One or three-sided mounting with one pin.
Price range: around 50 bucks Our pick: ROGUE DRY ERASE CHANNEL (3X3″)
Attachment	What it’s for	You need it if…	Typical mounting
Ball target	Medical ball training without running the walls.	You’re into wall ball but can’t spare a wall.	One-side, two or three holes.
Price range: $60-120
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Boxing attachments – bags	Boxing stuff.	You do if you’re into boxing but don’t have space for standalone bags.	Onto a bar or via a shackle.
Price range: $100-1000+
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Stabilizer rack legs	Stabilizing the rack.	You do if your rack feels wobbly and you have the floor space.	They attach to the front and back of the uprights. Because of the slope, they’re rack-specific.
Price range: $50-130
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Gymnastics rings	Body-weight upper body exercises.	You might if you’re into low-impact exercises that promote flexibility and mobility. For gymnastics, you’ll need to mount them onto a ceiling or wall.	Directly onto crossbars or on shackles.
Price range: $20-80 Our pick: Double Circle Wood Rings
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Stall bars – Swedish ladder	Stretching, some body-weight exercises, like leg raises, as rope anchors and band storage.	Yes, even if you don’t know it now….given that you can afford to “sacrifice” one side of the rack.	Screws and mounting plates between crossmembers. You can also get bars meant for wall-mounting and attach them to a rack (you’ll need some extra hardware).
Price range: $500-1000 Our pick: ROGUE STALL BARS
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Shackles	Attaching any hanging accessory.	You probably do or will at some point.	They screw onto the opposite side of the horizontal crossmembers
Price range: $15-60
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need one?	Typical mounting
Bench for hip thrusts	Optimizing your form on hip thrusts.	You might if you’re big on glute workouts and regular benches feel too tall for hip thrusts.	Three-sided hug on two uprights.
Price range: $200-300 Our picks: Monster and Monster Lite Hip-thrust benches
Attachment	What it’s for	Do you need them?	Typical mounting
Support pads for chest and back flies	Stabilization and better isolation on standing dumbbell flies.	If you have problems feeling the back or pecs on dumbbell flies, a pad will go a long way.	One or three-sided on the upright.
Price range: $100-200 Our pick: COBANTFIT pad

Power rack attachments compatibility

Below is a list that was promised.

It’s a triple-distilled version of our complete database.

It includes every single attachment that’s worth your attention (and possibly your money), organized by dimensions of the uprights it fits and the diameter of the peg(s).

Every table also contains columns that describe the “hug” (number of sides that are in contact with the rack and limit compatibility) and number of pegs used for mounting.

Also, bookmark this page because the table below is the only attachment-choosing tool you’ll ever need.

That’s a bold claim and I stand behind it.

Let’s get to it…

Below is a mega list of 500+ attachments sorted by two main factors – size and peg diameter.

Those two columns are followed by the type of mounting and number of holes used to do it. These two can be a limiting factor but don’t have to be.

Attachments for 3×3 profiles

Attachments for 2.5×2.5 power-rack profiles

Attachments for 2 ⅜” x 2 ⅜ squat-rack profiles

Non-standard profiles

Attachments for 2×2 rack profiles

Power rack accessories and attachments for 2×3 profiles

Rack attachments  for 2.36×2.36-inch profile (60×60 mm)

Other squat rack attachments (compatibility not limited by upright profile or flexible fit)

Power rack attachment compatibility – what’s what

Compatibility between a rack and an attachment is over-complicated in the home-gym space.

I’m not sure why…

It’s probably for the same reason that people complicate weight loss and fitness in general – because confusion sells.

Compatibility is actually pretty simple and intuitive.

It’s basically a game of Tetris with a few extra rules.

It comes down to 4 things:

1. Profile – dimensions and shape.
2. Diameter of the pin vs. the diameter of the holes.
3. Number of pins used to secure the attachment.
4. Some brand-specific stuff.

I’ll unpack that as simply as I can.

Profile – dimensions

This is about the dimensions of the uprights vs. the dimensions of the attachment.

The rule is intuitive – the attachment will fit if it’s the same size as the uprights, the holes line up and the pin fits.

It will all be much clearer in a minute…as I give examples.

Bonus tip: If you have an attachment in mind that’s bigger than the profile but the pin fits, you might still make it work by adding plastic adjusters/adapters or drilling extra holes.

Mounting (one vs. multiple sides) aka. “THE HUG”

What in the world is a hug of a rack attachment?

It’s a term I made up.

I came up with it to plasticly describe mounting compatibility.

“Hug” is the number of sides on which there is a rigid limit between the upright and the attachment.

It sounds complicated and it’s anything but.

I’ll explain it here ‘cause I’ll be using it to describe stuff.

Let’s look at a simple j-hook – it encloses the upright on three sides, which is what I call a three-side hug.

On the other hand, most pull-up attachments (like the sphere below) have a one-sided hug.

Because it’s a key part of the compatibility story.

Note these three things:

1. You can mount that sphere on any rack as long as the screws line up and fit the holes.
2. The j-hook is much less flexible but allows for a more stable connection without screws.
3. I don’t include pegs as “rigid limits.”

Bottom line – One-sided hug sounds sad but it gives you more flexibility to mix and match.

Diameters – pegs vs. holes

This is a basic one – the hole needs to be bigger for the pin to fit.

Ideally, the hole is made for the specific diameter, like in the image below.

That’s in theory…In theory, any pin that’s smaller than the hole fits (duh!) but will need to be secured with a bolt.

Hole spacing and number of pins

Another obvious point – if there are two pins, the rack holes will need to be at the same distance.

Most two-pin attachments and most racks have 2-inch spacing in the area where attachments go.

With a few exceptions…like spotter arms.

Spotter arms are mounted around the bench pressing area, and many racks feature 1-inch spacing there.

It’s a non-issue 90% of the time.

Why?

Because spotter arms are typically 1-peg attachments.

Keep these points in mind when browsing the list of specific attachments. Click here to skip directly to that list.

Some attachments that should fit, don’t.

This is a caveat that shouldn’t exist but it surely does.

I’ve seen 3×3 attachments that aren’t really a fit for all 3×3 racks.

It happens for 3 reasons:

1. Quality issues of generic attachments.
   
   This is basically Chinese stuff that’s not precision-cut so the tolerances are off.
   
   What you can do about it
   
   If you’re looking at an attachment on Amazon and don’t recognize the name, search the reviews for the word “compatibility.” If there’s an issue, someone likely already talked about it.
2. Conversion issues between metric and American sizes.
   
   Some companies actually use the millimeters when making their stuff and then convert to inches in their listings.
   
   Here’s a good example…

Some attachments are listed as 2.5, when they’re in fact 60 millimeters (2,36 inches).

If that sounds confusing, don’t worry – I’ve separated the two whenever possible and made special notes about it.

3. Finally, sometimes it’s just intentional because the companies want you to buy their stuff….the rack, the attachments, all of it…

I don’t care if it’s a unit thing or planned.

It comes off as a sneaky money-grab.

Titan’s attachments are a case in point – their spacing is slightly lesser and the pegs are slightly thicker.

We’ll talk more about the problem in the FAQs – click here to skip to that.

Bottom line – don’t fret about the outliers and the exceptions, understand the basics and take it from there. Let me worry about the anomalies and point them out.

Attachment types (what they are, who they’re for, and the budget “damage”)

In this section, I’ll go over ALL power rack attachments that deserve your attention.

If you’re unsure of what exists, don’t skip this part.

I’ll make it a quick-fire list that answers 4 questions:

1. What’s the purpose of the power rack attachment?
2. How to know if you need it.
3. How it typically mounts.
4. How much it costs (the whole range, from the generic to the top-tier stuff).

The endgame is giving you all the tools to plan your home gym budget smartly.

Let’s do it…

Popular rack-attachment brands and compatibility between them

Compatibility between major attachment brands is a needlessly convoluted topic (below this section you can find the FAQs).

Let’s untangle that…

Rogue rack attachments

We included 120 Rogue in our analysis

The number includes everything from simple j-hooks to robust trolley-system attachments which are basically a combo of a lever and monolift arm.

Below are a few bottom-line takeaways about Rogue rack attachments.

• They make some of the best stuff in the industry, especially if you limit the search to non or semi-commercial rack accessories.
  
  What’s better about their attachments?

The materials and coatings and precision of the build, which translates to overall coolness (as it tends to with the brand).

My personal favorite are Rogue cable attachments like the Slinger…they’re next-level.

Rogue cable attachments

Rogue cable attachments are my favorite section of their portfolio.

That goes especially for the Slinger and the Rhino belt-squat.

In terms of compatibility, you might be able to make the Slinger work with non-Rogue racks, but drop-in attachments will be a unique fit with Rogue racks.

REP rack attachments

About 105 of all attachments in our database come from REP – 46 to be exact.

They make some awesome stuff and are often the top value in their respective categories.

That’s especially true for sandwich J-hooks.

Why?

Because racks are the meat of their sales and they have to cater to the people who’re buying them.

Do REP attachment fit Rogue racks?

REP attachments theoretically fit ROGUE racks, but in practice, that’s not the case for all attachments.

REP J-cups, for example, are a fraction of an inch too small to comfortably fit a Rogue 3×3 upright.

In most cases, you can still make them work with minor modifications.

Titan attachments

Titan attachments are made with their racks in mind, the T3 above all else.

I’d even say that Titan goes out of their way to make their accessories non-compatible with other brands of racks.

The pegs are a bit bigger and the hole spacing is a bit off. I measured it at about 1.972” instead of 2 inches.

For one-peg attachments that’s not a big deal but it adds up.

Titan has made strides…you gotta give them that.

People used to buy their racks (mainly the T-2 and t-3) but not trust their attachments or have a hard time finding the accessory they need.

So they created hybrid, Frankenstein-style set-ups with Titan racks and Rogue attachments.

This required drilling extra holes and making extra trips to Home Depot for extra pins and screws.

That was like ten years ago.

Today, Titan still refuses to budge on the size and spacing, but their attachments are better than they used to be.

Ethos power rack attachments

What attachments are compatible with the famous Ethos racks from Dick’s?

It’s one of the more common questions in the space…

Most 3×3 attachments with 1-inch pegs and spacing that’s a multiple of 2 will fit the Ethos.

I say “most”…

That’s because the holes on the Ethos don’t go all the way up and they get smaller towards the top, which is a non-starter for attachments like pull-up bars and top pulleys.

Bottom line – there are plenty of cheap attachments on Amazon that will fit the Ethos.

Having said that, if you don’t already own it, I’d stay away from the Ethos rack – you can get much better racks for less (Titan’s T3 is the perfect example).

FAQs about squat rack attachments

Below you can find the FAQs about squat rack attachments…

Key takeaways on choosing squat rack accessories

I honestly think that this page is home to the most comprehensive guide on power rack attachments – in 4 ways:

1. Attachment types that exist.
2. The sheer number of attachments – specific products to choose from (400+).
3. Compatibility information – both general and across brands.
4. Outliers and exceptions to look out for.

Just as importantly, we update it all the time to make sure it stays fresh.

So, bookmarking it for future reference is a smart move.

If you wanna keep reading, click one of the links below to skip to a specific section:

• Compatibility – reference info (what’s what)
• Attachment types (what they are and do you need them)
• Specific attachments sorted by compatible rack profiles

If you’re not clear on which attachments to get, head over to our guide on the best power rack attachment here.