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The Valor Fitness BD-3 Squat Stands offer an affordable way to support squats and overhead presses at home.
But with a weight capacity of just 150 lbs, does the popular BD-9 set represent better value for money?
In this squat rack review, we’ll look at the BD-3 design in more detail, in addition to the customer reviews, benefits to your workouts, and a comparison with other Valor Fitness squat stands.
Design features
Whether you have decided to supplement your gym workouts with lifting weights at home, or you are looking to setup a home gym of your own, it’s important to be able to lift weights safely.
This is particularly true when it comes to lifting heavy free weights, as you will often be without a spotter to assist you.
With the majority of workouts now containing some form of compound pressing or squat movement, this is where the Valor Fitness BD-3 Squat Stands can prove so useful.
Being free-standing means you can position the stands at a distance apart that suits your preferred style of lifting, as well as the length of the bar you’re using.
When you complete your workout, this also makes it easy to slide the stands together to take up less space until you need them again.
Safety features and bar supports
In terms of the main safety feature, this comes in the form of adjustable safety spotters.
The height of these can be adjusted by releasing a locking pin at the back of each stand, in a similar way to the design of the highly popular BD-9 stands.
Having the pin at the back instead of on one of the sides means you don’t have to worry about causing it any damage with the weight plates or catching your hands on it when placing the bar back on the supports.
One important final feature that’s worth mentioning is the main bar supports them.
The height can be quickly adjusted thanks to another locking pin that slides through the front of each stand. You can even secure the bar in place while you change the amount of weight on each end, to prevent the risk of the bar from tipping off one side.
Valor Fitness BD-3 – Features Summary
- Solid Base expandable with each base covering 400 square Inch of surface
- 43-Inch upright posts
- Adjustable base for larger footprint adding more stability
- Safety spotters on each post can be adjusted accordingly
- Recommended Max Weight 150 lbs.
How can squat stands benefit your workouts?
Even with all of the importance of diet, technique, and workout planning, one factor that’s often overlooked is your own personal belief in lifting a heavy weight.
Having the confidence to lift a personal best or get an extra rep on one of your work sets can be the difference between making strength gains and hitting a plateau.
With the addition of the safety spotters, this helps to provide that extra level of confidence when you workout at home. Whether that’s in front squats, back squats, or bench press, it’s important to know that the safety spotters are there.
Although the Valor Fitness BD-3 stands are rated to a limit of 150 lb, there are sets with a similar design that can support up to 500 lb or more, if you require it.
There are also a few more important comparisons to be made between the other sets of squats stands in the Valor Fitness range.
Product comparison
Stand set
Min. post height
Max. post height
Weight capacity
43″
70″
150 lbs
42.75″
77″
500 lbs
Customer reviews
Even with the vast majority of customer reviews being positive, it’s still important to take into account any issues, particularly if they are likely to affect your style of training.
The following lists of pros and cons have been put together based on reviews left by actual customers, who have already purchased and used the Valor Fitness BD-3 Squat Stands.
Pros:
- Extremely easy to assemble
- Convenient stacking design saves on space when not in use
- Ideal for anyone that’s new to weightlifting
- High quality materials and design helps to keep the stands stable when lifting and racking the bar
- Wide range of adjustment options makes them well suited to a range of user heights (although you may need the BD-9 set if you are over 6ft tall)
Cons:
- Lower strength level than other designs
- As with many squat stands, some people have left negative reviews based on the stability.Although you will have to be more careful returning the bar than lifting in a squat cage, setting the bar back with weights under 150 lb should cause no problems.
If you want to find out more information, you can read through the full reviews on the Amazon website.
Review Overview
Overall Review Rating
4 / 5
With their lower weight capacity, the Valor Fitness BD-3 Squat Stands are best suited to beginner and intermediate levels of weight training.
To get the most value for money, it's best to consider how many exercises these stands will support before your strength levels start to exceed 150lb.
If you are likely to get more than 2 years use out of these stands then they will likely be a worthwhile addition to your home gym. If you think you will be able to lift more than 150 lb in the overhead press, squat, or bench press, then it may be better to buy one of the slightly higher priced sets in the range.
Although the initial price would be more, this would save you having to replace the BD-3's too quickly, resulting in a greater expense in the long run.
The highly rated customer reviews and reputation of Valor Fitness for developing quality weight training equipment still makes this an excellent set to consider, if the weight capacity will be high enough.
Weight capacity: 150 lb
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