Rogue Monster Rig 2.0 vs TITAN Adjustable prone row machine

This is a comparison of the Rogue Monster Rig and the TITAN Adjustable prone row machine including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the Adjustable prone row machine $344

This is an overview of the TITAN Adjustable prone 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 Prone row machine

The TITAN adjustable prone row machine is another variation on free weight row machines that isolates your back and protects your spine at the same time. With this machine you can get onto heavy rows without having to worry too much about back as it rests safely on a bench. Think of this machine as a reverse bench press. The full specifications of this machine are:

- (5) Adjustable lifting height positions

- Barbell holder is adjustable from 16 to 22-inches tall to fit most size athletes

- Isolate and build muscle groups easily with the chest supported design

- High-quality materials used for a durable and stable design

- Face cutout for a comfortable lifting position and to keep your spine in line while working out

- Overall Height: 41-in.

- Floor Dimensions: 5 FT L x 4 FT W

- Pad Dimensions: 5 FT L x 9.75-in. W

- Barbell Holder Height: 16-in – 22-in.

- Face Cutout Dimensions: 9.5-in L x 4.5-in. W

- Weight Capacity: 650 lb.

- Product Weight: 155 lb.

This is a simple and effective machine which is surprisingly seldom to find in gyms all across the world. This machine is easy to maintain and use and protects the user from self harm.

Pros of the TITAN Prone row machine

The pros of the TITAN prone row machine are:

Simple to use
Focuses on the back
Uses free weights

This is a simple machine to use that does not need a lot of instructions. You can fully focus on your back while facing less risk to hurt yourself compared to an ordinary barbell row. You can also make use of any already existing barbells and plates to use this machine.

Cons of the TITAN Prone row machine

The cons of the TITAN prone row machine are:

One trick pony
Space requirements

Even though I am a fan of prone row machines myself they are still one trick ponys. You can not do a lot else on them except from the prone rows that they are designed. As this is a full bench with some storage for a barbell it comes in a solid T Shape and is therefore also not the best in terms of space requirements.

Alternatives to the TITAN Prone row machine

TITAN T bar row machine
TITAN Plate loaded seated row
TITAN Chest supported row machine

The TITAN T bar row machine is an alternative to the prone row machine. This machine only needs additional Olympic plates to function. It is easier to load and unload and also offers some more grip variations. The only downsides are the higher price and that your back is less protected.

The Titan plate loaded seated row is a classic machine that you will find in many gyms in countless variations. With this machine you will sit upright and row the weight attached on lever arms in front of you. This is a good machine for the general public to use as the position you row from is more comfortable. The disadvantage is that you will not be working with a barbell.

The TITAN chest supported row gives you the opportunity to row a barbell in various angles while your chest is being supported. With this you can go very heavy on barbell rows without having too worry too much about blowing your back out. This machine is slightly pricier than the prone row machine.

Conclusion for the TITAN Prone row machine

The TITAN prone row machine is a great addition to your gym to work on your back and often overlooked. While seated row is more popular as it is more convenient I personally think that the prone row will get you the better results.

Overview and review of the Rogue Monster Rig 2.0

Price: 1.845 - 6.095$

This review was originally posted in the longer article "Which strength equipment to buy from rogue" in in which you can read about 25 products of Rogue which cost more than 1.000$. The Rogue Monster Rig 2.0 can be a good start to build your first commercial gym. See the details in this article.

Overview of the Rogue Monster Rig

The concept behind the rigs is the backbone of any CrossFit "box" gym. This design is genius in its adaptability and flexibility. As with all highly flexible and adaptable systems, this makes the purchase process a bit more complicated. Before you buy a rig, make sure you have measured your gym, made some reasonable assumptions about your potential clients, or even better asked them directly. You can spend thousands of Dollars on attachments and space, that your clients might not even use and you, therefore, don't need.

The constant factors in the Monster Rig built are the width, height, steel notes, and built pattern. The Rogue Monster rig is 6' wide and 9' high. The steel nodes come in 3x3 11- Gauge steel. The rigs will be built in a 4-6-4 pattern, which means that the squat/bench stations are 4' wide while there is 6' space between the stations. The main variations are the length and edition of the Rogue Monster Rig. The editions are from lowest to highest price:

Base 2.0 Edition
Standard 2.0 Edition
Racked 2.0 Edition

The base version has the lowest cost, The construction gets its stability from double pull up bars. If you have no clients who want to do muscle ups and you do not want options to place rogue accessories up high for climbing exercises this is the way to go. If you want to be able to do muscle ups ask rogue whether you can swap the double bars to dirty south bars. This provides the double beam while moving the pull-up bars out to be able to do muscle ups. The standard Edition might be more cost effective for this purpose.

The standard edition comes in at a slightly higher cost. For this, you get the second generation of the rigs. Rogue changed their pull up bars so that muscle ups are possible and there's more support where the bars attach to the beams of the rig. The upper construction has also been optimized that it can take more accessories. This leaves you with more options for upgrades and more stability, as the upper construction is now sturdier. The base and standard edition are optimized for Crossfit as you can move around the ground more freely. For gyms focused on weight training & powerlifting, you might want more stability and beams.

The Racked Edition of the Rig adds considerable cost. In return, you will get more rack space. Each bench/squat station now basically turns into an RM6 rack with one full rack in front and a half rack in the back. The half racks could be filled with Rhino belt squat machines. This setup also enables band work in and outside of the rack and opens more storage options for plates. The downside is that this setup is suboptimal for CrossFit gyms. There is too much going on on the ground to freely move around.

The Rogue Monster RIg is available in 4 different lengths which are

10'
- 2 Squat/Bench Stations
- 6 Pull-up Stations
14'
- 4 Squat/Bench stations
- 8 Pull up stations
20'
- 4 Squat/Bench Stations
- 12 Pull up Stations
24'
- 6 Squat/Bench stations
- 14 Pull up Stations

The more clients you want to serve in parallel the longer the rig should be. Choose wisely between the setups especially on your first purchase. Remember that you can always buy more at a later stage. You can even make it a business goal to be able to justify to make your Rig longer based on growing numbers in classes.

Pros of the Rogue Monster Rig

The Rigs are highly modular and versatile. You can find an option for almost any budget and can do a multitude of exercises in them. The general feedback in the market is that Rogue comes in at a higher price and delivers with solid builds. You can also see how Rogue incorporated client feedback and kept improving their RIgs based on it. Buying anything out of the Monster series also protects your investment for the future. Most upgrades are first released for Monster and are only later made available for Monster lite if it all.

Cons of the Rogue Monster Rig

Some clients might be put off by the open design of the Rigs. It all depends on whom you are targeting. Exercising in a Rig means that others are very near to you. If you expect to have clients which want to be more private go for separate racks, rather than connected setups with rigs.

How many clients should the Monster Rig 2.0 bring you?

Your first monster Rig purchase will be very important. If you are at this juncture take a really hard look at your business plan.

How many people live in the area?
How many people are already on your books?
What kind of training do they like?
Are there other gyms in the area?
What kind of equipment do they have?
What do you like?
What do you dislike?
What kind of equipment do you have yourself?
Is it compatible with the Rogue Monster Rig?
How much space do you have?
Where are the doors?
Where are major obstructions?
Where will you store equipment?

Just to name a few. It is easy to get excited about Rogue's great equipment and get carried away. If you are flush with cash have fun. If you are cash-stricken do multiple iterations of the planning process and reflect with others over it to get the optimum for your dime.

If you think that the Monster Rig will bring you 7 to 21 new clients who pay you 50$ on a 1-year retainer it is worth the investment. This will yield 4.200$ to 12.600$ in net new revenue against an investment of 1.895$ to 6.095$. Adjust the numbers for your own gym accordingly. If this Rogue is being bought for opening the doors also factor in running costs like electricity, insurance, staff education, and labor.

Alternatives to the Monster Monster Rig

For this, I will go with the average between of 1.895 and 6.095 which computes to 4.995$.

1 x Monster lite Rig Low end @ 1795$

This is the minimum configuration of the little brother of the Monster Rig.

Base Edition
Rig length 10'

The main difference are the holes which have been drilled into the material. This means that usually more accessories work with the Monster than with the Monster lite. Most rogue material is overbuilt for the purpose. I would not worry too much about stability and safety between the Monster Lite and Monster versions.

1x Monster Lite High End @ 5.095$

This is the maximum configuration of the rogue Monster Lite Rig. Same applies as for the minimum edition at 1.000$ less than Monster. The longer the Rig you want to build, the more financial sense it makes to go with Monster Lite.

Conclusion

The Rogue Monster Rig 2.0 is an uncompromising start to your new gym. Even the biggest athletes will be able to brutalize it without significant impact or movement in the structure. If you have the money and want to build the best of the best, this is the way to go.