Jake Purdy
2023-04-17

Tear Drop VS 4 Way Hole Racks

There is not one way to lift, every organization and even teams within an organization will have different training philosophies based on their athletes unique needs and the equipment available to them. Most training is centered around the rack station; squat, bench, deadlift, pull ups and other lifts depending on the attachments you have. Do not let the equipment you select limit the training you can perform. Choose a rack that will adapt with your training program and allow you to train more than the basic lifts at the rack station. 

Your rack should adapt with your program as it evolves, if you have tear drop cut racks you are confined to work with what you have. You can add attachments but only simple ones not attachments such as leg extensions, neck attachments, lat pull downs, belt squats or other attachments that replace stand alone machines. 

With a 4 way hole rack, if you want to add something to your program as your program changes it is simple and there is built in storage for those attachments when you are not using them. By adding attachments instead of single use machines you can get more of them as they are cheaper allowing more athletes to do leg extensions for example at the same time by using the GOAT Attachment which is much cheaper than a stand alone machine allowing you to get multiple of them. (pictured above). 

Make the most of your time/space

The longer an athlete can stay at a rack station the more efficient their workout will be, if they have to walk across the weight room to the neck machine they will most likely get distracted on the way there or back to the rack and waste time. Instead you can just setup a neck attachment at the rack and they can train neck there (takes about 60 seconds to setup). The Neck Attachments at only $399 allowing you to get one for each rack for around the same price as a single stand alone machine. Add the Lat Seat to the spotter arm (which comes with the rack) and you now have a variable height seat that can be used for dozens of movements, including Neck Machine movements pictured below. 

tear drop hole racks

When we say Tear Drop Racks we are referring to the angled slot style attachment points opposed to the holes that we have on our current uprights. These attachment points only allow the attachment to be connected to the front of the rack and not the side. They also have to attach with a drop in style which is not as secure as a threaded rod going all the way through with an Adjustable Nut. Pictured above is a Tear Drop Style upright we made for our 850 Series Racks we made from 2006-2017. Dip Attachments, Step Up Attachments, Bar Cups, Spotter Arms, and Bolt on Landmines were the only attachments we made for these racks. 

4 way hole racks

4 Way Hole Racks can be made with different size holes and different hole patterns, the most common hole sizes are 5/8″, 3/4″ and 1″  holes. The two most common hole patterns are inline holes and offset holes. Inline holes which we use, mean the 5th hole on the front of the upright is the same height as the 5th hole on the side of the upright. The other of hole pattern is offset where the 5th hole on the upright on the front and the side are at staggered heights. Holes going all the way through allow attachments to be added more securely as they can go all the way around the upright. 

attachments

Pictured above is our GOAT Attachment being used for Hamstring Curls, the GOAT fits 5/8″, and 1″ hole racks. Attachments are what really set different racks apart from each other, every rack has Bar Cups and Spotter arms for lifting so for the basic lifting movements. Attachments add the ability to train different movements at the rack station that mimic many stand alone machines. When making an attachment for a tear drop rack you do not have as many attachment option, also if you want to store those attachments there is not built in storage on the post that holds the plates or the Crossmember because Tear Drop racks often do not put the Tear Drop Attachment holes all over like you find on a 4 way hole post rack. 

Stray Dog Strength racks are unique as they can have Rack Machine Attachments added to them between the front and back uprights without increasing the footprint of the rack. Save space and cost by using the frame of the rack to add cable machines. 

Modular parts

Another benefit to 4 way hole racks is they use modular parts, every piece of tubing on our racks is 3×3″ with 1″ holes spaced 2″ on center. This allows you to store things on the Crossmember like our Spotters Arms making the need for an attachment to store your Spotter Arms obsolete (not something all racks can do).  Pictured above is a custom storage unit made using Flat Trays, DB Trays two uprights cut down and two crossmembers.

4 way hole Racks can transform without modification, our Alpha Double Half Rack and Alpha Half Rack for example use the exact same parts.  If you want to make your Half rack a double half just add 2 Uprights to the unit or if you want to split a Double Half Rack into two half racks add two uprights as well. We use the same Uprights and Crossmembers on all our ATR and Rack Series giving customers a modular system that they can create practically anything they want. 

Conclusion

Racks are very expensive and you may only get to get new ones once or twice in your career as a Coach or Administrator, so choosing a rack that will adapt to your programs changing needs is vital. Choosing the correct rack is similar to choosing the correct computer, you want to get one that can have programs added to it so you are not stuck with what you thought you needed back when you bought it. With 4 way hole racks if a new attachment comes out you can add it to your rack similar to how downloading a program to a computer increases its functionality. 

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