ASSEMBLY: For starters, the assembly of this unit is not nearly as hard as I have read in other reviews. With that said, you cannot just tear open all of the packages at once and expect to find what you need when you get to a certain step. It is crucial to keep things organized and be sure to reference the page that outlines each step and in turn flip back and forth to the page(s) where they show each part and its identifying number. This will help you ensure that you re using the right parts for any specific step.
There are three (3) boxes in all. I would recommend opening boxes 1 of 3 and 2 of 3 first as those two contain all of the parts for the smith machine. Box 3 of 3 is for the bench only so leave that one until you finish the smith machine. If you have the room, use a staging area where you can lay out all of the parts for the smith machine and pair up any parts where they are identical as you have to build two sides to the smith machine. Be sure not to only hand tighten the bolts until the directions say otherwise. If you do tighten the bolts to soon, it will make it difficult to align pieces in the steps that follow.
The most complex part of building the smith machine is assembling the cable system. You will really need to take your time and follow those steps very carefully. The cabling comes intertwined so you will need to separate the cables as they are required in different steps. The only frustrating part with the cabling was that they are so tightly wound that I had trouble straightening them out for the install. So if you have a way to stretch those out I would recommend do ing that while you assemble the smith machine framework. Once all of the pieces are together makes ure you go back and tighten per the instructions.
Overall, very well made and very sturdy. I wouldn't call it commercial gym quality but definitely worth the price. Now on to the functioning of the gym.
SMITH: In terms of using the gym, the overall functioning is pretty good. The smith press is very smooth and is one of my favorite features. The "catch" mechanism on the smith machine works very well and makes it very easy to latch the bar at different heights while working out.
PREACHER/LEG ATTACHMENT: The preacher curl attachment is very smooth. You don't get a full range of motion BUT your arms are in the range of being "engaged" throughout the entire motion so that is good. If set to the proper height, you can also use a standard curl bar with the preacher also which is what I do to mix things up. The leg exercises work very well also and you can do both leg curls and extensions on the unit.
PULLEYS: The pulley system leaves a little bit to be desired and that is why I gave the unit 3 stars. I find the tension to be lacking when you are letting the weights go back to the starting position. As an example, in doing tricep pushdowns, there is good tension on the way down but the pulley system seems to lack a "smooth glide" on the way back to the starting position. I was using roughly 50lbs (evenly distributed on each side of the weight holders (which s key for this system) so the action should have been much smoother.
BENCH: The bench is excellent in terms of quality and has multiple positions including decline which is great. I wish it had wheels on one end so that it can be moved around a little easier. It isn't as heavy as a commercial bench so it is still manageable. My only complaint with the bench is the "pin" used to hold the bench in position. The "pin" has to be screwed into place which makes changing bench angles take a little longer. I wish this was more of a hinge pin so that changing positions could be done more efficiently.
ATTACHMENTS: The pulley attachments are all really nice and good quality.
WEIGHT HOLDERS: The weight holder on the side of the cage are great for storing weights when not in use. They are steel bars and during assembly, you have to mount plastic sleeves over them in order to mount the Olympic weight plates. All of the bars have these "sleeves" (smith, pulley weight holder, etc) so this unit could be used with standard weights also.
In case you missed it, I rated this 3 stars because I feel the pulley system needs to be improved upon.
I hope this was helpful. I will plan to add photos to my review when I get a chance so you can see the setup, etc.
- Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account
