Rogue ISO Leg Press vs TITAN cable crossover machine
This is a comparison of the Rogue Iso leg press and the TITAN cable crossover machine including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.
Overview and review of the TITAN cable crossover machine $459
This is an overview of the TITAN cable crossover 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.
Related articles
Overview of the TITAN Cable Crossover machine
The
TITAN cable crossover machine is a take on a classic which you will find in most gyms. Usually this is part of a machine with weight stacks and an included pull up
bar. This machine is great for cable pulls and chopping movements to strengthen your core and back. You can even use it for
chest presses and other pressing exercises, given that you have a bench. The full specifications of this machine are:
- Fits and stores easily in your garage.
- Unit fits in rooms with an 8 ft ceiling.
- High-quality pulleys and cables used.
- 4 Weight plate holders measuring 9.75-in each.
- Includes 2 premium cable handles.
- Footprint: 113-in W x 36-in D.
- Overall Height: 83.5-in.
- Clearance Height: 80.5-in.
- Weight Holder Length: 9.75-in.
- Weight: 110 lb.
This is machine that covers most of your pulley needs in one go if you can fit it into your gym. In my opinion it is still a makeshift and cheap solution to cover this need. If you can afford it, try to go with something more substantial like the TITAN functional trainer or the TITAN lat tower depending on the space you have at your command.
Pros of the TITAN Cable Crossover
This machine is all about getting a pulley system into your gym for a minimal amount of money. Everything about this has been optimized to achieve a low price, while still providing an industrial grate machine. If you want pulleys for your home and do not want to spend a fortune, this is the one to get.
Cons of the TITAN Cable crossover
-
No Pull up bar
-
Low own weight
-
Makeshift solution
Most of the
Cable crossovers you will find in the industry will come with a pull up bar in the middle. That TITAN to choose to ship this one without a pull up bar already shows you how confident they are that this machine will stand by itself. If you are looking to get a fully functioning home gym for the lowest possible price, try to get a
cable crossover machine that includes a pull up bar. If you look for it on Amazon, take a close look into how to anchor it to the ground and how much it weighs.
This stations has a low weight without
plates and the construction is done in a way that it does not stand that well by itself. Be careful and do not climb on this, especially when there are no weights attached. It might fall over.
As with all complex assemblies from TITAN this pulley system makes no exception. The instructions are hard to follow and faulty and the end result does the job, but not very well. This whole station has a bit of a makeshift feeling about it, but you can also not complain a lot for less than $500 for such a big machine.
Alternatives to the TITAN Cable crossover
The
TITAN lat tower is a clone of the Rogue lat pull machine. If you want to mainly use your
cable crossover full vertical and horizontal pulls than this machine delivers it all. A seat, weight stack, beefy installation and proper pulley system. If you have the money and space beside a
rack, this is a great option from TITAN to save money compared to the competition.
The
TITAN wall mounted pulley tower is another option from TITAN for the low budget brigade. I would recommend this over the
cable crossover if you are allowed to drill into the walls of your gym. It costs less, is safer as it is mounted to the wall and you can still use it in a very similar way. The money you save you can invest in a proper pull up station, as this also does not come with this
cable crossover.
Conclusion to the TITAN Cable Crossover
I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of
cable crossovers in general and the TITAN does a poor job of being one on top of it. For the low budget you still get an OK machine, but as it most likely to be used in a home gym you can also go for something smaller and really bolt it down. This saves you space and money, and is more secure. If you love cable work, go for the
plate loaded functional trainer or the mounted pulley tower instead.
Overview and review of the Rogue ISO Leg Press
Price: 4.750
This review was originally posted in the longer article "Which strength equipment to buy from rogue" in which you can read about 25 products of Rogue which cost more than 1.000$. The Rogue ISO leg press is a machine for the advanced athlete to perform the leg press. See the details in this article.
Related articles
Overview of the Rogue ISO Leg press
The
Rogue Iso Leg press is one of the products of Rogue
which have recently appeared in the portfolio. In my opinion, you can clearly see that Rogue wants to use the
Lat pulldown machine,
Prone Leg Curl and
ISO Leg press to gain market share in the commercial gym sector to diversify their business beyond CrossFit gyms. While Rogue has already mastered the mass production of
barbells and
rigs, the production of big machines is done more manual. You might get a cheaper, more refined machine from somewhere else who has specialized in these for decades. Still, this will be most likely not American made and definitely not fit the rest of your Rogue gym setup.
The future looks promising as the
Rhino Belt Squat has been a great release with a positive reception in the market. I am sure rogue will take the new technological developments from the
50 cals (locking system) and the
Rhino (Pulley System) to create more refined machines in the future
which will take over the market.
The
Rogue ISO press can load up to 2475lb and has four load pegs. Rogue claims a 60% true weight ratio for the
leg press. Machines are often criticized that too much of the load gets lost and does not have an effect on the lifter. This is why you see some people on Youtube leg pressing a bunch of
plates and four Chinese girls on a
leg press machine. They have better leverage than in a
barbell squat.
The
Rogue ISO leg press weighs 708lbs with a footprint of 64'' x 98''. It is 98'' long, 64'' wide and 47'' high.
Pros of the Rogue ISO Leg Press
Rogue has paid attention to the feedback from other machines by working on the true weight ratio. The four loadable pegs will go down well with your stronger clients who like big machines and also cannot find sufficient machinery in other gyms.
The fact that each leg can be addressed individually will be interesting to rehab clients and professional athletes alike. Not many
leg press machines bear this feature.
You will also get a
machine that has been made by American hands in Columbus. There is quite some work to be done to finish this beast and you will always know that this has been done by an American.
Cons of the Rogue ISO Leg Press
The
leg press machine is a single purpose machine with a relatively big footprint. This does not make it a suitable option for most gyms with a small footprint. You will also be buying outside of Rogues core business with less volume. Expect that customer services have fewer options to help you out with parts/replacements/repairs as the order volume on these is lower. There is less storage to draw from and all parts are welded together for the
ISO (
which means if you want to return it, they probably have to weld another from scratch or move someone else's order).
For this price, especially if you buy multiple, maybe ask Rogue whether you can inspect the machines on site before delivery. Bring your biggest and smallest athlete/client&relative, Based on the test ask whether small alterations can be made before the machines are finished (coated etc) and shipped.
How many clients should this leg press bring you?
If you think that the
ISO leg press will bring you 16 new clients who pay you 50$ on a 1-year retainer it is worth the investment. This will yield 9.600$ net new revenue against an investment of 4.750$. Adjust the numbers for your own gym accordingly.
Alternatives to the ISO leg press
Here are some alternatives to the
Rogue Iso leg press which come in at roughly the same budget.
The
Rogue Wingspan Rig only costs about 250 USD more but is an all in one gym for that price. You have a
pull-up station,
rack, lots of storage room, a
crown pull up bar for various grip variations and space to store up to five
barbells. While the
ISO leg press is on one end of the spectrum as a leg training giant, this is one of the most versatile options from Rogue in the same price range.
This would be an alternative for a weightlifting gym that has no need for
pull up bars and has a lot of space. You have to teach your clients how to drop a
bar safely when there is enough room. The
Rhino belt squat can be used by athletes with shoulder injuries or for heavy squats/volume work. It still loads enough weights for mere mortals.
The belt squat is the poor man's version of the
leg press. It does more for balance and natural movement patterns and can not be loaded as heavy as the
Rhino Belt Squat or
Leg press machine. If you already have
jerk blocks or pylo jump boxes this is probably the most cost-efficient version to get close to a
leg press. Be aware that the setup is tedious and the injury risk is high if you do not assist your clients in setting this up.
Conclusion
With the Rogue Iso Leg press you will get a fully welded, American made leg press machine. The specialty of this leg press machine is that you can work one leg at a time or both optionally. With some extra space to add plates to the leg press and special attention to a maximum carry over of the weight to the lifter this leg press is for serious gyms that do not want to compromise.