Customer Reviews

Body Solid EXM1500S Single Stack Home Gym

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

During High School and in the military, I did a lot of weight training. Ok, I'm not 16 nor 21 anymore. I'm now in my 40's and am an active cyclist, and skier. I bought this machine based upon the Consumer Reports write ups (it was rated number one) so my wife and I can quickly and easily do some strength training. My key requirements were size, Lat and Leg exercises and Durability/Quality. Only way to review this is to break it down a bit:

Assembly: A lot of parts, Directions are passable, but not great. Biggest problem I had was determining which bolt for which hole. It took a good 4 hours to assemble, and I'm pretty good at this kind of stuff.

Customer Support: Had a plate break in shipping, and it took under 2 minutes to get to a human being. (you deal with body solid directly for support.) He made note that a plate was broken and asked me to finish assembly and give him a call back, to make sure I didn't need anything else. I finished up, and had no other issues. Called back to his direct extenision and he drop shipped the plate from the warehouse. I'd say that was great service.

Exercises:
Leg Exercises - Leg lift for Quads is great. The standing one legged hamstring curl, took a bit to get used to but given the small size of the machine, I'll take it.
Bench Press - Very smooth, and you get two hand positions, one for more inner pec and the other for more outer. Downside is that the start position is a little far back, but now that I think about it, I may have the bench arm on backwards. Doh!
Lats/Back - This is where I believe this machine earns it keep. It provides a Lat pulldown, and a seated row position. This was key to me and it performs as expected. (note I'm using this for toning and not body building. A 160 pound stack works for me.)
Shoulders/Arms - The curl bar thats included does has a static handle, so its not good for curls. You will need to purchase a bar that has rotating handles. Since I use dumbbells for these exercises, it didn't matter much. I'm ordering a single rotating curl bar, so my wife can add some exercises.

Overall, I'd say its a great value for someone who wants a smaller in home machine to cover a lot of exercies, and wants to add strength training to their workout. If your looking to get 'Pumped Up', you'd be better with Free weights or a Gym membership. I looked for a used one, but they didn't last very long and had a pretty high resale value. I am certainly happy with my purchase, and now need to flip that bench press attachment around.

Overall, I am very satisfied with this purchase.

1. delivery. It took about 2 weeks from Chicago to southern California. The delivery man moved the 6 boxes into my garage, even though they are only obligated to drop at curbside.

2. assembly. It took over 6 hours to assemble by myself. The instructions are not very clear. There are many bolts and nuts that look very similar, so you need to carefully distinguish the different sizes. The problem is compounded by diagrams that are low quality (low resolution).

3. finished product. The time and effort involved was worth it because the machine is solid and a joy to use. Every motion is smooth and quiet. Very compact. Lifetime warranty is reassuring.

I would have given 5 stars if the instructions were better.

The Body-Solid Home Gym arrived in six boxes in only 10 days. The instructions for assembly were not that great but after taking the time to organize the parts in particular the various sized bolts and associated nuts it went very well. I think the key to assembly is to read over each section carefully and get the exploded view down pat then follow the step by step directions. By the time I was done it took just about five hours and I had a few parts left over. The machine is everything I had hoped for. Its smooth action is a delight and both me and my wife love it already. I missed the workout center but now that I work out of my house the 20 mile round trip into town just didn't make sense. The money was well spent and I am 100% satisfied.

The unit is very well built. I do metal work and have experience with this type of fabrication, and the machining was perfectly alined. The assembly instructions list EVERY part and give a good assembly plan. Remember, there is an assembly order that you need to follow. I advise that you put it together according to the instructions. Materials are packaged well and shipping was handled professionally.

It is difficult to build a "stock" unit that can fit "all" body types. So, the adjustment options to fit each body are limited. But, if you're like me, Joe Average, it's a good fit.

As for the gym function, it works great. I have limited space and need to fit gym, spinner, and free weights into one very tiny room. This is the perfect unit for my setting. Small footprint with versatile functions. Pully bearings are sealed -a big plus for those of us who sweat during a workout. Multiple attachments make upper and lower body exercise variation possible. Range of motion when lifting weight is important. The unit allows for a full range of motion for every type of exercise I can perform.

All in all, a good unit for the price.

This is a very nice machine and the basic exercises are very good. I have a few complaints but the plusses outweigh the minuses.

I really like the small footprint of this unit. I live in a condo and I've got it in my living room. (I'm not married so I can get away with that.)

Shipping:
The components come in several boxes shipped by a freight carrier. Some of my boxes were damaged and one of the white frame pieces was scarred. Not much can be done about that other than packing the thing in a wooden crate.

Assembly:
Very easy to assemble but time consuming. As others mentioned, it's a good idea to sort out all the bolts into labeled ziplock bags to keep track of them.

All pieces were there, thank goodness.

One negative is the instruction manual lists the sizes of some bolts in inches and some in millimeters. They include a diagram of a ruler in inches but, LOL, I found it to be wrong.

One problem I had was the cable attached to the weight stack was too short. I called Body Solid tech support and apparently this was/is a known problem because before I could even explain my problem he told me what it was. They shipped me a D-link to insert inline and the cable is fine now.

Usage:
There was no exercise manual with my unit only a wall poster. The poster only lists 20 exercises. When they shipped me the D-link they included a DVD of exercises. I haven't watched it so perhaps there's more on the DVD.

I found the ab crunch strap very painful to use. Maybe I'm using it wrong but I plan on purchasing the Body Solid Ab Crunch Harness in hopes it works better.

I also plan on getting a Stirrup Handle. Too bad it didn't come with one as several exercises on the poster require one.

I'm very happy with the core exercises (chest, legs, lats). I've only been using it a couple of weeks and I can already see results.

I ordered the Body Solid EXM1500 one weekend; it arrived on Thursday in 6 boxes, with some scuffing and punctures, but nothing major.

If you have a metric socket set, it will pay for itself with this project; if you don't, get one before you even open the boxes. Next, organize the hardware (I used sandwich bags and a Sharpie). Other than a couple of slight discrepancies between the words and the diagrams, assembly is pretty straightforward, though with many parts. They even include a small bottle of touch-up paint!

My Customer Service experience: On Sunday, I found that the base frame was bent. I emailed pics to Customer Service. First thing Tuesday morning an email confirmed the replacement part had shipped. It arrived on Friday, well-packed, in perfect condition, and I completed assembly and began using it Sunday, two weeks after placing the initial order.

Impressively quick response on a replacement for what appears to be the most complex part in the unit. They completely insulated me from any kind of freight claim struggle (a concealed damage claim can cause an entire trucking company to spontaneously go deaf).

A very nicely designed unit, well-thought-out and rugged, with exceptional customer service and a great price. I would certainly do it all over again!

I purchased this gym so my two boys in Jr. High could work out with me. The delivery was quick. It took me a few hours to put together and I didn't have any problems. The machine is smooth and provides a decent workout. I am not to crazy about the leg attachment. This machine is NOT for a person who is above average size. When you sit in the seat to do pull downs there is not a whole lot of room. I am using this machine to stay in shape. If your looking for a machine to have serious workouts, not sure this is it. This machine works well for me and my two boys.

I have purchased Body Solid machines in the past. To me, a product is only as good as the company who backs it as things do tend to go wrong. I moved and left a large unit in the old house. I decided instead of one large unit, I would purchased many smaller stations. I purchased this unit, I started putting it together and one cable was not right. It had just a bare wire at the end. I saw it was not right so I called Body Solid's toll free number. I assumed I would get a run around. However, I described the problem to the technician and he understood right away that the cable was not right. He said they would send another right out via UPS. Again I assumed that it would take weeks. That was 1/14 and it arrived Tuesday 1/19. It might have arrived sooner but Monday was a holiday. I like a company that when you purchase the product you are not alone if something goes wrong. As for the directions, I had no problems putting the unit together. The key is to first take the time (took me about 1 hour) to identify all the screws and pieces by size using the directions. I put each in piles. Also have all the tools you need also in the directions. Then begin assembly. Remember to go slow and check to make sure you followed the steps correctly. Once you assemble most of the frame and when the directions call for the weight stack, you might want to decide where you want the machine exactly as it can be difficult to move once you put the weights on. I hope this review helps.

Well, I had been on the fence for about over a year about getting a home gym for the garage. I've been looking around here and there, and was originally going to buy one of the bowflex machines. The problem with the bowflex machines was that no matter whom I asked, I always received the same response: don't get it, that cable technology and resistence is just not the same as having real weights.

Then I looked around some more, checked the Sports Authority and some other sports stores here in the NW, and couldn't really find a suitable piece for under a grand, and if, they were either too big, or there were $200 transportation costs, etc... Anyways, I browsed Amazon, stumbled upon this gym and it seemed to have all the basics I would need for a regular workout.

Bottom line: Delivery time was about one week. The delivery company called me twice, once to verify my address, and once to schedule a delivery time. I was not able to be at home when it was delivered, but they were ok with leaving it by the door. Very friendly, great experience.

Building the gym was a pain, but definitely do-able. I am not the best handyman in the world, but I do have some experience building Ikea shelves ... ; It took about 7 hours to get it all done, there are lots of bolts and screws, so it takes a while to sort it all. In retrospective though, it was fairly easy and I didn't require anybody else to help me or hold any of the pieces. The manual wasn't the best, but good enough to figure it all out.

The gym feels like the real thing from the fitness clubs, it's compact, stable, it's quite, and you can do all the basic exercises. I don't think that there is anything comparable out on the market for this price (about $650 incl. delivery and tax).

Tried the display model at Sears - this was a few years back- and after just a few minutes I was sold. This little home gym has it all. Just like the product description states, you get a complete work out in minutes. Best of all the footprint is small enough you can fit this in the corner where it's out of the way.

To be a little more specific of what I like about this gym: The geometry, the angles, seat height adjustments, handles and leg cushions, pulleys, and overall build all add up to something that feels like a lot of thought was put into it. You know those machines that frustrate you when you don't get the full extension? None is more frustrating to me than getting on a home gym especially a lat machine where you don't get to reach all the way. This machine even when benching will allow for full extensions. Additionally, you don't waste time transitioning between exercises. The only pause in exercise you really need is the few seconds it takes to lean over and change the weight amount.

Customer service with these guys was also an A+. I had a couple of end caps that were removed, reset, and bent out of shape. The company sent replacements without having to explain myself. If you can find a display somewhere test it out, you'll be surprised.