Home gym

What you guys think of this home gym. Im trying to find a home gym that can help me consolidate on time.

http://www.megafitness.com/mega-smith-system-with-cable-crossover.html

thanks in advance

That's a lot of equipment. Can you squat with that thing? It's hard to tell. I think I'd still just go with a power cage & the Dick's Sporting Goods $99 Olympic Plate special (300 Lbs + bar).

If you're willing to spend that much, I'd get a nice rack from Dave Tate over at Elite. You dont need all that shit.

www.elitefitnesssystems.com

You can look at their site, or even call them and tell them exactly what you want to do, and how much you want to spend. They will totally help you out.

Good people.

Nble,
yes you can squat on that thing. Heres most of its features:
Features:

Smith machine
Power rack
Olympic smith bar (attached)
Self-oiling bushings
Cable cross-overs
Chin-up bar
Dip station
Pec station with built-in seat
Lat pull down
Low row
Flat / incline / decline bench
Leg extension / leg curl
Preacher curl
Perform the following exercises:

Ab crunch
Abduction
Adduction
Bench press (flat and incline)
Cable crossover
Cable curl
Deltoid raises (front and side)
Inner and outer thigh kicks
Lat pulldowns (front and back)
Leg curl
Leg extension
Military press
Pec dec fly
Seated row
Shrug
Squats
Thigh kicks
Tricep pressdown
Upright row
And More !


ryno,
i will look into that, thanks.

Well dayum, that about covers it. I'd still do deads though & would stay away from the Smith machine for squats. They're evil.

Good luck.

Peace.

-Savage

noobie,
My two cents, if you want them are that I hate smith machines for squats due to the fact that just about everyone has a slightly different range of motion for optimizing a lift. If your ROM doesn't fall into the area guided by the smith machine you either can't get your best out of it or you learn bad body dynamics to work within the confines of the smith rack. Go with the good rack and plates theory, there are some pretty complete rack arrangements available. Mark

hessian1/nble,
what is the difference in range of motion from smith machines compared to others? What other brands would you suggest? im looking for something that does everything ( or almost) and not just a squat rack as time is tight with all the activities im in involved in. thanks alot!

noobie,
If you look at a smith machine from the side you will see that it travels on one predetermined plane
(some are straight up and down and some at a slight angle, so you are locked into that plane. Now watch others squat ,without the smith unit, from the sides and you will see subtle variances from this pure plane
of travel. This is due to biomechanical differences in each lifters body as well as technique.
Don't get me wrong if a smithmachine is what you want or is what you have/can get, go for it. Anything is better than nothing. From personal experience though I know I lift more without the smith than with, and my technique is fine. Met an olympic coach once who observed me and told me my lifting was correct. ( A small perk in living 25 minutes from York Barbell ).

hessian1,
Thanks for the info, so you squat with a rack without a plane? Does it have safety pins? I dont want to end up smashed one day while working out at home :) can you suggest other brands other than smith? Thx.

You can do everything you need with a rack from Elite. Squat, chin, get a dip attachment, bench press, row, lunge, good morning, pin press, rack pull, overhead press.. whatever you need.

You want safety pins? They have the best ones available on their equipment. No bending.

They have a section so you can go through and customize it. Pick all your accessories, benches, attachments, colors..

That machine you showed us looks fancy, but thats it. That stuff is not necessary. Get a nice rack.