Cable Crossover VS. Functional Trainer (The Sequel)...

[piratelifebad]

The reason I had the Tuff Stuff is I can get it professionally installed. I want it done not by me as i have a lot of stairs to walk down as my gym is in basement.

That Tuff Stuff design is not very good, especially for the price. The guide rods should be inside of a vertical support channel, not used as the only vertical supports for the weight stack and pulley arm. It looks like a $500-$800 lat pulldown.

Really no comparison if you look at the SLM300G. It's true commercial quality like Hoist, True, Life, etc, at a much lower price, especially if you contact Matt at Fitness Factory. They're made in Taiwan and the fit and finish is as good as I've seen (sans the weight stack). Nothing like the lower end Body Solid products.

You don't have any Body Solid dealers around? I've found that some fitness stores are part of larger buying groups, so they're not listed as dealers on the manufacturer's sites, but they still are authorized to sell the products. Everything comes apart and the heaviest piece is probably only 60-70lbs. I've moved mine several times up and down stairs with no issues.

[evankyle]

That Tuff Stuff design is not very good, especially for the price. The guide rods should be inside of a vertical support channel, not used as the only vertical supports for the weight stack and pulley arm. It looks like a $500-$800 lat pulldown.

Really no comparison if you look at the SLM300G. It's true commercial quality like Hoist, True, Life, etc, at a much lower price, especially if you contact Matt at Fitness Factory. They're made in Taiwan and the fit and finish is as good as I've seen (sans the weight stack). Nothing like the lower end Body Solid products.

You don't have any Body Solid dealers around? I've found that some fitness stores are part of larger buying groups, so they're not listed as dealers on the manufacturer's sites, but they still are authorized to sell the products. Everything comes apart and the heaviest piece is probably only 60-70lbs. I've moved mine several times up and down stairs with no issues.

Thanks I will call around regarding Body Solid.

[Deep-Voiced-One]

Thanks I will call around regarding Body Solid.

If you have a Total Fitness Equipment dealer in your area they carry Body-Solid and will honor the lowest price quoted by the Body-Solid dealer, they also offer delivery and installation for an extra charge, or you could pick it up curb side and they'll load it into a truck, or vehicle you have that it would fit in and you can dodge the delivery charge.

That's what I did when I got my leverage system from them and their customer service is excellent!

[potatosoup]

I loved the FT2 when I had it. I bolted an adjustable back pad to it from ForceUSA like the Bravo. That smith machine function that connected to the weight stacks, plus doubling the weights to give me a 400 pound possible bench press was really nice to have. Of course I don’t bench that much.

I did my primary benches on it, and had to modify my squat slightly for the smith’s vertical ROM but it turned out great.

Just sold it a few months ago as my wife gave me the okay to upgrade my equipment to my “dream” equipment. FT2 sold and Cybex Bravo ordered.

Just upgraded from Powerblocks to the full Eleiko Evo dumbbell set and those arrived a week ago.

In a few months I’ll be ordering the Sorinex Hurricane to replace my power rack. Loved it when I used it at my friend’s house. I could do everything I can with the power rack and more. DLs, Squats, Bench press, Viking press and military press all felt so great on it.

[evankyle]

I loved the FT2 when I had it. I bolted an adjustable back pad to it from ForceUSA like the Bravo. That smith machine function that connected to the weight stacks, plus doubling the weights to give me a 400 pound possible bench press was really nice to have. Of course I don’t bench that much.

I did my primary benches on it, and had to modify my squat slightly for the smith’s vertical ROM but it turned out great.

Just sold it a few months ago as my wife gave me the okay to upgrade my equipment to my “dream” equipment. FT2 sold and Cybex Bravo ordered.

Just upgraded from Powerblocks to the full Eleiko Evo dumbbell set and those arrived a week ago.

In a few months I’ll be ordering the Sorinex Hurricane to replace my power rack. Loved it when I used it at my friend’s house. I could do everything I can with the power rack and more. DLs, Squats, Bench press, Viking press and military press all felt so great on it.

How do you like the Bravo so far. How is it better than the FT2? I am looking to get a FT soon and willing to spend to get the best one. Unfortunately since stores are closed by me, I want to defiinitely try them out before buying. I had tried several years ago but was not that serious about working out at home. Now I am committed to completing my home gym the right way.

[potatosoup]

How do you like the Bravo so far. How is it better than the FT2? I am looking to get a FT soon and willing to spend to get the best one. Unfortunately since stores are closed by me, I want to defiinitely try them out before buying. I had tried several years ago but was not that serious about working out at home. Now I am committed to completing my home gym the right way.

I haven’t received it yet, unfortunately. But tried it at my local gym and what makes it stand out are the adjustable handles to bring them closer to you or further out, which is great because it doesn’t have the fixed high and low pulleys the FT2 does.

And the back stabilization pad is amazing. The problem with the ForceUSA back of that I retrofitted onto the FT2, it was not easy to adjust or bring up. It would constantly be hard to pull the push pin out to adjust, and adjustment was “sticky” and did not glide. There was also a lot of plat on the back pad arm. I didn’t like the circular shape neither. On the Bravo there is no play, and very smooth to adjust.

The FT2 is great in that the weight is higher (I believe with the upgraded stack it’s 110 pounds effective resistance per side compared to 85 on the Bravo). The FT2 also has the weight multiplier for the smith function which is simply awesome, and not needing additional weight plates for the Smith is a huge huge plus. It is, IMO, the go to piece if you only want one piece in your gym.

The vertical movement on the Smith is great for certain exercises, and for other movements you just have to modify your body movement to adjust for the fixed vertical ROM. Watch Smith machine variations to get an idea. I loved doing vertical leg presses with it.

Overall, the Cybex was my first choice when I got the FT2, but my wife did not want to go above $3500. So we got the FT2 and added the back pad from ForceUSA. Glad I can get the unit I originally wanted but will miss the weight multiplier, higher weight and Smith machine/vertical leg press.

[gym62richard]

I haven’t received it yet, unfortunately. But tried it at my local gym and what makes it stand out are the adjustable handles to bring them closer to you or further out, which is great because it doesn’t have the fixed high and low pulleys the FT2 does.

And the back stabilization pad is amazing. The problem with the ForceUSA back of that I retrofitted onto the FT2, it was not easy to adjust or bring up. It would constantly be hard to pull the push pin out to adjust, and adjustment was “sticky” and did not glide. There was also a lot of plat on the back pad arm. I didn’t like the circular shape neither. On the Bravo there is no play, and very smooth to adjust.

The FT2 is great in that the weight is higher (I believe with the upgraded stack it’s 110 pounds effective resistance per side compared to 85 on the Bravo). The FT2 also has the weight multiplier for the smith function which is simply awesome, and not needing additional weight plates for the Smith is a huge huge plus. It is, IMO, the go to piece if you only want one piece in your gym.

The vertical movement on the Smith is great for certain exercises, and for other movements you just have to modify your body movement to adjust for the fixed vertical ROM. Watch Smith machine variations to get an idea. I loved doing vertical leg presses with it.

Overall, the Cybex was my first choice when I got the FT2, but my wife did not want to go above $3500. So we got the FT2 and added the back pad from ForceUSA. Glad I can get the unit I originally wanted but will miss the weight multiplier, higher weight and Smith machine/vertical leg press.

I have the Bravo, it's an excellent all round tool, as you say the adjustable pulley arms and the support pad make all the difference.

It would be nice if the weight stacks were a little heavier, but there are workarounds, to be honest for my purposes it's more than adequate

Manufacturers have taken differing approaches with their functional trainer designs, I think the Bravo covers most of the bases, it's not perfect, but of the ft's I've tried the Bravo had the least number of compromises.

[potatosoup]

I have the Bravo, it's an excellent all round tool, as you say the adjustable pulley arms and the support pad make all the difference.

It would be nice if the weight stacks were a little heavier, but there are workarounds, to be honest for my purposes it's more than adequate

Manufacturers have taken differing approaches with their functional trainer designs, I think the Bravo covers most of the bases, it's not perfect, but of the ft's I've tried the Bravo had the least number of compromises.

Absolutely agreed Richard. Did you know that your posts on here are one of the few impressions of the Bravo that exists on the internet (according to Google)? You’re the reason I joined!

[Greybird2]

I never quite got the back pad thing. Doesn't it just remove using your core which is half of what a functional trainer is for?

I guess I would need to try it.

[gym62richard]

I never quite got the back pad thing. Doesn't it just remove using your core which is half of what a functional trainer is for?

I guess I would need to try it.

In theory you're correct, nevertheless the back pad adds even more functionality to an already versatile unit, I suspect I use the back pad less than 20% of the time, when not it use it just folds down out of the way.
The pad is height adjustable, so imagine setting the pad at the height of your hamstrings, place yourself away from the pulleys with your feet in a parallel position, then perform a pressing movement, the strange thing is that this actually activates the core more intensely, by moving the pad up or down can make a real difference to core activation.

Of course when set correctly it can become a stabilisation aid, useful when targeting a muscle from an unusual angle, say chest supported high to low rows, the same goes for chest work. You can also use the pad for things like concentration curls and ab work.

The pad is not a necessity, but it's a useful addition.

[potatosoup]

I never quite got the back pad thing. Doesn't it just remove using your core which is half of what a functional trainer is for?

I guess I would need to try it.

Agreed with Richard above. I also use it as a preacher curl for cable bicep work and a hold down for heavy lat pull downs. It also great for standing flys, stand bench press, and shoulder work.

[bad689]

Hi guys, I have read all the posts here. I'm about to move into my new home, if space is no issue, would you guys go for CC or FT? I live in Indonesia, so we have limited options of equipments to buy. All of them are imported so the price is going to be at least doubled in here from what you guys are paying for the same items in U.S. A cable crossover machine, Bodysolid GDCC250 is on sale right now for around 1900 USD, which is a good deal considering it should cost quite a bit more. I've been looking into other brands as well such as functional trainer life fitness G7, chinese brand DHZ E1017B and even the famous cybex bravo at 50% discount here is being sold for 10k USD. Sorry to ramble, when it comes to your choice, CC or FT?

[Deep-Voiced-One]

Hi guys, I have read all the posts here. I'm about to move into my new home, if space is no issue, would you guys go for CC or FT? I live in Indonesia, so we have limited options of equipments to buy. All of them are imported so the price is going to be at least doubled in here from what you guys are paying for the same items in U.S. A cable crossover machine, Bodysolid GDCC250 is on sale right now for around 1900 USD, which is a good deal considering it should cost quite a bit more. I've been looking into other brands as well such as functional trainer life fitness G7, chinese brand DHZ E1017B and even the famous cybex bravo at 50% discount here is being sold for 10k USD. Sorry to ramble, when it comes to your choice, CC or FT?

A FT is going to have more variety in exercises you can do with it since the stacks are closer in distance (for example, aside from cable flys there's capability for cable presses by hooking a compatible single press bar to both stacks).

The CC you'll get a better overall stretch at the top and bottom for cable flys due to the farther width of the machine...However the FT has this function as well and still works great and you get the additional movements which brings more value out of the machine and the FT takes up less space than a CC...just my two cents on the subject.

[bad689]

A FT is going to have more variety in exercises you can do with it since the stacks are closer in distance (for example, aside from cable flys there's capability for cable presses by hooking a compatible single press bar to both stacks).

The CC you'll get a better overall stretch at the top and bottom for cable flys due to the farther width of the machine...However the FT has this function as well and still works great and you get the additional movements which brings more value out of the machine and the FT takes up less space than a CC...just my two cents on the subject.

Thank you. I have decide to go with FT instead of CC. I'm still deciding the brands now.

[Deep-Voiced-One]

Thank you. I have decide to go with FT instead of CC. I'm still deciding the brands now.

I'm not sure what's available to you, but both the Inspire FT1 and Body-Solid GDCC210 are highly spoken of for the home/light commercial category.

[Mxchino]

Thank you. I have decide to go with FT instead of CC. I'm still deciding the brands now.

Good choice. I had the body solid deluxe cable crossover. I bought it used for $400and just sold it this week for $1600 I took that money and bought a brand new functional trainer.

[Mxchino]

I'm not sure what's available to you, but both the Inspire FT1 and Body-Solid GDCC210 are highly spoken of for the home/light commercial category.

I just bought the bodycraft hft. I compared it to the body solid and it was just the better machine. Not quite as smooth as the inspire models but pretty damn close. The inspires were all sold out but it wasn’t such a difference that I regret my decision.

[Deep-Voiced-One]

I just bought the bodycraft hft. I compared it to the body solid and it was just the better machine. Not quite as smooth as the inspire models but pretty damn close. The inspires were all sold out but it wasn’t such a difference that I regret my decision.

Nice, does the Bodycraft HFT include the attachments similar to the Inspire FT1?

[Mxchino]

Nice, does the Bodycraft HFT include the attachments similar to the Inspire FT1?

It does. Straight bar, hand straps and ankle strap, assisted pull-up attachment, chains, rope and a sport stick.

[BIG ACH]

The new XFT from Bodycraft also seems to be really awesome too - the straight bar is a lot more versatile that the FT2 and the weight can be doubled to 400 lbs on it

https://www.bodycraft.com/xft-functional-trainer.html

[Mxchino]

The new XFT from Bodycraft also seems to be really awesome too - the straight bar is a lot more versatile that the FT2 and the weight can be doubled to 400 lbs on it

https://www.bodycraft.com/xft-functional-trainer.html

That’s pretty cool.

[bad689]

Good choice. I had the body solid deluxe cable crossover. I bought it used for $400and just sold it this week for $1600 I took that money and bought a brand new functional trainer.

Today I went to a company warehouse that sell body solid CC. Unfortunately it was ex-display and it wasn't in good shape and they're selling it for 1900 USD. This company imported lots of body solid equipments and they have bad management, lots of people in the gym equipment industries in here has been saying the company is toast. As you guys can see from the price, its just horrible down here. I should have bought inspire FT1 when it was available through Aibi Indonesia for around 2300 USD. Now the company that sells FT1 went bankrupt here. I guess the best option that i have now is the DHZ functional trainer which sells for 3150 USD.