Building a strength room around the big three

If your athletes or members train mainly to get strong in the squat, bench press and deadlift, the room should be planned around those three lifts first. Everything else is supporting cast.

Start with the rack

The rack is where most of the work happens, so it decides the layout. For heavy squats and bench, look for:

• Fine hole spacing through the bench zone. Closer spacing lets lifters set the bar exactly where they need it.
• Safety arms or straps rated for the loads you'll actually use. Strong, adjustable safeties let lifters push hard without a spotter on every set.
• Enough depth and footprint for a lifter to walk a heavy bar out without clipping the uprights.
• Bolt-down or platform-mounted options. Heavy, stable racks don't creep across the floor.

Combo racks that convert between squat and competition-style bench work well in smaller rooms. In a busy team room, separate squat racks and bench stations stop queues forming.

Bars and plates

Powerlifting-style training benefits from bars built for the job. A stiff power bar (typically 29 mm) is ideal for squat and bench. A longer, whippier deadlift bar (typically 27 mm) suits athletes who pull heavy. Calibrated steel plates are thinner and more accurate. They let you load more weight on the sleeve, and they're the right choice where the bar is rarely dropped from height.

If deadlifts are going to be dropped or lowered quickly, bumper plates and a proper platform protect the bar, the plates and the slab.

Give the deadlift its own floor

Deadlifts are the heaviest lift in the room, and they put the most load into the floor. LUXGYM's standard offering is seamless rolled rubber with inlaid deadlift platforms. The platform sits flush in the floor, so there's no trip edge, and the impact zone is built to take repeated heavy pulls. See Drop zones and lifting platforms.

Plan the space between stations

Heavy lifting needs room around it: space to load plates, for a spotter to stand behind the lifter, and for the next athlete to wait without being in the way. A plate tree beside every rack saves a lot of walking, and so does a bar rack close to the lifting zone. Before ordering anything, we draw the floor plan with your equipment list so you can see how athletes will move through a session.

Supporting equipment

Once the big three are covered, add the equipment that builds them:

• adjustable benches
• dumbbells to a sensible top weight
• a glute-ham developer or back extension
• a belt squat
• a cable station for upper-back work

Bands and chains attach to most quality racks and add accommodating resistance without extra floor space.

Try before you buy

Lifters are particular about their bars and racks, and they should be. Our Cooroy showroom is set up so coaches and athletes can train on the equipment before committing. We're the official Queensland partner of Ironedge, and we'll specify other brands where they suit the project better.

Planning a strength room? LUXGYM specifies, supplies and installs the racks, flooring and storage as one project. See strength equipment, book a team trial, or talk to Jason.