All-in-one trainers usually do well in the home gym market because they provide affordability, ease of use and reduced space requirements. While there are many of these machines on the market today that are of high quality and will give users a great workout, there are just as many that are poorly constructed and will end up being more trouble than they’re worth.
Bowflex Trainers
Probably the most popular “all-in-one” weight training machine on the market today is Bowflex. The reason that Bowflex is so popular among home gym enthusiasts is because it really works. The Bowflex Power Rod technology makes the machine easy to use and highly effective.
The Power Rod design provides continual resistance throughout the entire repetition of each exercise (this is great during a super-slow training routine).
The only real drawback that I’ve been able to detect in the Bowflex is that in some models, certain exercises have a limited range of motion. However, in the more expensive models, even that isn’t a real problem.
While Bowflex is a good example of an all-in-one weight training machine that is effective, there are plenty out there that are not. Just as you’ll find with most types of home gym equipment, some is of high quality and worth the investment, while some won’t provide you with a full year of workouts.
Universal Trainers
These usually provide a combination of different stations to allow the user to get a full body workout on just one machine. The problem, though, is that many of these machines are poorly constructed.
While club quality universal trainers offer great workouts, home gym quality machines tend to fall short. The biggest problems that I’ve found with home quality universal trainers are instability and limited range of motion.
Now, the instability problem can stem from shoddy engineering or operator error. If you’re trying to set up your universal weight machine and you don’t have the instructions out there’s a good chance that you’ll notice a little instability in your new equipment!
Once you do buy home gym equipment, it’s extremely important that you set it up according to the instructions in order to get the safest and most effective workout possible.
The range of motion limitation that, in my opinion, plagues the home gym quality universal trainers usually occurs when a manufacturer tries to combine two different exercises in one station and ends up limiting motion in both. The most common occurrence of this is the interchangeable preacher curl and leg extension station.
If you’re considering buying a universal trainer, or any all-in-one weight machine, the best advice that I can give you is test it before you buy it. I don’t mean go and do two reps with no weight – I mean really test the equipment out. Use the amount of weight that you expect to begin working out with, make sure you adjust the equipment to fit your frame and then do a bunch of reps.
By doing this, you may find that a machine has sticking points, poor range of motion, improper fit to your frame and a variety of other issues; or, you may find that it’s your personal dream machine and buy it on the spot. The point is, you won’t know unless you really test it out before you make your decision.
So, to answer the question, do all-in-one trainers really work – yes, they do, but it’s up to you to find out which ones work the best for you.
|
Related posts on HomeGymJunkie.com
