Favorite gym equipment

[SABAGOY]

With @luki7788 talking about building his own gym, I am going to be building mine out further too, I thought a thread focused around everyone's favorite pieces of equipment might be interesting (last one I could find was pretty old and a lot has changed since then in the equipment game). Maybe start with the machines before getting into specific exercises you can also do with the obvious cable with attachments, smith machines and racks.

This thread could also turn into suggestions on pieces too, I know there are a few things I am going to need and always appreciate suggestions.

Legs:
Leg Press: Nebula 35 degree
Leg Extension: Flex Fitness
Leg Curl: Flex Fitness Hamstractor
Belt Squat: Hammer Strength
Hack Squat: Nebula
Pendulum: Paramount (only one I have had a lot of time on)

Back:
Row: Prime Seated
Chest Supported Row: Aresenal
Pull Down: Power lift (i have this and its a beast with true 300lb stack)

Chest:
Machine: Atlantis Incline
Fly: Prime

Shoulders:
Press: Hammer Strength plate loaded

Triceps:
Not in love with any tricep machines personally.

Biceps:
Nautilus Nitro
Preacher: Strive or Prime Plate loaded

 

[luki7788]

in Poland we train with what we have and not with what we want - most of it is shit matrix or if someone is more lucky technogym

 

[Massive G]

Anything bodymasters from the 1990s early 2000s. Unfortunately it's become a dying brand. Least favorite? All the leverage shit and plastic coated weight plates. Give me that old clanky iron any day of the week.

 

[Aikman56]

The chain-driven Nautilus pullover should be on every back list.

 

[Astro95]

Legs
Watson Tru squat
Atlantis standing calf
Rogers power squat pro
Rogers hip press

Triceps
Panatta French press

Chest
Seated press any brand

Back
Panatta pullover

Chest/Delts
Panatta multi flight

 

[SABAGOY]

Legs
Watson Tru squat
Atlantis standing calf
Rogers power squat pro
Rogers hip press

Triceps
Panatta French press

Chest
Seated press any brand

Back
Panatta pullover

Chest/Delts
Panatta multi flight

Had to look up the Tru Squat, cool piece. My gym has a Rogers hip press and I love using that for unilateral work! I have never tried a piece of Panatta equipment.

 

[buck]

For my gym all equipment would be plate loaded. But i am lazy and don't like to do maintenance work, which cables and chains need more of.

 

[Brock456]

Back - Nautilus lat pull down

Chest - flex fitness incline press

Triceps - Panatta overhead tricep extension

 

[comedycentral]

Personally I wouldn’t bother with flex anymore. The prices have gone insane for stuff that’s good. Flex like anything had good and bad pieces. I sold my flex lying leg curl and tricep extension as neither piece I thought were particularly good.

I have always liked cybex from late 90s early 2000s and again years back my cybex kit was almost given away to me but now those prices have rocketed too.

I know it’s lost its edge a little now but I will say old hammer is still bomb proof for a commercial gym.

Nautilus nitro is good but again silly prices.

Trusquat is good but it’s a bit of a love it or hate it movement.
As massive G said bodymasters is still amazing. Boyer Coe was a partner in it and prior to that he worked at nautilus so knew what he wanted from machines which makes them so good.

 

[comedycentral]

Oh and good luck finding that unicorn nebula leg press without remortgaging your house

 

[Astro95]

Had to look up the Tru Squat, cool piece. My gym has a Rogers hip press and I love using that for unilateral work! I have never tried a piece of Panatta equipment.

I’ve dabbled with a few nice pieces of leg equipment and the Tru Squat is by far my favorite for sadistic quad destruction. Can target anything depending on foot placement, so very nice piece imo also feels quite heavy. I believe it was one of John Meadows favorite leg pieces as well you can find videos on YouTube of him training on it.

Panatta has some nice pieces, guess it depends on what all we come across there’s so many great machines from many different brands. I like them personally my gym has quite a few.

 

[Bashmannutter]

I mostly think prime stuff is a gimmick but the prime extreme row is the best back machine I have used. Just hits all the right places, I feel it nowhere else besides my back.

I like a few bits of Gym80 stuff too.

Watson Seated Hamstring Curls also amazing bit of kit. Locks you in really well.

 

[luki7788]

My dream gym equipment
-seated hamstring curl - old flex
-hacksquat - flex/startrack or atlantis
-leg press - nebula
-pec deck/rear delt - prime
-leg extension - prime
-panatta lat pulldown - plate loaded
-Hammer Strength Plate-Loaded Iso-Lateral Row
-cybex smith

plus some abductor and addctor, hyper ex bench, adjustable bench, barbell, power rack,cable crossover multi station, dumbbells up to 150lbs and I don't need anything else

 

[SABAGOY]

Oh and good luck finding that unicorn nebula leg press without remortgaging your house

Oh yeah, for sure! I was talking to the new owner of my gym (its a gym that's equipment doesn't match the clientele) and they might sell me their Nebula vertical leg press because "no one uses it", could probably get it pretty cheap

 

[bbxtreme]

Old school flex and Cybex hack squat and leg press. The angles are much better than the newer brands IMO.

Flex makes a belt lying leg curl that is killer.

As you said Hammer Strength belt squat tops all others. Only one gym in my area has one and I love it as you can’t bottom out on it like you do other brands.

Hammer strength is king for chest and back. Their MTS chest press was key to adding size to my chest over the last few years.

 

[DecaForDessert]

Here I am drooling, looking up all these machines while I have a rack and barbell for my home gym lmao.

My humble contribution: A dip stand with a weight belt

 

[Mufasa123]

Most of my training is free weights but I do have some favs:

Leg Press: Nebula or BodyMasters late 80s/early 90s (love these and I'd own one if I had the room). Never tried a Pendulum - definitely on my list

Leg Extension: Strive/Prime (I have an old Strive combo unit LE/LC that Prime just re-released)

Functional Trainer: Prime with 2nd to Cybex Bravo (I have an Inspire which is amazing, smooth, and compact if you don't want to pony up big money)

Pullover: Old school Nautilus (I'd own this if I had room too).

Triceps Pushdown/Dip: Bodymasters made an old seated unit that have I have never found a better. Was really a dip style motion but hit tris so hard. Just perfect.

Reverse Hyper: Mine is a custom tilt-top but any of the tilt top commercials work. Rogue is a nice flat unit snd nothing wrong with it.

Adjustable Dumbbells: I think it was Cage who got the new Reppin models in the home gym thread. These look amazing. Otherwise Ironmaster or if you can find an old set of high end Powerblocks (I have these up to 120lbs).

Plates: classic vintage like York or other is cool or Ivanko chrome (don't age well with use!) but I own Ivanko Revolvers, Rogue comp style bumpers, and some standard iron. Plates are by far the most expensive thing in the gym. Buy once, cry once but damn. A lot of cheaper offerings out now. Ivanko is expensive unless you do a big commercial size order (bunch of us went in on one to a central location) and even then it's a premium option. Rogue 6 shooters and other options look nice.

Bars: Eleiko is my favorite but I don't own any. Don't skimp on a bar of all things but plenty of reasonable alternatives that are quality.

 

[DecaForDessert]

Most of my training is free weights but I do have some favs:

Leg Press: Nebula or BodyMasters late 80s/early 90s (love these and I'd own one if I had the room). Never tried a Pendulum - definitely on my list

Leg Extension: Strive/Prime (I have an old Strive combo unit LE/LC that Prime just re-released)

Functional Trainer: Prime with 2nd to Cybex Bravo (I have an Inspire which is amazing, smooth, and compact if you don't want to pony up big money)

Pullover: Old school Nautilus (I'd own this if I had room too).

Triceps Pushdown/Dip: Bodymasters made an old seated unit that have I have never found a better. Was really a dip style motion but hit tris so hard. Just perfect.

Reverse Hyper: Mine is a custom tilt-top but any of the tilt top commercials work. Rogue is a nice flat unit snd nothing wrong with it.

Adjustable Dumbbells: I think it was Cage who got the new Reppin models in the home gym thread. These look amazing. Otherwise Ironmaster or if you can find an old set of high end Powerblocks (I have these up to 120lbs).

Plates: classic vintage like York or other is cool or Ivanko chrome (don't age well with use!) but I own Ivanko Revolvers, Rogue comp style bumpers, and some standard iron. Plates are by far the most expensive thing in the gym. Buy once, cry once but damn. A lot of cheaper offerings out now. Ivanko is expensive unless you do a big commercial size order (bunch of us went in on one to a central location) and even then it's a premium option. Rogue 6 shooters and other options look nice.

Bars: Eleiko is my favorite but I don't own any. Don't skimp on a bar of all things but plenty of reasonable alternatives that are quality.

I hate to ask and sound ignorant, but are more expensive plates just better because they look cool? I bought 1000 lbs of bumper plates for $300 on Facebook and just kinda rock with those.

I guess it is the same as buying nice rims for your car, definitely worth a cool look.

 

[Alan1]

I hate to ask and sound ignorant, but are more expensive plates just better because they look cool? I bought 1000 lbs of bumper plates for $300 on Facebook and just kinda rock with those.

I guess it is the same as buying nice rims for your car, definitely worth a cool look.

One thing to be mindful of is weight tolerances with plates (aka variance between plates). Companies like Rep Fitness and Rogue will list the percentage tolerance for the particular plates you're looking at, as I'm sure most good brands do. Rep and Rogue's cast iron plates for example list 2-3% tolerance.

I'd be wary with cheap ones/brands. Years ago I trained at this little hardcore gym that was local to me. All of their plates were the cast iron Hampton brand. There were times you'd be carrying a 45 in each hand and could easily tell they didn't weigh the same. So at one point they literally got a scale and spent the day weighing out all the plates from 10's through the 45's, and it's laughable how much they all varied. There were differences of up to like 6 pounds or so, and they took Sharpie markers to list on each plate what they actually weighed. If I remember correctly with the 45's, they ranged anywhere from 42.5 on the low end to 48 or 48.5 on the high end. So imagine loading up a barbell for some heavy squats or any other exercise and possibly ending up with one side way heavier than the other, being none the wiser before they wrote out the actual weight and until you unrack that sucker, haha.

 

[DecaForDessert]

One thing to be mindful of is weight tolerances with plates (aka variance between plates). Companies like Rep Fitness and Rogue will list the percentage tolerance for the particular plates you're looking at, as I'm sure most good brands do. Rep and Rogue's cast iron plates for example list 2-3% tolerance.

I'd be wary with cheap ones/brands. Years ago I trained at this little hardcore gym that was local to me. All of their plates were the cast iron Hampton brand. There were times you'd be carrying a 45 in each hand and could easily tell they didn't weigh the same. So at one point they literally got a scale and spent the day weighing out all the plates from 10's through the 45's, and it's laughable how much they all varied. There were differences of up to like 6 pounds or so, and they took Sharpie markers to list on each plate what they actually weighed. If I remember correctly with the 45's, they ranged anywhere from 42.5 on the low end to 48 or 48.5 on the high end. So imagine loading up a barbell for some heavy squats or any other exercise and possibly ending up with one side way heavier than the other, being none the wiser before they wrote out the actual weight and until you unrack that sucker, haha.

I appreciate you explaining this. I did not think of that.

I just weighed mine, and they are all about 2 lbs more than the listed weight, spicy