What the convention fixes
Three dimensions, all of them the maker’s own:
The upright cross-section, in millimetres — commonly 50 × 50, 60 × 60 or 75 × 75, with a separate wall thickness or gauge figure that is quoted far less often.
The hole diameter, which sets the pin or bolt an attachment uses. Common figures cluster around 16 mm and 22 mm, and a pin from one rack will not enter the other.
The spacing between hole centres, and whether it is uniform up the upright or tightened through the bench press range. The tightened arrangement is what the word Westside points at, and it exists because a 50 mm step is too coarse where a bar has to start just below the chest.
What it does not promise
It does not promise a load rating. Hole spacing is geometry, and the rack’s published capacity is a separate declaration entirely.
It does not promise cross-brand compatibility, even where all three figures happen to match — the safety arm that fits may still foul a crossmember, and makers seldom commit in writing.
It does not promise a safe catch height. Where safeties end up relative to a lift depends on the spacing, on the bench, and on the person; no published spacing settles it.
And the name promises least of all. Westside is applied by makers to arrangements that differ from one another, with no publisher to appeal to.
What it works with
It works with the inside width of the rack, which is what decides whether a bench fits between the uprights and whether a bar’s collars clear them.
It works with the overall height, which is the figure that has to be reconciled with a ceiling before anything else matters.
And it works with the footprint and the fixing pattern, because a rack that is bolted down and a rack that stands on its own mass are two different products sharing a shape.
How we read it on this site
Upright section, wall thickness where published, hole diameter and spacing are reported in millimetres as the maker gives them, and the page says which of the four the listing omits — usually the wall thickness.
Where a maker names a spacing convention, the page reports the name as the maker’s word and puts the measured figures beside it. Compatibility with another brand’s attachments is stated only where a maker states it, and is otherwise recorded as undocumented.
Questions readers send in about this
What does Westside spacing mean?
It refers to racks whose holes are closer together through the range where a bench press is set up, and spaced more widely above and below it. The name comes from a training gym rather than from any publisher, and makers apply it loosely — which is why a page here gives the millimetres and the count rather than the name.
Will attachments from another brand fit?
Only if the upright cross-section, the hole diameter and the spacing all match, and a maker rarely commits to that in writing. Where one publishes compatibility, the page reports it as the maker’s own statement. Where none is published, the page says the fit is not documented.
Does a bigger upright mean a stronger rack?
A larger cross-section and a thicker wall both increase stiffness, and the two are separate figures — a 75 mm upright in thin steel is not automatically stiffer than a 60 mm one in thick. Pages here report the section and the gauge where both are published, because either alone is half the answer.
Last reviewed 20 September 2026