Body-Solid Leg Extension and Supine Leg Curl GLCE365 - Review

[darkfact]

After I had all the staple pieces of equipment for my home gym I started looking at making a more true 'commercial gym' experience at home and that continues to be my goal now. I started looking at what parts of my gym I felt were lacking, what really felt like home grade and what could pass for the feel of similar commercial equipment etc, and one of the most obvious examples of 'not quite close to gym grade this must be home grade' was using my ptec bench with the leg attachment for leg extensions and leg curls. In my experience using 3 different benches and leg attachments they just don't come close to those exercises commercial counterparts. However, leg extensions and leg curls are a pretty low priority for me as far as exercises go so I had been waiting to upgrade this area until after I got some more important stuff done.

One of the biggest problems with bench leg attachment is the lack of being able to adjust the length of the attachments to fit your legs/body making it pretty uncomfortable at times unless perhaps you're lucky enough to be the perfect height for the static design of the attachment. I was never that lucky and especially when going real heavy I could really feel the lack of comfort the attachments gave.

But since these exercises are on the lower priority end for me I can't justify spending the cash to get a true commercial piece with a weight stack, and I certainly can't make the space for a separate leg extension and leg curl, I needed an all in one.

I've seen Ironwill rave about his Body-Solid unit many times and in particular due to the fact that each of the exercises are adjustable to the individual user, the ends with the rollers cam out and in with a pin lock. After looking around some and ruling out true commercial pieces the Body-Solid GLCE365 seemed to be the best bang for the buck.

I ordered from CFF, I've always had a good experience with them and they ship pretty quick, this time was no different from the other times.

http://www.christiansfitnessfactory....upine-Leg-Curl

The box came in great condition and everything was packaged quite well. This is really my first piece of Body-Solid equipment so I wasn't sure what to expect, but after opening the box I was actually a little surprised by the quality of the pieces, not commercial, but alot better than the ptec equipment I had in the past for sure.







Another surprise, all the parts were there and fit together well, and the assembly instructions were pretty easy to follow, might be the first time I can say all of that at once regarding home grade equipment, at least products like this that have quite a few pieces to them.





Using the unit was another pleasant surprise, much much closer to a real commercial feel than the bench attachments I had been using, night and day difference honestly. The motion is incredibly smooth and very comfortable. I seem to be right in the middle of the adjustment settings for both the leg extension and the leg curl, so I'm confident this machine can accommodate someone several inches taller or shorter than I.

One review on amazon said it was a little wobbly, I'm thinking they didn't put it together right or tightly because mine has no wobble at all. My only complaint is there's a little give in the backrest while doing leg curls, meaning it raises and lowers a little bit while using it, could be just because I'm pulling up on the handles too much so next week I use it I'll try not grabbing the handles to see if I'm causing the movement myself.

If the perfect commercial leg extension/leg curl combo with a heavy weight stack is a 10/10 I'd give this Body-Solid Leg Extension and Supine Leg Curl an 8/10, and the bench unit's I was using before would be a 3/10 at most, man I'm glad I never have to use those again I honestly hated them lol! And since you'd easily have to pay $1.5-$2k more for a new commercial piece I'm very satisfied with the purchase I made.

Any questions or additional pics wanted just let me know.

[darkfact]

[darkfact]

Also note, I had to buy the 14" olympic sleeve adapter for it which I also ordered from CFF and both products came at the same time.

http://www.christiansfitnessfactory....Sleeve-14-Inch

[RussAnderson]

Nice unit DF Congrats mate , i was eyeing that up the exact body solid GLCE365 a few weeks ago. Only thing stopping me buying one is the lack of space and i do mean lack of, i totally agree with what u say with bench attachments of course never going to come remotely close to proper dedicated stand alone machines. Nice to have 2 pairs of handles on that machine,wouldn't it be great if the top part could be used as dip handles. Again nice to hear that this has a more commercial feel to it ,wondering how much weight the body solid can hold?



should add i have a bodysolid cable crossover and the build quality is also pretty good for light commercial.Nice and solid construction that can hold pleny of weight and functions very smoothly.

[darkfact]

Nice unit DF Congrats mate , i was eyeing that up the exact body solid GLCE365 a few weeks ago. Only thing stopping me buying one is the lack of space and i do mean lack of, i totally agree with what u say with bench attachments of course never going to come remotely close to proper dedicated stand alone machines. Nice to have 2 pairs of handles on that machine,wouldn't it be great if the top part could be used as dip handles. Again nice to hear that this has a more commercial feel to it ,wondering how much weight the body solid can hold?



should add i have a bodysolid cable crossover and the build quality is also pretty good for light commercial.Nice and solid construction that can hold pleny of weight and functions very smoothly.

How much weight on the sleeve? I haven't tried to max it out I guess, I've only had 3x 45's on it and it's solid. I imagine at a certain point enough weight will make it tip forward, I had that problem on all the benches I used as well, but it's nothing a 165lbs db sitting on the opposite end of the frame won't help lol. I think the only way to totally get around that is having a selectable weight stack.

[alexthaman]

Nice review darkfact. Seems like a very good machine! I would love to see pictures of your complete home gym. Looks to be amazing!

[RussAnderson]

Hey DF scored one of these today and at a fraction of the price so extremely pleased about that. Yes a big difference from bench attachments and of course user friendly in setting a good fixed postition.Nice to throw a few 45lb plates on without the bench nose diving to the ground with you on it. tried a few sets of leg extensions nice solid well supported feel esp the oversized seat padding and rollers. I actually changed out a few rollers because the machine i bought wasn't new and some of the rollers lost there cushioning ie flat in the middle. also the covers i didn't like them so removed them as i like to feel the foam rollers sink into my shins feels more comfortable .Anyways lying leg curls the back rest does indeed lift up a fraction when using the lower handles. I can se how that would be distracting but im sure there's a solution just need to think it out over time. Again its the solid feel that really encourages overall performance on this machine. Will be great for me without having to constantly set up for extensions then remove and later set up for leg curls interrupting the flow of my leg training. All in all good machine and big step up from bench attachments ,i also went the same way with the preacher curl really helps keep your workout moving without interruptions.

Ps one other thing i will say is the covering on this is weird feels like a sticky rubber finish suppose that's to keep the grip when your positioned on it.

[darkfact]

Nice pickup man! Yeah I was surprised how smooth it was and it's a bit bigger than I expected it to be being a home grade model. I noticed the grab too on the pads but it doens't bother me at all. I won't use it again until next week but if you figure out a way to reduce or eliminate the 'lift' on leg curls let me know, that's really the only negative thing I can say about it.

I actually used it a couple days ago for 1 arm db preacher curls because the height was dead on for me when standing behind the back pad, and the padding is way softer than my efs bench so it's more comfortable for preacher curls.

[fishingeek]

Based on your guys reviews, I decided to pick up one of these on CL today for $175.
I think it's an older version because it is white.
I like the pads and seats on it.
The only thing I don't like is the handles on mine for the seated position seem to be pointed down further than your guys do. I might see how much it would cost to get the newer ones.
I had to jam it under my stairs because of real estate but I think it will work out great.



Geek

[darkfact]

Nice grab dude, I enjoy mine, it does what it needs to.

Looking at the your pic I wonder if the handle was just installed upside down, might be worth taking it apart a bit and see if you can flip it over.

[fishingeek]

Nice grab dude, I enjoy mine, it does what it needs to.

Looking at the your pic I wonder if the handle was just installed upside down, might be worth taking it apart a bit and see if you can flip it over.

You were right. He had them mounted on the wrong side. I just had to switch them.
They are still a little low but much better now!

Need to spread more chicklets around before I can rep you again.

Geek

[darkfact]

You were right. He had them mounted on the wrong side. I just had to switch them.
They are still a little low but much better now!

Need to spread more chicklets around before I can rep you again.

Geek

nice dude, glad it worked!

[Alchematron]

Excellent review darkfact!

If I'm not satisfied with the Powertec Leg Lift attachment, I now know what to buy.

Many thanks

[darkfact]

Excellent review darkfact!

If I'm not satisfied with the Powertec Leg Lift attachment, I now know what to buy.

Many thanks

That's what I was using prior to buying this. Night and day difference, really no comparison.

[alfred18]

Darkfact, how do you compare it to this one:





I'm really confused on which one to get, after the review you posted. I own the powertec bench and leg attachment, but the leg curls are hard to do because I'm only 5'6 and my legs aren't long enough. Any thoughts?

[darkfact]

That one is a seated leg curl rather than a prone (or lying) leg curl. I always preferred a prone leg curl so that's why I chose the unit I bought. I was never a big fan of seated leg curls, I liked to do kneeling leg curls once in awhile in gyms but nearly never did the seated version. Just my personal preference I guess and how the movement feels to me.

[oldline70]

I love the Body Solid leg extension-supine leg curl and wish I had it.
If I ever come across one on CL I will likely snap it up.
I may take the plunge someday and add it new, regardless.

[fishingeek]

Well I finally got my first leg workout in with this last night.
I do a 6 day split, 3 days on and 1 off. I bought it last Saturday and my leg day with curls and extensions didn't hit till last night.

Anyway, this was a humbling experience. With the attachment on the Powertec bench I was doing decent weight. I had to drop way down on the Body Solid.
It hits the muscles a bit differently and I like the fact you can adjust the pads to fit your body. The movement feels much better on this with both exercises and my hamstrings were hurting today from the curls.
My legs are usually only sore after squat night but they were talking to me today.....

I am very happy with this piece as an upgrade over the Powertec unit, so much so that I am selling the Powertec bench to a buddy from work.

Definitely another great CL pickup!

Geek

[darkfact]

lol I had the same experience. I used a ptec bench before it, had to drop the weight down, feels way better, got rid of the ptec bench lol.

[dePaljas]

After 3 years of use (actually this started after a couple of months already), the foam rollers are worn and the metal bar is digging into my shins. Folding some packaging foam now to stop this from drawing my attention. Any suggestions?

[ironwill2008]

After 3 years of use (actually this started after a couple of months already), the foam rollers are worn and the metal bar is digging into my shins. Folding some packaging foam now to stop this from drawing my attention. Any suggestions?

You can find replacement pads here:
http://www.kamway.com/index.php?disp...egory_id=204#1

[ImportantIssues]

Thanks, thats helpful

[AttyGuy]

Darkfact, how do you compare it to this one:

I have this model. Love the extension. Hate the curl. I am thinking of getting the one dark fact has.

[ironwill2008]

I have this model. Love the extension. Hate the curl. I am thinking of getting the one dark fact has.

There is definitely a difference in how Lying, Seated, and Standing Leg Curls hit the hams; each variant feels unique from the others.

[irongrandpa]

There is definitely a difference in how Lying, Seated, and Standing Leg Curls hit the hams; each variant feels unique from the others.

true, if you have the space, use both.

[darkfact]

I probably should have updated this last summer but this unit was basically unusable for me after less than 1 year of use. We sold our house last July and our new house won't be built until this summer so my whole gym has been in storage all winter and I don't have any pics of the broken leg curl to show you.

Basically the olympic sleeves never really held the weight on well, unless you used a super slow motion the horn would start to slip off and as you raised and lowered the leg portion the plates would slip off the olympic adapter sleeve and onto the skinny standard weight horn that is really the main weight horn. The little skinny weight horn just does not handle much weight, mine completely bent down and nearly touches the ground when stationary it's bent so much. I've tried to bend it back but I didn't have much luck doing so.

I don't want to sit here and hate on home grade equipment but you do get what you pay for, well before I bought this I had mostly transitioned over to commercial level stuff but I didn't want to shell out very much cash for a machine I don't deem as super important. However, in the end for me it's just a $500+ loss that to be honest now I wish it had just gone towards a better leg curl machine.

I hope the rest of you guys that got one have had a better experience than I and I hope it continues for you. It just didn't work out for me, and I for sure won't be buying anything that has crappy little standard size weight horns on it in the future lol.

[AttyGuy]

Dark fact, how much weight did you have on the machine to bend the weight horn?

[darkfact]

Dark fact, how much weight did you have on the machine to bend the weight horn?

I don't recall exactly it's been awhile since I've used it now, but i'd probably pyramid up to 3-4 plates after all my other leg work. I perhaps exceeded it's limit but honestly it never occurred to me check the weight limit on a leg extension machine, I usually do pretty high reps too. I really think it had more to do with the olympic sleeve adapter always slipping off mid set and then you have all that loose movement of the plates hitting back and forth while slipping down onto that little skinny standard plate sized sleeve.

[ironwill2008]

I really think it had more to do with the olympic sleeve adapter always slipping off mid set and then you have all that loose movement of the plates hitting back and forth while slipping down onto that little skinny standard plate sized sleeve.

^^^^ This may have caused your problem.

The sleeve adapter I bought (from Body Solid) has a recessed setscrew that holds it in place; I've never had to touch it since the machine was new. I've had it for ~10 years now, and although I don't use it all the time, have had 180 on it on many occasions with no issues. My wife uses the machine 3-4 times per week, but not with anywhere near the load that you and I use.

[matrix563]

Also note, I had to buy the 14" olympic sleeve adapter for it which I also ordered from CFF and both products came at the same time.

http://www.christiansfitnessfactory....Sleeve-14-Inch

nooo!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/XMark-14-Oly...item19cf7ca2db

i paid 13 for it. for some reason it was on sale lol. 13 shipped ftw! .

my parabody leg curl ext is similar and its much preferred over the ironmaster attachment i had. i loved it so much i made room for it in my already cramped gym and sold the ironmaster attachment . its nice to have handles to hold.