The RitFit PSR05 Smith Machine – Our Review

The RitFit PSR05 Multifunctional Smith Machine Power Rack offers an impressive array of workout options in a remarkably compact footprint. As a space-saving home gym solution, this rack packs a punch with its smith machine, cable pulley system, lat pulldown bar, low row attachment, and various grip positions for pull-ups and chin-ups. While not without some minor drawbacks, the PSR05 delivers excellent value considering its affordable price point.

For those seeking a versatile yet budget-friendly strength training setup, especially those short on space or new to lifting, the PSR05 stands out as a compelling option worth considering.

Shipping/Delivery

I was given FedEx tracking numbers for the shipment, and shipping was prompt without delays.

I received two packages: one thicker/short rectangular package, and one longer/thinner box. If you’re receiving the packages in a different location than where you’ll be building the rack, you’ll want a dolly or a buddy helping you move them – they’re of course quite heavy, but also large enough to where moving them by yourself will be tricky (let alone around a tight corner, stairwell, etc.).

The two rectangular packages were secured with thick layers of tape along with multiple plastic straps, and inside the boxes each of the parts was wrapped either in plastic/bubble wrap or some sort of protective covering.

While none of the parts were functionally damaged (meaning I was still able to build the rack and have it work without issue), there were two broken pieces: one of the plastic feet on the pulley system base frame was torn, and a plastic cover from the top of the back upright frame had cracked in half. I notified RitFit and they immediately sent out replacement pieces.

Also, a hole in one of the metal poles wasn’t properly formed: a small circle had been cut, but the metal hadn’t been punched out. I put the tip of a screwdriver on it and knocked it out myself with the pop of a hammer.

(RitFit includes a 36-month warranty for the larger pieces, and a 12-month warranty for all the smaller parts, which provides good peace of mind for issues like this).

Shipping/Delivery Rating: 90

Assembly

As a smaller/more compact Smith Machine, the PSR05 didn’t take that long to build – only about two hours by myself.

There are two steps where it would have helped to have had a second pair of hands: first, securing the back upright frames (I used two folding chairs to elevate them while I connected the base, but this would have been much easier with a second person) and second, installing the pull-up bar that connects the sides together (you’ll need someone holding it in place while you screw in the bolts).

Otherwise, the process was pretty simple and the instructions were easy to follow. RitFit includes all the tools (like wrenches) you’ll need for assembly, although course a socket wrench or drill will speed up the assembly significantly. The company also included a small bottle of lubricant for the moving parts, a nice touch.

Do note that the smaller parts (nuts, bolts, washers) are not separated by step, and different steps require specific bolts that differ both in length as well as type (hex vs square). While I would’ve preferred packaging that separated the pieces by step, this was only a minor gripe in an otherwise fast and straightforward assembly process.

Assembly Rating: 95

Construction/Steel

The PSR05 is mainly constructed of 14-gauge steel. This is a relatively thinner grade of steel in the gym/fitness rack department, but is not overly thin compared to many other home gym-grade racks.

As it is, you’re unlikely to mistake the PSR05’s hardware for something down at your local L.A. Fitness.

Construction/Steel Rating: 65

Stability

Despite its smaller size and lighter weight, the PSR05 is completely stable regardless of which exercise I’m performing.

Some of the loose parts jingle a little when I do a quick series of muscle-ups, or if I get lazy with my pull-ups and let my body swing around rather than keeping my core straight and tight, but that’s to be expected (and it helps keep my form in check!).

The machine does have two dedicated plates on the bottom of each side where you can screw large bolts directly into the floor, if you’re set on locking the machine in place and have a flooring material that allows for it.

I didn’t bother screwing mine into my concrete garage floor. I’m a smaller/lighter guy than most (145 lbs) and I was quite happy with its stability after trying out all exercises across multiple workouts. Screwing the machine to the floor would provide rock-solid stability.

Stability Rating: 100

Functionality

While the PSR05 packs quite a punch there are a few minor drawbacks as well as two annoying issues that do detract somewhat from an otherwise complete experience.

First, the good:

• The rack itself provides a plethora of options for exercises (lat pulldowns, tricep presses, bicep curls, forearm twists, shoulder raises, seated rows, pull-ups/chin-ups, and barbell rows or one-handed presses with the landmine) while the Smith Machine adds even more functionality (squats, leg presses, calf raises, deadlifts, rows, military press, shoulder shrugs). Add a bench and you’ve got plenty of variety.

• All the moving parts are smooth and move as you’d expect. The barbell tracks effortlessly and is easy to rack and re-rack; the safety bumpers are quick to adjust into various positions and provide a great cushion should you need to immediately drop it. The cables don’t have any unnecessary slack and are responsive at every angle. Changing out the lat pull-down bar for the shorter T-bar is quick and simple. The whole rack just works as it should.

• The center bar provides multiple angles for every possible type of pull-up/chin-up: wide grip overhand, close grip overhand, underhand, and a neutral/hammer grip.

• The landmine swivels freely, and the band pegs right next to it are well-placed to assist in adding weight to the smith machine barbell.

• The weight holding pylons provide a secure, space-saving way to store your weights when not in use. While only having two pylons limits the number of plates you can store, the machine can still handle up to a 1,000 lb load when in use – a pleasant surprise given its smaller size.

• The rack looks and feels high quality (it’ll fit right in with whatever else you have at your home gym), and provides a wide range of exercises in a remarkably compact space.

Second, the meh:

• The height of the rack limits your range-of-motion when performing standing military presses with the Smith Machine. If you’re taller than about 5’8”, you simply won’t be able to fully extend your arms. However, this isn’t a problem unique to the PSR05 – many Smith Machines designed for the typical garage don’t go high enough for the full range of motion for the taller half of the population. Your alternatives are to use a bench for seated presses or to sit on the ground with your feet against the foot plates if you want to fully extend your arms.

• Unlike larger power racks that have twin cables on each side, the PSR05 instead has the cables in the center of the machine, with one attachment up top and another at the bottom. This means you won’t be able to do the typical two-handed cable exercises (like chest flys or crossovers), and it also somewhat limits your range, as you can’t adjust the height of the cables up and down like you would with those more traditionally situated on the front left and right sides of your larger racks.

• The metal foot plate at the bottom is actually two separate metal plates, one for each foot. These are relatively small (even my diminutive size 7 feet stick an inch over the top when fully pushed against them), and because they’re two plates rather than one large piece of metal, you can’t adjust your feet position or choose different widths when you’re sitting – you’re limited to the exact placement of the foot plates themselves.

• The rack has band pegs at the bottom (great for adding additional resistance to the Smith Machine barbell), but no pegs up top, in case you wanted to do the opposite.

And finally, the bad:

• The pull-up bar is directly above the smith machine track, which ruins much of the pull-up experience.

• Even if you lower the barbell as far as it goes, it’s still high enough off the ground to hit your shins unless you keep your legs fully tucked behind you.
• Because of this, there’s no way you can do weighted pull-ups with a dip belt, as the plate will bang right into the barbell (you’d have to use a weighted vest instead). You could rationalize holding your legs in place at all times as just an additional ab exercise…but that’s tough.

• Having the cables in the back and the barbell in the front is a frustrating configuration.
  • Most power racks with a Smith Machine have the barbell in the middle, with cables coming out the front. This gives you plenty of space in the cage to squat or bench or whatever, while the open space in front of the rack allows for unobstructed use of the cables.The PSR05, however, has the barbell in front, and the cables emerge from the back. This forces you to constantly move the barbell to the top or bottom of the track to get it out of the way for your next exercise.Want to do a pull-up? Move the barbell to the bottom (and keep those legs up!) Bicep curls next? You either have to step over the barbell every time you go back for a set, or move it up top and dodge it whenever you step back inside to grab the cables.
  • You can structure your exercise order to minimize the hassle, but it would’ve made everything much easier if the positions of the barbell and cables had been reversed.

It’s too bad that a machine that actually has a lot more going for it than most basic Smith Machines would have a few glaring design flaws. However, it doesn’t take long to grow used to these and to perform exercises, and your workout in general around them.

Functionality: 75

Accessory Compatibility

The PSR05 comes with four safety support hooks, two plate storage pylons, the landmine, the foot plates, a shorter low-row bar and a longer lat pull-down bar.

While RitFit sells a folding adjustable bench and additional plates for use with the rack, it doesn’t offer much in the way of additional functionality – just dumbbell sets and storage racks for them and extra plates. Something like dip bar handles would’ve been a nice touch.

The PSR05 does come with a built-in barbell holder, but no way to use it on the rack aside from the landmine.

As it stands though, it does manage to neatly store the barbell and contributes to the efficient use of space for such a small rack.

Accessory Compatibility: 80

Price

One of the things that the PSR05 “suffers” from is that there are some pretty cheap Smith Machines on the market, some going for under $400. Granted, I don’t have that much faith in the efficacy of these machines, but they do exist and they are price competitors.

Even with these ultra-budget Smith Machines, the PSR05’s price is competitive, especially given its many included accessory items, putting it in a league well beyond most similarly-priced Smith Machines.

Price Score: 90

Customer Reviews

The PSR05 currently has a perfect five-star average review on the RitFit website after 19 reviews (at the time of this writing), with users praising the machine’s ease of setup, great value for money, smooth operation, and sturdy construction. Many reviewers appreciate the safety features, like the Smith machine component, which allows family members of different ages to use it without fear of injury. The cable system and additional features like the lat pulldown and low row are also highlighted as excellent additions.

A few users mentioned minor issues like defective parts or worn cushion grips, but the company’s responsive customer service was commended for quickly resolving such problems. Overall, reviewers find the RitFit PSR05 to be a fantastic home gym equipment option, offering a comprehensive workout solution in a compact footprint and at an affordable price point.

The PSR05 page on Amazon has an average of 4.6 stars after 57 reviews (at the time of this writing), with purchasers saying they like the size, sturdiness, value, ease of assembly, and smoothness of the strength training machine. They mention that it has a smaller footprint, is very sturdy, and will last for years. They appreciate the instructions and smooth movement and are satisfied with the overall quality of the machine.

Customer Reviews Score: 94

Customer Service

I’ve received a few items from RitFit over the last few months and my dealings with the company have always been very positive and pain free.

As mentioned earlier, RitFit was quick to send replacements for the parts that had arrived slightly damaged. All they asked was for me to email them a photo of the damaged pieces and to note the name of that piece in the instruction manual (e.g. “part #17a” or “back upright frame foot piece”). The new parts arrived within a week.

Company personnel actually reached out to me to inquire about the new parts and to see how they were working out. A very appreciated touch.

Customer Service Score: 100

Who is the RitFit PSR05 really for?

Despite what Smith Machine-phobes may say, nobody would turn down having one as a part of their home gym. However, there are certain lifters who would appreciate the PSR05 more than others.

Those looking for a pretty basic Smith Machine

There are a lot of very multi-functional Smith Machines on the market. Many of these include attachments and functions that most lifters will never use (and probably never even imagined using). For those looking for more of a “bare-boned” Smith Machine (albeit one with some extras thrown in) the RSR05 might just fit the bill.

…but still like their included accessories

The RSR05 doesn’t come with the most accessory items, but given its price point and status as a Smith Machine, it’s punching above its weight. Even a few items can add a bit of functionality to the creative lifter.

Not for people who do a lot of free weight work

The RSR05 has almost zero capacity to accommodate any type of free weight work and you’d have to get pretty creative to balance on a barbell anywhere on the machine for something like a traditional squat (not recommended!) If you plan on doing a lot of free weight work, plan on purchasing a different machine.

How we tested the RitFit PSR05

My favorite lifting routines are full-body compound exercises, interspersed with focused isolation work. I like to pair push and pull upper body compounds (like a bench press and pull-up, or military press and rows) with legs (squats, deadlifts, lunges) and then pepper in some bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, calf raises, shoulder shrugs, or ab work. I try to mix things up – some days I go heavy for a few reps, other days I focus on volume, sometimes I do HIIT bodyweight circuits.

I was able to replicate most of my usual routines when using the PSR05 for a few weeks. Of course, all of the movements listed above were performed as the alternative “Smith Machine” variety.

While I’m still annoyed at not being able to do weighted pull-ups (and I was a little antsy only performing Smith Machine exercises), I got plenty of solid workouts in. It’s not perfect, but depending on your goals the price and compact size may make it very much worth the tradeoffs.

PSR05 Alternatives

It’s hard to find direct competitors to the PSR05. Most other Smith Machines are either really basic or are loaded down with accessories and different functional items. Here are a few alternatives that are closest the PSR05 experience:

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re in the market for a home leg press/hack squat machine, you probably have a lot of questions you need answered before you hit “buy”. We’ll (hopefully) cover a few more of them here.

The RitFit PSR05…Good and Basic

The Ritfit PSR05 Multifunctional Smith Machine Power Rack manages to pack a good amount of functionality into a compact, affordable package. While it does have some frustrating design flaws like the limited pull-up space and obstructive barbell/cable layout, the sheer number of exercises it enables is remarkable for such a space-saving home gym solution.

Being so affordably priced (for the standalone rack), the PSR05 delivers good value that will be budding home gym enthusiasts should give a hard look. Those with very limited space constraints or beginners just getting started with strength training will appreciate the compact size and affordable cost.

More advanced lifters may eventually outgrow the rack’s limitations, or find its drawbacks too much of a trade-off depending on their workout needs. However, its flaws are generally outweighed (no pun intended!) by the overall quality construction and incredible exercise variety it offers for the money.