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Rogue Rhino Belt Squat vs LT1 50 cal lever arm

Written by Pascal Landshoeft | Dec 27, 2020 5:00:00 PM

Rogue Rhino Belt Squat vs LT1 50 cal lever arm

This is a comparison between the Rogue Rhino belt squat and Rogue LT1 50 cal lever arm including pros, cons, and alternatives. The Original was published in which accessory equipment to get for your rogue rack. Follow the links for details

Overview and review of the LT1 50 cal lever arms

The LT1 50 cal lever arm kit comes in at $995 and is a great addition to your existing rack to widen the possible exercises you can do. This article was originally published in "which accessory equipment to get for your rogue rack".

What else to consider from Rogue

Overview of the 50 cal lever arms

 
The LT1 50 cal lever arms are one of the latest innovations of Rogue. The idea is to press most of the machines you find in a gym into a rack. The lever arms can be used for lunges, snatches, squats, rows, incline bench presses, and many more setups. If you want to get the maximum out of your rack these are a good addition. I especially like the snatch and push movements which can not be performed with a barbell in this way. The uniqueness is the ease of adjusting height without using a wrench.
 
The lever arms are available for the Monster and Monster lifelines from Rogue. The monster version has a stainless steel finish, while the Monster lite version is powder-coated. There are two versions in 48” and 35” length. Be aware that you can only use the short arms inside a 43” rack. The specs are: 
 
  • Made in the USA
  • Color: Black 
  • 71LB per arm
  • 48” standard 35” shirt length 
  • 3x3” Gauge Steel 
 
The package includes 
 
  • 2 lever arms 
  • 2 Trolleys 
  • 2 handles with loading pins 
 
If you want to hold your plates in place you will need to purchase some axle collars as regular spring and HG collars will not work with this setup. 
 

Pros of the LT1 50 cal lever arms

 
The LT 1 cal lever arms are a great addition to a home gym, especially if you are a bodybuilder. With the help of these arms, you can recreate most of the isolated machine exercises in your home gym without increasing its footprint. It will also add some interesting push variations to your repertoire of you play football or rugby. 
 

Cons of the LT1 50 cal lever arms

 
As with all Rogue innovations, the price is usually a hump to get over. With $995 you have some alternatives you can get instead to simulate some of the activities. But there will be no full replacement and these items will take up more space in your gym.
 
 

Alternatives to the LT1 50 cal lever arms

 
These are the alternatives for the LT1 out of the Rogue portfolio. 
 
 
If you are mainly interested in the LT1 to keep deadlifts safer for beginners you can also use a trap bar. Rogue has updated its trap bar design and there are two different designs available. 
 
If you find the LT1 appealing to create a monolift for bench presses you can also get the adjustable monolift kit for a third of the price. 
 
To cover the uses of the LT1 as a rowing machine you can also get the Lat pull down and row combination. 
 
If you want the LT1 and you have the spare change in your first Rogue order you might as well go for the rolls Royce of Racks from Rogue. The RM8 includes the lever arms and the Rhino belt squat with a Cerakote finish. If you only want the best, that is your place to go. 
 

Summary for the LT1 50 cal Lever arms

 
The LT1 is probably the most versatile attachment you can get for the Monster and Monster Lite series as long as you are willing to pay the price of a full rack for them. The RM4 fortis and the LT1 are almost the same price. The LT1 will probably not be your first purchase unless you go for the RM8 which includes the lever arms. 

Overview and review of the Rogue Monster Rhino Belt Squat

 

 

 

Price: 2.750

 
his 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 Rhino Squat belt will create big quads in your gym and keep older athletes healthier. See the details in this article.

What else to consider from Rogue


Overview of the Rhino belt Squat

 
The Rhino Belt squat machine is one of the latest additions to the big machine line up of Rogue. The version including a rack delivers a half rack including the Rhino setup to your home. It comes in Rogue black with a length of 51.5'', width of 49'' and height of 100.375''.  The unloaded trolley weight is 27.5lb.
 
Squat belt machines are popular to get more leg work in while putting less stress on the lower back. Especially older athletes tend to get upper body injuries or ailments in the lower back. To take away a bit of the strain created by the barbell back squat or front squat you can supplement with Belt squats. 
 
The Rhino includes the newest pulley system designed by Rogue, which seem to be living up to the hype. You will get a very versatile machine for this price. This configuration also includes J cups to be ready to go for squatting inside or outside this half rack.
 

Pros of the Rhino belt Squat

 
This is a well-built machine which will give you the best pulley system of Rogue to date. If you want to build a home gym that does not take up a lot of space and also allows to train without a barbell, the Rhino Belt Squat hits the spot. You get 2 weight posts with 15.75'' loading capacity on each side. The belt can also be used for dips and other exercises. 
 

Cons of the Rhino Belt Squat

 
This is a machine that is mainly targeted at clients and athletes who want to lift heavy and can not use a barbell to do this. Especially powerlifters will like this machine. If your clients are not powerlifters, injured often or just simply do not move heavy weights you might be better off investing your money in equipment that covers their needs better. 
 
 

How many clients should the Rhino belt squat bring you?

 
If you think that the Rhino Belt with Rack will bring you 10 new clients who pay you 50$ on a 1-year retainer it is worth the investment. This will yield 6.000$ net new revenue against an investment of 2.750$. Adjust the numbers for your own gym accordingly.
 

Alternatives to the Rhino belt Squat

 
There are a couple of alternatives to the Rhino Belt squat from the Rogue Portfolio. These are:
 
 
This version saves you a bit of money and even more important than that, floor space. If you already own one or multiple RM6 racks you should seriously consider this upgrade for your gym. Especially when almost no one is using the half racks at the back. This is also a great option for home gym owners who are a bit older or get injured often who want to have a backup plan to barbell squats, without losing too much footprint.
 
 
The squat Standalone version is the right option if you already own one or more racks and have plenty of floor space to fill. This saves you about 1.000$ which you can invest in other equipment like barbells and plates
 
 
 
This would be the most cost-efficient and versatile option. The jerk blocks can be set up for a belt squat so that the athlete stands on the blocks. You can use the dip belt to attach the weight. This setup usually requires a second person to help out. Otherwise, you have to climb the boxes with the weight attached or do some other wild acrobatics. The pros of this package are that the blocks can also be used for deadlift block pulls, jerk training and even as storage.
 

Conclusion

The Rhino Belt squat is especially a good investment if your gym is very powerlifting or rehabilitation focused. With this machine you can still train heavy while giving big athlete's lower backs a rest. In case of injuries the belt squat machine can be used to securely progress back to barbell work while not compromising intensity of the workouts.