Overview and Review of the Monster Lite Monkey Rig

This review was originally posted in the longer article "Which strength equipment to buy from rogue" in which you can read about 25 products of Rogue which cost more than 1.000$. The Rogue Monkey Lite rig is a gym in its own for advanced athletes. See the details in this article.

Overview of the Monkey Rig

The Rogue Monster Lite Monkey Rig is an impressive piece of hardware which will catch the eye of anyone who will cast an eye on it. The main addition to the normal Rogue setups are the Monkey bars at various heights. If you want to prepare your athletes for CrossFit competitions or to compete in the Ninja warrior series, this is the way to go.

The monkey rig is constructed by 3x3 11- Gauge steel with 0.625 holes and Westside spacing. Its length is 24', width 6' and height 9'. This makes for a total footprint of 24'-3'' x 6'-8''. On this space, you will create 6 squat/bench stations and more than 10 pull up stations. It comes in black and ships in 6-8 weeks.

Be aware that it does not ship with barbells or plates when you purchase it. These are additions to your budget. You can read up on my blog if you are not sure yet which rogue barbell to buy. to get an overview of the portfolio.

Pros of the Monkey Rig

The Monster lite Monkey Rig makes a big statement. If you want to differentiate yourself from other CrossFit boxes in an area where you have a lot of fit people around it makes sense. If your clients are also collectively moving into a direction where they want to compete in CrossFit team sports, this is a good bet. It will also open your gym up to clients who are more interested in climbing.

In addition to the Monkey bars, you will also get a fully functioning 24' Monster Lite Pull-up rig. This is already a full gym. It is ideally suited to training which incorporates a lot of kipping pull-ups and muscle ups. The middle also creates a corridor which can be used for sprints and other aerobic ideas like bear crawls.

Cons of the Monkey rig

This thing is massive! Most gyms will not have enough space. If I was to open a gym I would think of the Monster lite Monkey Rig as something to aspire to rather than a first purchase. Most of your clients will not be able to do pull-ups, muscle-ups or climb the entire Rig. This is something that the fitness community you will build has to grow into. The 5.000$ might be invested more wisely in other equipment in a first purchase unless you have unlimited sources, space and want to build the most impressive gym in the entire city (which is also a valid business strategy, if you have good financial backing).

It is a pity that you can not get the monkey rig in individual colors and that there is no conversion kit available at the moment for already existing 24' rigs. Also be aware that the Monster Lite series is not compatible with all of the Rogue accessory. Think about what additional equipment you want to get before you hit the purchase button. In my opinion, it also does not make sense to have beams at the lower end of this setup. Therefore you will not be able to use band pegs for the squat/bench stations. You will also have to store the weight plates away from the rig. To protect your clients from injury you want to take special care that this setup is not cluttered with plates.

How many clients should this rig bring you?

If you think the Monkey Rig can attract 17 new clients which you can sign up for 50$ a month on a 1-year retainer, make the purchase. This equals net new revenue of 10.200$ against 5.000$ in the first year. Adjust the numbers for your own gym accordingly.

Alternatives to the monkey rig

Depending on which clients you serve and how much floor space you have here some alternatives from Rogue based on a 5K budget excluding barbells and plates:

1x Monster Lite rig 24' @ 3595$
1x Metal Jerk Blocks @ 1.150$

This configuration will give you more opportunities to generate revenue from beginning weightlifters and gives you some color options.

2x RM6 @ 2095 each
2x Monster Single Post Shelf @ 95$ each
2x Monster Single Post Kettlebell Shelf

This configuration will give you more options in terms of training styles, especially when most of your clients cannot do pull-ups yet. This configuration leans more towards a powerlifting gym or an upgrade of the free weight section of a commercial gym. The Single Post shelves are often overlooked when buying the 6er series of Rogue. If your clients are used to half racks you can leave the back free. More often than not new additions to the Rogue portfolio are made exclusively or earlier available to the Monster range and not to the Monster lite range. Keep that in mind when making your investment.

Conclusion

The monkey rig is a great piece of equipment if you have space and money to afford it. It is the right addition to your gym, if you have advanced athletes who are looking for a bigger challenge. If your gym mainly has recreational weekend warriors on the roster this beast of steel and bars might be a little too intimidating.

Overview and Review of the Rogue Monster Lite Monkey Rig [Article, Video]