Your reviews are always the best! Seriously, thank you for giving true reviews and making them as detailed as you do. As someone who recently purchased this exact rack and system, you were the channel that I kept coming back to to weigh the pros and cons. Excited to see more from you!
I'm a very busy dad with 3 small kids looking to upgrade my current home gym set up with plate loaded pull-down system for maximum efficiency, in and out of my home gym. I am heavily leaning on this rep set up and I thank you for this video. 🙏
@@twistedbarbell3950 It's been a bit bumpy with actually getting product from Rep. They forgot to send a few pieces, so I've had to wait to fully assemble things for a couple weeks. Hoping the wait is worth it --- but right now, I am not 100% sure I'd go with Rep again.
@@dansteiner9393 sorry to hear that, but their customer service has always been great, so be patient as I’m sure they’ll make it right. They have been doing some good innovation lately and building up their ecosystem of racks and attachments, so it’s a good brand to go with. It’s unfortunate some problems occurred, but in the end, when you’re training the way you want, it will all be worth it.
Thanks Tyrone and i think you’ll enjoy the upgrade as much as I am. if you found the video helpful to your decision, please consider using my affiliate link in description, as it helps me continue bringing content like this.
Thanks Lenny! About a year ago when the Ares was announced, I stated I most likely wouldn’t go with it and wanted to wait for this conversion kit Rep said they had in mind for the LLR. I’m glad they kept their word and that they put out such a quality upgrade. On another note, NoFate has his arriving soon and I’m sure he will publish a review too. I’m betting he’ll be just as pleased!
@@twistedbarbell3950 I placed my order for the PR-4000 Dual 93” Athena and Selectorized LLR. I have one observation from your video: I could hear the LLR making like a rubbing noise when you pulled down on the top plate. If you listen to your video you can pick it up. Let me know what that was. On another note it would be sweet if Rep would come out with a Smith bar option to add to the PR4000 or 5000 uprights on the Racks. It would be very simple for their engineers to do so. Something like the smith bar on the Ironmaster IM2000. Just the Smith Bar part. I getting older I’m in my mid 60’s and I’m kinda done with free weights almost. I still do deadlifts and sometimes squats but I like a smith bar , I have used them before and they are good, not everyone likes a smith bar but it’s an option i wish Rep would design. Thanks 💪🇺🇸
@@rambojohn7118 sounds like an awesome setup Lenny! Yes, the system is not silent and I do need to add more lube. I’ve never really been satisfied with the white lithium spray lube and need to find an alternative, but I think the loudest sound audible was when it was unbalanced with just an one extra weight on one band peg. A 2.5 on one side is not that unbalanced, but I recommend same weights on both pegs to keep it balanced and operating smoothly.
@@twistedbarbell3950 Try silicone spray. I’ve used the lithium grease and it’s messy, greasy and it collects dirt and dust. A lot of people recommend silicone instead of the grease.
I know with the Aries folks complain with a 16" cross member is is impossible to do incline bench-presses. Is the base far enough back to where you think it is possible to do inclines (outside the frame)?
They have to be done from the front of the rack (outside) due not only to the rear bar stabilizer, but also the foot plate of the LLR being in the way.
Awesome review - thanks. With the selectorised system, how much extra depth off the back of the rack do you need? Could you get away with 14 inches between the rear posts and the wall?
What brand is the poster you have in the background behind your rack? In reviews of the Rep Ares, people have complained about the excessively low angle of the low row, do you feel the low row in the selectorized attachment is also set too low?
The banner is from Conquering Barbell. As for the Low row height, I’ve never had a problem with it. For the versatility of the add on, I was happy to adapt to it and it works very well. I e never thought of it as excessively low.
Thanks for the review. My PR5000 gets here Monday and I got the 200# stack. I’ll be doing belt squats so will try a Gympin to both micro load at 5# increments and add 45’s instead of the stack upgrade.
My ceiling height is 8 feet 6 inches. I’m 6’1”. I’m wondering what height rack you would recommend. I’m wondering if the 93” rack would be too close to the ceiling. Thanks.
Nah, you’d be fine with the 93” rack and still have 9” to spare, which is good for any accessories that may be too mounted. You could always mount the pull up bar and any weight horns at a lower level than absolute top, to leave some headroom.
Thanks for the review. Were there any space savings behind the main posts? I believe you said to leave about 36" for the other lat pulldown attachment. wondering if we can get closer to the wall in the back with the selectorized one.
Yes, definitely. Not a ton but a noticeable difference. Basically, you no longer have to account for the width of a large plate. It’s only needing space for the attachment itself (imagine the old weight horn piece with no plates on it), that’s it.
The lat low row is one of reps best attachments even on the plate loaded system. It’s one of the things that make the PR5000 and Pr4000 really above other options if you have a smaller space.
Really love all your videos. I like most how you demonstrate exercises instead of just talking about the rack... My question for you follows. Do you believe that you could install the selectorized system on the back of a 6 post PR 5000? Would this overcome the bench bumping problem? Would it introduce any other issues? Mine should be getting here tomorrow. Just curious what your thoughts were. Okie
Thanks John. Yes, the only potential issue is dependent on the depth of the 5th & 6th posts. There is a piece of the LLR pulley system that sits over top of the rear cross member. If you only chose say 16” depth, it could interfere with that top front pulley piece. If you had say 24” or 30” depth to those rear posts, it should be fine.
Love this upgrade...but currently SUPER mad at myself for installing the main carriage backwards so my 20lb sticker is on the other side haha Ill fix it one day whenever I feel like taking it all apart again! Another great selling point of the selectorized for me was now I no longer need to have access to the back of my rack to easily add plates to the cable system. Which enabled me to move some equipment around and put it up against the back of the rack which gave me some more space to add other equipment to the garage! You absolutely nailed it with the wifey...my wife was super excited about this one!
lol, I think I saw that sticker gaffe on IG. It would be a pain, but if it works as is, then I’d leave it too. The extra space behind the rack is awesome! I feel like I can breathe in that area now and don’t have to tread so carefully back there. Glad to hear the wife is excited about the upgrade too! It really has the potential to include others in the household and even get them comfortable with the rest at some point.
I’m looking to buy the selectorized for my pr4000. On installation do you need to worry about anchoring the attachment to the ground or will it bolt down to the rack good enough?
Great review! What is the total depth from your wall to the front foot extensions? I'm also in limited space for a rack and wondering if I'll have room for a lat attachment and space to walk behind it
Thanks. I measured from front of rack to back of weight stack for someone else the other day and it was 66.5”. Just add length of front feet from Rep’s site, for your required length. Easily fits on my double horse stall mats with inches to spare
Can you install the rare stabilizer bar backwards so that it would bring the lat pull down section more into the rack?. I know I would lose the ability to work out inside the rack but I treat my rack like a half rack anyway and work outside of it
I’ve been eyeing this because I naively got the the Omni rack and now Athena plus ares aren’t compatible! Do you think it’d be possible to diy your way into using dual pulleys for things like flys? Could potentially connect to addtl cables and set the pulleys on the front rack 🤔 I’ve gotten pretty creative with a diy cable set up but having plate loaded system from top and bottom could be a game changer
Fantastic review! Do you have your rack bolted down? I noticed there's zero movement to your rack when performing bicep curls at 11:44. Looking to upgrade my Titan T3 and separate Titan plate loaded lat tower to this setup.
I thought of you throughout the making m, Joel. Not trying to spend your hard earned cash for you, but you won’t regret the upgrade. I just think you would want the additional 100lb weight upgrade, as strong as your Lat pull downs are! 😉
Great review . I also have height restrictions in my garage gym . My question is If I upgrade from the plate loaded pulldown & low row to this selectorized version , is there any additional height difference because I don’t have any more room above what I have now . Thank you Sir .
Yeah, it has to be one of my absolute favorite additions and it practically excites me every time I use it. It’s just SO easy! Pull and insert a pin. A variety of exercises in a session that flow with just a pin pull. It may bendito believe, but if you do upgrade, you’ll understand.
Hey, do you think now with this selectorized lat attachment on a 4-post rack, one can forego the front pair of foot extensions, and still maintain adequate stability? With 200+ lbs at the rear, I don't see it tipping at the front... Thoughts?
Your review was one of the final straws that pushed me over the edge to upgrade my plate loaded version! Did you find anything to use the old weight horns the old plate loaded version had? Hate to just throw it out but can’t think of anything to use it for
Rep killed it with this one especially for people who currently have the plate loaded lat low row. If I were to ever upgrade my plate loaded lat low row this would definitely be the route I’d go! Can’t justify the price of the Ares even tho that’s a monster too!
Thanks for the great video! Can I ask a dumb question? You mentioned that the 200lb stack was plenty for you, but I'm guessing you are more than 200 pounds and I've seen you do pull ups. How is a 200 pound stack sufficient for you? I thought lat pulls were to give you more weight than your body? I'm only about 10 months into strength training, and lat pulls are one of my main exercises that I focus on; but I'm still not even up to my body weight.
Lat pull downs are not easy and unless you are a Bodybuilder who competes at a high level, it is not typical to pull your body weight. I weigh 235 at the moment and only pull 160 for 10. If I did it 200, I might get 4 or 5 reps, but my form is would be very sloppy. With proper form, that 160 is tough
@@twistedbarbell3950Thank you very much for replying! That is great to know that I don't need as much weight. I thought if you weighed X pounds, you needed to be able to lat pull that amount to do pullups.
I have found an awkward resistance when i get to 140lbs or higher on the up and down motion of the weight. Not sure why that is the case. It glides super smooth at 130 or under.
Add: -You are absolutely correct about the fit and finish of the attachment. Beautiful welds and the paint is very smoothly applied -Excellent suggestion about adding plates to band pegs to increase weight increments. -My dip attachment is at the "back" of my rack. I had to remove it to use the row/lat pulldown attachment because the trolley arms would hit it. The band pegs of the selectorized system clear the dip attachment, so I can leave it in place. This decreases "set up time" slightly. Again, thanks for an excellent review
Great review! Love the hack you did to increase ROM as well. Have you tried using a connecting bar + chains/straps to do cable flys/crossovers and rear delt flys? I do that with a single pulley and it works just as well as a functional trainer for me. You’d be able to do that on a lat pulldown. A very cheap made in USA attachment is the Steadfast Multi Attachment. If you need a visual on how this is done, you can look up the Ironmaster Chain Fly Kit too.
@@twistedbarbell3950 it’s worth doing and that attachment I listed is like $30. Just like you said, there’s not much extra you’d get from a functional trainer for how much more it costs and this “hack” gets you 90% of the way there.
Great video! Quick question on the plate loaded version. Did you have issues with the trolley sticking along the rails when you were using it? Just got the plate loaded version and it seems to stick in the lower part more so than at the middle and top
Not at all. I had been asked about this by 2 others over the years and it seemed they had slightly bent guide rails. Check yours with a level and contact Rep if not straight - they've been great about replacing them.
I noticed mine doing that at the beginning. I found that tightening the bots on the bottom for the guide rods after the sled was installed to help a little. It seems there is a little play in the bolt holes that made the spacing at the bottom a hair narrower.
@@1bliss3 the type of lube used plays a large role in smoothness. I was never satisfied with the white lithium lube recommended. It tends to dry up and create sticky friction points. Silicone grease has been recommended to me. I cleaned them up again recently and used some BB grease and it slides beautifully with no sticky points.
@@twistedbarbell3950 so seated on a bench you get a full stretch on your lat pull-down-just to confirm..? I believe you said you are 6’2” in another video. I’m around 6’. On the fence about trying to squeeze a 93 rack in with the lat attachment which is around 96. Or just go with an 80. Thanks in advance!
@@cpbiceman Yes sir, full stretch on all Pulley exercises with the 80" rack! They've figured the right length of cable to make it work, regardless of your height.
@@twistedbarbell3950 at the height of the pandemic, all I could get my hands on was a PR 1100. I got the lat attachment as well. It's been an excellent fix, but I just want a little more. The attachments for the PR 1100 are very limited. In the near future, I may end up selling it, and all the attachments and replace it with the PR 4000. Love your set up bro.
. So if I get pr5000 4 post 30" with selectorized lat pull down attachment can I still use the rear uprights to store my plates and nothing with interfiere with the plates on uprigjts? What about benching inside the rack will that interfiere with plates loaded on uprights? I wanted to get the 30" since I have a straydog goat arm 24" long and thinking about getting another one to do press exercises inside rack and live them mounted permanently inside of rack. Or will it be worth it to just get the 6 post so I can use the back uprights for plate storage?
Also i I heard they sell these adapters to convert my 5/8" to 1" all the attacw ta I have are 5/8" so if I get pr5000 I have to get those pieces to make them 1"
You could, but you would have to be strategic about placement of the weight horns. If you watch my PR4K one year later video, I discuss and demonstrate this. I currently have all of my 45’s on the bottom of the rear uprights, because they don’t need interfere down there. Higher up they can interfere with bench or squats when you walk your squats out. I also keep some on the rear back cross member with the Rep logo plate. Also, yes, the adapters exist to convert 5/8” attachments for use with 1” holes (essentially a spacer to reduce the hole size).
Can the selectorized lat pull down attacent be used on a 4 post pr5000 16" rack? They are selling me a 16" 4 post pr5000 with a pair of sorinex jcups but no pull up bar for $600 but is like 4 hours away.
I got the extra weight add on with my Ares, but it would be a royal pain to add it later. I do love the weight stacks as I was able to do a circuit of lat pulldown, leg extensions, face pull, skull crushers and EZ bar curls. It saved me a ton of time as i was able to complete Juggernaut AI Powerlifting week 2, day 2 in only 45 minutes. i could not have been able to do that with my former Surplus Strength UPS as it would have taken more time. The other thing Ares adds is the front pulleys, which is what I do face pulls and leg extensions on. I do wish that Rep Fitness had put band pegs on the Ares.
NIce circuit Mark and you’re spot on with the timing. Agreed on adding weights later…I’m stuck with the 200…that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! 😂 The selectorized aspect makes it so much more efficient. I saw Mark (flex) doing face pulls from the front pulley and that’s how I did it in the gym. My new mod to the upper brace allows the same movement from the top pulley now, as well. Leg extensions from the front pulley is nice because you can make the height whatever you want.
Would u recomend the selectorized lat pull down? I am thinking about selling my titan selectorized lat pull down and my wall titan x3 rack to get the pr4000 and combine it with lat pull down. I am just not sure if I will like having the lat pull down inside rack🙄
I would recommend it, as it is a fantastic setup. You’ll save a lot of floor space over 2 separate pieces. It may take some getting used to in your case, but the rack setup doesn’t limit anything.
Thank u and nice set up. Another reason I want to buy full rack besides saving some space is too add bully glyder to create my own belt squat. I was going to buy rhino but takes too much space and it's pricey too. Do u have the 80" and if u have to do it all over again would u have gotten the taller version and the pr 5000 instead? Thank u. I have a straydog goat too so iam thinking since pr5000 has holes all tje way around it may be better for me, not sure though.
@@futbol1972 I have the 80” rack as a necessity due to low ceiling height. If I had taller ceilings, I would go 93” instead. I think I would also go with the PR5K instead, for convenience of locating accessories and storage on all sides of posts.
@Twisted Barbell thank u for the great video. I almost bought the rhino belt squat drop in with the lat pull down and low row attachment However i think I will get the rep pr 5000 with selectorized lat pull down attachmwnt and also get the bully glider to replicate rhino belt squats like mat does in his video. Really want a belt squat since I have 2 buldgig disk. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ILDpxpuSN8c.html
I would like to see Rep raise the foot plate to the RBS so you could row seated while on a bench. Shouldnt be too hard with a couple more pulleys. Instead of the cable coming straight out from the bottom, send it up under a lower pulley then up over a pulley attached to the RBS and then mount the foot plate to the RBS. Full disclosure, my lat/low arrives Friday so I'm not totally sure this would work yet. 😅
@@twistedbarbell3950 the top weight plate that has the bar and band pegs attached to it. The bar keeps hitting the plates when going back down instead of going directly in the hole
@@guy15124 my only suggestion is to make sure you threaded the pulley cable correctly. Otherwise, something might be bent. I had no such issues with mine.
@@guy15124 outside of possible installation error, the problem could be your floor is not level. I see the same issue with some functional trainers where the holes are pretty small and there is not much room for error in the path of the rod into the weight plate holes.
Rogue’s racks are great, but the versatility Rep has built into their racks with these offerings really opens up a ton of options and makes Rep’s racks more appealing IMO. If I were in the market right now, I’d still get another Rep rack and it would be the 5K.
@@twistedbarbell3950 thanks and probably going that way as Rogues CS lately for me has really sucked. They are usually great but the Rogue of a few years ago I think is long gone. So much that a lot of people are buying Rep instead. Doubt Rogue cares but still.
@@EricB03 that’s exactly my opinion as well. I like Rogue and I’d hate to see them lose a portion of their customer base or general appeal over time, but with those issues, shipping and stock issues, a lack of transparency and no new innovation in sight, they seem to be resting on their laurels. I hope I’m wrong because competition is good for all of us, but in the meantime, I’ll keep enjoying Rep’s offerings!
@@twistedbarbell3950 meant to ask you why pr5000 if you had to do it over? Also would you get 6 posts if you could? A lot of items for pr5000 are out of stock and personally don’t want the name plate so will need to wait.
@@EricB03 personal preference really. As having lived with the 4K, I’ve had some instances where I would have like a rack hole location, but it wasn’t there. All minor, but that’s the route I’d go if I were to do it again.