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

[HealthNutMD]

Here is a picture of a new Avenger leg press.

I have a feeling I'm going to end up picking one of these up. I might be demoing one in 2 weeks, and then I am going to demo another one in 4 weeks.

[dumb.bell]

Newest addition to my home gym is a Nautilus Duo-Squat. It is only about two feet wide but weighs 900-1000lbs. Designed to be used one leg at a time. The "resting" leg remains under a constant load because you shouldnt lock-out. Definately see a learning curve for me on this machine. It is in really good shape. I doubt this one was ever in a commercial gym.

That thing looks really nice. That is a piece that I would like to have.

[ndmike99]

This is an outstanding mod. Could not agree more. I tried it about a full 1.5 inches out and that is really improved. In a sense, it is kind of how Rogers Athletic Chest/incline/shoulder works because you change the angle of the back pad, depending on if you are working flat chest, incline chest, or shoulders. By changing the angle with a 1.5 inch spacer, it really improves the biomechanics for shoulders. The Hammer Super incline was kind of in-between angles of an incline chest and military press; angling the pad forward with a spacer at the top really makes it a great improvement (feels like a great shoulder press now).

Glad you like the mod. Reading this almost makes me wish I still had my super incline.

[deadwoodgregg]

I have a feeling I'm going to end up picking one of these up. I might be demoing one in 2 weeks, and then I am going to demo another one in 4 weeks.

If you end up giving this thing a thumbs up, I will have to make a trip down to demo it later this summer. I am eyeing the Avenger or a Power Squat Pro as my next major purchase in September or October. I don't know the status of Regeneration, but I would like to get one in case they go out of business......HealthNut, where was that Avenger located in California?

[deadwoodgregg]

I visited a used fitness warehouse in Atlanta (CSMfitness) and got to demo an Atlantis Pendulum Squat. Built really nice but for some reason it made my knees hurt no matter where I placed my feet. I wish it would have been the Power Squat instead. They had practically new Iron Grip urethane olympic grip plates for $1 lb. Lastly, they had a really nice set, 5-100lb GPI Solid Urethane dumbbells for $3250. Factory blemished set I think.

[HealthNutMD]

Will be going to demo a lightly used white frame, black pad MedX Avenger next weekend in a woman's personal training studio. Original owner with only light use, bought one of the last ones in 2004.

I'll let you know how it goes. I will buy it on the spot if it lives up to expectations... $5300 + $400 shipping. The guy that would be doing the pick up and delivery is apparently amazing independent trucker that a lot of these guys are using, apparently he is meticulous and everybody likes the guy a lot. Bottom line is that MedX Regeneration makes them new, so no worries about that. They also brough the MedX avenger to the Strength coach show in Orlando this past May, so I think he will be in buisness for a while. Either way, I'll take some pictures. I'll also take some pictures of MedX regeneration and the neighboring gyms I come across.

Also, I confirmed my appointment for early July to demo MedX regeneration, and also a close by gym with all of the Avenger line. I look forward to this as a sort of closure to my project since I believe I will have demoed every single line of equipment at that time. Then, it will be a matter of perhaps going back in time and trying to grab some pieces of the past that might be worthwhile (such as Gregg has done), and simply keeping on top of new releases of importance, like the upcoming releases from Tyler Hobson of the Pendulum line.

On another note, The Pendulum Combo Lat pulldown with every attachment they offer, including some special made attachment for the Baltimoron Ratbirds has shipped out and due to arrive next Thursday.

Finally, I just got word the Strength Inc, inverted situp has shipped, disassembled, with a shipping cost of only $120.00 UPS freight, to arrive Tuesday I believe:

[HealthNutMD]

We made some changes based on the feedback from the first design shown below. I narrowed the base from 40" to 36" since he felt that it made no difference in stability upon my request to test it at 36" wide.

I lowered the front pad by 1" and have the 5" pads on both (instead of 6" diameter).

I Did away with the lower handles but added one handle on the right front post. I found by using it when no strength to pull up and over, I can can grab the new mid range handle with my right arm and it will give me the momentum to pull up and over to the back handles.


Stephen DeWitt

So the picture below is the original version, and we tweaked it to make it more efficient and more comfortable.






So it is easy to disassemble and reassemble.

[HealthNutMD]

The guy that would be doing the pick up and delivery is apparently amazing independent trucker that a lot of these guys are using, apparently he is meticulous and everybody likes the guy a lot.

I wanted to pass this information along about this shipper since he is utilized by so many people across the U.S., and is highly recommended: The trucker's name is Dave Goalder. His number is 660 460-0133. So, If you are looking to have a piece of equipment moved or picked up and delivered, I'd give him a call for a quote, since apparently he is a perfectionist.

[deadwoodgregg]

The guy that sold me the the Nautilus Duo Squat had a mint condition Nautilus multi tricep. Really cool machine but it was chain drive as was most of the old Nautilus pieces. The chain drive was a deal breaker for me. I can live with the chain on the Duo Squat and temporarily on my pullover, but would like to find a plateload pullover in the future to sandblast, repaint, and convert to a cable driven unit. Some of those old Nautilus designs might still be quality designs if they were converted to cable or belt drive. By the way, the Duo Squat gives my legs a brutal workout and I am only using 40% of the stack.

[View 1]

Star Trac has a new leverage line. A couple of the designs are reworked Flex plate loaded models, most are new. They also added some small changes to their leg press and hack squat as well.

I have always liked most of the Flex equipment that I have tried, hopefully these live up to those but you never know.

http://www.startrac.com/us-en/streng...te-loaded.aspx

[View 1]

[HealthNutMD]

Star Trac has a new leverage line. A couple of the designs are reworked Flex plate loaded models, most are new. They also added some small changes to their leg press and hack squat as well.

I have always liked most of the Flex equipment that I have tried, hopefully these live up to those but you never know.

http://www.startrac.com/us-en/streng...te-loaded.aspx

Great pick-up on the new releases as usual. I guess it will take a little while for these models to make it into gyms, so I doubt any could be demoed anytime soon. At least it is a good sign that Star Trac is here to stay... Agreed Flex Fitness had some great pieces, and Star Trac is the last connection to them. I hope they stay around, even if only to keep the kneeeling leg curl and prone leg curl around!

[harrisg83]

Great pick-up on the new releases as usual. I guess it will take a little while for these models to make it into gyms, so I doubt any could be demoed anytime soon. At least it is a good sign that Star Trac is here to stay... Agreed Flex Fitness had some great pieces, and Star Trac is the last connection to them. I hope they stay around, even if only to keep the kneeeling leg curl and prone leg curl around!

Tried to get a quote for the new star trac leverage line chest press, same old crappy customer service...some things never change.

[flexhead222]

Tried to get a quote for the new star trac leverage line chest press, same old crappy customer service...some things never change.

Hi Harris: Flexhead222 (Larry) here. How do you like your new Nebula vertical leg press-?

[harrisg83]

Hi Harris: Flexhead222 (Larry) here. How do you like your new Nebula vertical leg press-?

Hey Larry, I really like my Nebula vertical leg press, really different feel to it, as I'm sure your aware. It really hits the glute/hamstring tie-in a unique way. I'll probably never part with mine, just as you told me you'd never part with yours.

Harris

[deadwoodgregg]

Will be going to demo a lightly used white frame, black pad MedX Avenger next weekend in a woman's personal training studio. Original owner with only light use, bought one of the last ones in 2004.

Be sure to try out all of the seat positions. Apparently it is kinda like the Pendulum Shoulder Incline (versatility) in that it can do different things by laying the seat back into squat positions.

[OutKlast]

Star Trac has a new leverage line. A couple of the designs are reworked Flex plate loaded models, most are new. They also added some small changes to their leg press and hack squat as well.

I have always liked most of the Flex equipment that I have tried, hopefully these live up to those but you never know.

http://www.startrac.com/us-en/streng...te-loaded.aspx

Those pieces look pretty nice. I've always liked the look of the Star Trac stuff. It looks like they all have very low plate loading points. I guess that helps on loading/unloading for people of all sizes/strengths.

[HealthNutMD]

Be sure to try out all of the seat positions. Apparently it is kinda like the Pendulum Shoulder Incline (versatility) in that it can do different things by laying the seat back into squat positions.

I'm really excited about the trip. I'm really looking forward to the demo and 99% purchase of it... Then it is not much longer I will be able to demo the whole line of AVENGER equipment in Gainesville Florida...

Will try to spend a lot of time on it and try out all of the capabilities.... $5300.00 + $400 shipping is not inexpensive. White frame, black pads, original owner, and only lightly used in a woman's personal training studio is about as good as it gets...

The cool part is that I will be able to demo the MedX avenger and the brand new MedX regeneration MedX Avenger... as wll as the whole line of prior Avenger stuff (at another gainesville gym).

[HealthNutMD]

Hey Larry, I really like my Nebula vertical leg press, really different feel to it, as I'm sure your aware. It really hits the glute/hamstring tie-in a unique way. I'll probably never part with mine, just as you told me you'd never part with yours.

Harris

Thats good to know... I imagine the weight horns and quality of the unit are very good. Everything I got from Hans was of outstanding quality. I think he brought some quality to the Nebula line, so I hope Rogue does also. That vertical leg press certainly seems very, very cool. If I every get enough space, I'll have to grab one just for its sheer uniqueness. I probably won't go too heavy on it though for those valsalva reasons we discussed earlier...

[deadwoodgregg]

$5300.00 + $400 shipping is not inexpensive.

The only piece that I know of that is actually a safe purchase. I have been told, an Avenger that is in good shape will sell for at least what it sold for when it was new. No problem finding buyers. I just hope to find someone willing to part with one that doesnt realize what is the going rate. One sold this spring for $1000 a month before I started looking but I suspect it may have needed some work.

[HealthNutMD]

The only piece that I know of that is actually a safe purchase. I have been told, an Avenger that is in good shape will sell for at least what it sold for when it was new. No problem finding buyers. I just hope to find someone willing to part with one that doesnt realize what is the going rate. One sold this spring for $1000 a month before I started looking but I suspect it may have needed some work.

The cool part is that I will be able to compare it to the new one that MedX Regeneration sells within a very short time frame. There is that lumbar support curve that MedX regeneration sells, but if I really liked that feature, I could just buy a new back bad with the lumbar support from him while I'm there. Anyway, I have to see if I even like it... guess I'll find out this Saturday. I'll post some pics. Also stopping by another studio of some well known person, so I'll take some pics there if anything interesting. I keep running into this super slow nonsense though; to say the least, I question their backgrounds in terms of human physiology/excercise science.

[HealthNutMD]

I got the STRENGTH INC. Inverted ab bench yesterday and finished assembling it today. He does outstanding precision work. The piece is meticulous and arrived without a scratch.

[deadwoodgregg]

I got the STRENGTH INC. Inverted ab bench yesterday and finished assembling it today. He does outstanding precision work. The piece is meticulous and arrived without a scratch.

Nice pick up Chris! Looking forward to you getting the Pendulum Lat Pulldown and hearing why it gets such good remarks. Swivel handles I know will be great but interested in the rest. You know that you will get the Pendulum 3-way row and Gripper at some point. They both have small footprints. Whenever you do find/build a structure to house your gym, you will need more sq. footage than you think. 3000 ft minimum for the amount of training equipment that you have purchased. You must have close to 35-40 machines plus a proper dumbbell/benches area. If you ever get bumpers (racks) and take up kettlebells (rack) that would be another 10 x 10 area in front of the Nebula cage. You may pick up a few cardio pieces as well. If you spend money on a nice building, you are not going to to want things crammed together with all of the storage horns taken off of the equipment. You will need a small bathroom and a room for mechanical (heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical). Alot more money left to be spent on this gym..... what was the title of this thread?

[HealthNutMD]

Nice pick up Chris! Looking forward to you getting the Pendulum Lat Pulldown and hearing why it gets such good remarks. Swivel handles I know will be great but interested in the rest.

Yes, I hope the attachments live up to the hype as I did not do much of a demo while at USC. the thing that tipped me over the edge was Shaun Brown, the Strength coach at USC when he told me he would rather have multiple pendulum machines each set up with the diffferent attachments, rather than a variety of 3-4 other types of pulldown machines (like the Hammer pulldown, etc...) In other words he really thinks the pendulum piece turns into a different machine with the attachments, apparently better than even a machine like the Hammer pulldown that is specialized for that one grip. Hopefully I won't have any regrets. [/quote]

You know that you will get the Pendulum 3-way row and Gripper at some point. They both have small footprints.

I really love the chest pad spacer modification to the Hammer mid row I made, it completely changed it for me... absolutely love it. I would not be interested in another mid-row at this point. As far as the gripper, NDMike99 always talked highly about it. I have never tried it. I haven't really been one to use a gripping machine before, but given its good reputation, I'd be open to it.

Whenever you do find/build a structure to house your gym, you will need more sq. footage than you think. 3000 ft minimum for the amount of training equipment that you have purchased. You must have close to 35-40 machines plus a proper dumbbell/benches area. If you ever get bumpers (racks) and take up kettlebells (rack) that would be another 10 x 10 area in front of the Nebula cage. You may pick up a few cardio pieces as well. If you spend money on a nice building, you are not going to to want things crammed together with all of the storage horns taken off of the equipment. You will need a small bathroom and a room for mechanical (heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical). Alot more money left to be spent on this gym..... what was the title of this thread?

Depends on where I end up buying a house in the future. I can live without a bathroom in the gym if it is part of the house. I think 35' x 65' x 12.5' is my goal, but certainly if I have the opportunity to make it 40' x 70' x 12.5' I will try. I think the main thing is that I could live with some machines that are closely spaced, but most importanly I need a large floor space for free weights and floor workouts. Cross those bridges when I come to them....

[ndmike99]

If you are going 12.5 high you may want to consider pushing that to 17 or 20. You could always add a loft for cardio and other equipment later that way without adding to the footprint of the building.

I do like the Pendulum Gripper. I ended up selling mine due to space restrictions, but it is one of the pieces I miss.

I recently picked up several Atlantis pieces (Lat Pull, Low Row, Adjustable Step Up, Bench, and Lying Leg Curl). I am very impressed with their products.

I am also working on another Hammer Strength modification I think you will love. I will let you know when it is complete. You can PM me if you want more info on that one. Otherwise I will report back once I have time to take photos and explain it.

[BLUETEA]

I swear watching this thread is like looking at pr0n hahaha.

I want your advice on a multi-machine I could use for quads, chest and back. My budget is at 1200$.

[harrisg83]

I swear watching this thread is like looking at pr0n hahaha.

I want your advice on a multi-machine I could use for quads, chest and back. My budget is at 1200$.

What about a Smith machine? Your can do flat/incline presses for chest, bent over rows/shrugs for back/traps and squats/calf raises for legs. You can get a used one on e-bay or craigslist in your price range with a little effort. Only buy commercial (Icarian, BodyMasters, etc.). Although there are cheaper alternatives on the market I would advise you to stay away form the BodySolid, Powerline type pieces if safety/durablity issues are important to you.

[BLUETEA]

What about a Smith machine? Your can do flat/incline presses for chest, bent over rows/shrugs for back/traps and squats/calf raises for legs. You can get a used one on e-bay or craigslist in your price range with a little effort. Only buy commercial (Icarian, BodyMasters, etc.). Although there are cheaper alternatives on the market I would advise you to stay away form the BodySolid, Powerline type pieces if safety/durablity issues are important to you.

I want something that's going to last for a very good while. You can consider this purchase as a first piece to a very high end personal gym I'll be compiling in the coming while.

[harrisg83]

I want something that's going to last for a very good while. You can consider this purchase as a first piece to a very high end personal gym I'll be compiling in the coming while.

That's awesome! Keep us up to date on your progress and pleae post pics! I've personally found this thread an excelllent resource when it comes to opinions on various brands/pieces of commercial strength equipment. Of course, HealthNut MD (Chris) started this thread and done a great job in continuing to make this a useful resource (at least in my opinion) for perspective buyers of these products.

[View 1]

Great pick-up on the new releases as usual. I guess it will take a little while for these models to make it into gyms, so I doubt any could be demoed anytime soon. At least it is a good sign that Star Trac is here to stay... Agreed Flex Fitness had some great pieces, and Star Trac is the last connection to them. I hope they stay around, even if only to keep the kneeeling leg curl and prone leg curl around!

I actually came across there Leverage line about 2 months ago but since it was not on there website and I know they had some financial issues awhile back I thought the line had been scrapped.

If you look on there ******** page they actually have gyms that have the Leverage line since last year!!! Why they never updated there website is beyond me???

They also have a showroom with the full Leverage line in Irvine so if anyone is in the LA area you can check them out.





I also noticed they redid the Impact line ( flex ) and the models are new and updated looking ( some round tubing added etc.. )

http://www.startrac.com/us-en/strength/Impact.aspx


New bench as well, 10% decline and up to 80% incline in 10% adjustments.



http://www.startrac.com/us-en/Streng...il.aspx?id=265