Cost No Object Machines and Free Weights, the Best of the Best

[STR8OUT]

Beautiful machine Tj!

Here's some other tk star pieces for anyone interwsted:

https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/spo/5275883810.html

That has been posted for a while and I've tried to pry the TK Vertical leg press from him but no dice. Its a good price for 3 pieces though, he said he'd take $1200 for all 3.

[LATS1968]

It's a plate loaded piece like hammer strength ECT.. Non covergence arms.. 30 degree set.. Very rare.. Not many made..

Sounds good. How many reps can you do with the stack?

[HealthNutMD]

It's a plate loaded piece like hammer strength ECT.. Non covergence arms.. 30 degree set.. Very rare.. Not many made..

Look forward to seeing pics... Definitely post pics!!

[LATS1968]

I will...man other piece I'm excited about .. I ordered a Strength inc plate loaded incline press.. Adjustable range of motion.. 7 hand positions with rotating handles.. 30 degree incline.. Black frames .. Dark red arms.. Is lateral but non convergence.. I am going this route since I'm starting to fell shoulder issues with many of my chest pieces that converge toward the end.. Should be finished in two weeks.. I have a buddy who bought one a year ago and said he liked it more than his Hammer pieces so I'm giving it a go..

Look forward to seeing pics... Definitely post pics!!

[harrisg83]

Interesting because the Pendulum chest press' lack of convergence is what really messed up my shoulders. In fact, I've been looking for the old Cybex advanced incline and flat plate loaders for awhile. Complete convergence at the top with free floating movement arms on both chest presses. I picked the incline up last week from a local seller and bought the flat on ebay (currently on Goalders truck). I think they're the best chest pieces I've ever used. Personal preference I guess...

I will...man other piece I'm excited about .. I ordered a Strength inc plate loaded incline press.. Adjustable range of motion.. 7 hand positions with rotating handles.. 30 degree incline.. Black frames .. Dark red arms.. Is lateral but non convergence.. I am going this route since I'm starting to fell shoulder issues with many of my chest pieces that converge toward the end.. Should be finished in two weeks.. I have a buddy who bought one a year ago and said he liked it more than his Hammer pieces so I'm giving it a go..

[HealthNutMD]

Interesting because the Pendulum chest press' lack of convergence is what really messed up my shoulders.

Yep, that Pendulum vertical chest wrecked my rotator cuff twice trying to push that last 8 inches at the end of the movement to lockout... Never has a shoulder issue in my life, but that pendulum gave me a small tear twice. Tyler is wrong thinking no convergence is magically stress free on the shoulder joint. no convergence means nothing in terms of bio-mechanics, it jus means the machine moves in a straight line... has nothing to do with bio-mechanics. That being said, every other chest machine I've used that pushes in a straight line I have not had any issues. In this case, I'd say Tyler Hobson made a shoulder wrecker... Maybe not for everyone, but wow I've never experienced a machine like that vertical chest, crazy!!! Pure shoulder wrecker.

[LATS1968]

YEAH i guess everyone is a bit different.. i had a coup[le shoulder surgeries.. so just about every converging chest press i had gave me pain and awful grinding the last 4 to 6 inches to lockout.. so i would stop a bit short to take that away.. then i tried the straight up and down iso lateral machine and no pain.. of course my grip on all pressing is a bit close so that helps a bit also..


QUOTE=HealthNutMD;1405214173]Yep, that Pendulum vertical chest wrecked my rotator cuff twice trying to push that last 8 inches at the end of the movement to lockout... Never has a shoulder issue in my life, but that pendulum gave me a small tear twice. Tyler is wrong thinking no convergence is magically stress free on the shoulder joint. no convergence means nothing in terms of bio-mechanics, it jus means the machine moves in a straight line... has nothing to do with bio-mechanics. That being said, every other chest machine I've used that pushes in a straight line I have not had any issues. In this case, I'd say Tyler Hobson made a shoulder wrecker... Maybe not for everyone, but wow I've never experienced a machine like that vertical chest, crazy!!! Pure shoulder wrecker.[/QUOTE]

[TLYNCH777]

That incline looks solid looking forward to your feedback after several workouts on it. Steve is a great man and makes some extremely heavy duty equipment !!! We just got our strength Inc wrist roller last week with custom raised legs.this is the ultimate forearm blaster !!!

Sorry you guys had a bad experience with the pendulum chest press. Harris the one I bought from you is one of my absolute favorite chest presses I would never get rid of it. For me it's been great never had any shoulder issues ever neither has any of the many people we train. I thought Rogers did a great job with the new versions but the originals are my favorite for sure

[irongym]

Hey TJ, any chance you could showcase the TK Star Chest Supported Leverage row I saw you have in some pictures you posted on Ebay? I'd sure like to get a closer look on that one. I'm thinking about upgrading my Flex one to a Nebula if I can track one down, but maybe this TK Star is better? Or more versatile? One other question, you still have the Nebula Adjustable Olympic Decline Bench? Thanks!

irongym

[TLYNCH777]

Hey TJ, any chance you could showcase the TK Star Chest Supported Leverage row I saw you have in some pictures you posted on Ebay? I'd sure like to get a closer look on that one. I'm thinking about upgrading my Flex one to a Nebula if I can track one down, but maybe this TK Star is better? Or more versatile? One other question, you still have the Nebula Adjustable Olympic Decline Bench? Thanks!

irongym

Tk called this masterpiece The "BBC"

Took me 4 years to find ours the photo above was the last version he made. It has a great feel with the independent arms & all 3 Handels target different areas of the back . It's the best supported row I ever used and you do not need much weight. This is a piece I would love to see TK create again.

He is almost done with the preachers and also working on the seated calfs .. I got an opertunity to demo the proto type this week and it's even better than the original seated calf !!!

I had the nebula chest supported row it was also a very good piece the Handels were really nice and great adjustability. One of the best machines to hit the upper back / rear delts. I sold that and my Nebula decline to coach Bud. The decline was great for me but my wife and many of my clients with shorter arms could not reach the supports to rack the bar. The last few Tom E made I believe he fixed that problem and also shortend the adjustment tube so it did not start out on such an aggressive decline (that I prefer) but you could still adjust.

[AttyGuy]

tk called this masterpiece the "bbc"

bbc?

[STR8OUT]

well ill share a purchase i am excited about just for a bit of history.. i just purchased a king plate loaded incline press.. fairly rare piece.. dont see many of them at all.. no converging arms.. just straight up and down.. going to redo the color and restore it a bit.. i always like king products and will be happy to jump on this when it arrives..

Do you have a pic? That sounds awesome. I am a huge king fan myself and love whenever I get a chance to own their stuff.

[TLYNCH777]

BBC is what TK always called that machine rather than say it's an independent arm chest supported row.. I don't believe It stands for anything but let's say it's stands for
BIG BACK CONTRACTION or
BACK BLAST CONTRACTOR
Whatever sounds better

[AdamMoyers]

This thread is amazing. Thanks to everyone for compiling so much great information in one location. Is there a recent list of the top pieces for each category? I remember seeing an old one somewhere around page 50 or page 100.

HealthNutMD, how many pieces of equipment do you have? I believe I read you have around 3000 sq ft of space and that you are close to capacity. I'm starting construction for my training facility and will have between 3000-3500 sq ft for the gym floor. I want to offer the very best to my members, so thanks again for starting this great resource.

For anyone who has a small commercial gym, how many sq ft is your facility, how many pieces of equipment do you have, and how many members do you have/can support?

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Thanks for any info/advice you can give.

[HealthNutMD]

Thank-you.

I believe the latest cost no Object list is around page 220, I'll check and update.

The next Panatta Order is shipping Next Wednesday. Hope to be able to post some pictures of the new Machines. We have a 40 Ft and 20 ft container coming this time.

I'd have to count the pieces I have. Yes I'm using around 3000-3500 sq ft of the 5100 available. Always would be nicer to have more sq ft.

[irongym]

Thanks Tj, much appreciated. Looks like an extremely awesome piece. It would be great if you could do a pictorial tour of your gym and highlight a few of the unique pieces you have. I know you are constantly moving things and trying new pieces, so I value your opinion.

[TLYNCH777]

I would like to do that in the future and make the time to do that possibly create another thread.. We have pretty much all Medx & Medx avenger, original pendulum, Rogers pendulum, some Nebula, UCS and Bodymasters racks and benches, and some of my favorite Tk star pieces.
Here is a white preacher Tk just completed its hands down the best preacher ever !!!

After using the leather upholstery I don't know how I will ever be satisfied with the regular material again ..


Photos really don't justify the detail in his work he has got a few more preachers just about complete and seated calfs well on there way. I used one of his Roman chairs for the first time and it was perfect.. You don't see these made much any more and if they are then angel is off .. This very well could be a piece he may bring back to life and make part of the legendary TK collection !!

[harrisg83]

I'm not sure what that preacher curl offers more than any other. As long as there's enough elbow padding on a preacher I'm good to go. I mean bicep flexion is bicep flexion. It's not as though it's a machine with a cam that offers a strength curve...

I would like to do that in the future and make the time to do that possibly create another thread.. We have pretty much all Medx & Medx avenger, original pendulum, Rogers pendulum, some Nebuka and Bodymasters racks and benches, and some of my favorite Tk star pieces.
Here is a white preacher Tk just completed its hands down the best preacher ever !!!

After using the leather upholstery I don't know how I will ever be satisfied with the regular material again ..


Photos really don't justify the detail in his work he has got a few more preachers just about complete and seated calfs well on there way. I used one of his Roman chairs for the first time and it was perfect.. You don't see these made much any more and if they are then angel is off .. This very well could be a piece he may bring back to life and make part of the legendary TK collection !!

[rpark]

Here is a white preacher Tk just completed its hands down the best preacher ever !!!

TLynch, Two questions:
1) Why two bar catches?
2) What is that steel peg hanging from the chain? One end looks attached to the tube, but the 6" steel rod doesn't appear to have a place to go.... ???

While it does look very nice, I am still impressed with my sorinex version that can be laid flat for forearm work.

[Mech6]

2) What is that steel peg hanging from the chain? One end looks attached to the tube, but the 6" steel rod doesn't appear to have a place to go.... ???

I would say it's a shaft for a linear bearing above.

[TLYNCH777]

Harris come on over to LI for a workout and use it then you will understand

The 2 stainless bar Rest/ catch
one higher bent one is to pick the bar up in the starting position and the other flat one can be used when you take the set to failure and can out the bar down on the bottom catch. I eventually want to make some videos on his machines so everybody can see them in action

That bar Tk made to eliminate any wobble he wanted as little movement on the preacher head .. I don't think it is nessasary but it is a nice feature and I know he out a lot of thought and time Into that

What I really like about this preacher is the pad is also reversible and you can roll it up to a cable station and do high cable concentration curls to really get a great peak contraction

[Massguy27]

Does anyone recognize this tibia machine? Obviously older but can't seem to find any elose like it beside sorinex/reflex

[TLYNCH777]

That's an original Tk Star tibia sure it's better than any other tibia ever made

[matrix563]

Anymore photos of that tibia? :-)

[harrisg83]

I've never seen that machine before. Any idea how many of those were made TJ?

Does anyone recognize this tibia machine? Obviously older but can't seem to find any elose like it beside sorinex/reflex

[Massguy27]

Unfortunately just missed out on buying these two pieces by a day. Here are a few more pics regardless

[LATS1968]

Just going a bit off topic.. I have used every chest piece ,except the pendulum chest press , there is.. Love a couple like the Panatta and David pieces.. Most were just doable.. But I have to say in have the Bodymasters plate load line cpx and they are the absolute best.. ( to me).. The only draw back is I wish they had handles for different hand placing but the feel and contraction in the chest are second to none.. Amazing pieces..

[irongym]

I just picked up a very interesting piece of history. Anyone ever hear of Doug Hepburn the Canadian weightlifting and powerlifting champ from Vancouver? He was the first man to bench 500lbs in competition in 1953.

Well I just picked up a Doug Hepburn Pro Gym Equipment T-bar Row. In his later years he made and sold equipment. I never tried this piece yet, but I couldn't help myself to own a little piece of Canadiana. I'll post better pictures later. I have to decide after I clean it up if I should do a full on restoration on this or keep the original patina.

$_27.JPG

[ArtifactFit]

I'm not sure what that preacher curl offers more than any other. As long as there's enough elbow padding on a preacher I'm good to go. I mean bicep flexion is bicep flexion. It's not as though it's a machine with a cam that offers a strength curve...

I think I appreciate what you are saying here, however, I think it may be important to note that not all preacher benches are the same. The differences are not arbitrary either. I am with you on the padding aspect... But I wouldn't overlook the angle of the pad itself. If the angle is not thought out your resisted elbow flexion quickly turns into resisted elbow extension at a position of full elbow flexion (the top). There is in fact a "strength curve" as the moment of resistance changes relative to the elbow through the range of motion, a better design will not allow the moment to reach zero allowing the elbow flexors to have resistance through the whole range of motion. Many screw this up and have designed pad angles too parallel to the floor.. As if they copied the angle of padding from a machine and yet forgot that they were using a free weight. A few have done a decent job but many more screw it up.

The TK design looks nice. I am sure it is a great piece. And this is a cost no object thread so many of us will just have to admire it from a distance.

[TLYNCH777]

Take a look at this great set up that Mike Petrella from canada created so many quality pieces

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZlubaNX_bM