Recently Acquired Bodymasters GHD

[dumb.bell]

I've spent about a year trying to decide which GHD to purchase new, but all the while keeping my eyes open for a good used one. I had narrowed my new choices down to one like Keetmans or one of the Promaxima GHDs (FishingGeek has one). However, I ran across a used Bodymaster and since I'm a big fan of their equipment, I went ahead and purchased it. It has some features that I really like and others that I don't really have a strong opinion on. The features that I really like are the platform and the walk through design. Some people find the round pads to be a negative (making the movement easier), but I don't really mind this and it might come in handy if I'm training clients in the future. It also has two small footplates right where your feet go, instead of one large one. I'm not sure yet if this is going to bother me, but I'm sure I can modify it if it does. I need to buy some tubing plugs and some new handles and will need to recover the knee pad, which isn't in the picture.

[fishingeek]

Very nice!!
Reps on spread..

[KBKB]

Do I see a red adjustment knob at the bottom right in that photo?

Is it for adjusting the footplate to thigh pad distance? (Seems like it'd adjust the foot plate angle too. But it might not be enough to matter.)

Looks like a nice machine. Good condition too, from what I can see in the photos.

[Cleveland33]

reps on the recharge for GHD jealousy.

[dumb.bell]

Do I see a red adjustment knob at the bottom right in that photo?

Is it for adjusting the footplate to thigh pad distance? (Seems like it'd adjust the foot plate angle too. But it might not be enough to matter.)

Looks like a nice machine. Good condition too, from what I can see in the photos.

Yes, it is the footplate to thigh adjustment and it doesn't appear to be enough to matter. I believe the further you go back, the feet drop more, but I've read somewhere that if is design to accommodate a 7ft person, so I shouldn't be anywhere near the back setting.

[Northernmoris]

Nice piece. Looks solid.. I have roller pads on mine. It's definitely no easy nor uncomfortable.

[irongrandpa]

dumb.bell, that's a real nice looking ghd. how much did you pay for it?

[dumb.bell]

dumb.bell, that's a real nice looking ghd. how much did you pay for it?

I got it for $450, however, I had to pay $150 in shipping for a total of $600. Would have been a really good deal if it had just been closer. I wish I knew what it sold for new.

[twodog]

Nice GHD db, I really like the walk through design.

[HealthNutMD]

Great find. I like rollers or split pads. Bodymasters made some really good stuff, it is a shame that a high quality company like them is no longer around. Hopefully somebody buys them (like Nebula was bought) and starts making high quality items again.

[dumb.bell]

Great find. I like rollers or split pads. Bodymasters made some really good stuff, it is a shame that a high quality company like them is no longer around. Hopefully somebody buys them (like Nebula was bought) and starts making high quality items again.

They are supposed to start making equipment again under the new ownership. I talked to one of the reps about this piece new, but they aren't making it as of this time. He told me they were concentrating on a specific line (can't remember what it was), but they weren't making the standing curl station either, and you would think the free weight bench style pieces would be some of the first ones they would make again.

[Keetman]

Hey DB, that looks good, real good. I was hoping to get another member here on my edge fitness GHR bandwagon, but you got that one cheaper and it has some superior features, so good for you. I really like the walkthrough design. I don't think he will, but if the guy that made mine ever made one like that, I might consider upgrading. I may also have been the one that has been a bit negative about the round pads, I know I have...but not sure if anyone else has. Its just personal preference. I would own another GHR with round pads, I just wouldn't prefer them personally. The oversized half moon/split pad is the best pad I've done the exercise on and its just my favorite. Everyone's going to have a different take on this stuff and I don't think there is a "best" of anything for everybody, but I don't see how you can't love the new GHR you got there.

Good job on that impressive piece, it looks great with your other commercial equipment.

[dumb.bell]

I was hoping to get another member here on my edge fitness GHR bandwagon

You were close to adding another member, I really like the design and build quality of your GHR.

[dumb.bell]

Initial Observations.

With 8 settings (8 for someone with really long legs), I'm using settings 2 and 3. Its a little bit easier in 3, but I'm starting to get the hang of 2 now. I'm doing these with the knee pad removed, because it gets in my way (more on this below). I've already noticed that my feet lose contact with the toe plate occasionally and shift positions slightly. On two occasions, my foot has moved over the outside edge of the toe plate slightly. I don't think this would happen if the foot plate was a little closer to the roller pads (unfortunately no adjustment for this). I tried doing situps, but wasn't totally comfortable that my feet were secure and that I wasn't going to slide off onto the floor (I'll have to work on these). I really like the reverse hyper motion, I believe the rounded moving pads help with these. The handles on the front are a little too wide for really deep dips (I don't think they were designed for dips), but I can do partials.

The illustrations on the placard show the person resting their knees on the knee pad, which is a little ways away form the hip pads. They then lean out and down, doing a hyper-extension that transitions into a GHR. I tried this minus the hyper, basically a GHR with my knees on the pad. I'll have to say it felt quite awkward and pretty difficult. Your thighs lose contact with the hip pad after the first half of the motion and all that is touching are your knees for the last half of the motion. I'm going to keep trying this, but if nothing changes I can see the knee pad bracket getting cut off sometime in the future. With the pad removed, the exposed bracket is an injury waiting to happen.

I think I need to watch a lot of videos to really get this motion down, but I'm very happy with it so far.

[Northernmoris]

DB. I do my ghr's the same way. Knees starting on the pad, then come off, and on the reverse they come to a finish on the pad. So now the big question is, am I wrong?

Gonna do some more research.

[dumb.bell]

More initial observations

Until I play with this thing for a few weeks, I probably won't know what I'm doing or which method of doing these GHRs I like best. However, I'm thinking that the knee pad is just too far away from the hip pads. Once I lose contact with the hip pad I feel like I'm doing a Russian Curl/Ghetto GHR. I attempted to do some more with the knee pad in place and realized that if I changed my form slightly I was able to hit the lower hams really hard (don't know exactly how to describe it, but bending at the hips more on the way up - kind of sitting back into the latter part of the movement).

Anyway, my earlier statements about not really having a preference for the round pads or the half moon may be changing. At this stage, I'm thinking I may have a preference for the half moon, but that could change tomorrow. Until then, this is my modification.

[KBKB]

I totally missed seeing the support you used for the quarter-round pad in your earlier photos. Did that "new" pad in the above photo come with the GHD? Or was it something that you had lying about?

[Keetman]

That's the most confused GHD I've ever seen....its not sure what it wants to be . They've combine the half moon pad with the round roller pads, I'm not even sure what the point of the roller pads are. If you're using the knee pad, by the time you hit the roller pads they should remain stationary, no?

Youtube has a lot of vids, although I'm not sure any one video is showing the exercise done "correctly". For me, I try to concentrate on my body positioning. I try to only bend at the knees and as I go down I am working on keeping my upper leg, back, and shoulders in the same plane. When coming back up I concentrate on trying to get my shoulders back first. You don't want to make a hyperextension or a good morning out of the move, your knees are bending and your hammies are doing the work....not your hips and your back.

I have also noticed what you are talking about with unsupported thighs. When I was doing ghetto GHR's I actually noticed that the exercise is more difficult. Although this shouldn't be surprising, as there is no support for the leg. Right now I do the exercise with my knees starting wedged into the pad about half way up, so the top of the pad supports the leg when I'm stretched out (I still concentrate on the things I mentioned above). The exercise is easier, but it still isn't easy and as I get better at it, I'll raise my feet or put the footplate closer to the pad to give myself less support when stretched out.

Its a learning process, but I believe the important thing is to keep your body straight as I outlined above in order to isolate (as best you can) the hammies and not make a hyper out of the move.

[Northernmoris]

I believe he used the pad from his preacher bench to simulate the feeling of a different pad. The BM GHR comes with a short knee pad like the York.

[Keetman]

Aw, that makes sense. The pad in your pic (Northern) is the same type of pad I had on a couple of my GHD's. That's typical. If the half moon pad is big enough, its no longer needed.

[dumb.bell]

I totally missed seeing the support you used for the quarter-round pad in your earlier photos. Did that "new" pad in the above photo come with the GHD? Or was it something that you had lying about?

I believe he used the pad from his preacher bench to simulate the feeling of a different pad. The BM GHR comes with a short knee pad like the York.

North is correct. I was just playing around with the different ways to do them last night and started interchanging different seat pads and such in the bracket. One thing about having a lot of Bodymaster pieces is that most of the brackets are consistent and you can play around with parts. I've been using a pullover seat in place of that pad to do chest supported rows on the preacher curl bench so the preacher curl pad happened to be laying on the floor. I was surprised at how well it actually worked for doing a GHR. It is very similar to just having the half moon pad, except that when you are fully extended you have something to support more of your weight (round pads). I could see using it this way as a training tool for beginners.

[dumb.bell]

My hamstrings and calves are so sore this morning that it hurts to walk. If you add them up, I probably did close to 50 reps yesterday over about 12 sets. I also did bent-over rows, and bodyweight reverse hypers. I think my posterior chain got a workout yesterday.

[dumb.bell]

@North

You may have already realized it, but that is my GHD in the picture

I believe he used the pad from his preacher bench to simulate the feeling of a different pad. The BM GHR comes with a short knee pad like the York.

[dumb.bell]

How to do a standard GHR (From EFS's Website)

To do a GHR, you’ll start with your body in a horizontal position on the bench with your toes pushed into the toe plate. Your knees will be set two inches behind the pad and your back will be rounded with your chin tucked. You then push your knees into the pad and curl your body up with your hamstrings while keeping the back rounded. As you approach the top position, squeeze your glutes to finish in a vertical position.

[dumb.bell]

This is the knee pad that came with the GHD (needs to be recovered). It is a little further away from the hip pads than most other GHDs I've seen

[KBKB]

This is the knee pad that came with the GHD (needs to be recovered).

Have you found a source for vinyl of that color?

[Northernmoris]

@North

You may have already realized it, but that is my GHD in the picture

I had no idea.. I had trouble finding pics online other than the ones in this thread... Doesn't seem like there is much info out there..

[HealthNutMD]

Have you found a source for vinyl of that color?

What about that guy mentioned in the cost no object thread... he services any freakin body...

[dumb.bell]

Have you found a source for vinyl of that color?

I haven't even looked yet.

Eventually, I'd like to start recovering every piece in my gym. When I do that, I'll probably go with black, but it would probably look better if I had this redone in the same color for the time being.

I guess that might not be the easiest thing to do. At first I was thinking that it would be easy and that if must be a common color because it is the exact same color as the ProStar collegiate half rack benches that I have (slightly different color than the Bodymaster preacher curl). I then remembered that the benches came out of a college football program in Texas. This GHD also came out of Texas. Now I'm wondering if the came from the same school.

[KBKB]

Looks like these folks might have vinyl that'll match, or at least be close:

http://www.fullcirclepadding.com/ind...&CategoryID=63

I've never ordered from them, but I see them mentioned here a lot.