Rogue Monster Lite Rig 2.0 vs TITAN chest supported t bar row machine

This is a comparison between the Rogue Monster Lite rig and the TITAN chest supported t bar row machine including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the TITAN chest supported T bar row machine $249

This is an overview of the TITAN chest supported T Bar row machine including pros, cons and alternatives. This article was originally posted in Which gym machine to get from TITAN. Follow the links for additional information.

Overview of the TITAN chest supported bar to row machine

The chest supported to bar row machine from TITAN is the low budget version of the T bar row from TITAN. You will get a T bar row as you can find in many gyms around the country for a consumer price. This chest supported T bar row has multiple handles to vary your workout and attack your back from multiple angles. Loading plates is easier as with a barbell as you can go directly from the front. The downsides of this machine are that it eats massively into your home gym space and the finish is not great. The full specifications of this machine are:

- Adjustable footplate and handle.

- Diamond plated footplate for grip.

- Fits Olympic Weights.

- High quality vinyl chest pad.

- Heavy gauge steel.

- Overall Footprint: 84-in x 43-in.

- Chest Pad: 20-in x 10-in.

- Footplate: 23.5-in x 17.5-in.

- Weight Sleeve Length: 13.5-in.

- Vertical Grip Length: 9-in.

- Vertical Grip Spread: 17.5-in.

- Horizontal Grip Length: 5.5-in.

- Horizontal Grip Spread: 20-in - 31-in.

- Product Weight: 103 lb.

You probably wont find a new T bar row machine for a lower price that still has a warranty. If you have the space at home or just want to throw an additional t bar row into your commercial gym you found the right address with this.

Pros of the TITAN chest supported bar T row machine

The pros of the TITAN chest supported T bar row machine are:

Low price
Multiple handles

This is a great machine for a home gym or a commercial gym to add to an already existing setup for a low price to vary the training more. T bar rows are great to build a bigger and more defined back or just go berserk after a challenging workout to finish off the day. This machine delivers without robbing you of a half months wage in the process.

Cons of the Titan chest supported T bar row machine

The cons of the TITAN chest supported T Bar row machine are:

Space requirements
Low weight
TITAN finish

The biggest con of this machine is that it eats up a lot of space. As it is build with relatively flimsy material to save cost it is more suited to home gym use. For that you have to give up quite a bit of space to make this one work where you could place a leg press or belt squat machine. Those are two options I personally prefer any day over a T bar row as barbell rows also do it for me.

The low weight of the chest supported T bar row machine is also something to note. If you can T bar row 500 pounds and weigh 300 pounds yourself you might not want to do that on machine that only weighs 103 lbs. That is how nasty accidents happen so this machine is more suited to the general public rather than the hardcore Iron den. For this cases get the beefier T bar row from TITAN that still saves you money compared to the direct competition.

TITAN needs to cut corners to offer you the lowest possible pricing on industrial grade training equipment. This machine is no exception and some of the parts need to be forced for assembly. This does not take away from the functionality of the machine, but with TITAN there is usually some minor or even major problem for assembly. This makes this a better fit for gyms that do not care too much about optics and where the honor does not mind to do some DIY on the machines.

Alternatives to the Titan chest supported T bar row machine

Alternatives to the Titan Chest supported T bar row are:

TITAN t bar row
TITAN plate loaded seated row
Rogue Lat pull / row machine

The TITAN T bar row machine is little more expensive than the chest supported version, but weighs more. That makes it a more stable solution in a commercial setting where you have to account for extreme stupidity or performance. I personally would not feel great about leaving the smaller Tbar row unsupervised in a blind corner of the gym I own unless I use it myself.

The TITAN plate loaded seated row is the safe option for building backs. You will get a little less back activation out of this machine while it is save and easy to use. Good option for spacious home gyms and I personally think a commercial gym without one of these is incomplete.

The Rogue lat pull machine is the current gold standard in the industry for a lat pull down. There are many variations on this machine and the one from Rogue is one of the most overbuilt you can find. As it also doubles up as a rowing machine it can address your needs to build a bigger back.

Conclusion for the Titan chest supported T bar row machine

This is a great machine for a home gym with space that wants to save money on building a full park of bodybuilding machines. When your space or limited or you have to account for stupid people who might ant to sue you, go for the bigger T bar row to be on the safe site.

Overview and review of the Rogue Monster Lite Rig 2.0

Price: 1.795$ - 5.095$

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 Monster lite rig is a good start to your home gym or commercial gym targeted at the general public. See the details in this article.

Overview of the Rogue Monster lite rig

The Monster Lite Rig is the little brother of the Monster Rig. The main difference is that the bolts and holes which are used to attach equipment are smaller. Monster lite uses the same 4'-6'-4' pattern as the Monster series. You will get 3x3'' 11-Gauge steel uprights for a solid base to built your gym around.

With the 2.0 upgrade, you are now able to choose different colors for your rig. Rogue also worked on the overall stability of their rigs compared to earlier models including different beams. The double pull up bars have been swapped for single pull up bars to make muscle ups easier to perform. The main ideas of the rigs are that you customize them in many different ways to your personal needs. You will get to choose from three different editions which are:

Base 2.0 Edition
Standard 2.0 Edition
Racked 2.0 edition

which are increasing in price as more material is used in each of these versions.

The base 2.0 edition comes with double pull up bars at the top for stability and to do pull-ups. This version is the most cost-efficient and leaves the most room around the beams to allow free movement. If you are on a budget and do a lot of cardio drills which are mixed with weightlifting and pull-ups. This is great for a gym with members who do are not much interested in powerlifting and whose fitness levels are not very high. The downsides of the base edition are less stability compared to other versions and obstructions when you want to do muscle ups. You also have fewer options to upgrade in the feature as the top beams do not provide holes to attach additional equipment too.

The standard edition mainly changes the top part of your rig. The double pull-up bars are swapped for beams. This frees up space for muscle ups along the rig, gives it more stability and options to attach extra equipment at the top of the rig. Examples can be climbing ropes and the Rogue climbing boards. You still keep the option to move freely around at the bottom. This is the right choice for gyms that have a bit more budget, want more upgrade possibilities while still being able to move around freely. If your members are gradually getting fitter you also might consider changing a base model to standard model.

The racked edition gives you the most amount of metal for the Monster Lite rig. You will create half racks at the back of each squat/bench station. This also provides more options for storage and more stability to the entire rig. If you have a lot of big football players around who move heavy weight and do little to no pull-ups or running around in the gym, this is the configuration to get. The downside of the racked edition is that any kind of running inside the rig for circuit training is not possible. You will also have a harder time to maximize the number of people doing pull-ups in parallel.

The Rig is available in 10', 14', 20', and 24' from Rogue. It can be prolonged to whichever length you want based on your available space. The combination of the edition and length will determine the price. The longer the Rig and the more material is used, the higher the price tag will be. With these various lengths you can create the following stations for your gym:

10'
- 2 Squat/Bench stations
- 5 pull up stations
14'
- 4 Squat/Bench stations
- 6 Pull up stations
20'
- 4 Squat/Bench stations
- 9 Pull up stations
24'
- 6 Squat/Bench stations
- 10 pull up stations

The more clients you have in the same session, the longer the rig should be.

Take some time to think about what you are planning in advance.

How many clients should the Monster lite Rig bring you

If you think that the Monster lite Rig will bring you 6 -17 new clients who pay you 50$ on a 1-year retainer it is worth the investment. This will yield 3590$ - 10.190$ net new revenue against an investment of 1.795 - 5095$. Adjust the numbers for your own gym accordingly.

Pros of the Rogue Monster Lite Rig

The monster lite rig gives you the freedom to play with many different configurations. It also comes in at a lower price than the Monster series Rig which can help if you want to save costs. Most of the accessories for rigs also cost slightly less in the Monster Lite version than the monster version. It will be easier to transport and disassemble than the Monster rig if you have to that often.

Cons of the Rogue Monster lite Rig

The Monster Lite rig is not compatible with all Rogue equipment. As Rogue is pushing into the machines space now expect that most of the heavy machinery will be only or firstly available for the more stable monster construction. Also, some of the accessories you can get for the Monster series might not be available. If you exactly know what your gym should look like and you will have no needs for future upgrades, go for Monster Lite to optimize your price. If you are unsure how your gym and client base will develop, go with Monster to leave you with more options.

Alternatives to the Monster lite series

Here are some alternatives to the Monster lite series which you can consider:

1x Monster Rig low end @ 1845$

This is the minimum configuration of the big brother of the Monster lite series which includes:

Base edition
Rig length of 10'

You get the same rig, just a bit more sturdy and with more upgrade options for the future. I am always a fan of overengineering when possible. Especially when you do not buy a long rig this upgrade makes sense as you only spend about 100$ more. The longer the rig gets, the more it hurts your purse to go for Monster.

1x Monster Rig High End @ 6.095$

This is the maximum you can go to on the Monster Rig. As you can see the difference in price between the maximum config for Monster Lite and Monster is 1.000$. Pay special attention to these economies of scale when you are outfitting a very big gym. You also might want to consider buying separate RM6 racks instead of a Rig, when you already see a need for so many heavy duty squat/bench stations. That leaves you with more options to utilize your space as you are probably not going to run around a lot in this config anyway.

1x RM6 @ 2.000$

The rogue RM 6 might be an alternative for home gym owner. Think about how likely it will actually be that all of the family will train at the same time in the garage or basement gym. It is probably a lot less than you think. In this case, it might be a better alternative to get an RM6 instead of a 14' Rig to accommodate the needs of your family. If you run your personal trainer business from home ask your self how many clients will you have at the same time and what are their needs. You can get up to three people on an RM6 to train in parallel and save some depth in your basement.

Conclusion

The Rogue Monster lite Rig is still a very sturdy build, even though it has a bigger brother with the Monster Series. When you want to build a very long rig this might be the better option than the Monster series. This is the go to option for mere mortals who do not weigh 140kg and deadlift 900 pounds.