Dumbbells are the cornerstone of any home gym workout program. Keeping those dumbbell organized with a dumbbell rack is key for circuit training and home gym safety. This guide lays out the dumbbell rack types, how to choose a dumbbell rack, and the best dumbbell racks for your home gym.
Bear in mind that if you are into functional fitness, you should evaluate a kettlebell rack as this guide is solely focused to dumbbells.
Dumbbell Rack Types
There are several dumbbell rack types. These include vertical, horizontal, A-frame, staggered, and tree racks.
Vertical
It can be a pain (no pun intended) bending over all the time. After all, who can really be motivated to workout when you have a pinging pain in your back? The height of vertical dumbbell racks limits your need to constantly bend over. Aside from comfort, it is ideal for small gym spaces or if you just want to have more floor space to workout. Don’t put too much weight on them, though! Since its center of gravity is high, a it will topple over if you try to store a lot of heavy dumbbells.
Horizontal
Horizontal dumbbell racks are much like the vertical racks in that they also save space. Unlike a vertical rack, however, a horizontal dumbbell rack can hold heavier weights. Still, they don’t come without headaches. Racking heavy weights on this rack can become irksome after you’ve banged them on the upper shelf a few times.
A-Frame
The most common type of dumbbell holder is the A-frame. It, too, is similar to the vertical dumbbell rack. It’s a space saver, so someone short on space for their home gym will consider it to be an ideal choice. Also, they are best for light weights because they are not very sturdy. In fact, the only real difference is that the A-frame racks are, of course, shaped like the letter “A.” This means the notches are staggered and allow for easy access.
Staggered
Let’s face it. Some of you want to feel a bigger burn and your workout wouldn’t be complete if you couldn’t use heavier weights. If that’s the case, the staggered dumbbell rack is probably the better option for you. The structure and design of the staggered dumbbell rack is very sturdy so it can safely hold a variety of sizes. They generally angle out so you’ll have more room to retrieve and replace them without worrying about smashing your hands, but you will have to sacrifice more space than you would for all the previous designs.
Tree
Sometimes things get hectic at the office. While you can’t have a full workout session in your suit and tie or your skirt suit set, you can close your office door and get a couple of lightweight reps in. And, a compact tree weight rack is the best stand for such a compact workout. It’s also suitable if you use weights while doing light cardio workouts. Light workouts mean smaller weights so you should only use neoprene weights or very light dumbbells on this rack.
