05/23/12:
I purchased this at Walmart for $499 Plus Tax and Ship to Store. It comes in 5 boxes, 4 for the weights, and one long box for all of the parts to the gym. Its the best one at this price for 2 separate weight stacks. There are 8 12.5 lb weight stacks. I purchased Adler weight adapters to add 2.5lbs or 5lbs so I can raise the weight in parallel with what I use at the gym.
Pros:
-The System is pretty solid overall. It has 2 individual weight stacks that are adjustable. Assembly isn''t too bad. You might need another person to hold some things steady, but I got through most of the building in a few hours no problem with a hand here and there.
-The Pull-Up/ Chin-Up Bar is pretty thick. I feel it is either an Olympic Grip or slightly larger which you rarely see on any piece of home gym equipment.
-Takes many attachments. I purchased a Body Solid Press Bar, Gold''s Gym Tricep Rope, and Champion Straight Bar; all work no problem. It comes with a good set of handles which I believe may be Nylon.
-Moves Very Smooth
Cons:
-I had a problem placing a pin into one of the weight selector holes and called up the number listed on the manual. They sent me a set of extra parts to try and fix my problem. I found that some of the holes were not drilled large enough so I used a Step-Bit to make them larger. Its a manufacturing flaw, but they will send you a new piece free of charge under the warranty, or you can be impatient and do it yourself.
Random Data:
-Width of the Gym Pulley to Pulley is about 51"
-Grease is Teflon (Dark Yellow Type of Grease)
-Will need a few additional tools, ie, Hammer, Screw Driver, 17mm Wrench, Adjustable Wrench.
Short answer:
This thing would have been 5 stars if the handles were better and there was more weight in smaller increments.
Long answer:
First off, assembly is going to take at least an hour or two and you''ll probably need help. That isn''t a negative, just a fact...if you want something easier, get a set of dumbbells. If you have to do it by yourself, put the adjustable pulleys on the vertical support before you attach the supports to the base, then you won''t have to try to slide them on while holding the whole mess in the air. When bolting the top on, put a little tape on the tip of the hex wrench to hold the bolts while you get them started (you will know when you get to this part...probably right after you drop a bolt in the hole). Also, don''t tighten anything until you get the top on, you will need to push/pull things around a little to get holes to line up. This isn''t bad construction, just the way it is when you have a lot of heavy-ish metal pieces coming together. Finally, run the cables up and down a bunch of times, twisting as needed, to straighten them before attaching to the weights.
Things I like:
Everything moves smoothly, and it is easy to adjust.
Multi-position handle gives you a ton of different ways to exercise.
The whole thing is very stable when doing pull-ups or using the cables.
The design means it can fit pretty well into a corner (it''s wider than 90 degrees, but not by much).
With two stacks, you and your spouse/other can exercise together or you can set one side up for curls and the other for extensions to get more done in less time.
Things I didn''t like:
The rope handle is too long (or the tower is too short) to use for push-down triceps extensions (I''m only 5-10, so it isn''t because I''m too tall).
It''s not quite big enough to be used as a true cable crossover machine, but you can do most stuff (handle-to-handle width is only about 4 feet)
There are 8 x 12.5 pound weights (each side), so fine-grained weight control isn''t easy. 12.5 pounds is just a little too much for some of my rotator cuff rehab stuff, and 100 pounds is too light for triceps extensions.
The handles aren''t on par with what you are used to at the gym. They are usable but, but not built to last forever.
All that said, it is a pretty good machine for the price. I paid less than five hundred for it, while most two-stack adjustable machines don''t include the weights or cost way more. It is good enough that I''m not taking it back, and I would probably buy it again. If you are only going to have one machine in your basement, this isn''t it. If you need to add a machine with adjustable stacks for various fine muscle exercises, this is a solid buy at about the same price as a many single stack machines.
Buy Gold''s Gym Platinum Functional Trainer Now
I received the exact product I ordered, but most definitely not in the condition that I was promised. The package was completely destroyed, and looks to be that rats had chewed completely through the packaging and chewed on several weight plates. There was also broken screw heads before even assembling. I personally will never order from this seller again. My delivery date was 9/6/12 and it was not received. Then I was given another delivery date of 9/18/12 and once again was not received. I finally received my package on 9/26/12.
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These pants are great for wearing around the house or relaxing after a hard work out.
