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Home Gym Equipment Recommendations

brandlife

brandlife

Member
Hey Guys - I'm putting a gym in my basement and don't have enough room for conventional equipment. I do have a 5-60lb DB rack and rower. I personally hate the idea of these "all in one" home gyms. I really wanted an old school Icarian or Precor "tree" with cables and rows but I don't have the room.

So I wanted to see what people were doing or putting in their home gyms and if they have any systems they like or don't like.
 
I have been building my gym for a while now. I have DBs up to 75lbs and a ton of kettlebells. I have a Titan rack that fits in my six foot height basement along with the Lat pulldown cables. Two barbells, a neutral barbell, adjustable bench and a flat bench. Deficient platform for deadlifts and box’s to raise height, these are easy to make. Bands, med balls, a hyper extension machine, chains, eZ curl bar, and some Other stuff. Me and my wife use it. The Titan rack was one of my newest purchases about 8 months ago and I love it. I can do squats, bench press, and Lat pulls and ton of other stuff. For a few hundred bucks it’s one of the best purchases I have made.
 
I've been wanting to add some pieces to my setup but have been indecisive myself because it seems like reviews and opinions are all over the place.

I've got a mix of brands myself. I just need to add a cheat iso machine and shoulder press machine. I've seen a couple of leverage systems that seem like they have some decent options.

Following along bc I'm curious about people's suggestions.
 
Foxx13 said:
I have been building my gym for a while now. I have DBs up to 75lbs and a ton of kettlebells. I have a Titan rack that fits in my six foot height basement along with the Lat pulldown cables. Two barbells, a neutral barbell, adjustable bench and a flat bench. Deficient platform for deadlifts and box’s to raise height, these are easy to make. Bands, med balls, a hyper extension machine, chains, eZ curl bar, and some Other stuff. Me and my wife use it. The Titan rack was one of my newest purchases about 8 months ago and I love it. I can do squats, bench press, and Lat pulls and ton of other stuff. For a few hundred bucks it’s one of the best purchases I have made.
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I just checked inthe Titan, it’s a T-2 71 inch power rack. I got the extensions to hold all my plates and the Lat tower. It’s says all that is about $800 but I thought I paid less
 
Foxx13 said:
I just checked inthe Titan, it’s a T-2 71 inch power rack. I got the extensions to hold all my plates and the Lat tower. It’s says all that is about $800 but I thought I paid less
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i think I need this Invalid Link Removed and the t2 squat rack
 
brandlife said:
Hey Guys - I'm putting a gym in my basement and don't have enough room for conventional equipment. I do have a 5-60lb DB rack and rower. I personally hate the idea of these "all in one" home gyms. I really wanted an old school Icarian or Precor "tree" with cables and rows but I don't have the room.

So I wanted to see what people were doing or putting in their home gyms and if they have any systems they like or don't like.
Click to expand...
Do you have a power rack? A power rack can be your best friend for a home gym if you wanna move some weight without a spot. They also make a lot of these cable pulls systems you can attach to the power rack for pulldowns, rows and whatever else you would want with a cable.

Invalid Link Removed

I don't particularly know that brand but it's just a example of what I'm talking about. You can find better known brands for $100 or less
 
Smont said:
Do you have a power rack? A power rack can be your best friend for a home gym if you wanna move some weight without a spot. They also make a lot of these cable pulls systems you can attach to the power rack for pulldowns, rows and whatever else you would want with a cable.

Invalid Link Removed

I don't particularly know that brand but it's just a example of what I'm talking about. You can find better known brands for $100 or less
Click to expand...

yeah, I want it all to match and that titan brand has squat/power racks which are pretty much the same thing. I will need that so I can do incline/decline/flat bench. I’m not gonna get that cable system that requires plates bc it’ll piss me off and I’ll just walk out and won’t use it ever again. That’s why I’m gonna get the titan cable system link i showed above - that’s the closest to a real gym without it being one of those dumb Swiss Army knife systems that does a MILLION things - they’re pretty dumb
 
brandlife said:
i think I need this Invalid Link Removed and the t2 squat rack
Click to expand...

I have the Titan T2 power rack w dip attachment and hi and low pulley. You get a lat bar and a short length bar for “attachments”. Lat bar is narrow and I have alligator arms. Not sure how it would suit a 6’ human w long arms. That being said, I’m buying better cable attachments. Amazon. If u want to add their leg attachment it won’t fit on the t2 racks. They don’t allude to this on website. T2 is a 2” box frame. Leg attachments for extension and curl need 3” box frame. U can buy an adapter that allows 2” box frame and steps up to 3” box frame for this leg attachment. It is not made by Titan. Google is your friend.
 
- Flat bench that goes up and down for incline/decline with preacher curl and leg curl/extension attachment
- Titan squat stands
- Chin up bar that wraps around door frame
- Pulley system that hooks on to chin up bar with cambered bar and rope attachments
- Strength band set with door anchor and handles
- Calf raise platform
- Close grip pull down handle attachment
- EZ curl bar
- lot of dumbbells

I do some landmine exercises where I push my Olympic bar into a corner wrapping the end of the bar with a couple towels.
 
Facebook marketplace and Craigslist are your friend. you can add some stuff really cheap. I was able to grab powerblocks (5-90) on marketplace cheap. dont be afraid to shoot people offers. I added a titan fitness cable machine and proform folding squat rack for my garage. i then snagged 500lbs of plates for cheap off craigslist. slowly added bars and attachments. grabbed a leg ext/ leg curl that a guy had from an old gym for 10 bucks. i am out of room or i would add more. ha.
 
Does anyone have any good suggestions on a good chest press and shoulder press (preferably iso) that doesn't cost a fortune?

I do mostly dumbbells but have wanted to add a machine for certain times when my shoulder stability is giving me problems from where I broke it.

I know its a cheapo brand, but has surprisingly good reviews - but I've never seen one or known anyone to have one, but Sydee (may spelled it wrong) has one that gets some good reviews for cheap.
 
sns8778 said:
Does anyone have any good suggestions on a good chest press and shoulder press (preferably iso) that doesn't cost a fortune?

I do mostly dumbbells but have wanted to add a machine for certain times when my shoulder stability is giving me problems from where I broke it.

I know its a cheapo brand, but has surprisingly good reviews - but I've never seen one or known anyone to have one, but Sydee (may spelled it wrong) has one that gets some good reviews for cheap.
Click to expand...


Well, damn that is cheaper than i normally see. you got me interested in reviews now. haha!
 
thatsuppguy said:
Facebook marketplace and Craigslist are your friend. you can add some stuff really cheap. I was able to grab powerblocks (5-90) on marketplace cheap. dont be afraid to shoot people offers. I added a titan fitness cable machine and proform folding squat rack for my garage. i then snagged 500lbs of plates for cheap off craigslist. slowly added bars and attachments. grabbed a leg ext/ leg curl that a guy had from an old gym for 10 bucks. i am out of room or i would add more. ha.
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I assume the pro-form squat rack is a 3 inch tube? I am learning that the Titan is not 3 inches so it’s not universal for different attachments like a leg curl attachment.
 
sns8778 said:
Does anyone have any good suggestions on a good chest press and shoulder press (preferably iso) that doesn't cost a fortune?

I do mostly dumbbells but have wanted to add a machine for certain times when my shoulder stability is giving me problems from where I broke it.

I know its a cheapo brand, but has surprisingly good reviews - but I've never seen one or known anyone to have one, but Sydee (may spelled it wrong) has one that gets some good reviews for cheap.
Click to expand...
Bro, are you really hijacking my thread with your own questions??
 
brandlife said:
I assume the pro-form squat rack is a 3 inch tube? I am learning that the Titan is not 3 inches so it’s not universal for different attachments like a leg curl attachment.
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ya the proform is not universal and i could not add stuff, but i am limited on space in my garage so i went with bang for buck. it was slightly cheaper with coupon and came with safety bars.
I wish i had the space to put together what i really wanted but I am married and have limitations. ha!
 
brandlife said:
Bro, are you really hijacking my thread with your own questions??
Click to expand...

Nope. I actually thought I was helping get attention to your thread and create discussion.

A lot of people follow my posts here on AM and my thought and hope was that me posting in your thread would help get you more answers and replies and turn it into a good home workout equipment discussion.

The title of your thread is literally "Home Gym Equipment Recommendations" and then you said:
So I wanted to see what people were doing or putting in their home gyms and if they have any systems they like or don't like.

^^^ So I'm not sure what you deem that I did wrong by encouraging conversation by asking questions about what different types of equipment that people like or don't like.

Like the leverage piece that I mentioned - it seems very popular for home gyms and is designed to save space - but I can't recommend it to you because I've never used it. But if it is as good as the reviews I've seen, especially for the price, it might would be a great option.

In general, I have a lot of space so the pieces that I have personally likely aren't a good fit for you; hence asking for people's opinions about one that I looked at myself that happens to have what I'm looking for but also a lot more - and may be a good option for you, but having never used it personally, I can't recommend it so I was hoping maybe someone reading it may have.

I'm probably going to buy it anyway, but would feel bad if I suggested it to you or anyone else and it turns out not to be a good piece - hence trying to encourage conversation on it and see if anyone else had. That was to help you or anyone else reading or following along figure out if it would be good for them; I've already researched it and plan to buy it and try it.

Personally, I have a Fitness Gear Smith machine/power rack/weight stack combo that I would strongly suggest not buying - because the smith is angled weirdly and hurts my shoulders to use. Then I have a lot of Body Solid equipment that I really like but they are individual pieces and not a good option for someone that doesn't have a lot of space.
 
Kevin T said:
That is a lot of wild stuff. I've been lucky, ever since high school I've always had a bench, bars, and more plates than I'll ever use. I've given away almost everything through the years because something better always lands in my lap. I have a full bench and all the trimmings in my shed and a dumb bell bench on my porch. I've probably paid less than $500 for everything I've ever owned. People give up and just give it away. I have a York barbell bench, with leg attachment, 2 long bars, and tons of plates just gathering dust in my shed, because I have no room to set it up!
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It's wild how stuff like that varies so much by the area. In my area, a lot of people used to give equipment like that away, but now days they try to charge dang near new prices for it all. I remember when people used to give away plates just to get them out of the way and now they want 2.00 per lb. for them around here.
 
Kevin T said:
Must be a central Pa thing because I've given away 3 benches to friends and family and tons of bars and plates and I still have too much lol! When I was a kid my dad had this thing, it wasn't a Bull Worker, but similar. It was a pneumatic piston with handles and I loved that thing. It was chrome plated with black polymer handles. I'd love to find one of them again. The harder you pulled/pushed, the more resistance it created.
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I think it just depends on the area. That's why I would always encourage anyone to check marketplace or any free or inexpensive options in their areas for classified, yard sales, give aways, etc.

It used to be that way here with people giving stuff away now just to get it gone. But like last week, I saw a Powertech setup on marketplace here scratched all to pieces taken apart and piled up in a floor in the picture and the price was only 300 less than new - and there would be no way of knowing until bought it and put it together if even had all the pieces. And weights going for 2.00 per lb. which is crazy for used stuff. I have dumbbells going up to 120's except I'm missing 70's and tried to find a set awhile back and gave up quick after seeing the prices haha.
 
Kevin T said:
Freaking brutal! My friend's dad just passed away and he has a lot of guns. My friend is keeping all the pistols and a bunch of the others. He sold me a new in box Henry golden boy .22mag for $500! he has a Weatherby Vangaurd 300mag with a giant scope he'd sell me for $800, but I'm strapped right now and it's a $100 for 20 rounds lol! I always seem to get lucky with stuff like this.
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Congratulations. That's awesome for you.

If you ever get that lucky on a Nustep, let me know and I could see a road trip in my future haha. I used one of those at physical therapy for my leg and it helped me a lot. I wanted to get one, but the prices on those are insane and I just can't afford one.
 
Kevin T said:
Side note while I have ya here. I tried to place an order on the SNS website a while back and it didn't seem to like my card. I use a lot of security: VPN, ghostery, https everywhere, duckduckgo essentials, and adblock ultimate. Any chance that stuff messes with the page? I didn't try turning any of it off. Thanks.
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The SNS website uses authorize.net for credit card transactions. As security minded as you seem, you're probably familiar with that and like authorize.net. The downside to authorize.net is that because it is super secure, it is also super strict so its possible that some of those things that you use could have triggered a fraud filter with it.

Let's take this part of the conversation to pm's if you don't mind. If the order failed, if it went far enough to have generated an order #, send that to me and I can try to find a reason code. If it wouldn't let it accept it at all, pm and I'll send you my cell number and if it happens again you can let me know when its happening and I'll see what I can see on my end.
 
OP, I’d say main thing to do is figure out the movements/exercises that are most important to you to train - what you will need to do those things.

I would tell most people that a power rack is nearly mandatory for a home gym if it’s your only training location, but there ways to even circumvent that & some people aren’t interested in barbell work. But the right modular rack from brands like Titan Fitness, Rogue, and Bells of Steel can give safety for barbell work, a place to anchor bands or even some pulley/tower systems, attachments for things like dip horns, landmine, curls/extensions, reverse hypers, belt squats. And they can be fitted with different pull-up bars, or at least be a solid place to lay a swissbar across the top to do neutral grip chin-ups from.

Most people will want some dbs or at least a pair of loadable db handles or adjustable db blocks, all depending on space/money/interest.

Rogue’s Rhino Beltsquat is incredibly good, and can be attached to their power racks. I got to try Bells of Steel at the Arnold this year and would definitely be okay with it, and even Titan’s old one is worth the price if you have the space and want a leg machine that doesn’t tax the back.
 
Hyde said:
OP, I’d say main thing to do is figure out the movements/exercises that are most important to you to train - what you will need to do those things.

I would tell most people that a power rack is nearly mandatory for a home gym if it’s your only training location, but there ways to even circumvent that & some people aren’t interested in barbell work. But the right modular rack from brands like Titan Fitness, Rogue, and Bells of Steel can give safety for barbell work, a place to anchor bands or even some pulley/tower systems, attachments for things like dip horns, landmine, curls/extensions, reverse hypers, belt squats. And they can be fitted with different pull-up bars, or at least be a solid place to lay a swissbar across the top to do neutral grip chin-ups from.

Most people will want some dbs or at least a pair of loadable db handles or adjustable db blocks, all depending on space/money/interest.

Rogue’s Rhino Beltsquat is incredibly good, and can be attached to their power racks. I got to try Bells of Steel at the Arnold this year and would definitely be okay with it, and even Titan’s old one is worth the price if you have the space and want a leg machine that doesn’t tax the back.
Click to expand...

You mentioned the Titan Belt Squat - Belt squats tend to hurt my hips and lower back - have you ever tried the Titan leverage squat machine?
 
Resolve10 said:
Coincidentally I scored a Titan Leg Extension/Curl the other day that I am picking up this weekend for over half off.
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Congratulations. That's awesome.

I'd love to hear any at home recommendations that you have.

Titan seems to be a well liked brand. I don't have anything by them but was considering them for a couple pieces I need to add.

I was looking at their cable crossover and seated dip machines. I was thinking about their leverage squat machine or thinking about holding off on the squat and getting the Sydee leverage gym that has a squat attachment on it.
 
sns8778 said:
You mentioned the Titan Belt Squat - Belt squats tend to hurt my hips and lower back - have you ever tried the Titan leverage squat machine?
Click to expand...

I have not, but I have found most leverage squats to be pretty enjoyable. I don’t know how much they offer beyond removing the stabilization component from squatting, as they still load the spine some and otherwise are similar to squatting (where as a belt squat removes the compression and tractions the low back), but I like those kind of machines generally.

Resolve10 said:
Coincidentally I scored a Titan Leg Extension/Curl the other day that I am picking up this weekend for over half off.
Click to expand...

We have one at the barbell club and I think it’s pretty good. Not commercial grade or anything but people there use the heck out of the leg curl. The strength curve gets aggressive towards the top of the curl, but that’s just how that plate-loaded style goes without some kind of cam/mechanical intervention. The leg extension if you play with the position you can get it pretty low stress on the knees while keeping good tension on the quads.

The thing with Titan you guys should know is, it’s not commercial grade & everything is worse than Rogue. BUT it’s generally not that much worse, for a lot less money. The best “cheapo” brand for a lot of their offerings that will only see home/modest use cycles.

Historically they were absolutely awful about shipping damaged goods or missing hardware/parts, but their customer service has always had zero hesitation to ship new/replacement parts no questions asked - they always made it right, fast. As their prices have risen and brand has grown, I think they have cleaned up a lot of the bumbling.

But when I got my Husafell stone, all scratched out of the box from shipping. My Squat Safety Bar v2, end cap of bar punched through box and dented. But their foam drop pads came good, Buffalo bar good, bar holder good, EZ curl bar good, reverse hyper good. Scratches or no, all of that stuff works awesome & I’m happy with the purchases. The reverse hyper is an absolute tank - had 500lbs on it last night, no issue. So I suspect their other recent machines are likely solid in construction as well.
 
Hyde said:
I have not, but I have found most leverage squats to be pretty enjoyable. I don’t know how much they offer beyond removing the stabilization component from squatting, as they still load the spine some and otherwise are similar to squatting (where as a belt squat removes the compression and tractions the low back), but I like those kind of machines generally.
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The stabilization is a big thing with me after the accident. I have poor lower back flexibility anyway, so my squatting form has never been able to be perfect, and with the stability issues with my leg now, its hard for me to even squat a bar properly. Plus, having broken my shoulder, I still don't have full mobility back to get my hands back under the bar and really trust that I could secure it.

I used to like belt squats, but I worry that the same things I used to like about them may pull me forward now because of the stabilization issues.

I had thought about a Titan or Sydee leverage squat - but I've been considering buying the Sydee piece that I mentioned earlier in the thread, their leverage system, which I thought may be a good choice for the OP if anyone could vouch for it. Invalid Link Removed

Sydee has a belt squat and leverage squat too, but I just don't know much about the brand. I've heard of Titan a lot, so that's what made me think to ask when you mentioned it.
 
Hyde said:
OP, I’d say main thing to do is figure out the movements/exercises that are most important to you to train - what you will need to do those things.

I would tell most people that a power rack is nearly mandatory for a home gym if it’s your only training location, but there ways to even circumvent that & some people aren’t interested in barbell work. But the right modular rack from brands like Titan Fitness, Rogue, and Bells of Steel can give safety for barbell work, a place to anchor bands or even some pulley/tower systems, attachments for things like dip horns, landmine, curls/extensions, reverse hypers, belt squats. And they can be fitted with different pull-up bars, or at least be a solid place to lay a swissbar across the top to do neutral grip chin-ups from.

Most people will want some dbs or at least a pair of loadable db handles or adjustable db blocks, all depending on space/money/interest.

Rogue’s Rhino Beltsquat is incredibly good, and can be attached to their power racks. I got to try Bells of Steel at the Arnold this year and would definitely be okay with it, and even Titan’s old one is worth the price if you have the space and want a leg machine that doesn’t tax the back.
Click to expand...

thx for this info. I was really all in on Invalid Link Removed
And then I was reading that the comparable power rack from titan that I would use as a sister system to this is only a 2 in.² tube and doesn’t play nicely with other attachments that are usually set up for a 3 inch tube

so then I was looking at Invalid Link Removed which is just a nicer brand overall and since they make the power racks with the 3 inch tubing and I wanted everything to match I was considering just getting this piece. I thought that with this machine and the power rack with attachments I could really hit every body part along with my new dumbbell set
 
I really like the Prime pieces. This one is great if you dont have a power rack as it gives you the oppertunity to do you compound lifts and the cable stuff all in one. But yeah, not the cheapest option.

Invalid Link Removed
 
Been hunting on FB Marketplace up and down the East Coast for the past 5yrs. Big fan and owner of Hammer Strength, Icarian, Nautilus and Cybex - only have 1 Precor (Leg Ext+Curl combo). There’s only a few pieces in the gym that I spent some good $$ on, but majority have been paid for by flipping equipment over the years + trades - the rest have been foolishly low priced steals that I jumped on. I’ve almost completed my “need/want” list and super stoked about it.
It’s become an obsession and my hobby, let alone my saving grace now that we had our first kid 6mo ago. Also have made a lot of connections and networked myself to where I now help out local commercial gyms - hoping to expand upon it in the near future.
 

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🧱BrickHouse🧱 said:
Been hunting on FB Marketplace up and down the East Coast for the past 5yrs. Big fan and owner of Hammer Strength, Icarian, Nautilus and Cybex - only have 1 Precor (Leg Ext+Curl combo). There’s only a few pieces in the gym that I spent some good $$ on, but majority have been paid for by flipping equipment over the years + trades - the rest have been foolishly low priced steals that I jumped on. I’ve almost completed my “need/want” list and super stoked about it.
It’s become an obsession and my hobby, let alone my saving grace now that we had our first kid 6mo ago. Also have made a lot of connections and networked myself to where I now help out local commercial gyms - hoping to expand upon it in the near future.
Click to expand...
Whoa, you're not moving anytime soon o_O That's quite the setup!
 
🧱BrickHouse🧱 said:
Been hunting on FB Marketplace up and down the East Coast for the past 5yrs. Big fan and owner of Hammer Strength, Icarian, Nautilus and Cybex - only have 1 Precor (Leg Ext+Curl combo). There’s only a few pieces in the gym that I spent some good $$ on, but majority have been paid for by flipping equipment over the years + trades - the rest have been foolishly low priced steals that I jumped on. I’ve almost completed my “need/want” list and super stoked about it.
It’s become an obsession and my hobby, let alone my saving grace now that we had our first kid 6mo ago. Also have made a lot of connections and networked myself to where I now help out local commercial gyms - hoping to expand upon it in the near future.
Click to expand...

That’s your house???
 
brandlife said:
thx for this info. I was really all in on Invalid Link Removed
And then I was reading that the comparable power rack from titan that I would use as a sister system to this is only a 2 in.² tube and doesn’t play nicely with other attachments that are usually set up for a 3 inch tube

so then I was looking at Invalid Link Removed which is just a nicer brand overall and since they make the power racks with the 3 inch tubing and I wanted everything to match I was considering just getting this piece. I thought that with this machine and the power rack with attachments I could really hit every body part along with my new dumbbell set
Click to expand...

They have a few series of power racks - T2, T3, and Titan, which all have different tube/hardware size I believe. Their Titan is a ripoff of Rogue’s Monster chassis. Not sure if they will all fit with the other stuff you want from them, but it’s definitely not all 2in tubing.

Their T3 and Titan racks are on sale for 15% off this weekend btw, for anyone shopping those.
 
Resolve10 said:
Well got in the leg extension/curl, just need to figure out where I want to get it set up. Lady who was selling it had all Titan gear, she had that reverse leg press and leverage squatter. She was moving and new gym meant she had to downsize and that was the only reason she was selling it, thing look pretty much brand new.
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That looks good. Glad you got a good deal on it.

Titan seems to be a fairly good brand. I was looking at a seated dip by them and a couple other things.

I have a lot of Body Solid equipment that I like that I got years ago, but their prices have went up a lot over the years and I don't really think the pieces that I need now are worth the prices they're charging for them. So I had been looking at a few pieces by Titan and Sydee, which I'd never heard of before but seems to have decent reviews.
 
I would recommend to have following things in home gym
  • Dumbbell
  • Barbell
  • Resistance bands
  • Cardio machines
  • Kettlebells
  • Punching bags
 
My home gym is mostly dumbbells and some commercial equipment. I'm not a big fan of that residential home gym stuff. The commercial stuff costs more but if you can find a place by you that sells used commercial gym equipment that is the way to go. It also depends how much space you have. I also have a smith machine and cables for rowing and lat pull downs. Weird part is, I never use the stuff and always go to the gym.

Question for you all on this topic: years back I did some business with this guy on wall street (super wealthy guy) and he had the most ridiculous home gym I have ever seen to this day. But there was 1 piece of equipment that really caught my eye. It was kind of like a smith machine except it was electric. There was a barbell that was attached to 2 wires and it would move however you wanted it to, unlike a smith machine which locks you in. It was a regular olympic barbell where you load the weights and the device was plugged in, so when you would turn your wrists the cables would automatically hold the barbell in place so you never had to worry about it falling on you (unless the power went out) but it was never locked into a specific motion like in a smith machine - it was just a free range barbell.

Anybody know what exactly that device is called or where I can buy it? It was so much better than a smith machine but I've never seen it since then.
 
Stacks1 said:
My home gym is mostly dumbbells and some commercial equipment. I'm not a big fan of that residential home gym stuff. The commercial stuff costs more but if you can find a place by you that sells used commercial gym equipment that is the way to go. It also depends how much space you have. I also have a smith machine and cables for rowing and lat pull downs. Weird part is, I never use the stuff and always go to the gym.

Question for you all on this topic: years back I did some business with this guy on wall street (super wealthy guy) and he had the most ridiculous home gym I have ever seen to this day. But there was 1 piece of equipment that really caught my eye. It was kind of like a smith machine except it was electric. There was a barbell that was attached to 2 wires and it would move however you wanted it to, unlike a smith machine which locks you in. It was a regular olympic barbell where you load the weights and the device was plugged in, so when you would turn your wrists the cables would automatically hold the barbell in place so you never had to worry about it falling on you (unless the power went out) but it was never locked into a specific motion like in a smith machine - it was just a free range barbell.

Anybody know what exactly that device is called or where I can buy it? It was so much better than a smith machine but I've never seen it since then.
Click to expand...

I saw one of those years ago when I used to still do personal training for people had severe health issues and the other trainers in the area wouldn't work with them. I've tried several times over the years to find what the name of that thing was.

I've never been able to find it anywhere no matter what search terms I looked up. If I remember correctly the brand started with an S or something. I wonder if we're talking about the same thing. Did it just look like it kind of hung and had you had free range of motion?
 
sns8778 said:
I saw one of those years ago when I used to still do personal training for people had severe health issues and the other trainers in the area wouldn't work with them. I've tried several times over the years to find what the name of that thing was.

I've never been able to find it anywhere no matter what search terms I looked up. If I remember correctly the brand started with an S or something. I wonder if we're talking about the same thing. Did it just look like it kind of hung and had you had free range of motion?
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Yes! It just hung there and you can complete free range of motion with it. I thought it was so cool. I'm surprised the other trainers wouldn't work with them. It basically had the safety of a smith machine but the use of a free weight barbell. I never understood why there weren't more out there.

It may have started with an S... I honestly don't remember though. We are going back a bit in history here.
 
Stacks1 said:
Yes! It just hung there and you can complete free range of motion with it. I thought it was so cool. I'm surprised the other trainers wouldn't work with them. It basically had the safety of a smith machine but the use of a free weight barbell. I never understood why there weren't more out there.

It may have started with an S... I honestly don't remember though. We are going back a bit in history here.
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Yes, that's the one. And it was years ago - I remember them saying it was super expensive and it may have been ahead of its time. Like this was before you saw anything advanced at all - I remember this was almost like some space age type of thing for the time period bc it was probably 15 to 20 years ago. I have looked for one several times over the years because its just incredible the versatility it had. You could literally give out on a shoulder press and just move your hands and let go.

If you ever find out what that is, please let me know; and I'll do the same.

@Resolve10 and @Hyde - you both seem to know a lot about workout equipment. Do either of you by any chance happen to know what the name of the thing me and Stacks1 are talking about?
 
sns8778 said:
Yes, that's the one. And it was years ago - I remember them saying it was super expensive and it may have been ahead of its time. Like this was before you saw anything advanced at all - I remember this was almost like some space age type of thing for the time period bc it was probably 15 to 20 years ago. I have looked for one several times over the years because its just incredible the versatility it had. You could literally give out on a shoulder press and just move your hands and let go.

If you ever find out what that is, please let me know; and I'll do the same.

@Resolve10 and @Hyde - you both seem to know a lot about workout equipment. Do either of you by any chance happen to know what the name of the thing me and Stacks1 are talking about?
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That is EXACTLY it. When I saw it I assumed I would see more in the future because it was such an amazing device but I never saw it again.

If anyone could please help us out it would be much appreciated! Unfortunately since I haven't seen one in over 15 years I'm going to assume it probably doesn't exist anymore.
 
Stacks1 said:
That is EXACTLY it. When I saw it I assumed I would see more in the future because it was such an amazing device but I never saw it again.

If anyone could please help us out it would be much appreciated! Unfortunately since I haven't seen one in over 15 years I'm going to assume it probably doesn't exist anymore.
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It's awesome that you mentioned this. I remember the first time I saw one, the guy got a phone call and just left the bar hanging and it was amazing - especially for the time period because there was just nothing like that.

I remember he told me it was crazy expensive, but I thought it was so cool and that I would see more of them and that maybe the prices would come down as time went on, but instead never saw another one again.

It was like the ultimate training tool for injury recovery or anything like that because if you started to hurt or something felt weird, you could just let go. I remember using it and how weird it was just to be able to stop and not have to worry about racking something or putting it down.

I assume they don't exist anymore, which is a shame bc I would love to find one if they do.
 
sns8778 said:
It's awesome that you mentioned this. I remember the first time I saw one, the guy got a phone call and just left the bar hanging and it was amazing - especially for the time period because there was just nothing like that.

I remember he told me it was crazy expensive, but I thought it was so cool and that I would see more of them and that maybe the prices would come down as time went on, but instead never saw another one again.

It was like the ultimate training tool for injury recovery or anything like that because if you started to hurt or something felt weird, you could just let go. I remember using it and how weird it was just to be able to stop and not have to worry about racking something or putting it down.

I assume they don't exist anymore, which is a shame bc I would love to find one if they do.
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It was awesome for the time. The guy I knew who had it didn't know how much it cost or where he even got it from. He didn't build out his home gym he had someone else do it. Keep in mind his net worth was probably around $500mm at the time so whatever it costs was probably not "expensive" to him.

I thought it was so cool and at the time thought it would replace all smith machines... guess I was way off since smith machines are still around and I haven't seen one since lol
 
Stacks1 said:
It was awesome for the time. The guy I knew who had it didn't know how much it cost or where he even got it from. He didn't build out his home gym he had someone else do it. Keep in mind his net worth was probably around $500mm at the time so whatever it costs was probably not "expensive" to him.

I thought it was so cool and at the time thought it would replace all smith machines... guess I was way off since smith machines are still around and I haven't seen one since lol
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The guy that I was training that had one was very well off financially too. If I remember correctly, and that's a big if, he said it was around 12k and that was 15 to 20 years ago. So very expensive for the time period - but I had figured they would have become more common and come down in price.

I just got curious and tried to look it up again and I can't find anything at all. But I don't even know how to best type them in to look them up. This has got my curiosity up now. It's like one of those things that just disappeared or something lol.
 
sns8778 said:
The guy that I was training that had one was very well off financially too. If I remember correctly, and that's a big if, he said it was around 12k and that was 15 to 20 years ago. So very expensive for the time period - but I had figured they would have become more common and come down in price.

I just got curious and tried to look it up again and I can't find anything at all. But I don't even know how to best type them in to look them up. This has got my curiosity up now. It's like one of those things that just disappeared or something lol.
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Same here! I'm trying to find it online but I have no idea what to even search. So far I haven't found anything.

Someone come in here and help us out!! Lol
 
I’ve never seen that. While it’s pretty wild, it sounds like something that could basically be replicated in effect with a properly set pair of safety pins/straps in a power rack

I mean it sounds very truly like something great for a rehab center, and useless for someone trying to actually cultivate a mindset of strength & perseverance.
 
Hyde said:
I’ve never seen that. While it’s pretty wild, it sounds like something that could basically be replicated in effect with a properly set pair of safety pins/straps in a power rack

I mean it sounds very truly like something great for a rehab center, and useless for someone trying to actually cultivate a mindset of strength & perseverance.
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I never thought of it as a rehab center tool personally. It was essentially just a regular barbell with all of the regular barbell movements, except it can pause mid air any time you wanted it to. It basically gave you the freedom to use free weights without worry about it falling on you. I would think for a rehab center they probably wouldn't want a real olypmic barbell but something even lighter.

If it was around and affordable, I can't believe anyone would opt for a smith machine over it. It just wouldn't make any sense. This was such a better device than a smith machine because it was actually safer and had the free range of movement.
 
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