Due to the many disadvantages of the gym, equipment such as queuing, and high membership fees, more and more people choose to build their home gym; free time, clean and hygienic, and also can exercise with family members to enhance their relationships.

In the early days of building a home gym, you don't need a lot of equipment, you can get some fantastic full body workouts with power racks, barbells, weight bench and more. The racks provide enough head-to-toe training for the world's strongest athletes. It can also work wonders and solve your troubles and worries while exercising.

The IFAST Home Gym Package is an excellent option if you are considering buying a rack. Here are some critical points about rack workouts if you already own a rack.

The 6 best power rack exercises are:

1. Barbell squat
2. Barbell bench press
3. Wide grip LAT pulldown
4. Cable bar front raise
5. Cable bar curl
6. Cable rope push down

Let's get into the article！ 

6 Best Power Rack Exercises: Muscles, How, Precautions

1.Barbell squat

Muscles Targeted: Quadriceps

Other muscles: hamstrings, calves, buttocks

How:

1. To start, place the barbell on top of the traps. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with your feet pointing outward. Keep your chest up and your head straight ahead.
2. Bend your knees and lower your body, pushing your hips back as far as possible with restraint. This requires the knees to move forward. Make sure your knees are in a straight line with your feet. Keep your torso as upright as possible.
3. Continue to lower the body, keeping the weight on the front of the heel. When the thighs meet the calves, reverse the motion and move the bar upwards.

Precautions

When we do barbell squats, we must pay attention to the weight of the barbell at the beginning, not too heavy, but not too light, otherwise, it will be easy to get injured, or it won't be easy to get the exercise effect. In addition, we need to pay attention to the fact that during the exercise, the back is always straight and cannot be arched, otherwise our back will be easily injured. The legs can be opened as wide as the shoulders so that our center of gravity is more stable, the body is not easy to lean forward, backward, left and right, and the safety is higher.

Related Article: Deadlift Vs Squat

2. Barbell bench press

Muscles Targeted: Pectoral muscles

How:

1. Determine a good grip, usually slightly wider than your shoulders, and lock the barbell with both hands. 
2. Keeping your chest and shoulders high, squeeze your shoulder blades back, feeling like your shoulder blades are poking into the bench.
3. Step with both feet on the ground, and the whole body should be tense, not relaxed, especially the hips, and the body should be fixed and not moved.
4. Please take a deep breath, pull out the bar, raise the bar, and lower it slowly.
5. When the barbell falls slowly, clamp your arms as close as possible to your body, exhale in small mouths, and let the barbell fall on the lower pectoral muscles.
6. After the barbell touches your chest, pause for a while, take a deep breath and push the barbell up.
7. At the top, take a deep breath and get ready for the next move.

Precautions

1. Holding the bar tightly at all times raises tension in the forearm, upper back, and chest muscles.
2. Keep your chest up (thoracic extension) throughout the movement, with your elbows close to your body, and your upper arms at about a 45-degree angle to your torso
3. The barbell's descent and push-up trajectory are similar to a bent-over row. Maintain control of the weight and keep it from falling freely.
4. Continued tension and isometric contractions in the back, hips, and legs (muscles contract with the same length and only increase in tension.)
5. As the bar lowers to your chest, lower your feet to the floor, push the bar up and exhale.
6. Unlock the joints at the highest point of the push and keep the back arched and the ribcage extended at all times.

Related Article: How to incline bench press

                         Barbell bench press Vs dumbbell bench press

3. Wide grip LAT pulldown

Muscles Targeted: Latissimus dorsi

Other Muscles: Biceps, Middle Back, Shoulders     

How:

1. Sit before the LAT machine and use a wide handle with high pulleys. Knee pads prevent the body from rising due to resistance. Adjust the knee pad to the proper position.
2. Hold the bar with the palm facing forward. Note when grasping: the distance between the hands is more than shoulder width when holding a wide grip; the distance between hands is shoulder width when having a middle grip. The distance between the hands is less than shoulder width in a narrow grip.
3. Hold the bar in front of you, straighten your arms, lean your body and head back about 30 degrees, bend your lower back, and keep your chest out. This is where the action starts.
4. As you exhale, pull your shoulders and upper arms back and down, pulling the handle down until it touches your upper chest. The upper body should remain stationary during the movement, with only the arms moving. The forearm grabs the lever, nothing else, don't pull the handle with the forearm. Tip: Concentrate on contracting your back muscles when fully tightened.
5. Pause for a second in the tightened position, contract the shoulder blades, and slowly return the handle to the starting position with the arms straight and the lats fully extended. Inhale during this part of the movement.
6. Repeat for the recommended number of repetitions.

Precautions

1.Hold the straight bar with both hands, divided into positive grip, reverse grip, and opposite grip. Although they are all back training, the positive grip focuses more on a few muscle groups in the upper back. The reverse grip can maximize the overall stimulation of the latissimus dorsi.

2.Be careful not to pull down the back of your neck. Otherwise, you will quickly hurt your shoulders.

Related Article: Close grip Vs wide grip LAT pulldown

                           How to do a LAT pulldown

4. Cable bar front raise

Muscles Targeted: Shoulders / Delts

How:

1. Select a suitable weight range on the low pulley, then hold the straight bar with both hands
2. With your back to the pulley, hold the bar with both hands and place it vertically in front of your thighs, with your palms facing them. This is your initial position.
3. Keep your torso steady (do not rock), lift your arms forward, bend your elbows slightly, and keep your palms down. Continue raising until your arms are almost parallel to the ground. Exhale as you do this, and hold for a moment as you reach the top.
4. Now inhale and slowly lower the arms back to the starting position.

Precautions

1. Raise your arms parallel to the front of the body, not to the sides.
2. The lower back plays a vital role in maintaining movement stability. The lower back must be naturally straight throughout the movement. As you lift the straight bar, your shoulder blades rotate downward, engaging several back muscles in the exercise.
3. Do your best to focus on the anterior deltoid during the movement, and don't overuse other muscles, such as the wrist, forearm, or triceps.

5. Cable bar curl 

Muscles Targeted: Biceps

How:

1. Stand with your torso upright and hold a straight bar attached to a low pulley. Grip shoulder-width apart, keeping your elbows close to your body. The palms are facing up (reverse grip). This is where the action starts.
2. Keeping the upper arm stationary, exhale and contract the biceps curl weight. Only the forearm should. Squeeze the biceps and contract at the top for one second. Continue the movement until your biceps are fully contracted and the bar is at shoulder height.
3. Slowly lower the bar back to the starting position while breathing in.
4. Repeat for the recommended number of repetitions.

Precautions

When doing rope curls, keep the body stable and tighten the whole body, that is, keep the abdomen, back and legs and buttocks tight to maintain body stability. The focus is on the biceps, while keeping the shoulders and upper arms still, the biceps pull the rope up and down. At the same time, note that the lowering speed should be slow and steady.

Related Article:  How to do dumbbell curls

6.Cable rope push down

Muscles Targeted: arm and back

How:

1. This is where the action starts. Select the weight and install the rope on the high pulley. Step back a few steps, feet staggered, holding the rope in both hands. Lean your hips forward, your back straight, and your arms in front of you. 
2. Keeping your arms straight, stretch your shoulders and pull the rope to your thighs.
3. Pause at the bottom of the movement to contract the lats. 
4. Return to the starting position without dropping the weight all together.

Precautions

      1 It is usual for your elbows to move slightly when you rewind the rope to the top

2. Many people think it is enough to put the forearm parallel to the ground when replaying this action, but it is not enough, it should always be placed in the most primitive position.
3. Stand close to the rope to ensure resistance is still felt when replaying to the top
4. If you want to keep your triceps stressed, don't lock your elbows when you pull down to the bottom and sink your shoulders away from your neck
5. When extending the arms, make sure your person is splayed back and not shoulders forward

IFAST Home Gym Package

Click and shop home gym packages👉 here

1000LB Capacity Power Cage x1 PCS
LAT pull down attachment x1 PCS
Adjustable Weight Bench x1 PCS
7 Ft Olympic WeightLifting Bars x1 PCS
Barbell squat pad x1 PCS
Olympic Bumper Plates 210lbs ( 10lb*4 / 15lb*2 / 25lb*2 / 45lb*2 ) x1 PCS