I did not purchase this Gym from Amazon. I researched different Gyms online and also visited people who gave craigslist ads trying to sell their Gym. Comparing and trying others, I found that this machine has all that I need for upper body and core. Also, the space requirements are reasonable. I was discouraged to buy because others say it is very hard to assemble. I am fairly good with my assembly skills but what if I couldn''t??Then I found a factory outlet in Chicago where they have a lot of Gyms assembled on display. I was able to actually compare different Bodysolid models including their bestseller EXM 1500 and 2500. I felt this model is better.. well the 2500 has 2 stations but still...
One primary issue is that this model is hard to assemble. But the outlet provides delivery and assembly at a reasonable rate. The floor manager was very informative. So I decided to take a chance.
It took 2 delivery people to take this to my house to the place I want. It took them 2.5 hours to assemble. They had done this before so they knew what they were doing. I was told that things are different in assembly now than before. There is a booklet that company provides that gives more detailed instructions than before. When I saw it, I think I could have assembled it in 6-7 hours by myself. There is still a correction page they provide that overrides the booklet instructions. This tells me they are still struggling to make it simple. Now I don''t know if they have changed any construction items from the previous model but at least the assembly instructions are simplified than before. Still I will advise to use such professional services unless you have done such things in the past and good at such things because there are many parts.
Now, about the Gym itself. I do not have the optional leg press so will talk about the main Gym. It is not a professional Gym quality but I find the quality decent. The weights are metal and overall everything look and feel solid construction. It provides 6 functions: Multi-Press Arms,Lat Pulldown/High PulleyStation,Ab Crunch/Mid Pulley,Functional Pulleys,Leg Curl,Seated Row/Low Pulley. Do visit Body solid website for more details on its capabilities to decide if it is for you. They have the assembly guide there also. I do not think you need to add more weights unless you are into heavy lifting but that is an option provided as well.
It gives a decent exercise overall but I do not think it can replace gym. I think they should have given a DVD or at least a guide that give exercise chart. The pulleys work find except for sometimes the two back moving pulleys touch each other kind of trying to overlap, this makes the motion of the cable motion jerky. It it not a five star gym but you may like it if you compare it with different gyms. Also Amazon should reduce the price because there are places that sell it cheaper. I wouldn''t write review on this but thought I should share my experience because people may just dismiss this looking at the other two one star rating.
The first problem is that there are a LOT of parts. Putting this together along with the PLPX Leg Press took approximately 8 hours (and I am typically able to assemble even complicated items fairy quickly). the diagrams for assembly are not that easy to read and can lead you to assemble some parts incorrectly.
The second issue is that there are NO instructions or diagrams on how to properly use this product once it is assembled. I''m a (hopefully) former lazy guy who purchased this gym as part of my overall exercise equipment to get into better shape. I don''t have a lot of experience with gyms, but this product assumes you know what you are doing. When I called Powerline to ask if they had anything to help me with the use of their product, I was told that they only provide use instructions with their "higher end" gyms. While I do understand this is not the most expensive gym possible, it''s far from the low end of home gyms. I do not think that it is unreasonable to expect Powerline provide use instructionsfor their product. After pushing the Powerline phone support person, he got permission from his supervisor to send me an instructional video for another model gym. Hopefully I will be able to use this to help me develop my exercise plan and utilize this equipment correctly.
So...if you don''t mind taking the time to do the assembly and you are experienced and know in advance how to properly use the equipment, this is a good buy. If you are not experienced (like me), you''ll be left thinking that you paid almost $1000 ($1300 with the optinal leg press) for a gym that you then have to go figure out how to use on your own. It is very disappointing that Powerline did not make the small investment necessary to help it''s customers use the equipment they purchase.This thing is a nightmare to put together. It might be a good machine but I''ll probably never know. There is not one page in the "manual" that tells you how to use this machine. That is why it gets one star. The so called manual tells you, on page 45, to refer to the enclosed poster for routines. What poster? There is a bag of nylon straps and one with six metal clips and no indication of what they are for. Stay away from this company and deal with one that at least tells the customer how to use their product.
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