Question on Body Solid GDCC200 functional trainer

[Thefarmer]

hello! New guy here I'm thinking of getting a Body Solid 200 functional trainer. Anyone ever used this before? I'm gonna use it for cable crossover flyes and I'm concerned about the width.

I have a cheapo Marcy smith/ Olympic bar/ with 2 fixed high cable combo and I can not use the 2 cables for flyes & a lot of other exercise. The problem is that because of the closeness of the 2 cable pulleys to each other, it's hard to get a good angle near the machine. But when I go farther to get the angle, the weight stack hits the top! .

Is there a same problem with the Body Solid 200 vs the 250 which looks full size but will take up a lot more space.

[oldline70]

I, too, would like to know about the width on the BodySolid functional trainer-ether the 200 or the 250.
I would really like to find one somewhere in a a showroom and try one out...it could be a really decent and economical version of a higher-priced, more space-consumptive cable crossover machine.

[RussAnderson]

i presently own the gcc200 is a fairly compact space saver does not take much room and still provides me with a decent stretch doing crossovers and flyes.Actually was using it earlier this morning with both flyes and crossovers to really good effect.As far as the width your talking around 65 inch upright post to post,depth is around 30 inch sits in the corner of my room quite well, doesnt take that much space.As far as performance its pretty smooth both the cables rotate on a fair no of well built pulleys.Pretty decent unit alround , i did go for the 100lb upgrade and some decent solid pro handles, over the cheap nylon looking ones.

[SugarFree1]

I have one and love it. Definitely get the extra weight up to 200 lbs per stack. My only dislikes is that I maxed out on a lot of the one stack (200lb) exercises such as lat pull downs etc. (Looking for a way to hang additional plates onto the stack now). The other is the pull-up bar could be higher. I have to keep legs bent in order to use. No problems with flyes and such. Its definitely a solid setup.

[RussAnderson]

not really a machine that will take kindly to adding extra weight outside the 50 lb increase each side ,if your looking to do lat pulldowns or seated rose with heavy weight i suggest a standalone lat machine.

as pointed out u really would be wise to buy the extra 100 lb upgrade because of the ratio difference of this machine .

[Thefarmer]

Thanks for the info! I have VERY limited choices here in the Philippines and these things are quite expensive here so I need to be very sure. The store I went to doesn't have it on display. There are local manufacturers but the difference in quality is too much.

--Russ and SugarFree, Do you have to step forward and away from the machine to get the good stretch for flyes? I'm small 5'7" so if its good for you guys, I'm sure it will be more than enough for me!

[RussAnderson]

on crossovers i get a better stretch if i step a foot or so out from the machine yes, if u stand in the middle hold your both arms out in a T shape thats pretty much the stretch for me and i have long arms and im over 6ft.

As for flyes i get a good stretch just slightly infront of each side cable pulley, u shouldnt have a problem , my chest is still pumped from yesterday doing flyes and crossovers Good Luck!

[SugarFree1]

I dont think you'll have any problems at all. Some exercises I step a bit forward but thats usually just so I can hit things at a slightly different angle.

[Thefarmer]

Thanks! I went back to the store to ask for a discount and saw they have a Life Fitness G7 on display. Looks nice but double the price for the Body Solid.

Maybe someone here has used both? How do they compare?

[CFF]

Thanks! I went back to the store to ask for a discount and saw they have a Life Fitness G7 on display. Looks nice but double the price for the Body Solid.

Maybe someone here has used both? How do they compare?

I have used booth and feel for the Money, the GDCC200 beats all. Just a heads up; did you know you can get it with a 310 lb stack on each side?

[Thefarmer]

Called the dealer but too bad they only have 160lbs.
Its so hard to buy nice equipment here because the dealers usually do not stock upgrades and they have very limited selection. The guy showed me some brochures but only a couple of items in it are available for sale here. Everything else will take months and super expensive special order blah blah blah.
I'm posting a new thread related because can;t find the edit title.

[RussAnderson]

160 lb is more than enough for most isolation movements on a cable machine esp cable flyes and crossovers.

[tsg2513]

They also sell a long bar that will allow you to use both stacks joined together thus doubling the weight.

[Thefarmer]

160 lb is more than enough for most isolation movements on a cable machine esp cable flyes and crossovers.

True but for lat exercises like pulldowns it might not be enough I think its ratio is 1:1/2. Its to add to my existing free weights and the Marcy I have with the high cable is getting old and I think its quite cheaply made so I'm going to do all my cable exercises on the new machine. Please check out
forum.bodybuilding*com/showthread.php?t=139451763&pagenumber=

I have some questions there and choices for other machines
Thanks

[RussAnderson]

yes understand ,even with the straight bar linking the 2 stacks its not the same would much prefer a standalone lat machine unit for pulldows and seated low rows.

[UberPooch]

160 lb is more than enough for most isolation movements on a cable machine esp cable flyes and crossovers.

The leverage ratio on many functional trainers is 1:2 so for a 160-lb stack the most you'll be lifting is 80-lbs. While probably sufficient for flyes/crossovers you'll be limited on most pressing/pulling exercises such as chest, rows, shoulder, etc. Your best bet is to go with a make/model that offers an upgrade option, the most common being 50-lbs/stack.

[UberPooch]

Thanks! I went back to the store to ask for a discount and saw they have a Life Fitness G7 on display. Looks nice but double the price for the Body Solid.

Maybe someone here has used both? How do they compare?

Go with the Body-Solid GDCC200. It allows you to upgrade the dual 160-lb stacks and with a 1:2 ratio on each pulley you'll want the extra weight for the bigger, compound lifts. Body-Solid comes with a lifetime guarantee on everything. The G7 costs a lot more and you can't expand the 160-lb stacks. The warranty is decent but doesn't compare to that of Body-Solid's.

[Skyaura]

How is this done? I know you can expand the default 160-lb stacks to 210-lbs by adding another 50-lb set of plates and a little more with plate adapters, but are you saying you can now add 150-lbs and not run out of room on the cable column?

It is my understanding that you can get a 325-lb stack with the Cybex Bravo.

[UberPooch]

It is my understanding that you can get a 325-lb stack with the Cybex Bravo.

It depends on the model of the Bravo but it's also misleading. There are basically two models, compact and tall with a light and heavy stack option for each. The heavy option comes with dual 325-lb stacks and is primarily used for sports performance and rehabilitation applications. However, the leverage ratio on the heavy build is 4:1 instead of 2:1 so the maximum effective load per stack is only 82.15 lbs.

I'm still curious to find out how the Body-Solid GDCC200 is available with a 310-lb option on each stack. It doesn't list this on the Body-Solid website but perhaps CFF has figured out way to configure this.

[UberPooch]

... the GDCC200 beats all. Just a heads up; did you know you can get it with a 310 lb stack on each side?

@CFF, I spoke to a guy from a local fitness supply company that sells Body-Solid and mentioned the 310-lb stack option. He said he called his Body-Solid rep and was told that 15-lb plates are not recommended from the manufacturer. Apparently these are the new design models that came out 2 months ago but the 15-lb plates are much wider and will hit the back frame member at the top of the guide rods so the stack won't go all the way up.

UPDATE: Got another call from my local store that sells Body-Solid equipment. He spoke to the rep again and wanted to clarify that at the top of the guide rods, the 15-lb plate would hit the back frame before it would make it to the top if you pulled the cable as far out as it goes. He mentioned that if you didn't need the entire cable length then it should work. However, the rep emphasized that Body-Solid doesn't publish this option or support it because you'll have 620-lbs over waist high and the frame isn't heavy enough to support this load. He did say that one variation that could work and still be heavy enough would be to use 15-lb plates for the bottom ten plates and 10-lb plates for the top ten. This would give you 250-lbs for each stack.

[UberPooch]

@CFF, I spoke to a guy from a local fitness supply company that sells Body-Solid and mentioned the 310-lb stack option. He said he called his Body-Solid rep and was told that 15-lb plates are not recommended from the manufacturer. Apparently these are the new design models that came out 2 months ago but the 15-lb plates are much wider and will hit the back frame member at the top of the guide rods so the stack won't go all the way up.

UPDATE: Got another call from my local store that sells Body-Solid equipment. He spoke to the rep again and wanted to clarify that at the top of the guide rods, the 15-lb plate would hit the back frame before it would make it to the top if you pulled the cable as far out as it goes. He mentioned that if you didn't need the entire cable length then it should work. However, the rep emphasized that Body-Solid doesn't publish this option or support it because you'll have 620-lbs over waist high and the frame isn't heavy enough to support this load. He did say that one variation that could work and still be heavy enough would be to use 15-lb plates for the bottom ten plates and 10-lb plates for the top ten. This would give you 250-lbs for each stack.

An Update to the Update
I went straight to the source today and contacted Body-Solid. Asked if it was okay to increase the dual stacks on the GDCC200/210 to 310-lbs. The sales manager said it was and that Christian's has done this repeatedly.

But the catch is that if you do this it voids the warranty on the machine. Body-Solid offers a lifetime warranty on their 200/210 functional trainers. I don't understand why you would want to void this by adding more weight beyond the 210-lb upgrade.

[UberPooch]

Just bought the Body-Solid GDCC200 functional trainer. Got a sweet deal on the price so I'm stoked for it to arrive!

[RussAnderson]

310lb upgrade on this machine? i can't imagine thats going to work to well?? even with the extra 100lb upgrade that machine ie the drag factor on the pulleys was stressing out .Its certainly not a machine for heavy lat pulldowns or low lows , yes you can do them but nowhere nears as smooth and effective as a standalone lat machine.Basically the gdc200 is an isolation machine perfect for cable flyes ,crossovers ,delt lateral raises, single arm curls over head tri ext etc etc

[UberPooch]

310lb upgrade on this machine? i can't imagine thats going to work to well?? even with the extra 100lb upgrade that machine ie the drag factor on the pulleys was stressing out .Its certainly not a machine for heavy lat pulldowns or low lows , yes you can do them but nowhere nears as smooth and effective as a standalone lat machine.Basically the gdc200 is an isolation machine perfect for cable flyes ,crossovers ,delt lateral raises, single arm curls over head tri ext etc etc

I emailed Body-Solid about this and got in touch with their international and eastern sales manager. I asked if there were any problems with using 310-lb stacks. He said no and that Christian's has been offering the option. You use 15-lb plates instead of 10-lb so you need to include 5-lb plate adapters otherwise you're going up 15-lbs with each plate (technically 7.5 lbs b/c of the 2:1 ratio).

My local Body-Solid dealer had major concerns about this and he called his rep about it. He was told that while it was possible you'd be sacrificing cable length because with the design of the 15-lb plates the stack would hit the back of the frame before reaching the top of the column. Also, the weight of the functional trainer wasn't designed for 620-lbs of plates so he was concerned about tipping issues if you were pulling that much at once. My dealer said that if I wanted to go with this option then I should consider bolting/securing the functional trainer to the floor.

But the biggest issue and what Christian's fails to mention on their website is that you will void your lifetime warranty on the machine if you go with the 310-lb option. Like I said, Body-Solid is one of the few companies that offers a full lifetime warranty on the entire machine, not just the frame. Besides the price it's one of the reasons why I bought my GDCC200. Why you would want to wreck your warranty for this is beyond me.

Personally, I don't think there would be a big performance issue with the 310-lb stacks so for me it came down to the warranty. I think the upgradeable 210-lb stack option would be fine. However, I'm 6'4 at a pretty decent size and was looking to replace my cage with the trainer. When I contacted my dealer about the 310-lb option he suggested that I go with 260-lbs instead by using 15-lb plates on the bottom half and 10-lb plates on the top. This way there wouldn't be an issue with running out of room if I fully extended the cable. At the same time I was in contact with the Body-Solid sales rep about the 310-lb option and asked if my warranty would be affected. He said that my warranty would be fine but my dealer got a different response when he contacted his sales rep. I gotta give credit to my dealer because he picked up the phone and called the president of Body-Solid who confirmed that the warranty should have been voided if you exceed the 210-lb stack upgrade option. However, because the sales rep had already stated that my warranty would be fine the president said he would make an exception and honor the agreement. I ended up taking my dealer's advice and went with dual 260-lb stacks. I had been researching functional trainers for months and given how this all panned out it really reaffirmed my decision to go with Body-Solid. I also got a sweet deal on the price that couldn't be matched elsewhere and even included free assembly.

[RussAnderson]

Think bodysolid ceo response validates what i have allready said just doesn't make sense why they would offer this option and then not back it with a good warranty???Obviously those guide rods and back space are an issue with heavier big plates, but the 260lb stack should work out just fine. Its a nice machine but in no way would i give up the rack to be using it for basic compounds , pure an isolation machine nothing else nothing more .

[UberPooch]

Think bodysolid ceo response validates what i have allready said just doesn't make sense why they would offer this option and then not back it with a good warranty???Obviously those guide rods and back space are an issue with heavier big plates, but the 260lb stack should work out just fine. Its a nice machine but in no way would i give up the rack to be using it for basic compounds , pure an isolation machine nothing else nothing more .

I tried the GDCC200 and the cables can easily handle the 310-lb stacks since they're nearly 5mm thick and rated to over 2,500-lbs. I think it boils down to design and safety issues. You end up shortening the amount of cable available if the plates hit the back of the frame before reaching the top of the column. While not likely, all it would take is one monster of a guy to try and pull 620-lbs and end up tipping the machine so I can understand Body-Solid's decision to void the warranty with this option.

For me I'm replacing my cage with the GDCC200. I have a disc disorder so to keep my back healthy I do belt squats and unilateral leg work instead of barbell back/front squats. Last year I had shoulder surgery so I go with heavy dumbbell floor presses instead of benching and angled presses instead of military. As a result there's really no need for me to have a cage and the functional trainer will allow me to add a lot more exercises to my training. I think what limits the use of these machines is when you can't expand the weight after factoring in the pulling ratio. That's why I went with the GDCC200. I have no problem doing compound lifts with it and I went with the GDCC200 instead of the 210 because I'm tall and the extra width gives me more room to play.

[joegabo]

Hello,


Sorry to revive an old dead thread but it is the source of my question as I am trying to get the 15 pound Body-solid stack plates but I can't even find a product number... I did call BS and the useless rep wouldn't even talk to me about the plates as she kept on saying that they don't sell them for the GDCC210.

If anyone knows which of the body-solid selectorized equipment that does have the 15 pound plates or the actual product number please let me know as I am at my wits end and cannot find anything. (don't want to argue with some woman on the phone about why the cables can support the five heavier plates that add a measly 25 lbs... lol wow maybe they don't really use the 2200lbs aircraft cables like every other company that orders them from the same factory/distributer....)

Either way any information would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Joe

[SugarFree1]

Edit after researching it a bit.

Doesnt seem like the 15 lbs plates would give full range of motion; along with voiding the warranty and such. BS does sell a connection bar that Im currently using. It connects both sides to allow you to pull from both weight stacks together. 210 weight stack just doubled in max potential.

Before getting the bar, I was attaching extra plates to the stacks. Just hanging them right off the side with a large D clamp. I did this for an extra 60 lbs per each side. It worked fine up till this point. I didnt try to add past that though.

[joegabo]

Thanks for the reply and suggestions.

The thing is I bought the unit used and is missing the bottom five plates anyway, so I just figured I would try to give myself the effective 12.5lbs increase over the standard plates for just the bottom five. (as I need to buy them anyway, and I don't think the extra inch per side will affect the travel that far down.) there is no warranty with it being used anyway and trying to maximize before I start hanging stuff off some custom fixture, even if it only adds a little... hehe

Thanks,
Joe

[UberPooch]

I've had the GDC200 for over a year and half and really enjoy it. I made arrangements with Body-Solid to go with 15-lb plates for the bottom 10 on each side (each stack has 21 plates). Didn't void my warranty but I needed Body-Solid to approve it. I don't think I could use the GDC210 simply b/c the posts are too close together so doing exercises like flyes would be a problem.