Limited
to up and down motion along the vertical rails. One dimensional
movement.
No
limitations. The bar is free to travel in any direction. Three
dimensional movement.
START
AND STOP
Safety
latch points every four to eight inches.
Start
and end lift anywhere.
LEFT/RIGHT
BALANCE
One
arm can do more lifting than the other because the bar is
locked to the rails, and will move up regardless of which arm
is pushing.
Each
arm must do an equal amount of lifting to keep the bar level.
DUMBBELL
CAPABILITY
None.
Dumbbell
self spotting capability for olympic or standard plate
dumbbells.
COMPARISON
BETWEEN
POWER
RACK AND FREE-SPOTTER*
POWER
RACK
FREE-SPOTTER
RANGE
OF MOTION
No
limitations except for the lower limit controlled by the safety
pins.
No
limitations
START
AND STOP
The
bar can be rested either on the J-hooks or the safety pins. A
lift can only start and stop at these points.
A
lift can be started and stopped at any point in the lift.
UNRACKING
AND RACKING
Required
at the beginning and end of a lift set.
Not
required.
DUMBBELL
CAPABILITY
None.
Dumbbell
self spotting capability for olympic or standard plate
dumbbells.
*
There is one Free-Spotter limitation that the smith machine and
the power rack do not have. The smith machine and the power
rack are self contained, but the Free-Spotter must have an
external means to hang the ropes. This could be from ceiling
beams and joists, and it could be installed on a power rack
(very common).