TITAN smith machine vs TITAN plate loadable seated machine

This is a comparison between the TITAN smith machine and the TITAN plate loadable seated machine including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the TITAN plate loadable seated dip machine $229

This is an overview of the TITAN plate loadable seated dip machine including pros, cons and alternatives. This article was originally posted in Which gym machine to get from TITAN. Follow the links for additional information.

Overview of the TITAN plate loadable seated dip machine

The TITAN plate loaded seated dip machine is a simple and effective machine to train your triceps. If usual dips are not enough anymore or are too hard for you than you can use this machine to start with the benefits or push them even further. It also a machine that is very easy to use for beginners or anyone who has to rehabilitate. The full specifications of the TITAN plate loadable seated dip machine are:

- Add weight to your tricep presses

- Adjustable seat height to fit athletes of all sizes

- Powder-coated paint job gives rust resistance

- Heavy-duty steel construction will last for years

- Optional bolt-down holes at the base, to add stability

- Installation is fast and easy – assembles in minutes!

- Footprint: 27.5-in x 30.25-in.

- Seat Back Height: 51-in.

- Seat Height: 17-in.

- Sleeve Length: 10.75-in.

- Handle Length: 16.75-in.

This is a good small machine for accessory work to your main goals if you can fit it into your gym.

Pros of the TITAN plate loadable seated dip machine

The pros of the TITAN plate loadable seated dip machine are:

Easy to use
Plate loaded
Small footprint

This is a straight forward machine which is easy to use and beats a very low injury risk. This makes it an ideal machine for a gym where you expect a lot of beginners to be present.

The TITAN seated dip machine is also plate loaded which makes it a good option for the budget conscious home gym owner as you do not pay for the integrated weight stack that comes with other machines.

Another pro of the seated dip machine is that it takes up a relatively low small footprint on your gym for a machine that includes a seat. If you already have a chair in your home you might as well turn it into an exercise machine.

Cons of the TITAN plate loadable seated dip machine

The cons of the TITAN plate loadable seated dip machine are:

Space requirements
Plate loaded
TITAN quality control

The TITAN plate loadable seated dip machine will take up more space in your gym than a dip attachment to your existing rack. If you have to work with a limited space than you will want to make the best of use and a dip attachment is probably the better option than putting another machine into a tight space.

Plate loaded machines are a great option if you are the sole user of your gym. If you have to provide facilities for many people at the same time plates can become a trip and injury hazard. Depending on who you are targeting and the average fitness level of your clients you might want to lean towards machine that already have a weight stack attached to them. These cost more, but are usually safer to use and expose you to less risk as the owner of the gym than plate loaded machines.

Another con is the quality control from TITAN. While it is existent it is not as tight as with other vendors in the marketplace like Rogue fitness and Eleiko. That is natural result of competing at the low cost end of the market which TITAN decided to do. Also TITAN has several businesses across different verticals rather than focusing on fitness only. The result is that TITAN fitness is under a higher pressure to ship every unit that has been produced, even if it has minor quality issues. If you are fine with forcing some parts and applying some DIY to machines you have bought new, that is no issue. If you do not like this prospect, buy from another vendor.

Alternatives to the TITAN plate loadable seated dip machine

Alternatives to the TITAN plate loadable seated dip machine:

TITAN dip rack attachment
Rogue matador
TITAN power tower bench

The TITAN dip rack attachment is an alternative to be used with your existing TITAN rack. These are easy to use and not that expensive. With this you can turn your rack in a dip station when needed and also get the dip attachment off when you want to do something else. This is a good solution in a home gym with space contraints. Ina commercial gym you might want to have the dip station permanently installed and the dip seated machine becomes the better solution.

The Rogue Matador is a dip attachment for your Rogue rack. If you have a Rogue rack in your commercial or home gym you might eant to look into this option first before investing in an additional machine that does the same thing.

The TITAN power tower bench is a full gym for calisthenics including dips. If you are planning a home gym, but do not want to use weights, this might be the better option for roughly the same budget as getting a TITAN seated dip machine.

Conclusion for the TITAN plate loadable seated dip machine

This is a great addition for any gym that has the space to get dedicated machines for accessory work. It is easy to use and maintain and therefore will not create an additional headache in your gym like some pulley options can do. In a tight space you might want o look into rack attachments that will do the job rather than eating up more square footage with another machine.

Overview and review of the TITAN Smith machine $1069

This is an overview of the TITAN smith machine including pros, cons and alternatives. This article was originally posted in Which gym machine to get from TITAN. Follow the links for additional information.

Overview of the TITAN Smith machine

A smith machine can be used to train your entire body with barbell presses, squats, bench presses and other movements. The main distinguishing feature of a smith machine is that the bar path is fixed as the barbell is attached to the frame. This makes a smith machine less intimidating for beginners than a rack with free weights. The TITAN smith machine is competitively priced and has some extra features that many other Smith machines do not have. The full feature list includes:

- Knurled barbell with 13.25-in of loadable space on the sleeves.

- (6) 8-in Olympic Weight Storage Posts.

- Band pegs on either side allow for added resistance.

- Two J-hooks attached to the bar takes a quick flick of the wrist to lock into 8 safe positions when finished with the exercise.

- Two safety catches can be adjusted to set before a lift to prevent injuries in the case of failed reps.

- Counter-balance function included!

- Four rubber pads on the feet of the Smith Machine protect flooring from unwanted scuffing and provide stability.

- Overall Height: 86-in.

- Overall Width: 66.5-in.

- Overall Depth: 54-in.

- Weight Capacity: 600 lb.

- Weight: 261 lb.

This is a solid machine for any commercial gym that wants to add a smith machine in their line up. Home gym owners will be better off getting a rack with a barbell instead.

Pros of the TITAN Smith machine

The pros of the TITAN smith machine are:

Plate storage on rack
Pins for band work
Price

Compared to other Smith machines in the market TITAN has done a good job to maximize the use of the frame of the rack for this Smith machine. You will have multiple pins to store plates on included in your shipment. This makes storing plates easy. Some other Smith machines in the market have massive frames and only eat up space without providing storage options.

Another great addition to this particular Smith machine are the pins for bands. Taken from the west side method approach of training you can attach bands to the TITAN smith machine which are provided at the bottom of the structure. Just make sure to bolt the machine to the ground of you do this as band work is one of the top reasons to topple racks that have it been bolted to the ground.

Keeping the price of this massive Smith machine around $1000 ja TITAN written all over it. It is their specialty to offer big fitness equipment at roughly half of the price of the competition and this Smith machine is no exception.

Cons of the TITAN Smith machine

The cons for the TITAN smith machine are:

Awkward racking mechanism
Space requirements
Attached barbell
Instructions / customer service

The mechanism to lock or unlock a barbell on a smith machine is in my opinion one of the biggest design flaws you can find in a commercial gym. Why smith machines have gotten so popular is beyond me. The mechanism provides a false sense of security to the user. If you fail a rep you still have to twist your wrists under strain to lock the bar back into position. While this is ok but not great for the bench press, for the squat it is near impossible. Combined with the fact that the bar is attached to the frame this can lead to some nasty accidents where you are folded like lawn chair under the weight. With a free weight you can at least just dump it off your back as a last resort. In my opinion smith machines provide little advantage for the risks they pose, especially to inexperienced trainees.

Everything you can do with a smith machine you can do with a rack and a barbell. Probably even better. This is why this machine eats up to much space for any home gym. Unless you are the Rock and have a whole crew of people carrying an entire commercial gym around for you. There is something to be said for quad development out of high rep smith machine squats. You do get a different pump out of the smith machine as there is less room to work with the supporting muscles from the back. Still, this is only interesting for full time bodybuilders and does not justify to give up valuable home gym space where you could place a rack instead.

The fact that the barbell is attached makes it less versatile than a rack. The barbell an get in the way of exercises, especially if you need to use the space inside the smith machine because you are short on space. Again a barbell and rack is the better choice and you can get this for the same budget from TITAN.

TITAN needs to cut some corners to offer you consistent competitive pricing on all of their product range. This is why across the board their customer service and manuals or not as good as the ones of their competitors Rogue and Eleiko. You are also more likely to have parts missing on your shipment or that they do not fit smoothly. This can happen with other, higher priced products, too, but the likelihood is lower. Quality management and consistency in production are good ways to cut cost. These processes are expensive is they are Labour intensive and also assume that some of the production gets discarded due to lack of quality. You can not do that of your strategy is to be the cheapest in the narbet which is exactly what TITAN prides themselves one. Got for your wallet, but expect some minor issues, especially with products that have a lot of moving parts like a smith machine.

Alternatives to the TITAN smith machine

If you have $1000 to spent on equipment I think you are better off to shell it out on a rack and barbell than a smith machine. A good rack from TITAN can be had at $500. A decent one would even start at $200. The Atlas bar comes in at around $200 and a set of 230lbs bumper plates is $375 from TITAN.

If you want to get a machine for training your legs it think the TITAN leg press is the better option than the smith machine. It comes in at roughly the same price. This machine can be heavily loaded, provides security to people who do not want to use a barbell, and you can work the ranges of motion that are hard to stay in for long in a barbell squat. If I wanted to blow up my legs and had space and key to add to my gym above and beyond a rack, a leg press would be high up my list.

The Titan belt squat machine is another way of getting more squat volume in your training without trashing your wer back. Belt squat machines are popular for quad development with powerlifters and weightlifters. The big advantage is here that the movement pattern is not predefined and you have less compression on your spine.

Conclusion for the TITAN Smith machine

The TITAN smith machine has a great price and some little extra features which make it an excellent Smith machine to get. The only problem for me is that I think that all Smith machines are a waste of space and should be replaced with a belt squat, extra rack or leg press, depending on what you already have. If you have the space and money to collect all different types of machines, do it. Still, a smith machine would only enter my gym to complete a collection for the sale of it, rather than because I think it is a good idea for my clients.