Multi-Gyms – The good, the bad, and the ugly
That’s why we stand by the fact that not all multi-gym equipment is created equal. Just take one look at our selection of multi-gyms and you will realize that we bring something different to the table, and the differences are far more than cosmetic. To find out more about the pitfalls of buying a cheap multi-gym, and the difference quality can make to your home workout sessions, read on down the page.
The mere mention of the term “home gym” can send a shiver down the spine of any serious weight trainer. Multi-gyms or multi-station gyms as they are also known can be pretty cheap and nasty. If you have ever searched for gym equipment online, you will be familiar with the plethora of cable-style home gyms that are very attractively priced. They promise the workout of your life, but the best workout you will ever get from these multi-gyms is dragging them out to the front of your house for the next council rubbish pick-up!
To minimize their footprint, most manufacturers will use a weight stack. This requires the use of cables. Now, cables are fine as long as they follow simple paths. But on multi-gyms with multiple exercises, the paths are long and complicated. Often this results in a mechanical advantage – so you might only need 50kg of force to lift 90kgs. This isn’t good if the machine only comes with a 90kg weight stack. Complicated cable routes also generate uneven resistance curves. So during an exercise, the resistance will be stronger during different parts of the exercise. This often gets worse over the life of the multi-gym as the cables start to stretch and the pulleys deteriorate.
Are there any decent multi-gyms out there?
A good quality cable home gym is fine, but they can be very expensive. The cheap multi gyms that are on eBay and Gumtree are just a disaster. Not only do they have terrible biomechanics and the issues outlined above, but the cables and pulleys fail as they are poorly made. I always tell people that these types of gyms are great only if you don’t ever use them!
This is where the original Powertec Leverage Gyms took a completely different approach.
The original designer of the Powertec gyms was part of the team that developed the early leverage machines that you see in commercial gyms today. He had the idea to combine these elements into single machines for home use – make gym equipment that had the look and feel of the commercial leverage machines but at a fraction of the cost and space.
The result was revolutionary. Personally, I took one look at these machines on the Powertec US website and was blown away. It was one of the reasons why I started Sam’s Fitness. I just had to get these multi-gyms into Australia!
What sets these multi-gyms apart from the competition?
What I and the rest of the customers who have made these multi-gyms so successful globally liked about these gyms was the simplicity and functionality of their design. Instead of trying to cram as many exercises as possible into a single machine, they have included the exercises that deliver the most bang for your buck. You can do the compound movements like bench press, squats, lat pulldowns, and rows. All with very generous weight load capacities.
Even better, these multi-gyms utilized leverage on most exercises – so you are able to load weight plates instead of being restricted to a weight stack. This meant some exercises could use up to 500lbs! Plus it eliminated the need for complicated cable paths. For the exercises that did use a cable, the paths were simple so you get direct and smooth resistance.
Later on, ATX took the Powertec designs and applied their German design philosophies with great success.
Now a lot of weight training enthusiasts will still turn their noses up at these leverage-style gyms. These trainers generally only worship one God – the barbell – and nothing can sway them. What they don’t take into consideration is that some people simply don’t like training with barbells. There is a lot of setups that take place as you get the barbell into position. The multi-gyms avoid this as you just throw your plates on and away you go.
The ATX Triplex is much more compact than a power rack gym. Its bench detaches, so you have even more flexibility in how you house your gym.
But what I like most about these multi-gyms is the almost limitless variety of exercises that you can perform with them. I mentioned previously that these gyms were initially designed to perform critical exercises with optimal functionality. However, over time, users from all around the world have come up with new exercises or variations on old favorites. Even after playing around with these gyms for over 10 years, I am still learning new things about these multi-gyms.
Still not convinced about their effectiveness? Lee Priest has used the multi-gyms in both the US and Australia. You will see many videos of him throwing around a lot of weight on these gyms – he even trained on these machines exclusively for his preparation for the San Francisco Pro, which he won.
Even the barbell fanboys have to be impressed with that!
