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

[deadwoodgregg]

HealthNut, on Ebay there is a really nice looking old school Nautilus multi trainer. Earlier there was some discussion on weighted pullup/dip style machines. Orlando, Fla. Sorry can't post links yet.

[HealthNutMD]

HealthNut, on Ebay there is a really nice looking old school Nautilus multi trainer. Earlier there was some discussion on weighted pullup/dip style machines. Orlando, Fla. Sorry can't post links yet.

It has been years since I used a lot of those Nautilus machines in the 80's. I can't remember the last time I used lots of those machines. I remember Penn State had a lot of them. Everyone did. But that was the 80's. It would be fun to try them again, but they just aren't easily found. Certainly everyone talks about the classic abs machine-- I saw one in MikeND99's gym video. Its has been 20 years since I used that piece. I really love the Hammer Strength Ab Crunch... not really sure the difference between that old school chain driven Nautilus ab crunch and the Hammer Ab Crunch. If I thought any of those classic pieces were best of the best, I would try to locate one. Its just too hard to demo those any more. Many of those machines are not in the best condition and are difficult to maintain. Some people retrofit them with belts and remove the chains, etc... It sounds interesting, but like anything, you'd still want to be able to demo it, otherwise you aend up spending a ton to ship something in, and then end up having to sell it again. Not to mention the huge pain it is to move things around. Then you have to find machines that are in excellent working condition. It would be fun to go to Petrella's Gym for sure, just to get a blast from the past and actually remember what these machines were like:

[deadwoodgregg]

Those old Nautilus AB Crunches can be found. Can't post links yet but there is a wicked looking chromed 2nd ST on Chicago craigslist for $350. Even the weight stack is chromed. Looks similar to the Hammer AB crunch. Also, State College craigslist has a 1st generation bicep curl, tricep, and double shoulder in terrific condition for $100 each. Maybe taken from Penn State. Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvannia, New Jersey areas are loaded with cool used equipment. Too far of a drive to be worth it for me unless I pick up multiple pieces. I have also found lots of Nautilus plate loaded pullovers out there. I don't know if all of those early versions had the foot bar on them though. I don't see how you stand to use the Hammer without a foot bar.

[Northernmoris]

I'm in NNJ. There is a lot of Nautilus first and second gens popping up.

[ndmike99]

It has been years since I used a lot of those Nautilus machines in the 80's. I can't remember the last time I used lots of those machines. I remember Penn State had a lot of them. Everyone did. But that was the 80's. It would be fun to try them again, but they just aren't easily found. Certainly everyone talks about the classic abs machine-- I saw one in MikeND99's gym video. Its has been 20 years since I used that piece. I really love the Hammer Strength Ab Crunch... not really sure the difference between that old school chain driven Nautilus ab crunch and the Hammer Ab Crunch. If I thought any of those classic pieces were best of the best, I would try to locate one. Its just too hard to demo those any more. Many of those machines are not in the best condition and are difficult to maintain. Some people retrofit them with belts and remove the chains, etc... It sounds interesting, but like anything, you'd still want to be able to demo it, otherwise you aend up spending a ton to ship something in, and then end up having to sell it again. Not to mention the huge pain it is to move things around. Then you have to find machines that are in excellent working condition. It would be fun to go to Petrella's Gym for sure, just to get a blast from the past and actually remember what these machines were like:

They do pop up from time to time. I had the opportunity to buy the Hammer Ab pretty cheap ($550) and passed because it is the same movement as the Nautilus and it takes up a lot more space. If I were in your situation I would not look for machines in good condition. It is not unreasonable to get these units totally refurbished these days. I would try to get one cheap and pay to have it rebuilt to match your color scheme. I recently saw a refurbished Nautilus Ab in Indy for I think only $400. It was in awesome shape and had been switched over to a belt. I almost grabbed that and sold mine, but I am trying to stop buying stuff lol.

[mroc17]

Picking up some machines for my brother in the gym as he much prefers machines. Picked up a HS MTS AB already. I'm demoing Pendulum 5-way neck and hip press tomorrow...probably ordering tomorrow as well. Also going to order a Nebula 1084 bench.

[matrix563]

I am trying to stop buying stuff lol.

impossible

[HealthNutMD]

Picking up some machines for my brother in the gym as he much prefers machines. Picked up a HS MTS AB already. I'm demoing Pendulum 5-way neck and hip press tomorrow...probably ordering tomorrow as well. Also going to order a Nebula 1084 bench.

look forward to your thoughts.

Its weird how some machines take time to grow on you, some more than others.

[HealthNutMD]

There is a lot of cool things you can do with a UCS glute ham. I'm just starting to try different pad positions. If you extend the footplate as high as possible, you can almost do abs almost pure vertical. even more than this video.





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Great pad shape for GHD:





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TORSO TRAINING: 40k PKUP Twists

[dumb.bell]

There is a lot of cool things you can do with a UCS glute ham. I'm just starting to try different pad positions. If you extend the footplate as high as possible, you can almost do abs almost pure vertical. even more than this video.

I'd love to see one of these in person one day, but I can't see how any GHD could be as good as this one. It seems to be extremely versatile.

[View 1]

This was on Pendulums blog today..

[HealthNutMD]

This was on Pendulums blog today..

We talked about that on 5-7-12, see the previous page.

It doesn't look all that good, and doesn't offer any of the features of the Strive plate loaded Leg Ext such as: Adjustable strength curve, curved lumber back pad, seat adjustment?, pre-stretch adjustment?, and leg length adjustment?

Regardless, it looks generic as hell, at least from that picture. Its also a big bloated sac of a footprint, as RPARK mentioned.

The Strive has amazing range of motion with ability to adjust starting position and get an amazing pre-stretch starting position if you want it. You can of course adjust the leg length position. You can also adjust the back pad forward and backward. There is a curved lumber support on the strive as well. I couldn't think of a way you could top the plate loaded Strive. I think the best you could hope for is to equal it. This Rogers unit doesn't even come close. The Rogers GHD sucks also. Well, that's the way it goes, hit a homerun on one piece, a dud on another. To be fair, we need to get all the information on it, but from what can be seen so far, it looks rather lame. The Pendulum leg curl is not very good as well.

[mroc17]

look forward to your thoughts.

Its weird how some machines take time to grow on you, some more than others.

I will post them up when get to try it. I guess the Strength coach was at some show in FL, I'll be trying them soon. Regardless, I put in the order for both units given the love for them and it definitely seems like the best neck machine. I wanted the neck machine anyways. Brother is kind of wanting some ****ty machines so I'm trying to drive him away from this pec dec/rear delt machine.

Can anyone chime in on two things? I'm looking at the new Westside Barbell Pendiulum reverse hyper - anyone tried it? I'm sort of on the fence with the reverse hyper, I've seen a few fitness experts say it can be pretty bad for your back if used improperly. Obviously, you can say that for a lot of things. A lot of coaches swear by it when used with controlled, proper form...yet still exercise caution. Anyone chime in on this or have some good literature? Maybe I'll stumble on something I haven't read yet.

Also, I thought I had my bases well covered with a Pit Shark and Sorinex calf, but my brother is interested in a standing calf machine. Think it's a waste or recommendations? I want him to get machines he'll use and I'd definitely prefer getting a calf machine to a pec deck, lol. Maybe there's a really outstanding pec deck, I don't know though. Currently, looking at the Atlantis model and Sorinex donkey calf...

[HealthNutMD]

I will post them up when get to try it. I guess the Strength coach was at some show in FL, I'll be trying them soon. Regardless, I put in the order for both units given the love for them and it definitely seems like the best neck machine. I wanted the neck machine anyways. Brother is kind of wanting some ****ty machines so I'm trying to drive him away from this pec dec/rear delt machine.

Can anyone chime in on two things? I'm looking at the new Westside Barbell Pendiulum reverse hyper - anyone tried it? I'm sort of on the fence with the reverse hyper, I've seen a few fitness experts say it can be pretty bad for your back if used improperly. Obviously, you can say that for a lot of things. A lot of coaches swear by it when used with controlled, proper form...yet still exercise caution. Anyone chime in on this or have some good literature? Maybe I'll stumble on something I haven't read yet.

Also, I thought I had my bases well covered with a Pit Shark and Sorinex calf, but my brother is interested in a standing calf machine. Think it's a waste or recommendations? I want him to get machines he'll use and I'd definitely prefer getting a calf machine to a pec deck, lol. Maybe there's a really outstanding pec deck, I don't know though. Currently, looking at the Atlantis model and Sorinex donkey calf...

Yes, that is the national collegiate strength coach annual show. Actually, Ken from Med-X regeneration took the MedX Avenger leg press to that show. I told him I'm 99% on the Avenger leg press, but I may as well wait to demo the rest of the Avenger stuff.

I have the westside barbell reverse hyper, made by Legend. its the non tiltable version. I haven;t been putting any time on that machine, but I hope to start doing so. Don;t have a strong enough opinion on it... and I'd like to demo the new curved pendulum design next since it is radically different.

As far as calf machines, yes, I really like standing calf machines. I'm still picking the Atlantis as my overall favorite. Next on my list would be the Sorinex donkey calf. depending on how the MedX avenger demos go, I will or will not buy the Sorinex donkey calf. I have room for the Pendulum pulldown coming in 4 weeks + one more machine. it could be the avenger leg press, another avenger piece, or the donkey calf.

Tyler Hobson is working on a pendulum 10-20 degree variable pec fly that will be amazing I think. think of the avenger one shown a couple pages back, but with variable angle.

Anyway, I though I would put a summary down so far:

[HealthNutMD]

I thought I would try to summarize some of the highlights of this thread now that it is getting fairly long. People can certainly do their own list, but I'd thought I'd start with mine. I am focusing primarily on machines, benches, attachments, and bars. I think it is best to stay away from racks since there are tons of great rack choices on the market, and people have different priorities when it comes to picking their cost no object rack (that being said that hydraulic rack shown in this thread somewhere is really cool). I believe all of the top rack choices were covered throughout the thread and will continue to be discussed as new rack designs are released.

Another thing here is this is not meant to be a Free weights vs machines thread, and I think we got that out of the way early in the thread. This thread is simply about discussing all the choices of various free weights and machine choices on the market that people feel represent the best choice, regardless of cost. Certainly best bang for the buck is always relevant as well, but the thread is primarily focused on what is the best product available.

The short answer is that no company makes all the best equipment, not even close. Additionally, some extreme body types (very short, very tall, very large, etc..) might work better with some equipment rather than others. However, a machine that is voted best of best is often because it is very adjustable and can be used with the widest variety of body types and still have the best biomechanics. Ultimately, when it comes to machines, biomechanics and how a machine feels being used is the most important factor in determining what machine is best. One of the best ways to determine biomechanics, is the ability of a machine to allow perfect form using a maximum amount of weight on the target muscle being isolated. Additionally, the ideal machine will also have adequate starting position (pre-stretch) and a very large range of motion. One example is the Cybex VR3 arm extension (tricep). It is one of the few tricep machines (of that type of machine) that has upper back support. Other similar machines without upper back support do not allow one to use heavier weights due to the need to use abdominal muscles to hold your position. Without the upper back support, you are pushing backward against your abdominal muscles. In my opinion, the Cybex VR3 with heavy stack (and older VR2) provides the best biomechanics on the market for that particular type of tricep extension machine. Cybex absolutely nailed the grip, arm pad, length of the arms, pad angle, seat, and distance between the grips, pre-stretch, and range of motion. In my opinion, it is the best of all available machines of that specific type and gets a 100% for biomechanics for a neutral grip tricep extension machine. There are certainly other types of triceps machines on the market as well, however, at the moment, this piece also represents my favorite tricep machine. Again, this is in regards to comparing machines, not to comparing machines vs. free weight skull crushers, dumbbell work, or cable pushdowns with various attachments, etc. Which bring us the topic of specialty benches. Certainly we have autospot benches and specialty benches (such as designed specifically for just for skull crushers, dumbbell pullovers, etc...) which are all to be discussed.

Ultimately, only a personal opinion can be offered about what someone considers as the best possible choice in a machine. The vast majority of the choices I feel are superior to all other choices in terms of biomechanics. Sometimes there is a type of machine that you have a few good choices (rows and leg presses for example) therefore all of the choices should be listed, and ranked according to personal preference.

This is just a rough start. I wish I could edit this in the future instead of reposting it every time. Ideally I could put this on post 1 and edit it on occasion.


Leg presses:

TOP-TIER:
Rogers Athletic Pendulum Hip Press
Rogers Athletic Power Squat Pro
Atlantis 40 degree Leg press (with modified wide foot plates)
MedX Avenger Leg Press
Atlantis Power Squat (modified additional wide foot plate surface)

Runner-ups:
Nebula 35 degree leg press
Nebula 45 degree Leg Press
Atlantis Fitness Pivot Press (with wide footplate mod)(felt to be better than the Cybex)
UCS adjustable 35-45 degree leg press (difficult to demo)
Elite FTS Mondo 45 degree Leg press
Cybex Plate loaded Leg Press
Strive Plate loaded leg press
Atlantis Fitness Pendulum Leg press (similar to the old Paramount leg press)



Leg Curl:

TOP-TIER:
Star Trac makes the best prone leg curl and bested kneeling leg curl on the market bar none:
Star Trac Prone Leg curl A+
Star Trac Kneeling Leg Curl A+
Various standing Leg Curl units: (Icarian, Atlantis, Legend) (The best standing leg curl to be determined, but prefer standing leg curls to seated leg curls)


Runner-ups:
Cybex plate loaded kneeling leg curl A



Leg Extension:

TOP-TIER:
Strive Fitness plate loaded A+



Leg Abductor/Adductor:

TOP-TIER:
Strive Fitness combo abductor/adductor A+



Calf Machines:

TOP-TIER:
Sorinex seated calf A+
Atlantis standing calf A (Lack of rounded calf block keeps this unit from achieving a perfect score)
Nebula seated calf A
Sorinex Donkey calf
Free Motion Epic calf ext A



Shoulder:

TOP-TIER:
Rogers Athletic Pendulum: Shoulder/Incline/Chest machine A+
Hammer Strength Plate loaded Iso lateral A+
Strive selectorized lateral raise A+

Runner -ups:
Hammer Strength Plate loaded Super Incline (or older version called iso lateral military shoulder press) A



Traps:

TOP-TIER:
Rogers Athletic Pendulum 5 way neck with shrugs.
Elite FTS Pro Rickshaw
Power Lift DEADLIFT / TRAP BAR
Sorinex Diamond Bar




Triceps:

TOP-TIER:
Cybex VR2/VR3 arm extension. Heavy stack option is absolute MUST have on VR3. Older VR2 is also top tier and has heavy stack included. A+
Atlantis D-123 Pulldown with various tricep attachments. A+
Atlantis Dipping station A+
Hammer Strength Plate loaded seated dip
Nebula reverse dip bench



Biceps:

TOP-TIER:
Strive plate loaded bicep A+
Sorinex Adjustable Preacher Curl Bench A+
Hammer Strength plate loaded bicep A



Back:
TOP-TIER:
Rogers Athletic Pendulum Combo Lat Pulldown
Hammer Strength Iso lateral MID ROW, with modified chest pad.
Atlantis D-123 pulldown, also comes with 310 lb stack (best cable pulldown on the market, hydraulic seat, etc...)
Atlantis D-132 cable High Row (310 lb weight stack is standard on this).
Dual stirrup Hampton cable attachment or similar chain with Black Iron Strength stirrup handle upgrades.
Strive Plate loaded and selectorised Low back extension with seatbelt.
Legend Reverse hyperextension with curved pendulum and tiltable top vs. Legend older model tiltable with straight pendulum

Runner -ups:
Rogers Athletic Pendulum Row
Hammer Strength High Row
Hammer Strength Low Row
Hammer Strength Pulldown
Atlantis plate loaded Pulldown



Chest:

TOP-TIER:
Hammer Strength HORIZONTAL iso lateral chest A+
Rogers Athletic Pendulum Shoulder/Chest/Incline A+
Rogers Athletic Pendulum Vertical Chest

Runner -ups:
Hammer Strength Wide chest
Hammer Strength Decline Chest



Abs:

TOP-TIER:
Hammer Strength MTS selectorized Ab Crunch A+
Hammer Strength Plate loaded AB Crunch A+ (I demoed the plate loaded one in Vegas and it was just as good and also allows twisting of the seat for obliques. Also 4 weight horns for unlimited weight).
Strive fitness Rotary Torso: A+ (modified to have 225 lb weight stack, predominantly to help make setting 2 adequately challenging).
Strength Inc. Inverted Sit Up (revision of the Old Body Master Inverted Sit Up. Designed for the Hard Core Sit Up user).
Atlantis fitness adjustable ab bench


Benches:

TOP-TIER:
Nebula Awesome utility bench
Elite FTS Collegiate 0-90 bench
Williams strength signature Military dumbbell bench
Nebula reverse dip bench
Nebula dumbbell pullover bench
Nebula flat bench that is adjustable at both sides for incline, decline, and flat of various heights.
Sorinex Autospot benches
Atlantis Fitness Autospot benches



Glute Ham Developer:
UCS Glute Ham with custom wide footplate and wide footpads (36" width footplate)



Pullover Machines:
Nautilus
Hammer Strength plate loaded (with custom pad spacers as shown in thread)


MISC:

Rogers Athletic Pit Shark
Rope machines
Power -Lift Adjustable plyo boxes
Elite FTS Swiss Bar
Black Iron Strength fat bars
Black Iron Strength attachments.
T-Grip Barbell bars and attachments



This is a rough draft, but at least it is a start....

[mroc17]

Yes, that is the national collegiate strength coach annual show. Actually, Ken from Med-X regeneration took the MedX Avenger leg press to that show. I told him I'm 99% on the Avenger leg press, but I may as well wait to demo the rest of the Avenger stuff.

I have the westside barbell reverse hyper, made by Legend. its the non tiltable version. I haven;t been putting any time on that machine, but I hope to start doing so. Don;t have a strong enough opinion on it... and I'd like to demo the new curved pendulum design next since it is radically different.

As far as calf machines, yes, I really like standing calf machines. I'm still picking the Atlantis as my overall favorite. Next on my list would be the Sorinex donkey calf. depending on how the MedX avenger demos go, I will or will not buy the Sorinex donkey calf. I have room for the Pendulum pulldown coming in 4 weeks + one more machine. it could be the avenger leg press, another avenger piece, or the donkey calf.

Tyler Hobson is working on a pendulum 10-20 degree variable pec fly that will be amazing I think. think of the avenger one shown a couple pages back, but with variable angle.

Anyway, I though I would put a summary down so far:

Awesome list, Chris. I will be going through that tomorrow. Thank you. You know, I love standing calf raise machines too...and I'm REALLY starting to like the Sorinex donkey calf machine. I'm a fan of that weight horn on it. You're just not sure mostly due to space concerns, am I reading that right?

Hm, well...I'm trying to demo that new hyper, but it's a bit difficult. I'll try to get in touch with some more people who know what they're talking about or can give me some insight on the new design as well. I'll let you know what goes down with that. It looks really nice, I got quoted at about $2700 for it which isn't bad. Side note, do you have a 45 hyper as well?

Thank you on the Pendulum pec fly tidbit, I've been meaning to talk to Tyler about some machines. I think I'll hold my bro off until this machine is out.

Also, props on that UCS GHD...it's sick. I would get that if I didn't already have an EFS one. Who knows though...that is a nice machine.

[Skyaura]

I thought I would try to summarize some of the highlights of this thread now that it is getting fairly long. People can certainly do their own list, but I'd thought I'd start with mine. I am focusing primarily on machines, benches, attachments, and bars. I think it is best to stay away from racks since there are tons of great rack choices on the market, and people have different priorities when it comes to picking their cost no object rack (that being said that hydraulic rack shown in this thread somewhere is really cool). I believe all of the top rack choices were covered throughout the thread and will continue to be discussed as new rack designs are released.

Another thing here is this is not meant to be a Free weights vs machines thread, and I think we got that out of the way early in the thread. This thread is simply about discussing all the choices of various free weights and machine choices on the market that people feel represent the best choice, regardless of cost. Certainly best bang for the buck is always relevant as well, but the thread is primarily focused on what is the best product available.

The short answer is that no company makes all the best equipment, not even close. Additionally, some extreme body types (very short, very tall, very large, etc..) might work better with some equipment rather than others. However, a machine that is voted best of best is often because it is very adjustable and can be used with the widest variety of body types and still have the best biomechanics. Ultimately, when it comes to machines, biomechanics and how a machine feels being used is the most important factor in determining what machine is best. One of the best ways to determine biomechanics, is the ability of a machine to allow perfect form using a maximum amount of weight on the target muscle being isolated. Additionally, the ideal machine will also have adequate starting position (pre-stretch) and a very large range of motion. One example is the Cybex VR3 arm extension (tricep). It is one of the few tricep machines (of that type of machine) that has upper back support. Other similar machines without upper back support do not allow one to use heavier weights due to the need to use abdominal muscles to hold your position. Without the upper back support, you are pushing backward against your abdominal muscles. In my opinion, the Cybex VR3 with heavy stack (and older VR2) provides the best biomechanics on the market for that particular type of tricep extension machine. Cybex absolutely nailed the grip, arm pad, length of the arms, pad angle, seat, and distance between the grips, pre-stretch, and range of motion. In my opinion, it is the best of all available machines of that specific type and gets a 100% for biomechanics for a neutral grip tricep extension machine. There are certainly other types of triceps machines on the market as well, however, at the moment, this piece also represents my favorite tricep machine. Again, this is in regards to comparing machines, not to comparing machines vs. free weight skull crushers, dumbbell work, or cable pushdowns with various attachments, etc. Which bring us the topic of specialty benches. Certainly we have autospot benches and specialty benches (such as designed specifically for just for skull crushers, dumbbell pullovers, etc...) which are all to be discussed.

Ultimately, only a personal opinion can be offered about what someone considers as the best possible choice in a machine. The vast majority of the choices I feel are superior to all other choices in terms of biomechanics. Sometimes there is a type of machine that you have a few good choices (rows and leg presses for example) therefore all of the choices should be listed, and ranked according to personal preference.

This is just a rough start. I wish I could edit this in the future instead of reposting it every time. Ideally I could put this on post 1 and edit it on occasion.


Leg presses:

TOP-TIER:
Rogers Athletic Pendulum Hip Press
Rogers Athletic Power Squat Pro
Atlantis 40 degree Leg press (with modified wide foot plates)
MedX Avenger Leg Press
Atlantis Power Squat (modified additional wide foot plate surface)

Runner-ups:
Nebula 35 degree leg press
Nebula 45 degree Leg Press
Atlantis Fitness Pivot Press (with wide footplate mod)(felt to be better than the Cybex)
UCS adjustable 35-45 degree leg press (difficult to demo)
Elite FTS Mondo 45 degree Leg press
Cybex Plate loaded Leg Press
Strive Plate loaded leg press
Atlantis Fitness Pendulum Leg press (similar to the old Paramount leg press)



Leg Curl:

TOP-TIER:
Star Trac makes the best prone leg curl and bested kneeling leg curl on the market bar none:
Star Trac Prone Leg curl A+
Star Trac Kneeling Leg Curl A+
Various standing Leg Curl units: (Icarian, Atlantis, Legend) (The best standing leg curl to be determined, but prefer standing leg curls to seated leg curls)


Runner-ups:
Cybex plate loaded kneeling leg curl A



Leg Extension:

TOP-TIER:
Strive Fitness plate loaded A+



Leg Abductor/Adductor:

TOP-TIER:
Strive Fitness combo abductor/adductor A+



Calf Machines:

TOP-TIER:
Sorinex seated calf A+
Atlantis standing calf A (Lack of rounded calf block keeps this unit from achieving a perfect score)
Nebula seated calf A
Sorinex Donkey calf
Free Motion Epic calf ext A



Shoulder:

TOP-TIER:
Rogers Athletic Pendulum: Shoulder/Incline/Chest machine A+
Hammer Strength Plate loaded Iso lateral A+
Strive selectorized lateral raise A+

Runner -ups:
Hammer Strength Plate loaded Super Incline (or older version called iso lateral military shoulder press) A



Traps:

TOP-TIER:
Rogers Athletic Pendulum 5 way neck with shrugs.
Elite FTS Pro Rickshaw
Power Lift DEADLIFT / TRAP BAR
Sorinex Diamond Bar




Triceps:

TOP-TIER:
Cybex VR2/VR3 arm extension. Heavy stack option is absolute MUST have on VR3. Older VR2 is also top tier and has heavy stack included. A+
Atlantis D-123 Pulldown with various tricep attachments. A+
Atlantis Dipping station A+
Hammer Strength Plate loaded seated dip
Nebula reverse dip bench



Biceps:

TOP-TIER:
Strive plate loaded bicep A+
Sorinex Adjustable Preacher Curl Bench A+
Hammer Strength plate loaded bicep A



Back:
TOP-TIER:
Rogers Athletic Pendulum Combo Lat Pulldown
Hammer Strength Iso lateral MID ROW, with modified chest pad.
Atlantis D-123 pulldown, also comes with 310 lb stack (best cable pulldown on the market, hydraulic seat, etc...)
Atlantis D-132 cable High Row (310 lb weight stack is standard on this).
Dual stirrup Hampton cable attachment or similar chain with Black Iron Strength stirrup handle upgrades.
Strive Plate loaded and selectorised Low back extension with seatbelt.
Legend Reverse hyperextension with curved pendulum and tiltable top vs. Legend older model tiltable with straight pendulum

Runner -ups:
Rogers Athletic Pendulum Row
Hammer Strength High Row
Hammer Strength Low Row
Hammer Strength Pulldown
Atlantis plate loaded Pulldown



Chest:

TOP-TIER:
Hammer Strength HORIZONTAL iso lateral chest A+
Rogers Athletic Pendulum Shoulder/Chest/Incline A+
Rogers Athletic Pendulum Vertical Chest

Runner -ups:
Hammer Strength Wide chest
Hammer Strength Decline Chest



Abs:

TOP-TIER:
Hammer Strength MTS selectorized Ab Crunch A+
Hammer Strength Plate loaded AB Crunch A+ (I demoed the plate loaded one in Vegas and it was just as good and also allows twisting of the seat for obliques. Also 4 weight horns for unlimited weight).
Strive fitness Rotary Torso: A+ (modified to have 225 lb weight stack, predominantly to help make setting 2 adequately challenging).
Strength Inc. Inverted Sit Up (revision of the Old Body Master Inverted Sit Up. Designed for the Hard Core Sit Up user).
Atlantis fitness adjustable ab bench


Benches:

TOP-TIER:
Nebula Awesome utility bench
Elite FTS Collegiate 0-90 bench
Williams strength signature Military dumbbell bench
Nebula reverse dip bench
Nebula dumbbell pullover bench
Nebula flat bench that is adjustable at both sides for incline, decline, and flat of various heights.
Sorinex Autospot benches
Atlantis Fitness Autospot benches



Glute Ham Developer:
UCS Glute Ham with custom wide footplate and wide footpads (36" width footplate)



Pullover Machines:
Nautilus
Hammer Strength plate loaded (with custom pad spacers as shown in thread)


MISC:

Rogers Athletic Pit Shark
Rope machines
Power -Lift Adjustable plyo boxes
Elite FTS Swiss Bar
Black Iron Strength fat bars
Black Iron Strength attachments.
T-Grip Barbell bars and attachments



This is a rough draft, but at least it is a start....

Nice list, but as it has been said before this is much like arguing over what is the greatest baseball player of all time. Everyone has an opinion. Lot of good equipment companies out there. You hold Star Trac and Atlantis in much higher regard than I do. They make good equipment, but I never thought it was anymore special than stuff from Precor, Cybex, Legend etc. But, that is my opinion.

[HealthNutMD]

Nice list, but as it has been said before this is much like arguing over what is the greatest baseball player of all time. Everyone has an opinion. Lot of good equipment companies out there. You hold Star Trac and Atlantis in much higher regard than I do. They make good equipment, but I never thought it was anymore special than stuff from Precor, Cybex, Legend etc. But, that is my opinion.

Feel free to make a list as well. How could I possibly hold Star Trac high? I only have Star Trac down for 2 leg curl machines and nothing else. Atlantis is a huge company, but they make a lot of not so good equipment also. You also talk about complete lines and brands: I don't know why you talk about Legend vs Cybex vs Power-Lift vs .... This thread has not once been about one brand vs another brand. On the other hand, if you feel that an individual leg press, and individual accessory, or some individual machine is unique or better than one listed, or deserves more praise, that is certainly welcome. This thread is not about chosing a brand, it is about discussing individual products.

Additionally, Its only a rough draft, and it is only my opinion, but also incoportates opinions of others within this group. There are a lot of nautilus and older generation machines not being mentioned, but it also reflects the best currently available products well.

I was going to Add the Legend trap machine and the Legend high Row to the list. There are a ton of great bench choices also, so that list will have additions. I was also going to put in a couple of the Pro Plate load pieces from Power-Lift. I should add the MedX lumbar in their as well. As far as a lot of great companies out there, certainly, and I am fairly certain all of them have been discussed, for the most part. Its always great to have more discussion and more equipment to talk about. When I get time, I'll add the Cybex Iron bench as well. I'm trying to stay away from Power racks and benches since there are truly a lot of great choices that depend on the individuals preference.

Its just a start. Certainly we talked about functional trainer choices and cardio equipment to some degree in this thread, so that can be listed as well. It would be nice to go over all of the top treadmill choices, eliptical choices, and cardio equipment again.


There is certainly a lot of good info in this thread, well beyond a list. But it is also a nice nutshell.

[dumb.bell]

Great work on the Summary!!

[HealthNutMD]

Awesome list, Chris. I will be going through that tomorrow. Thank you. You know, I love standing calf raise machines too...and I'm REALLY starting to like the Sorinex donkey calf machine. I'm a fan of that weight horn on it. You're just not sure mostly due to space concerns, am I reading that right?

Yes. I really do want that piece. It was just a matter of priorities since I already had 3 calf machines. It is a luxury to get that donkey calf, but I'd put it to good use and I think it would be a helpful piece and a motivational piece for me. Sure we can put a bar on out back and get out a calf block, or we can do calf extentions on leg press machines. But if something like a Sorinex donkey calf help motivate you and has some advantages of its own, and gives you a slightly different feel, why not? I'm axious to demo that medx avenger line ((kept alive by Medx Regeneration) since it is the last of the heavy hitters that I have not demoed.

Hm, well...I'm trying to demo that new hyper, but it's a bit difficult. I'll try to get in touch with some more people who know what they're talking about or can give me some insight on the new design as well. I'll let you know what goes down with that. It looks really nice, I got quoted at about $2700 for it which isn't bad. Side note, do you have a 45 hyper as well?

No reason for a 45 hyper once you have a GHD, in my opinion. Personally, I preferred the old school roman chairs to 45 degree. I think the only reason the 45 degree came out was because of safety/liability concerns from people injuring themselves with the old school roman chairs.

Thank you on the Pendulum pec fly tidbit, I've been meaning to talk to Tyler about some machines. I think I'll hold my bro off until this machine is out.

Also, props on that UCS GHD...it's sick. I would get that if I didn't already have an EFS one. Who knows though...that is a nice machine.

Tyler kept mentioning 10-20 drees range on that pec fly machine ... Although a few companies made 30 degree pec flys, including Flex Fitness. I was hoping he would make it 10-30 degrees, not just 10-20 degrees. When you talk to him, let me know. They were all at the Orlando show this week.

[Skyaura]

Feel free to make a list as well. How could I possibly hold Star Trac high? I only have Star Trac down for 2 leg curl machines and nothing else. Atlantis is a huge company, but they make a lot of not so good equipment also. You also talk about complete lines and brands: I don't know why you talk about Legend vs Cybex vs Power-Lift vs .... This thread has not once been about one brand vs another brand. On the other hand, if you feel that an individual leg press, and individual accessory, or some individual machine is unique or better than one listed, or deserves more praise, that is certainly welcome. This thread is not about chosing a brand, it is about discussing individual products.

Additionally, Its only a rough draft, and it is only my opinion, but also incoportates opinions of others within this group. There are a lot of nautilus and older generation machines not being mentioned, but it also reflects the best currently available products well.

I was going to Add the Legend trap machine and the Legend high Row to the list. There are a ton of great bench choices also, so that list will have additions. I was also going to put in a couple of the Pro Plate load pieces from Power-Lift. I should add the MedX lumbar in their as well. As far as a lot of great companies out there, certainly, and I am fairly certain all of them have been discussed, for the most part. Its always great to have more discussion and more equipment to talk about. When I get time, I'll add the Cybex Iron bench as well. I'm trying to stay away from Power racks and benches since there are truly a lot of great choices that depend on the individuals preference.

Its just a start. Certainly we talked about functional trainer choices and cardio equipment to some degree in this thread, so that can be listed as well. It would be nice to go over all of the top treadmill choices, eliptical choices, and cardio equipment again.


There is certainly a lot of good info in this thread, well beyond a list. But it is also a nice nutshell.

Chris,

Certainly there will be a piece of equipment that stands out for one person that may not be so special for someone else. Take Hammer Strength's plate loaded line, for example. All of it is well made and has good biomechanics and does what it states, but I don't think that there is a particularly piece that I would call special above all other plate loaded equipment.

Personally, I think there are certain pieces of equipment that do stand out because they are unique from other pieces. The Cybex Bravo, because of it's stabilization arm, puts it ahead of other Functional Trainers and the Arc Trainer is by itself. The Woodway Curve treadmill is excellent especially for athletic training. But a typical treadmill from Life Fitness, Cybex, Star Trac, Matrix, Sports Art or Precor is going to be well made, with plenty of features. I have a LF, but it is not that I think it is significantly better (Got a very good price though).

I'm not a fan of anything from MedX (and as the budget allows, we are replacing that equipment) . Can't speak for the Avenger line, but I don't think they manufacturer those pieces anymore.

I think that you are correct about the racks and benches. Plenty of good ones and it is what fits your needs. But, I believe that can be exapanded on selectorized and plate loaded lines for the most part too.

I like the thread. Probably the best thing about this thread is that it has made some aware of companies like Rogers and UCS who do make some fantastic equipment.

[deadwoodgregg]

I have seen alot of different degrees on pec fly machines out there. Too many angles to buy a machine for each. That is where an adjustable pulley cable crossover and an adjustable bench can be so versitile. No machine does as many different exercises as a crossover and to a certain extent, a functional trainer. Just a single adjustable pulley cable station would add tons of exercise choices to any gym. Easily the most used item my gym. I try to keep three exercises at a time going in my routines. Two body parts + ab exercise daily. It seems like I have at least one exercise going on the cables at all times. Except on leg day.

[HealthNutMD]

Take Hammer Strength's plate loaded line, for example. All of it is well made and has good biomechanics and does what it states, but I don't think that there is a particularly piece that I would call special above all other plate loaded equipment.

I don't agree with this. Not to be overly critical, but I also refuse to talk about whole lines of equipment, since machines are individual. For instance, I do not like the Hammer Strength kneeling leg curl. Nobody here really likes the DY row, or at the very least is at the bottom of the list. The Hammer vertical chest and Incline chest are mediocre and can be hard on the shoulder joint. This really isn't a thread about complete lines of equipment.

Personally, I think there are certain pieces of equipment that do stand out because they are unique from other pieces.

Agreed, that is really what is of interest here.

The Cybex Bravo, because of it's stabilization arm, puts it ahead of other Functional Trainers

It is a highly rated piece and it has been brought up. I laughed out loud when this entire time, there was a brand new top of the line Bravo one floor below me in the place I work in a small weight room inside the hospital that almost mnobody uses or knows about. I'm going to spend some time with it.

The Arc Trainer is by itself.

There have been a few opinons on this thread stating this. Someone mentioned that it is great becasue it is Non-adaptive, it really makes you work! Agreed the Cybes Arc Trainer should be at the top tier when mentioning cardio machines.

The Woodway Curve treadmill is excellent especially for athletic training. But a typical treadmill from Life Fitness, Cybex, Star Trac, Matrix, Sports Art or Precor is going to be well made, with plenty of features. I have a LF, but it is not that I think it is significantly better (Got a very good price though).

Ok, but this thread is really about putting in the time, and splitting hairs, putting in model numbers, and making reviews.

I'm not a fan of anything from MedX (and as the budget allows, we are replacing that equipment). Can't speak for the Avenger line, but I don't think they manufacturer those pieces anymore.

Again, maybe there is not a single piece of MedX selectorised you like. So far, I agree with you. Although the lumbar does seem to be unique and might be worthwhile. The Avenger line is being made by MedX Regeneration in Florida. Additionally, he apparently improved the back pad on the Avenger Leg Press. He will make brand new units with 8 week turnaround time. He just took the Avenger leg press to the show in Orlando this week.

Probably the best thing about this thread is that it has made some aware of companies like Rogers and UCS who do make some fantastic equipment.

However, people don't buy Rogers Athletic and UCS, they buy individual pieces from them. There are often night and day differences between various machines.

[HealthNutMD]

I have seen alot of different degrees on pec fly machines out there. Too many angles to buy a machine for each. That is where an adjustable pulley cable crossover and an adjustable bench can be so versitile. No machine does as many different exercises as a crossover and to a certain extent, a functional trainer. Just a single adjustable pulley cable station would add tons of exercise choices to any gym. Easily the most used item my gym. I try to keep three exercises at a time going in my routines. Two body parts + ab exercise daily. It seems like I have at least one exercise going on the cables at all times. Except on leg day.

Yes, I suppose cable crossovers are an essential part of any gym. Do you really need both a functional trainer and a larger cable crossover? Are the arms far enough apart and the weight stacks heavy enough on functional trainers to completely replace those large cable crossovers? A commerical gym would always have both, but a home gym you may or may not have that luxury.

[HealthNutMD]

...and I'm REALLY starting to like the Sorinex donkey calf machine. I'm a fan of that weight horn on it.

By the way, I wonder what differences if any there are from just getting it from REFLEX, the makers of Sorinex Equipment. (Sorinex used to be made by williams strength up until 2008 I believe)

Check this out:

http://www.reflexfitness.com/Reflex%20Page%205.html

Not sure if any details are different other than the name. Definitely worth checking out the cost differences, that is on my to do list.

[rpark]

Skyaura, I'm sorry by you seem to have a 'hard on' for deflating the enthusiasm in this thread. You can throw out names like hammer, lifefitness, precor, blah, blah, blah, blah, but this is supposed to be about specific "items" or units from every manufacturer that would be considered the "best" of a certain style of equipment.

There's nothing wrong with having a differing opinion, but you seem to have some offensive opinion that there's something wrong with having an opinion.

Just saying!

[View 1]

We talked about that on 5-7-12, see the previous page.

It doesn't look all that good, and doesn't offer any of the features of the Strive plate loaded Leg Ext such as: Adjustable strength curve, curved lumber back pad, seat adjustment?, pre-stretch adjustment?, and leg length adjustment?

Regardless, it looks generic as hell, at least from that picture. Its also a big bloated sac of a footprint, as RPARK mentioned.

The Strive has amazing range of motion with ability to adjust starting position and get an amazing pre-stretch starting position if you want it. You can of course adjust the leg length position. You can also adjust the back pad forward and backward. There is a curved lumber support on the strive as well. I couldn't think of a way you could top the plate loaded Strive. I think the best you could hope for is to equal it. This Rogers unit doesn't even come close. The Rogers GHD sucks also. Well, that's the way it goes, hit a homerun on one piece, a dud on another. To be fair, we need to get all the information on it, but from what can be seen so far, it looks rather lame. The Pendulum leg curl is not very good as well.

I missed that post ( and the last couple on that page ) my fault should have checked first.

[HealthNutMD]

I missed that post ( and the last couple on that page ) my fault should have checked first.

Hehe, you are always finding good stuff!! Keep up the great work as usual!!

[Skyaura]

Skyaura, I'm sorry by you seem to have a 'hard on' for deflating the enthusiasm in this thread. You can throw out names like hammer, lifefitness, precor, blah, blah, blah, blah, but this is supposed to be about specific "items" or units from every manufacturer that would be considered the "best" of a certain style of equipment.

There's nothing wrong with having a differing opinion, but you seem to have some offensive opinion that there's something wrong with having an opinion.

Just saying!

rpark,

Certainly not my intent. I know different people have different opinions and what is "best" will be based on a number of different factors. I did say that it was a nice list, but wanted to bring some other perspective thus my comment about Hammer Strength, which I am very familiar. I think that they have many good pieces and obviously they are well built. But, there is not a piece that strikes me as being the best of the best in my opinion. Chris and others have a different opinion on some HS pieces than I.

I did mention a few pieces that stood out because they are unique and why I thought they may overall be the best of that type. I think the UCS GHS is amazing and I think highly of their Plyo-Safe Plyo Boxes. As far as the MedX comment, we have 15 pieces of their selectorized equipment. As a colleague of mine stated, it was an expensive mistake. Not anything that can be said here that will change my mine about that equipment.

[HealthNutMD]

I don't think anyone here has shown much interest in the MedX selectorized line, other than the lumbar. I certainly was not interested in the selectorized line.

However, the Avenger Leg press is quite a different beast than that MedX selectorized version. I'm very excited to get that demo out of the way so I can make my final order...

I'm sure you made that purchase a while back on the entire MEDX selectorized line. Certainly, the Avenger line has some unique pieces that may or may not be worthwhile. Hope to find out in July.