REP fitness OMNI rack vs TITAN series home gym

This is a comparison between the Rep Fitness OMNI rack and the TITAN series home gym. Follow the links for more details.

Titan Series Home gym $1400 to $6500

The Titan Series Home Gym will put you back about $1400 to $6500. TITAN is well known for their very good prices compared to their competition and will get you started on your home gym. This review was originally posted in “which Titan rack to buy for over $500”.

Overview of a TITAN Home Gym

The Titan series home gym is Titan’s way of providing you with a fully configurable home gym with the attachments that fit your needs best. With this approach, Titan makes the ordering process easy so that you do not have to put different attachments on different pages into your basket. The base rack they are using is the Titan power rack. The Titan power rack has the following specifications:

Overall Weight: 388 LB
Overall Height: 100”
Footprint (including bolt-down plates): 53” x 55.5”
Overall Depth: 48”
Inside Depth: 42
Overall Width: 48”
Inside Width: 42”
Assembly Hardware Included
Titan recommends bolting down your rack for added stability

And comes with the following features

3” x 3” 11 Gauge Tubing and bolt-together design.
Includes (2) 1” Diameter Pins w/ 1.5” Pipes for a heavy-duty pin and pipe safety system.
Includes (4) Bolt-On Weight Plate Holders.
Includes (4) Band Pegs.
Includes a pair (2) Sandwich J-Hooks.
numbered laser-cut holes throughout the uprights and lower cross members.
Keyhole side spacing For array attachments
1” bolts
Max height of 94” for a pull-up bar

With this, you get a very beefy and spacious rack for all your training needs that can be upgraded at a later stage. With this center cage you can start to think about attachments. There is a wide array of different attachments available for the rack itself which come with additional cost. Here is an overview:

Power Rack Leg Press
Rack Mounted H-PND
TITAN Series Barbell Holder Horizontal
TITAN Series Barbell Holder Vertical
TITAN Series Y Dip Bar
TITAN Series Lever Arms
TITAN Heavy Duty Pull Up Bar
TITAN Series Weight Plate Holder
TITAN Series Sandwich J-Hook
Spotter Arms TITAN Series
Women’s Olympic Bombshell Bar
Blues City Olympic Barbell
86” Olympic Bar 1500 lb Capacity
5' Olympic Weightlifting Technique Bar
The Atlas Bar - Men's 20KG Barbell

Be aware that too many attachments might inhibit the possibilities to move freely around the rack. Always keep in mind when you configure your home gym that the barbell is wider than the rack and therefore might touch off attachments. Especially keep this in mind when you want to use the rack to train multiple athletes at the same time.

If you want your home gym to be a leg press as well you can use this attachment to be able to also use it as a leg press machine. Leg presses can be advantageous when you either want to isolate the legs only and want to go very heavy or when you don’t particularly like the barbell back squat. It can also be used when you have a shoulder or lower back injury.

The rack-mounted H PND is a back extension machine that can be directly attached to the TITAN rack. This is usually a good tool for seasoned athletes to take care of their lower backs and younger athletes to train the lower back area which otherwise can easily be overlooked.

The vertical and horizontal barbell holders can be used to store your barbells nicely for your home gym on the rack itself. Another possibility is to mount the barbells to the wall.

If you also want to do dips at your station you can add the Y dip bar. Be aware that the upright you attach it on will be blocked for squats, bench presses or other exercises where you would like to rack a barbell in one side.

The TITAN lever arms can be a great addition to your home gym and rack to widen the possible exercises you can do. The lever arms have a length of 39.25” so think about whether you would like to install them inside or outside of the rack. With the lever arms, you can simulate many machines from a traditional commercial gym which otherwise would take up a lot of space.

With the heavy-duty pull-up bar, you can bring a classic bodyweight exercise to your home gym. My personal opinion is that it would be an oversight not to get one when you buy your rack.

The J cups are not a necessary extra investment if you will only train for yourself as there is one pair included. If you want to use the rack with multiple people in parallel, stock up on extras.

As the base model of the Titan rack does include 4 weight plate legs I personally do not see a need to add additional ones to your order. Double-check with Titan that they are actually included. I am personally not a fan of storing plates directly on the rack where I do my workouts when they have four uprights. Titan does offer extension kits to turn the rack into a six upright version.

Spotter arms are a good investment if you want multiple athletes to use the rack in parallel. If you will be the only one using the rack stick with safety pins. They are more secure and can also be used for pin squats. In case a barbell drops they usually deform by bending, while spotter arms are more likely to break at the weld which attaches them to the upright. Ultimately I prefer to just drop the barbell if I am working outside the rack. Inside the rack I try to lower to the pins as slowly as possible.

The blues city and bombshell barbells are Titans cerakote bars. Cerakote coating is a special way of treating metal so that designs can be applied. It is also less like to corrode and was originally developed in the weapons industry. The only downside is that it is more likely to scratch when it touches metal. So if you do a lot of work of the pins instead of the j cups maybe get another coating.

The 86” bar is a no-nonsense bar for 1500 lbs load. It comes with a tensile strength of 190.000. The material is steel with a chrome finish.

An Olympic technique bar might be of interest to you if you have many beginners in your gym or children at home. This is a lighter barbell to focus on technique and explosiveness for the Olympic lifts. For advanced athletes technique plates with a normal barbell are usual preferred.

The atlas bar is the bread and butter barbell from Titan. A solid 20kg barbell for all purposes.

Pros of the Titan Home gym

The rack has 3x3 11 Gauge tubing in a bolt-together design. This makes this rack a tank while it can also be assembled fast and transported in pieces. Titans prices are very good on this type of high-quality material. Combining your rack purchase with other pieces to complete your home gym saves shipping cost and is recommended if you exactly know what you want and have the budget for it. A high-quality home gym for one of the best prices in the market for this quality.

Cons of the Titan home gym

Configuring a while home gym on your first purchase might not lead to overspending. It is very easy to get excited and carried away. 50 dollar here and there and all of a sudden you are 2000 above what you originally intended to spend. Just make sure, that you only buy things, that you will actually make use of. These are usually the rack, a barbell, plates, and a bench. If you want to spend extra money above this get a pair of 55-pound plates extra to grow into and a gun rack for your barbells.

With a highly competitive price, you can also expect that Titan might save on customer service. If you offer a great product on this low a price, you either save on staff, finish or shipping. As shipping is free with Titan, there are only two other options left.

Alternatives to the Titan home gym

Alternatives to the Titan home gym are:

If you want to take it slow or already have quite some equipment at home you can get the Titan series power rack by itself. This lowers the cost and puts you at a lower risk to overspend because you are getting excited. If you purchase your equipment in drips and draps you will end up sinking more dollars into shipping costs.

The X3 is basically the same model as the Titan rack with two differences. It doesn’t have numbered holes on the uprights and the keyhole design. This means that you can use fewer attachments with it which you have not necessarily bought from Rogue.

The T2 model comes in various shapes and heights and can be configured differently for your home gym to make it fit your space. The main difference to the other Titan racks is that the uprights are 2x2 instead of 2x3 or 3x3.

The T3 rack model is also very similar to the Titan rack but comes at a lower cost. It is the same as the X3 except that it has 2x3 Gauge uprights instead of 3x3.

Summary of the Titan home gym

The Titan home gym is a great option for your home gym if you want to save some money compared to other options in the market. This is the flagship which will cover your needs with a barbell. If you live in Europe you, unfortunately, have not the option to order without getting your material handled by a freight company in a container, which means extra cost and hassle. Maybe Titan will expand to Europe at some stage as other companies have. The only downside is that Titan equipment is known to have inconsistencies in the quality of the finish of their equipment. Lately, they also seem to not keep up with demand as a lot on their website is sold out (status Sep 2019).

Overview and review of the REP fitness OMNI rack

This is an overview of the REP fitness OMNI rack including the pros, cons, and alternatives. This article was originally posted in which rack to buy from REP Fitness. Follow the links for more information.

Overview of the REP OMNI Rack $934

The Rep OMNI rack is a flat foot version of the REP PR-5000 series which has gained quite some popularity recently. It is a solid rack from a vendor who imports their parts rather than making them in the US as Sorinex and Rogue Fitness would. The main difference to the PR-5000 is the flat foot base and the numbering on the uprights. The full specifications of this rack are:

3x3 11-Gauge Steel with 1” diameter holes on upright.
Compatible with most 5000 Series attachments including the Lat/Low Row.
Up to 15 potential configurations when paired with the Omni Plus.
J-cup, color options, and attachments are fully customizable.
A long, flat-footed base helps promote stability, no need to bolt the rack down.
Large stainless steel logo plate for additional rigidity and lateral stability.
Includes: Multi-grip pull-up bar, six-band pegs, and hardware to connect up to six uprights to the base.
Enough hardware will be provided for all possible configurations, which means that extra hardware may be left over after the build.
Lat attachment adds 23" depth to the 4-post half-rack or adds 5" depth to the 6-post power rack is mounted to the interior uprights.

This is a good option when you do not want to bolt down your rack and start with a half rack that you will later upgrade. If you are looking for the most space-efficient option in the market it is probably not the best rack you can get.

Pros of the REP OMNI Rack

The Pros of the OMNI rack are:

Flat foot design
Slightly lower price than their main competitors
Upgrade options

The main point about this rack is the flat foot design which means that you do not need to bolt it to the ground to make it stable. The bottom has quite some weight to it and a bigger footprint than a regular 4 post-half-rack would have. This is great to keep it from tipping over when you only have four posts and want to work with banded resistance on the deadlift, bench press, and squat.

As REP imports their material they can get away with lower costs for racks that compare in quality to the market leader Rogue Fitness. This means you get a similar quality rack for a lower price. This is one of the most appealing aspects of the REP fitness as they generally seem to do a better job on quality control than TITAN fitness but use overseas to keep costs down.

This is probably the best rack from REP fitness you can get, if you do not want to bolt down your rack but have big plans for it in the future. You will basically get a PR-5000 with a flat foot design and can add to the base to your heart's contempt with further uprights.

Cons of the REP OMNI Rack

The cons of the OMNI rack are:

Space requirements
Numbering on uprights
Website ordering system

The flat foot base of the OMNI rack is laid out to accommodate a six-post design. While this makes it one of the few flat foot designs in the market for a six-post rack, it eats up too much space in a home gym with limited space. If you want to optimize for space a folding rack or a regular half-rack are the better options.

The numbering on the uprights does not go through every hole. While this saves cost in production it is a little inconsequential for ease of use. Either have no numbers to maximize my savings or number all holes to maximize the ease of use. This is especially true if you are buying in a commercial setting rather than a home gym.

Ordering an OMNI rack is a little tricky and I wouldn't recommend it for first-time rack buyers. With these modular systems, it is better to really have an idea of the dimensions and accessories you are buying before configuring it. Compared to their main competitor rogue the configuration system on the website is also not as easy to use. But that is just my personal taste.

Alternatives to the REP OMNI Rack

Alternatives to the REP Omni rack are:

This selection of racks is based in 3x3 11 Gauge steel uprights to avoid presenting too many options to you. If you want to save more money you can also look into 2x3 Gauge uprights. The smaller you are and the lighter the weights you move, the more likely it is that you should try to save some money for your home gym by going with a smaller frame. Commercial buyers should go as big as they possibly can on their budget based on insurance questions and that you can not predict as well who will use your equipment.

If you stick with the idea of "I want a Rogue quality rack at the lowest possible price" then the REP-PR 5000 and the REP PR-4100 are two other options to consider. The REP PR-5000 has been hailed as one of the best, if not the best, rack for home gym users based on its good value for money. You can configure it as a 4 post or 6 post rack. The main difference to the OMNI rack is that it does not come with a flat foot design. The REP PR-4100 would be the folding rack option from REP Fitness. This is a good way to go if you still want to park your car in your garage when you are not training.

If you are toying with the idea of a flat foot 6 post rack the OMNI rack is one of the few, if not the only option out there. Another option would be the RM6 rack from Rogue which needs to be bolted to the ground. Go with the RM6 if you are planning to get a belt squat, as currently, the Rhino Drop-in is the superior option to the belt squats from REP Fitness. The Rogue RM3 is the half rack option from Rogue with 3x3 Gauge steel. If you have the budget for an Omni rack you can probably also afford the RM3. With the RM3 you are saving footprint compared to the OMNI rack, as it comes with four uprights without a flat foot design. The uprights will also have all the holes numbered instead of just a few on the OMNI rack. With this rack, you will be buying from the current market leader in home gym equipment in terms of quality and units sold. Rogue also goes to lengths to make sure that their product is as American as possible by sourcing metal and staff locally and keeping production lines in Ohio. This comes at a higher price than their competitors to the consumer. The Rogue RM3W is the folding variation of the RM3. If you want the best and can afford it and you are not that much into the flat foot idea, this can be a good route to explore.

The TITAN series rack is the flagship of the TITAN rack lineup. This is TITAN's go at being like Rogue Fitness. You will also get a 3x3 11 Gauge steel uprights setting, but this is a full rack, rather than a half rack. If you were toying with the idea of a full rack that does not need to be bolted to the ground, then this might be the right option for you. If you want a 3x3 folding rack then the X-3 from TITAN would be the right choice. TITAN is known to undercut most of the other vendors on the market considerably when you compare like for like. This is why I am presenting you with their top-line rack as an alternative to the OMNI rack. The downside of TITAN is that the same to have the most incidents with quality issues between Rogue, REP Fitness, and TITAN fitness. This makes sense as you need to cut some corners to undercut everyone else in the market. If you don't mind a potential risk of minor blemishes, some inconsistency in paint, or on the drilling of the holes, then TITAN is right for you. A good option for the DIY enthusiast who wants to save money for a new drill to fix their rack setup and then have it for other home projects.

Conclusion for the REP OMNI Rack

The REP OMNI rack is in my opinion the REP fitness approach to tailoring their portfolio to universities. This is the right rack for the strength coach that does not want to explain to the dean why he has to drill holes into the resurfaced gym floor that was paid out of taxpayer's money. The same goes for someone who is renting a mansion and wants to put a six-post rack into it without damaging the 100-year-old original floor. For anyone who can drill into the floor or just uses a rack without bolting it to the ground, I think it is not the ideal option. Why create an unnecessary unused footprint in your limited home gym space for a half-rack?