Customer Reviews

Powertec WB-MS Workbench Multi System (Gray)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a great system for home fitness.

Everything has its price however...Your first workout is hauling it in from the curb and assembling. Make sure you get some help for the hauling part. The unit comes in a half dozen large heavy boxes. Good news is its heavy because its a solid near commercial grade system.

Assembly looks much harder than it is. Just take your time and reference the picture frequently. It wouldn't hurt to have help for this step but it isn't nesessary. I had mine together in about 5 hours...not bad when you consider how substantial this thing is.

Pros
I like the fact that it uses Olympic Plates...gives you verstility. If you have a "Play it Again Sports" or any second hand sporting good store near you you can pick up olympic plates for half what they normally cost. Plan on buying a lot of plates as its a huge time saver to have wieghts for each station...less plate changing.

You can work to exaustion with this system without a spotter. Drawback of course is you don't get the core workout you would with free wieghts. Work in some dumbell routines and you'll be fine here.

All the basic stations are here. Great incline/decline bench; Lats, Tris, Abs, leg lift, amazing squat station.

Footprint is very conservative for all the stations. If you're putting this on carpet make sure you buy some good rubber mats for underneath. These can be expensive but shop around. I found some at Second Wind Fitness for 65 bucks each. They're as much as twice that on some sites.

Construction is commercial grade. I've been using it for a year and a half with no issues.

Value --You are getting a very substantial system for the money.

Cons
You do need to buy a lot of plates to avoid moving them around. This is important if you're doing circuit training and want to keep the heart pumping

You don't get the core workout you would with free weights...but if you lift alone you can't push to exaustion with free wieghts.

You won't be moving this thing on a whim. Chose wisely.

I just finished assembling this unit. It took me about 4 - 5 hours. I am VERY impressed with the quality of this home gym. It is very close to commercial grade.

My wife and I used to frequent the local gym prior to the birth of our children. Now with two little ones, we've found it almost impossible to get to the gym. So, we considered building a home gym to give us more opportunities to work out at night or in the morning. I also had a height requirement since my basement ceilings are only 78" high. This gym is proving to be perfect. Its multi-station environment provides a perfect opportunity for my wife and I to work out at the same time. The leverage system allows me to work out with heavier weights without a spotter, and the multitude of exercises (about 20) give a well rounded work out.

Don't be fooled by the 82" height description. It fits in my 78" basement (just fits) and we can do all exercises. The only potential issue is with the squat if you are over 6' 2". I'm 6'2 and my head just touches the ceiling on a squat. If you are shorther than 6'2" and your ceiling is 78" or higher, there are no worries.

This gym is marketed towards power lifting, but its is very well suited for amateur lifting as well as lighter weight tone lifting for women. Outstanding purchase...we're very satisfied. Good luck.

I had two friends over to visit, after seeing the weight set, both commented that it must have cost me $2500-$3000. It is a high quality commercial grade weight set that is almost a bargain for what you'll pay for it. I really like the pulldown, squat/leg raise, arm curl and bench press. The leg extension is okay. The ab curl just doesn't do it for me. Putting the set together was a significant chore and I had to request two missing bolts from the manufacturer (which they very quickly replaced). After you get the set put together, you'll realize that you could not have purchased anything better for the money you spent.

I lift heavy and have been using this for over a year now. The bench is great for this type of setup - a lot of positions from deep decline to straight up.

My only issue is that the weight you put on the lat pull is not as heavy as what you put on there. I have to put a little over 50 pounds over my body weight on it before I can't pull it down by just hanging on it. Not a big enough deal to complain about - just an annoyance.

Otherwise perfect, good price, and worth every penny. I got mine as a floor model from a dealer, so assembly wasn't an issue for me and my price was $1250. After using it though, I'd pay full price in a heartbeat if I had to.

I considered giving this product two stars - it was that hard to put together. You would think that for a $1200 price tag they could at least label the nuts and bolts and parts. It took almost 10 hours to put this thing together just because NOTHING is labelled. There are conflicting parts lists and I had to go to the hardware store twice to buy bolts that were missing.

Once it's put together the machine looks nice and gives a good workout (although that's another area where instructions on using the machine could be vastly improved.) COME ON POWERTEC - make this a perfect ownership experience by improving your documentation.

I have had this product now for 1 week. It took me around 8 hours to build, however, I got hung up on a couple of items that took some time. Also, the instructions are rather poor. You have six pictures to work with, but with no stepp by step instructions. This could be improved.

Bottom line, it was worth all the hard work. The machine is well designed and you get a very good workout. My wife and I have worked out on the machine at the same time. She also really likes it. The only dissadvantage is the leg curl for someone of my height. I'm 6'4 and the pads are at my lower shins vs. my ankles. Aside from that, I love this machine. It looks great and I actually look forward to working out! I highly recommend this machine to anyone!

One last thought. Be sure to plan to spend some extra money on the weights. I actually found some used at a local store. If you can't find used, plan on spending at least $1 per pound.

I bought the POWERTEC MULTI GYM roughly a month ago (and paid for assembly), and LOVE it. It's very well made, able to handle quite a bit of weight, and give you smooth, stable motion which is generally not available on most home gyms.

POSITIVES: The SQUAT motion is nice once you get used to leaning back a bit... Good CALF RAISE stretch... The BENCH PRESS is fully adjustable and gives you a nice smooth motion all the way from decline through a steep INCLINE PRESS... The seat can be shifted back for back support on a MILITARY/OVERHEAD PRESS, but I personally prefer using the bench flat doing overhead presses without back support. I like the feel of the incline press and overhead/military press better than the equipment I've used at the gym I've gone to for years. The LAT PULLDOWN feels great and is very smooth (and can handle over 400lbs)... One thing that really convinced me to buy this gym was the PRIECHER CURL movement, which gives me good resistance through the full range of motion, is fully adjustable, and has a much better feel than any other home gym I've tried (even better than the professional level bicep machines at my regular gym)... The attached bicep grip works great, but if you want to "change it up" for a different feel, you can attach the tricep pushdown bar and chain to it. I've even used the priecher curl machine to do free weight priecher curls by adjusting the pad up, and resting the free weight bar back on the weights for the curl machine (hard to describe, but works/feels very good).

NEGATIVES: The LEG EXTENTION is basically useless as it doesn't go back far enough to give you a decent stretch... The AB CRUNCH SETUP is awkward and basically useless... While the ROW pad attachment and grip may look "cool", the lack of stretch and awkward/uneven resistance through the motion make it basically useless (at least to me). The TRICEP PUSHDOWN bar/attachment (which gets attached to the lap pulldown) functions and feels okay (at best) as it's a bit awkward and the resistance varies throughout the movement... BUT WITH ALL OF THAT BEING SAID, the positives so far outweigh the negatives (especially in comparison to other home gyms I've tried) that I still believe this is an amazing home gym, and probably the best home gym "out there", especially at this price point.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW... Be prepared to spend some decent money on olympic free weight plates, as it's really quite a pain to have to keep loading and unloading... and moving 45s back and forth between the stations. I've already bought 600lbs worth, and will probably end up buying some more. As assembly (which I paid someone to do) is a bear, it would be very difficult and/or costly to move this should you decide to relocate...

OVERALL, this is a great, high quality home gym... The squat, bench press, military press, lap pulldown, and curl motions are second to none, especially for a home gym. It's able to comfortably handle a lot of weight, and is very comparable (in my opinion) to "gym quality" equipment.

I was on the verge of buying a Bowflex when I found the Powertec WB-MS.
After considering the mechanics of the two units, I went with the WB-MS because those Bowflex "Power Rods" don't reach their rated resistance level until they are at maximum flex.

I've had my WB-MS just over a year, and overall I'm pleased with it. As mentioned in other reviews, Powertec doesn't do you any favors in terms of documentation. The assembly drawings are a little hard to read, and I spent a lot of time measuring bolts to determine which ones to use because not all of the hardware is labeled. It took me about 9 hours over 2 days to assemble the unit.

There are basically only two things about the WB-MS that annoy me. The first is the preacher curl attachment. The joints for the arm support and the curl bar have quite a bit of play in them. As a result, the arm support wobbles excessively, and you feel 'slop' in the curl bar when you start the curling motion. You can still give your arms a good work out, but I've found that an unexpected movement in the arm support can be distracting.

The other issue I have is that there is no height adjustment on the bench, and, at least for me at 5'10", the bench is about 1" too high to keep my feet comfortably on the floor when using the bench press. I rest each foot on a 35lb. plate to increase my comfort level when benching. This isn't a problem on the seated shoulder press; only when laying flat on the bench.

Finally, I bought the unit with the idea that my wife could use it as well, and she does use it some, particularly the ab curl. However, she finds the shoulder supports on the squat station are too wide; likewise with the hand grips on the bench press arm. I install the shrug / close-grip bench bar across the hand grips so she can do bench presses. Not much I can do about the squat station, though. My wife claims it was designed more for men than women.

All in all, this is a good, sturdy home gym with a few minor annoyances.

I have had this model (WB-MS) for almost three years now, and here is the simple breakdown of how I have used it:
1. It is powerlifting-tested...The bench press held close to 600 pounds and worked smoothly.
2. The pull-down portion squeaks after 300 pounds, but still holds up.
3. If you put the Preacher curl attachment on, at the highest setting so that you have to stand to use it, attach a chain plus two hooks to the chain, and connect it to the abdominal curl. You can stand facing the machine itself, and pull the chain in a make-shift EXTREME ARMWRESTLING MACHINE motion to increase your armwrestling tendons and ligaments...you have just converted your WB-MS into an armwrestling exercise machine.
4. I welded a heavy bar to the handles of the pull-down portion, basically turning it into a "pull-up, pull-down" bar. This sucker can take the full weight and feel like a real pull-up, but sitting down (sit down with your front touching the back-rest of the abdominal curl, and you will find it is a more "natural" pulling motion...it really blasts the lats.

Bought this unit used on Ebay. Unit I bought was a little older. At least 5 years old. Have been working out on it for a few weeks. Had a Bowflex Elite and was working out on it for the last few years. Could barely move after a week from being so sore. The unit I bought was missing a few pieces-preacher curl and lat row/bicep bar. Called Powertec part department. Very difficult to get through. There is only one guy who works the phones. Finally got the replacement parts. Powertec has had many variations of this model and he seemed not sure of each one. He finally sent me the owners manuals for the last three models and I was able to see the parts I needed and then ordered them. Get your self a set of adjustable dumbells, a 3:1 bench and a plate loaded lat machine and you will be set. Will be selling my Bowflex and getting these additional items to complete my workout. Powertec has changed the supply company that provides the parts for assembly of this unit. Have been told that the new models are not as hardy. If you want to get the accessories and you have a older model like me, you will have to buy a new workbench since only the newer ones have the receptor to accept these add ons(chest fly, dip, leg press)