Asking what exercises you can do with a power rack is similar to asking what destinations a car can take you to. The answer to both is ‘practically unlimited’. However, we understand that not everyone is familiar with barbell exercises and power racks, so let’s take a little time to go over some of the main exercises.

What is PIVOT?

Firstly, though, it’s important to appreciate that PIVOT is not a gadget. At its heart, PIVOT is a way to open your home up and provide space to work out. It enables a dedicated workout zone in your home, where all of your exercise equipment is located. No more blocking your partner’s view of the television as you grunt your way through another workout… 

This is why, at PIVOT, we believe in transparent and realistic promises, and we won’t market our product as enabling "100 exercises" to impress with sheer quantity. Instead, we focus on delivering a thoughtfully curated set of effective workouts that truly work for you without exaggeration or gimmicks.

What type of equipment can you add?

The goal of PIVOT is to  enable you to workout at home, using the equipment we provide as a basis for the equipment you already have and any equipment you buy in the future. 

Please don’t think of this like a garage gym that you can fill with single-use equipment like hack-squat machines, chest-press / ‘pec-deck’ machines, leg-press or calf-raise machines, now that you’ve banned your car from your garage. Space is at a premium and your room still needs to function as a bedroom so you’ll want to make sure that everything you place in your new bedroom-gym is multifunctional and provides lots of utility and value for the space it consumes in your room. The equipment shouldn’t provide obstructions to lowering the bed, or make that time-consuming, and nor should it make getting into the bed difficult.

Fundamental Strength Training Exercises

1. Deadlift
   You don’t need anything more than a barbell, plates and suitable flooring. You can even do it with dumbbells. It’s the exercise which uses the most muscles in your body and therefore, bang for buck, the best exercise you can do. PIVOT will give you the space to perform it, the appropriate flooring and storage for the plates and barbell.

2. Pull-up
   There are countless variations and difficulty levels, including easy progressions to build up to your first proper, unassisted pull-up. Another compound movement, this one targets the back, arms (biceps and forearm muscles), shoulders and even the chest when done correctly. PIVOT provides a very strong, totally reliable, adjustable-height pull-up bar which can extend way above where commercial gyms set theirs, if your ceiling permits. It provides good grip, through a textured powder coating, and is a full metre (39.4”) long, accommodating all wide-arm variations of the exercise including ‘archer’ and ‘typewriter’.

3. Chest-press
   The third and last of our fundamental, classic strength training exercises. It’s generally performed with a barbell and weight plates, which are ‘racked’ on a power rack to the required height before commencing the exercise. Lying back on an exercise bench, you’ll reach up, remove the weighted barbell from the rack, lower it to your chest and push back upwards, while keeping your shoulder blades tightly together. Another compound exercise, this exercises the chest, shoulders, triceps, and also the rhomboids in holding the shoulder blades together. The press can be done at various inclines of the body using an adjustable bench such as PIVOT’s, and these variations move the focus of the exercise between the various muscles. Use with safety spotter arms is advised, in case you can’t complete the exercise.

More exercises you can do with PIVOT

Most of these exercises are still classical, very well-known exercises, though few will involve as many muscles or muscle groups as the above three. This doesn’t mean they’re bad, but if you have limited time (who doesn’t?!) then our recommendation is to go with the big three above. With more time, and especially as you get stronger and fitter, you’ll find you can use the below exercises to target more specific muscles and provide more variation. To continue getting stronger, we need to shock our bodies so it builds new muscle fibres, and that becomes harder and harder as you get stronger and fitter. Many are great for rehabilitation, and in this scenario the emphasis is definitely on reducing the weight and doing the exercises in a very controlled, strict manner, over and over again.

You’ll be able to find countless instructional guides online for each of these exercises so we’ll not attempt to include any form of instruction here – it would become a very long read!

1. Barbell-loaded Back Squat
   Just edged-out by the deadlift in our big three. Amazing for the glutes, quads, lower back and hamstrings.

2. Barbell-loaded Front Squat
   Can be more comfortable than the back squat variant above, especially with limited ankle mobility, and can be easier to get into a lower position.

3. Lunge
   Can be done with a barbell on the shoulders, with dumbbells by your side, or just using bodyweight. You can step forward, or backwards, and either alternate legs or complete a set with one leg before switching to the other. A major exercise for the glutes, but it also hits the whole of the legs and the core.

4. Standing overhead press (‘military press’)
   Great for the deltoids (shoulders), triceps, supporting shoulder muscles and the core.

5. Bent over row
   Great for the back, rear delts, many other shoulder muscles and the grip.

6. Single-arm bent over row
   Use a dumbbell, and this increases the range of motion possible over barbell rows. Great for the lats and back in general, rear delts, rhomboids, trapezius, biceps and the core.

7. Deadbug
   You may have never heard of this exercise, and it may also look too easy for many of you, but done correctly it’s a fantastic and challenging exercise. I suggest you give it a try as it is very well respected in terms of a core workout. It gets its name from the position you do it in, mimicking a dead bug lying on its back.

8. Bodyweight Dips
   An amazing exercise for the lats, core, triceps, front deltoids (shoulder) and chest. Use a resistance band to assist you if they’re too difficult to begin with.

9. Inverted Row
   Use a racked barbell or a lowered pull-up bar. The lower the bar, the harder the exercise. Great for the back, rear delts, many other shoulder muscles and the grip.

10. TRX (suspension trainer)
    This is a whole world of different strength training exercises. PIVOT includes a simple mount at the top of the bed for you to clip the TRX carabiner into and get yourself moving. Use the optional extender wrapped around the pull-up bar to offer even more exercises. 

11. Resistance bands
    Another world of different exercises. Having a solid, dependable structure which you can attach resistance bands to is invaluable. Great for rehab and exercises which are difficult to perform with gravity alone. As an example, attach a band low down, put your foot through it, extend your leg straight back to engage your glutes and feel the burn.

12. Dumbbell Chest Press
    Great at various inclines on a bench, and they isolate the chest muscles but also use the front deltoid (shoulder) and require an engaged core. Can be done standing also, becoming similar to the standing overhead press.

13. Shoulder Raises
    Great for the deltoid, giving you wide shoulders, but also the trapezius and other supporting muscles. You can perform this with dumbbells, small weight plates, resistance bands or even using a TRX or other suspension trainer.

14. Bicep curls
    Can be done with a barbell, dumbbells, TRX or resistance bands. Works the shoulder muscles in supporting the joint as well as the biceps, and the muscles of the forearm are also highly engaged. Supination changes which muscles receive the most benefit.

15. Shrugs
    Use a loaded barbell, dumbbells by your side, or a strong resistance band and fire up your upper shoulders and neck – the trapezius mainly, the rhomboids if done correctly and this will improve posture.

16. Press-ups
    Just because you have equipment to do the bench press doesn’t mean you should ignore the classic press-up. PIVOT is about having the space to do almost limitless exercises, so use that space wisely while not focusing so much on the equipment. There are so many variations and progressions, but ensure you’re getting your technique right – basically, keep your elbows closer to your body than you may think is natural/optimal.

17. Back bridge
    Engage the glutes and lower back with this excellent exercise. Can be done as a static hold, or dynamically, and difficulty can be increased by using only one leg at a time. Concentrate on your core while switching legs to ensure your pelvis doesn’t move.

18. Front Plank
    A static hold where you’ll position yourself lying on your front, almost parallel to the floor, and keep your midsection off the ground. Engages the core and keeps you strong to support and protect your spine. Change the difficulty by resting on your hands vs elbows and knees vs toes.

19. Deadlift variations
    Romanian Dead-Lift, or RDL, places more focus on the glutes.
    Sumo deadlift can also move the focus from the lower back to the glutes.

20. Barbell ‘Landmine’ exercises
    Jam one end of a barbell into a corner, or an accessory landmine attachment, load the other end with plates, and lift that heavy end. There are a myriad of different exercises to perform, most of which are intended to increase power through fast, dynamic movements with reasonably heavy weight.

Summary

The potential of a simple power rack setup at home cannot be emphasised enough because having a rack, barbell, plates and a dedicated exercise zone at home enables you to engage and exercise every muscle in your body.

It’s all too easy for people to feel ‘gymtimidation’ when they first see a power rack and be feeling overwhelmed by its imposing presence, especially in an environment dominated by seasoned gym-goers.

However, despite power racks being seen as merely a bench press and squat station in commercial gyms, their true strength lies in their versatility, supporting a wide array of exercises beyond the basics. That’s one of the reasons why they’re always busy in commercial gyms.