What Can You Store on a Rack?
One of the most effective ways to organize a weight room is to store as much equipment as possible that is used at the rack directly at each rack station. The more equipment athletes have available at their station, the less time they spend walking back and forth to shared storage like dumbbell racks or plate trees. This keeps training moving, reduces distractions, and allows coaches to run large groups more efficiently. In the case of the setup shown here, this approach created 16 identical training pods across the room, each stocked with the same equipment so athletes always have what they need within reach.
Our Rack Junk Bin shown above is a great way to store auxiliary/smaller items at your rack station without things ending up thrown on the floor. The basket is 12" wide x 4" wide
Equipment Stored at the Rack
As an example, we will use the Riverside HS Alpha STR Double Half Racks, which are loaded with about as much equipment as you can realistically store at a single station. A second Hanging Bar Storage was added to hold both a Lightweight 33 lb and an All Purpose 44 lb bar. A 15 lb technique bar is stored on the back side, while hex bars are positioned in the center. This setup required adding an extra 43 inch low crossmember and Low Bar Storage is not standard on our racks but allows additional bar storage without taking up floor space.
Storage List
Bumpers and change plates
Collars
44 lb bar
33 lb bar
15 lb technique bar
50 lb hex bar
Bands (blue, green, purple, black, and red)
Chains
Alpha Single Rollers
PowerBlock® dumbbells
Glute Ham Rollers
Landmines
Lever Arms
Alpha Bench
Built In Storage for Bands, Plates, and Collars
Bands and collars do not require additional storage attachments. Every STR and MG rack includes Hanging Bar Storage with three rear tabs that can hold bands, along with Change Plate Storage that includes built in tabs for collars. To store chains and other gear, we added our Chain Storage Attachment, although chains can also hang from the bar storage tabs if bands are not using them.
PowerBlock® Rack Storage
Our PowerBlock® Rack Mounts allow adjustable dumbbells to be stored directly on an upright or crossmember. In this setup they were mounted on the crossmember, with both 50 lb and 100 lb PowerBlocks® available at each station. This provides 16 full sets of dumbbells across the room and eliminates the common issue of athletes fighting over the same weights at a traditional dumbbell rack.
Glute Ham Rollers
Our Glute Ham Roller was the first on the market with built in storage tabs, allowing it to hang directly on the rack without requiring a separate storage attachment. It also includes a tab for attaching a cable or band to add resistance or assistance during movements.
Alpha Single Utility Rollers
Alpha Single Utility Rollers are extremely versatile attachments commonly used for split squats, Nordic curls, Copenhagen planks, 45 degree back extensions, and many other movements. Storing them directly at the rack makes it easy for athletes to rotate through these exercises without needing additional setup.
Landmines
Landmines are another versatile attachment that function as a lever style lifting implement. Using a standard barbell and bumper plates, they unlock a wide range of movements that cannot be performed with traditional barbell setups alone.
Lever Arms
Lever Arms allow facilities to replicate several standalone machine movements while training off a lever, which reduces the amount of stabilization required compared to free weights. The challenge with most lever arms is that they are only used a few times per week but take up space on the uprights the rest of the time. Our design solves this by allowing the arms to lock up and out of the way, clearing the uprights and creating a position that can also be used for triphasic jumps.
If you add Lever Arms, you cannot add cable machines to that same side, but you can add them to the other side as shown below at La Salle High School.
Bench Storage
In the early 2000s we were one of the first companies to design a stand up adjustable bench so the platform could remain clear when the bench was not in use. This concept is now common across the industry and is still used on our Alpha Bench today. We have an upright storage tab, that serves one purpose, to keep the pad off the ground when vertically stored. Our older benches were designed to stand up on the pad which works, but makes the pad wear out faster.
Plate Storage
Our STR and MG racks come standard with two 16 inch weight pegs for bumper plates along with Change Plate Storage and built in collar tabs on each side. A third weight peg can be added if you prefer to separate 25s and 10s or if you plan to include 35 lb bumper plates, although we rarely recommend 35s since there are often better uses of both budget and space.
Conclusion
When equipment is stored directly at the rack like this, each station becomes a complete training pod. Athletes stay at their station longer, coaches spend less time managing traffic around the room, and training sessions run more efficiently. However, there is a limit. If you try to store too much equipment at the rack it quickly becomes overcrowded and harder to use. That is why designs like this still incorporate ATR units and additional bar storage to handle overflow equipment while keeping each rack station organized and functional.
