Going for a 545+ squat on Saturday if I feel comfortable in the rack. Was kinda kidding about the weight, its rated for 1,000 lbs. Being so tall and without much horizontal support there was a tiny bit of sway when loading 450 last week. Nothing scary but its not my ideal rack.
Have a bluetooth speaker on the way too, no electrical outlets in my garage. Using a coleman lantern for light and extension cord + heater when it was 6 degrees last week.
I see your concern about the lack of horizontal supports. It just doesn't feel right loading that much weight I guess lol. Its a solid unit though. Looks like you are all set. What speaker did you get? I spent a week researching those stupid things for my gym haha.
Also, that temperature. Wow that's cold.
I'll have to get a pic later, but my local gym closed down a few years ago and I was able to purchase a high end Ivanko olympic bar and 400lbs of weight for $280 . I paired it with a Rogue power rack with T-bar row and dips add-on gear. I have a bench that does decline and incline and a fixed bench for the ladies to sit and watch haha.
I love it. I end up working out more often and longer now that the set up is at my house and I can cut off 30-45mins of driving/chatting/getting ready for a local gym. Definitely worth the investment. I'm looking at adding a preacher curl, pull down machine, and a rack of dumbbells in the future. Then I think I'll be perfectly set.
You lucky mother. That's a ridiculous deal on that bar and all that weight. So awesome.
I hear you on the convenience aspect. God its wonderful to just walk out the garage door and be at the gym. No having to ask people "can I work in?" or "How many sets you have left?". I hated having to wait and the constant anxiety of knowing I was using something that someone else wanted to use. Also having to make compromises with my workout because the bench was taken or the squat rack was in use, so I had to make due with some crappy machine otherwise I would wait.
Then the drive to and from and blah blah. No comparison. I'd like to see some pics when you get a chance.
Oh crap, I almost forgot. You mentioned a T bar row. That sound like a land mind attachment. I got one and absolutely love that damn thing. Its a wonder attachment. With it I do:
Alternating 1 armed shoulder press (kneeling position)
Alternating 1 armed bent over rows
landmine twists
Its so convenient and efficient to use its unbelievable. I love that thing.
I want to explain the bent over rows. This is using just the bar and not the "T" attachment. There are two ways to do them. The bar between your legs allows you to support yourself with one elbow on a leg as you grab the bar with the other hand and pull. This isolates the movement. You can do one arm and simply roll the bar over to the other hand and do the other side.
The other way to do it is by placing the bar on the outside of your legs. This way your core is forced to keep you upright which hits your core as a secondary benefit, and also the one leg near the bar is forced to support all of the weight, and this places a load on that leg as you are in what is basically a squatted position. That hits the leg pretty nice and is a good secondary benefit also when doing it that way. Its just a really versatile piece of equipment.