Rogue Monster Lite Half Rack

Rogue Monster Lite Half Rack

The Rogue Monster Lite Half Rack is the first of its kind within the Monster Lite family. This rack is constructed with 3×3 11-gauge steel and it offers 5/8″ holes and Westside spacing.

It includes a beautiful all-black color scheme with a full ROGUE-branded arch. Also included are storage pegs, front foot stabilizers, and more. It’s compatible with Rogue’s Monster Lite attachments as well as some attachments from other companies.

Read more below.

Features & Highlights

• Steel Size – The Monster Lite Half Rack from Rogue is a part of their Monster Lite lineup. It’s constructed with 3×3 11-gauge steel and it’s assembled with a bolt-together design. 3×3 steel is popular for its strength, attachment compatibility, and its overall aesthetic.
• Space-Friendly Design – Half racks are sized similarly to smaller 4-post racks with the main difference being that you will always lift outside of the rack. This allows for convenient on-rack storage on the back uprights, which can be challenging on a 4-post rack when lifting inside.
• No Bolt-Down Required – One of the biggest benefits of this half rack is that you don’t have to bolt it down to the ground. The front foot stabilizers serve as support so when you’re lifting on the front of the rack, there’s no tipping concern. Rogue still gives you the option to bolt down if you prefer total stability.
• Hole/Hardware Sizing – This rack uses 5/8″ hardware, which is one of the most common hardware sizes used on power racks. The rack will accommodate all of Rogue’s Monster Lite Attachments/Accessories as well as some from other companies (read more in the compatibility section below).
• Hole Spacing – The Monster Lite Half Rack includes Westside hole spacing, which is a common feature on 5/8″ racks. The holes are spaced 1″ apart through the bench zone, allowing for finer adjustments on your J-cups and safeties. This can be useful for people who are “in-between” sizes. Above the Westside section are holes with standard 2″ spacing between them.
• Exterior Rack Dimensions – This rack has a total length of 55″ or 62″ and a total width of 53″ (includes footplates). The uprights themselves are 49″ wide, which is fairly common for 3×3 racks. One of the downsides to this width is you have less room between the uprights and the plates. This requires a more efficient walk-out/re-rack since there’s a greater risk of hitting the uprights with your plates. Some racks from REP and Sorinex, for example, have 47″ wide racks which provide more space to work with. The uprights stand 90″ tall, but with the footplates, the total height is slightly higher at 90 3/8.”
• Interior Rack Dimensions – Rogue gives the option to pick from a 17″ or 24″ interior depth. I recommend the 17″ depth since you’re unlikely to be lifting inside the rack anyway. This is especially true if you have plates stored on the back uprights.
• Safety Options – The Monster Lite Half Rack does not come standard with safeties, however, you can add their spotter arms to your cart directly on the product page. I highly recommend them for safety as well as versatility. With these spotters, you can perform rack pulls, etc… and they also include side holes for even more applications.
• Hole Numbers – Unlike some other racks within the Monster Lite lineup, the half rack includes laser cut numbers as standard. Through the Westside zone, you will have even-numbered cutouts, and above, you will have all holes numbered. This makes lining up your safeties and j-cups much easier.
• No Color Options – This rack is not available in colors beyond the all-black scheme. While I would love to see other options as on some other Monster Lite offerings, this aesthetic is really clean. I particularly like the blacked-out rear arch.
• Made in America – The Monster Lite Half Rack is made in Ohio.

What’s Included in the Box

The Rogue Monster Lite Half Rack includes several pieces as standard:

• (2) Monster Lite J-Cups with UHMW Lining
• (4) Band Pegs
• (8) Plate Storage Pegs
• (1) 43″ Single Skinny Pull-Up Bar
• (1) 43″ Rear Arch
• (4) 17″ or 24″ Crossmembers with Side Holes and Top/Bottom Holes
• (2) 30″ front foot stabilizers with Side Holes and Top/Bottom Holes
• (4) 90″ Uprights with Side Holes

Optionally, you can add the safety spotter arms directly on the product page, which I highly recommend.

Attachment Compatibility

The Rogue Monster Lite Half Rack is constructed with 3×3 steel and 5/8″ hardware, which is compatible with Rogue’s Monster Lite Attachments.

Some attachments that I think are worthy of considering include the Rogue Matador, the Rogue Landmine, the Adjustable Monolift, and the Sandwich J-Cups.

The Matador allows for a portable dip station, the landmines open up a ton of barbell movement versatility, and the monolift eliminates the squat walk-out and makes bench setup MUCH easier. The sandwich cups are also a big improvement over the standard J-cups.

As for attachment compatibility outside of Rogue Fitness, notable places to look are REP Fitness and Titan Fitness. Each of these companies offers attachments that will fit 3×3 and 5/8″ hardware (REP PR-4000 and Titan X-3). One thing to keep in mind is that imported racks use the metric system vs. the imperial system on USA-made racks. This means that hole spacing will be slightly shorter. If you find an attachment that has two pins (or a single pin with a second hitch pin) then it may not fit properly. Single-pin attachments tend to work fine.

What They’re Saying at Rogue Fitness

The Rogue Monster Lite Half Rack receives great feedback from users. With an average rating of 5/5, here are some of the things people have said at roguefitness.com.

Positive

• “I have been waiting for a product like this to drop. It’s a mighty fine hybrid between the Monster Collegiate Half Rack and the HR-2 Half Rack. Not too tall for my home gym like the MCHR, but more chic than the HR-2. No shade to the other two products, but this one is just right for what I want at home.”
• “Recently assembled…incredibly high quality. Easily transition from press to squats to pull ups. No floor anchors – yet very solid with no movement.”
• “Rock solid, all parts present and accounted for, went together slick and without issue. Couldn’t be happier.”
  
• “There was not much available online about this rack, so assuming it is one of the newest Rogue racks. So here is my best attempt to help someone else out. After several weeks of research and back and forth over a half rack vs power rack, I finally narrowed down I wanted a half rack. This thing is amazing and I am so happy I purchased it. The areas I prioritized during my search: a rack I did not need to bolt to the floor, weight storage options, compact size, stability, and safety. This rack is rock solid stable even without the 450+ pounds of weights. The integrated weight storage works exactly as expected for a half rack. There is room for more plates than I’ll ever need. The overall size is bigger than the SML squat stands and the flat foot power racks I was originally looking at, but only by about 6 inches in length (this is the 17in depth option and not the 24in). While the half rack spotter arms don’t provide enclosed safety like a power rack, I determined the spotter arms would work perfectly well for the amount of weight I’m lifting (currently less than 250). If I ever really get into powerlifting, I can see desiring a full power rack for the added safety, not that the spotter arms can’t hack it.Originally, I was strongly leaning to the HR-2 half rack for the price, but this rack 1) looks so much better and 2) comes with the weight storage horns included, so the price difference is not that much different. Only thing that was a pain during set up was the Rogue crossmember plate which weighed a lot, so I had to lower the rack back to the floor during installation.”
• “I’ve been waiting on a half rack like this for years! This is literally the Monster Lite version of the Monster Collegiate Half Rack, which in my opinion is a better option because this offer westside hole spacing and the attachments will be slightly cheaper to buy. I’ve contemplated buying the RML-390C for a while but really wanted a place to put my weight plates without having to buy a 6 post rack. Finally, there’s a solution! This rack is built like a tank and will definitely hold up over time. Oh and if there’s an issue with the rack in the coming years, there’s a lifetime warranty. What more can you ask for?”
• “Bought this for my basement. Arrived with scheduled delivery and was pretty easy to set up. Was unfortunately missing 2 bolts. Reached out to customer service through email and within 20 minutes of sending a request they had the missing bolts air-freighted to me! Unbelievable customer service!”

Critical

• None Noted

Garage Gym Lab Review

The Rogue Monster Lite Half Rack was a winner in the Garage Gym Lab 2022 Best Squat Rack Awards. 

Other Options

The below racks were picked as alternatives to the Rogue Monster Lite Half Rack.