Overview and review of the Rogue 10 Alpha package

The Rogue Alpha 10 package is a top package from Rogue that you can buy at $32.000 and it delivers all of the necessary equipment to you which you need to run an affiliate gym. It will provide the infrastructure and material you need to get going. This article was originally published in "which equipment package to buy from Rogue".

What else to consider from Rogue

Overview of the Alpha 10 package

The 10 Alpha package is the slightly pared down version of the 15 Alpha package. With this, you can comfortably train 10 athletes at the same time to have them compete like in the early versions of the Crossfit Games. With this packet you will get:

With the 10 bars, balls, ropes and abmats you can already do a lot of different variations. The 5 butchers, sleds and 10 Jump boxes can also be grouped together nicely. This is a package which leaves a little more equipment for push and pull movements than the Alpha 15 package. You sacrifice some of the space on the rig, as it is a shorter one compared to the 15 Alpha package. All in all, you will get a solid pack for ten athletes in a core class whilöe training some strays around it.

Items of the Alpha 10 package

This is the itemization of the package as you will find it on Rogue's website. I have added some comments for you to keep in mind when you place your order.

(2) 1000LB ROGUE HG Bumper set for a total of 2000LB of Bumpers - You choose the weights you want up to 2000LB

The fitter you are the more you will have a bias towards getting fewer plates with a higher weight per plate. THat is not necessarily ideal when you have to fit out a gym. Think of all the people who will be attending your classes, not just the ones who are most like you. With this in mind, you will probably pick more plates at lower weights. The best way would be to think about your class of 10 and what weight they would use for the WoDs you do most often. You don't want to get your plates and realize, that half of the class can't load their barbells properly. You might pick up two sets of change plates in addition to the bumper plates. If you have a lot of powerlifters, talk to Rogue about adding some iron plates as well to get more weight on the barbell when needed.

(10) Ohio Bar - Black Zinc Shaft, Bright Zinc Sleeves - 28.5MM Bar with Dual Knurl - Guaranteed for Life!

The Ohio bar is the workhorse model of Rogue. This is probably the best value for money you can get if you don't scavenge the Boneyard on a regular basis. If you think these bars are not inspiring enough you can also have a look at the Fraser and Froning bars. These are Ohio bars which are themed with some of the most successful athletes in CrossFit. This might differentiate you even further from the box a couple of blocks down the road.

(3) ROGUE Bella Bar - 25.0MM Women's Bar with Dual Knurl

The Bella bar is the variation for women which comes with a smaller diameter and lower weight. Many official competitions allow for slightly smaller bars for women to compensate for the general physical difference between males and females. Of course, all women are always welcome to use the heavier bars, but it might be good to have a couple knocking around to cover every angle. If you wanted a bit more color and inspiration you can also get a Toomey and Davidsdottir version of this bar.

(3) ROGUE 15LB Technique Bar - The Go to bar for technique training, the same distance between collars as competition bars

Technique bars are great for beginners. Especially for teaching the Olympic lifts, they can be a great tool before moving on to an Olympic barbell or Pyrros bar. You may also want to pick up some technique bumpers with these. These bumpers have the same dimensions as competition plates for weightlifting but are a lot lighter. This helps to focus on speed and technique for beginners and pros alike.

(2) ROGUE 9 Bar Holder

These Bar holders will keep your bars safe and orderly in one space. You might want to place them in two separate corners of your gym to make it easier to set them up and put them away. If you put them both in the same corner this means more walking to clean things up, especially when the staff has to do it by themselves. Alternatively, you can equip your gym with gun racks which are mounted to the walls.

(1) 500LB Rogue Kettlebell Set - Choose your own variants up to 500LB

What goes for bumper plates is also necessary for kettlebell sets. Think about the class size and who will attend before you pick the weights. Bigger is not always better when you purchase for a professional setup. Think of a good mix of kettlebells which enables everyone to progress and do the necessary exercises for the WoDs you favor.

(15) Set of Rogue HG 2.0 Collars

Collars are great to keep the bumpers in place. Make it mandatory for overhead lifts to have collars on. Also, think of a place to store collars centrally. They have a tendency to get lost and sprawl all over the gym floor. An interesting alternative on the classic collar is the boa collars which are also available from Rogue.

(10) Set of ROGUE Wood Rings

Rogue Wood rings can be used for muscle ups and other gymnastic exercises like ring push-ups. They include the necessary straps to set them up with your rig to do dips. To be able to do ring muscle ups you might want to acquire the necessary equipment to hang them from the ceiling to gain some height.

(10) Rogue Medicine Ball - Can choose the weight up to 20LB

As with all of the other options where you can freely choose the weights, make it a good mix for all kinds of athletes. With these, you can do all kinds of medicine ball throws or sit-up work. Medicine balls are very versatile tools for all strength and conditioning coaches.

(8) Rogue D- Ball /Slam Ball- Can choose the weight up to 30LB

With the Slam balls, it is also about a good mix of weights to keep all your customers happy. Slam balls are also a great progression to Atlas stones if you have clients who are interested to become Strongman competitors in the long run.

(2) 25'' x 1.5" Climbing Rope with Eyelet - No bracket required

The Alpha 10 package has quite a few butchers and Sleds included. Therefore you might want to stock up on rope to have more options with the sleds. Especially when your gym has a lot of floor space but no high ceilings. This way you can transform climbs into sled pulls and achieve something similar. You might also want to look in other rope options from Rogue like the manila rope.

(10) Games Multi Side Boxes with 20" / 24" / 30" Sides

Boxes are great for box jumps and all kinds of conditioning exercises. If you don't have a lot of room in your gym you can also look for the resin pylo boxes which can be stacked for better storage. They are also cheaper so talk to Rogue for swapping them in this deal. They might even do it.

(5) S-1 Squat/Press Stands

These are the most basic squat stands you can get from Rogue. They are stable and will do the trick for easy squatting exercises. If you also want to bench press you might want to invest into spotter arms for the safety of your athletes. The same guys when you and your clients are often training with very loads. Then you might want to look into a full powerlifting cage rather than just a stand. For very experienced athletes who seldom go to one repetition maximum squat stands more than suffice.

(8) Rogue Flat Utility Bench

The Rogue Utility benches can be used for all kind of purposes in our gym. Bench pressing, dips, push-ups, and various one-legged variations of exercises, this bench will be stable and provide a great worktop for the development of your clients. You might want to consider to mix one or two adjustable benches in so that you can offer a wider range of exercises.

(6) Rogue GH-1 Abram GHD

The Abram GHD will be the backbone of training the core of your athletes. This machine can be used for developing the core muscles in the front and lower back muscles which often fall short in CrossFit, Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting.

(5) Rogue Butchers

A Rogue butcher is a great tool for conditioning exercises. Especially football and rugby players will appreciate this tool. The butcher has also often been featured in Crossfit regionals and nationals. A great tool to build overall strength and resiliency. If you can not hurt the floor you might want to alternative products on wheels with inbuilt resistance. These come usually in at a higher price.

(5) Rogue S-35 "E" Sleds

The E Sled is the smallest Sled you can get from Rogue. This will leave you with options for athletes who find the butcher to hard or heavy to maneuver. It can also be conveniently pulled as it has less resistance than the butcher on the floor. If you want to supercharge this part of the gym you can either look at the Fat boy or Dog Sled alternatives.

(1) I-24 Infinity Rig - Now you can get pull-ups and squat racks with the same unit

The I 24 provides you with 6 Squat / Bench stations depending on what you need and up to 14 pull up stations. The Infinity rig was one of the first attempts of Rogue at the Rig model. From there they have upgraded their portfolio to the Monster LIte and Monster rigs. Most of the newer upgrades are first available for the Monster models and not all of them trickle down to the Infinity series.

(10) Rogue SR-3 Speed Ropes

The Rogue SR-3 Speed rope is a solid jump rope to perform Double unders in record time or learn them in no time whatsoever. Since the SR-3 there were further upgrades to the jump rope range from Rogue with better bearing and NASA grade aluminum. These will do too.

(10) Abmat

The Abmat is a great tool to perform Sit-ups. Many WoDs with sit-ups in them will point to the Abmat as a tool to perform them.

(8) Concept 2 Model D with PM5 Rower

The concept 2 model D is a solid rower that has been around for a while. You can rely on this endurance and conditioning workhorse to make your athletes more conditioned and enduring. If you want to accommodate for everyone also consider swapping some of these for model E which have a higher seat. This makes them easier to use for tall athletes or groups which are in rehab / a bit older.

(1) Rogue Echo Gym Timer

Any Gym should have a proper time on the wall for everyone to see so that they can train together on intervals.

Pros of the Alpha 10 package

A big pro of the Alpha 10 package is that it encompasses all different parts of the CrossFit world. You will have enough toys to fill most facilities and also get some butchers and sleds to mix things up. You have a good mix of barbells and enough weights to go around.

Cons of the Alpha 10 package

The Infinity rig is at the lower range of the Rogue bandwidth. If you have a lot of big, strong athletes you might be better off with one of sturdier models to have less movement in the rig. Squat stands are not necessarily the best option for beginners, especially when they want to lift heavier than is good for them. There are also no storage options for the bumper plates, kettlebells, and other accessories included. Just keep an eye on this to have your gym not too cluttered. In addition, you could mix up some of the options a little more to get more variety.

Alternatives to the Alpha 10 package

Alternatives to the Alpha 10 pack are

The Alpha 15 will give you no butchers and sleds but more barbells and rig space. This is the option when you want to run your entire gym and rigs and lifting stations and there is no more room for s sprint track. It will also put you back more as you can now run 15 athletes in parallel.

Summary of the Alpha 10 package

I personally think that the Alpha 10 package is a great starter package for an affiliate that covers all bases. Especially the sleds and butchers make a difference to other packages which Rogue offers. You might want to start with a 5 pack and grow into a bigger one, even if that means two deliveries.

Overview and review of the Rogue Alpha 10 package