Best Dumbbell Racks For A Home Gym

Even if your dumbbell collection includes mostly tiny rubber hex dumbbells, you should consider getting one of the best dumbbell racks for them.

A dumbbell rack allows you to keep everything organized. But more importantly, it allows you to protect your floors. Even some rubber dumbbells are going to leave markings on unprotected floors!

With that said, if you just so happen to be looking for a dumbbell rack for your home, then let us introduce you to a few options. But first, let’s briefly overview how you would choose dumbbell racks for home use.

How To Choose Dumbbell Racks For A Home Gym?

Which dumbbell rack to choose for a home gym depends on your dumbbells, free space, and perhaps personal taste. Your preference is perhaps not as important as a convenience for dumbbell storage, so we suggest that you first pay attention to the rack’s ability to hold your dumbbells.

Below, let’s briefly overview what you should be looking for in a dumbbell rack for home use.

Available dumbbell rack types

• Tree weight racks: Tree weight racks are small and mostly suitable for small neoprene dumbbells.
• A-frame racks: These racks are still pretty compact, but they can take larger dumbbells. You can hold up to 5-6 pairs of dumbbells on the largest A-frame racks.
• Horizontal racks: Horizontal racks are the ones that are very commonly used in gyms. They are sturdy, can take plenty of dumbbells, and are pretty storage-efficient given how many dumbbells they can take. However, horizontal racks can take up plenty of floor space.
• Staggered racks: This is a variation of horizontal racks. The shelves in staggered racks are a little offset towards the back, creating a ladder-like construction. Thanks to such a build, staggered racks are the best when it comes to the convenience of re-racking dumbbells.

Material

No matter the price, dumbbell racks are typically made from steel.

Cheaper dumbbell racks are usually made from steel without any protective coating, while pricey racks typically feature powder coating. Powder coating delivers plenty of benefits, among them corrosion resistance and increased finish durability.

You may also pay attention to the gauge of the steel a rack is made from. Usually, racks are made from 14-gauge steel. You may go higher, but the steel gauge is less important than, say, the rack’s weight capacity.

Weight capacity

It’s key to pick a rack that will be able to hold all your dumbbells.

To know how much weight your rack should be able to hold, add together the weight of all your dumbbells. If you are planning to buy a couple more dumbbells in the foreseeable future, then make sure to add them in your calculations as well.

Number & size of racks

Carefully consider the number of racks/shelves/trays in your rack. Not only that, but pay attention to how big the dumbbell storage area is. You don’t want to buy a rack and then discover that it’s too small or too big for your needs.

Do the following things to pick a properly sized rack:

• If you have small dumbbells, measure their handle length. Big racks may have too wide shelves for smaller dumbbells.
• If you have large dumbbells, put them next to each other and measure how wide of an area they will need.
• Make sure that the rack’s usable shelf width will be enough for your dumbbell arrangement.

Keep in mind that dumbbells may be sized very differently – if a rack is claimed to take 5-pound dumbbells, it won’t necessarily take yours since they may be different. Be sure to do measurements to know whether a rack will be good enough for you or not.

Mounting

Some racks may require floor anchoring. If you aren’t intending to drill holes in your floor, then be sure to avoid such racks.

Some dumbbell racks intended for placement on the floor have rubber feet or rubberized spreads to protect the floor. Not only that, but the rubber also keeps the rack in place and prevents it from sliding around. It’s a good idea to get a rack with rubberized feet unless you aren’t worried about your floors or will be putting the rack on a carpet.

Size & weight

Finally, consider the size and weight of the dumbbell rack for your home gym. You need to have space to use all the bells & whistles of the desired rack, right?

The weight is also pretty important. A heavier rack is going to be more stable, but it’s also going to be more difficult to move around. We’d say that go for a heavier rack if you have heavy dumbbells and for a lighter one if you have light equipment.

Best Dumbbell Racks For A Home Gym

Fitness Republic Dumbbell A-Frame Rack Holder Combo

The Fitness Republic A-frame dumbbell rack is made of steel and thus can rack up to 200 pounds of dumbbells. Not only is the steel strong, but it also is powder-coated, which implies corrosion and rust resistance.

The rack model we’ve based our review on had 5 tiers for 5 pairs of dumbbells. There is also a 3-tier model that holds up to 120 pounds of weight.

Both dumbbell rack models have a compact footprint and are thus great for home use. Not only that, but you are getting several pairs of dumbbells with each size option – 8-, 12-, and 14-pound dumbbells with the 3-tier rack and 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, and 10-pound dumbbells with the 5-tier one.

Each of the included dumbbells has a hex shape that doesn’t roll, as well as a neoprene coating with a grippy texture.

Each of the Fitness Republic dumbbell rack variants has rubber inserts to protect the dumbbells and the rack from friction and damage. Besides, they feature protective spreads to keep your floors intact.

With that said, the rubber inserts for the dumbbells aren’t secured in place too well and thus are pretty easy to lose. Make sure to keep an eye on them.

And yeah, you have to pay plenty of money to get all this beauty.

Pros:

• Durable powder-coated build.
• Several pairs of dumbbells included.
• 5- and 3-tier options available.
• Compact & easy to assemble.

Cons:

• The rack rubber inserts aren’t fixed in place and can easily get lost.
• Pricey.

Fitness Republic Dumbbell A-Frame Rack Holder

This is the exact same A-frame rack by the Fitness Republic we’ve just reviewed but without the dumbbells. Since this thing comes with no dumbbells, you can save plenty of money on it. It’s sure great to get a few pairs of dumbbells, but why waste money if you already have your own equipment?

The features and benefits of this rack are already familiar to us – you have the durable powder-coated steel construction, defensive spreads to protect your floors, and rack inserts that are pretty easy to lose. Likewise, you have the option of a 5- and 3-tier rack.

Pros:

• Durable powder-coated construction.
• 5- and 3-tier variants available.
• Compact & easy to put together.

Cons:

• The dumbbell rubber inserts are easy to lose.

Body-Solid 3-Tier Horizontal Dumbbell Rack

Made of thick steel, the Body-Solid 3-tier horizontal dumbbell rack is a pretty durable piece of equipment. It doesn’t have powder coating, so it’s not going to be corrosion-resistant, but it’s very sturdy nonetheless.

This rack is designed to hold 10 pairs of dumbbells between 5 and 50 pounds. Body-Solid doesn’t provide exact figures on the weight capacity of this rack, but given its claim to hold 10 pairs of 5-50-pound dumbbells, it should hold well in excess of 500 pounds.

You will have to pay for the high capacity of this rack with free space. It has a 40 inches long and 20 inches deep footprint, so it’s going to be less space-efficient than the Fitness Republic A-frame racks. But given that you have free space for it, it may be an excellent option for you.

Pros:

• Sturdy steel build.
• Takes plenty of dumbbells.

Cons:

• Not resistant to rust.
• Bulky.

Marcy Compact Dumbbell Rack

This dumbbell rack is a pretty nice option if you have plenty of dumbbells. With its weight capacity of 400 pounds, this thing can fit plenty of dumbbells, especially lighter ones. It has both dumbbell shelves and dumbbell trays to accommodate your dumbbells.

While the Marcy dumbbell rack isn’t as compact as the Fitness Republic A-frame racks overviewed earlier, it’s pretty compact for what it is. It’s just 27 inches long and 9 inches deep, which is quite compact compared to the 40 and 20 inches of the Body-Solid rack respectively.

Being an inexpensive rack, this model still has a durable steel build with powder coating, meaning that it should be able to resist corrosion.

With all that said, this thing’s trays won’t fit too large dumbbells. 20-pound dumbbells are probably the max for the trays – larger dumbbells are probably going to sit on top of each other rather than in the trays. Keep this in mind if you have heavier dumbbells.

Pros:

• Inexpensive.
• Sturdy powder-coated build.
• Plenty of storage space for dumbbells.
• Not too bulky.

Cons:

• The trays won’t fit larger and heavier dumbbells.

Marcy 3-Tier Dumbbell Rack Multilevel Weight Storage

Finally, we have this 3-tier dumbbell rack by Marcy. Unlike the previous Marcy rack, this one appears to be a better option for large dumbbells.

And oh boy is it durable! While Marcy doesn’t indicate this rack’s max weight, it appears that it can hold around 800 pounds no problem. Well, at least one user has managed to do so.

Besides, this thing boasts a powder-coated steel frame that should be corrosion-resistant.

The staggered shelf design in this rack is particularly notable – it makes re-racking and taking out dumbbells much more convenient than in traditional horizontal racks.

For heavier dumbbells, this rack may be perfect. But perhaps not for smaller ones – its shelves are a bit wide, so you may be unable to securely place small hex dumbbells on it.

The Marcy 3-tier dumbbell rack is pretty bulky as well – it’s not as long as the Body-Solid rack, but it’s a few inches wider and taller. You’ll need plenty of floor area for this thing, but if you have a few heavy dumbbell sets, it may be worth it.

Pros:

• Powder-coated build.
• Fits plenty of dumbbells.
• Convenient staggered shelf design.
• Rubberized feet.

Cons:

• Bulky.
• Too wide for small weights.

Final Words

Remember that a good dumbbell rack for a home gym will be practical, first of all.

Buy a rack that will deliver what you will need now and in foreseeable future. Don’t buy something bulky, heavy, or durable just for the sake of it. Dumbbell racks can take up plenty of space, so you should be wise and efficient about your purchase.