Leg Extention / Curl - standalone or bench attachment?

[gipper53]

Hey Gang,

So I have a few questions on getting some equipment allowing for leg extension and curl . I'd classify myself as a beginner lifter, basically spent the last 9 months doing cardio and Fierce 5 to lose a bunch of fat (gone from 235 to 183lbs at 5'-10"). Main reason I ask this is at some point in the future I plan to progress to the Fierce 5 intermediate routine and leg curls/extensions are in the workout. They are currently the only exercises I cannot perform with my current equipment. For reference, my home gym has the following equipment:

Titan T3 power rack
Oly barbell and 350ish lbs of plates (pair of 45lb bumpers in there)
Cheapo FID bench
Valor Fitness CB-12 hi/low cable machine with various attachments
Spinlock dumbbells handles and a bunch of standard weight plates
Decent but not great treadmill
Resistance bands

I want to upgrade my crappy bench to a better model. Looking at FID, I have limited and chopped up floor space and don't want to shuffle multiple benches. Some models I'm considering have the leg developer attachments. The current leader for me is the Ironmaster Super Bench, largely because of the compact size and adaptability.

To the questions: are any leg developers for benches any good? I tried one on a Body Solid GFID 100 at a local store and it just felt awkward. Motion didn't feel natural to me. Never tried the one on the SuperBench, so no idea. Bench options just seem half baked in my limited experience.

The other possibility (though not ideal), I could move some stuff around in the basement and add a dedicated leg curl/extension machine like the Body Solid Cam Series. Just not sure if this machine offers enough benefit to add to my gym???? Or would a GHD be a better use of the floor space?

Are leg curls/extensions a valuable enough exercise that I should dedicate what little space I have to a specific machine? Or just stick with a so-so option with a bench attachment?

[jdboyd78]

I'd focus on getting the highest quality adjustable bench as possible for now. I have a dedicated plate loaded curl/extension bench, I'd recommend going that route at some point.

Looking at your list, my first priority would be getting a solid bench first.

[gipper53]

I'd focus on getting the highest quality adjustable bench as possible for now. I have a dedicated plate loaded curl/extension bench, I'd recommend going that route at some point.

Looking at your list, my first priority would be getting a solid bench first.

Thanks for the reply. A bench is definitely top of the list and I'm ready to buy. In fact, I just callled a local Play it Again Sports and they have new Body Solid GFID 225 benches on sale for $200. It was not on my list, but seriously thinking of picking one up at that price. Cheapest I can find online for it is about $275.

[gym62richard]

No competition here, a dedicated leg ext/curl bench is the way to go. I'm not a fan of utility benches that accept attachments.

I'd look for a used commercial seated leg extension/supine curl,, if that's not possible, I used to have the Body Solid GLCE 365, this is a very decent bench of light commercial/commercial quality, nothing fancy, seated extensions and lying curls. Not quite the feel of a high end commercial unit, but will do the job.

Do not confuse the GLCE 365 with the Body Solid seated ext/curl cam bench, this one is a pos.

[jdboyd78]

Thanks for the reply. A bench is definitely top of the list and I'm ready to buy. In fact, I just callled a local Play it Again Sports and they have new Body Solid GFID 225 benches on sale for $200. It was not on my list, but seriously thinking of picking one up at that price. Cheapest I can find online for it is about $275.

Hit craigslist and see what you can get.

I'd go with a flat/incline adjustable and leave out the decline, get way more bang for you buck that way. If you ever really need decline, get a dedicated decline bench.

[CraigThoreson]

Ordered the Ironmaster Super Bench for the wife with the leg curl/ extension arm. Should be here next week sometime.

[gipper53]

Well I went ahead and bought the Body Solid GFID 225 from Play it Again Sports today. After getting a few bucks on trade for my old bench, the price was just too good to ignore. It's not the perfect bench, but I like what I see so far and it should do me fine for a while. Many would say the backrest is too narrow for serious bench work. It's a huge improvement from what I had and it's a nice size in my small area. Plus it folds up so if needed I may add a basic flat bench and can stash this one out of the way, which makes having two benches more feasible.

Thanks for the info on the leg extension machine. That GLCE 365 is nice, may see what I can do about adding one in the near future. Need to rearrange my basement a bit to fit that in....

[gipper53]

Hit craigslist and see what you can get.

I'd go with a flat/incline adjustable and leave out the decline, get way more bang for you buck that way. If you ever really need decline, get a dedicated decline bench.

Man...I've tried but I have terrible luck with Craigslist. Seems every time I reach out to someone they either don't reply or it was sold days ago. I'm seriously like 0 for 7 on trying to buy stuff off craigslist. Plus there is rarely good stuff that I want in my area, mostly cheap crap or large commercial equipment that I'm not willing to cram in my basement. I'm often too impatient to play the craigslist waiting game, especially when I have cash in hand

[gipper53]

No competition here, a dedicated leg ext/curl bench is the way to go. I'm not a fan of utility benches that accept attachments.

I'd look for a used commercial seated leg extension/supine curl,, if that's not possible, I used to have the Body Solid GLCE 365, this is a very decent bench of light commercial/commercial quality, nothing fancy, seated extensions and lying curls. Not quite the feel of a high end commercial unit, but will do the job.

Do not confuse the GLCE 365 with the Body Solid seated ext/curl cam bench, this one is a pos.

Mind if I ask why to avoid the cam bench model and go with the GLCE 365? Most reviews rate the cam model pretty well. I've never used either so I'm curious. I see the cam model has no adjustments to the leg roller so if it's not in the best spot for your height then you're SOL. Thanks!

[gym62richard]

Mind if I ask why to avoid the cam bench model and go with the GLCE 365? Most reviews rate the cam model pretty well. I've never used either so I'm curious. I see the cam model has no adjustments to the leg roller so if it's not in the best spot for your height then you're SOL. Thanks!

Certainly the worst two Body Solid pieces I ever used were the cam leg ext/curl and cam bicep/triceps benches.

The strength curve on both units is just all wrong. Despite there being a number of adjustment positions, irrespective of where I placed the pop pin on the cam wheel it never felt right. For me at leas fart too light at the starting position. With this range Body Solid attempted to get two functions out of one machine and Imo failed miserably.

If you search the cam leg/ext bench here on the forum, I don't think you'll find much love for this particular piece.

[gipper53]

Certainly the worst two Body Solid pieces I ever used were the cam leg ext/curl and cam bicep/triceps benches.

The strength curve on both units is just all wrong. Despite there being a number of adjustment positions, irrespective of where I placed the pop pin on the cam wheel it never felt right. For me at leas fart too light at the starting position. With this range Body Solid attempted to get two functions out of one machine and Imo failed miserably.

If you search the cam leg/ext bench here on the forum, I don't think you'll find much love for this particular piece.

Thanks for the info! I think I'm going to have the GLCE 365 as the next item on my list. Fitness Factory sells refurbs for $419, which seems like a decent deal assuming they don't arrive beat to hell. I'll keep an eye out locally for a while on CL. There is a local fitness warehouse that gets a lot of used stuff like this and their prices are pretty good. I may contact them and say if they get one to give me a call.