Rogue Monster Rig 2.0 vs TITAN plate loadable functional trainer
This is a comparison of the Rogue Monster Rig and the TITAN plate loadable functional trainer including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.
Overview and review of the TITAN plate loadable functional trainer $749
This is an overview of the TITAN plate loadable functional trainer including pros, cons and alternatives. This article was originally posted in Which gym machine to get from TITAN. Follow the links for additional information.
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Overview for the TITAN Plate loaded functional trainer
The
TITAN plate loaded functional trainer is a great budget option to get a multi directional
functional trainer into your home. Especially if you have already a
rack and
barbell setup at home and just not to reuse the
plates for this machine.
Functional trainers are great to pack a lot of exercises in one space. With this machine from TITAN you can get in your rows, vertical pulls,
flyes, and even use it for deadlifts and squats. All the needed handles and accessories are included in the shipping. The full list of features includes:
- Comprehensive pulley options including lat, row, and pulldown
- Two 9 1/4” Olympic plate sleeves
- Tough steel design will last for years to come
- Pull-up bar installed at the top
- Sleek black and silver design
- Titan Fitness faceplate included
- Max user load: 390 LB
- Overall Footprint: 61” Width x 53” Depth
- Loadable Sleeve Length: 9 1/4”
- Overall height: 81”
- Side handle length: 5”
- Side handle diameter: 1”
- Row handle length: 14 1/4”
- Row grip length: 5” (each)
- Row handle diameter: 1”
- Lat pulldown handle length: 37 1/2”
- Lat pulldown grip length: 5”
- Lat pulldown handle diameter: 1”
This is a great budget option for a functional trainer for home gym use. In a commercial setting there might be too many moving parts.
Pros of the TITAN Plate loaded functional trainer
The best thing about the
TITAN plate loaded functional trainer is the low price.
Functional trainers can cost up to $5000 depending on the make, quality, and mechanics used. With this you can have an entire gym in your basement for $700 assuming you already own
plates. If you do not a set of TITAN
plates can be had for $375. TITAN is already budget orientated as a manufacturer and this is a budget design. If you are strapped for cash, this is a good investment.
The pulley system on this
functional trainer works in many directions. You can pull up, down, and also use the machine for horizontal pulls. You get everything you need to build muscle and build an attractive physique. It goes above and beyond home trainers that only use your body weight as you can use the
plates to continuously get stronger.
If you look at how many exercises you can do in small space, this machine is also great. It takes up the same space as a
leg press machine, but you can do so many more exercises on it. This makes it a good choice for rehab centers, yoga instructors and other lifestyle and health out fits that want to add some gentle strength training to their services.
Cons of the TITAN Plate loaded functional trainer
-
Plate loaded
-
Makeshift
-
Many moving parts
The fact that the
plate loaded functional trainer is
plate loaded makes it cheaper, but also means that you have to have
plates and storage for them first. Also handling the
plates can be a pain, as you need to fit them onto the pins and get them off. If you like to "run the rack" in your exercises, this machine is more of a pain than a gain. The many
plates can also be a hindrance when you are working with a client and create a trip hazard.
The hole construction has a bit of a makeshift feel about it. This is often the case when the exercise machine is majorly a combination of pulley which have been connected on a frame. That is the entire idea of this machine, but it doesn't make it something that I want to use on a regular basis. If you are not strapped for cash, you might want to opt for the
functional trainer from TITAN that includes to weight stacks. If your commercial gym wants to convey a slick and hip image to your clients this might also not be the right choice. This model screams iron den.
The many moving parts also make the assembly of the
TITAN plate loaded functional trainer complex. TITA is known for bad manuals and occasional missing out in small parts in the shipping. If you are missing a small part in your shipment it is next to impossible to source it separately from the vendor. You will either end up with more big parts to just get one small part or at your local DIY store.
Alternatives to the TITAN Plate loaded functional trainer
The
TITAN functional trainer is the big brother of the
plate loaded functional trainer. It ships with two 200lbs weight stacks. While these can have their own challenges, this is the cleaner and more stable installation once it is set up. If you buy a
functional trainer as an addition to a health/spa or yoga gym, this is the better choice. This is also the better choice in a gym with high footfall as it creates fewer opportunities to break the machine while loading the
plates. The only disadvantage is that you have to fork out about $1300 more to get this version of the
functional trainer.
The
TITAN lat tower is a great addition to any home gym that means business. Usually you will already have a couple of
kettlebells,
dumbbells, and a
rack with
plates and a
barbell before considering this. As a second purchase to add a sizable machine to your home gym the
lat tower is a better choice than the
plate load able functional trainer. The quality of the pulleys is better, you can load it with up to 300lbs, and it will provide a weight stack to your for a different form of training for you.
The
TITAN hack squat leg press is also slightly more expensive, but provides a good focus on your legs. If you have the space and prefer dedicated machines over multi functional machines in your training, than you can consider the hack squat
leg press machine as a 2 in 1 for your home gym. For commercial gyms this is not necessarily the best option as 2 for 1 always means you need more instructions for the machine or higher injury risk due to using it incorrectly.
Conclusion for the TITAN Plate loaded functional trainer
The
TITAN plate loaded functional trainer is a great solution for a dorm basement where everyone chips in. Especially if there are already some
plates available. If you are building a garage gym in your home and you have the spare change I would lean more towards the
TITAN functional trainer or the
lat tower as an addition to your already existing
rack or as a training station for the entire family.
Overview and review of the Rogue Monster Rig 2.0
Price: 1.845 - 6.095$
This review was originally posted in the longer article "Which strength equipment to buy from rogue" in in which you can read about 25 products of Rogue which cost more than 1.000$. The Rogue Monster Rig 2.0 can be a good start to build your first commercial gym. See the details in this article.
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Overview of the Rogue Monster Rig
The concept behind the
rigs is the backbone of any CrossFit "box" gym. This design is genius in its adaptability and flexibility. As with all highly flexible and adaptable systems, this makes the purchase process a bit more complicated. Before you
buy a rig, make sure you have measured your gym, made some reasonable assumptions about your potential clients, or even better asked them directly. You can spend thousands of Dollars on attachments and space, that your clients might not even use and you, therefore, don't need.
The constant factors in the
Monster Rig built are the width, height, steel notes, and built pattern. The
Rogue Monster rig is 6' wide and 9' high. The steel nodes come in 3x3 11- Gauge steel. The
rigs will be built in a 4-6-4 pattern,
which means that the squat/bench stations are 4' wide while there is 6' space between the stations. The main variations are the length and edition of the
Rogue Monster Rig. The editions are from lowest to highest price:
- Base 2.0 Edition
- Standard 2.0 Edition
- Racked 2.0 Edition
The base version has the lowest cost, The construction gets its stability from double
pull up bars. If you have no clients who want to do muscle ups and you do not want options to place rogue accessories up high for climbing exercises this is the way to go. If you want to be able to do muscle ups ask rogue whether you can swap the double bars to
dirty south bars. This provides the double beam while moving the
pull-up bars out to be able to do muscle ups. The standard Edition might be more cost effective for this purpose.
The standard edition comes in at a slightly higher cost. For this, you get the second generation of the
rigs. Rogue changed their
pull up bars so that muscle ups are possible and there's more support where the bars attach to the
beams of the rig. The upper construction has also been optimized that it can take more accessories. This leaves you with more options for upgrades and more stability, as the upper construction is now sturdier. The base and standard edition are optimized for Crossfit as you can move around the ground more freely. For gyms focused on weight training & powerlifting, you might want more stability and beams.
The
Racked Edition of the Rig adds considerable cost. In return, you will get more rack space. Each bench/squat station now basically turns into an
RM6 rack with one full rack in front and a
half rack in the back. The
half racks could be filled with
Rhino belt squat machines. This setup also enables band work in and outside of the
rack and opens more storage options for
plates. The downside is that this setup is suboptimal for CrossFit gyms. There is too much going on on the ground to freely move around.
The Rogue Monster RIg is available in 4 different lengths which are
- 10'
- 2 Squat/Bench Stations
- 6 Pull-up Stations
- 14'
- 4 Squat/Bench stations
- 8 Pull up stations
- 20'
- 4 Squat/Bench Stations
- 12 Pull up Stations
- 24'
- 6 Squat/Bench stations
- 14 Pull up Stations
The more clients you want to serve in parallel the longer
the rig should be. Choose wisely between the setups especially on your first purchase. Remember that you can always buy more at a later stage. You can even make it a business goal to be able to justify to
make your Rig longer based on growing numbers in classes.
Pros of the Rogue Monster Rig
The Rigs are highly modular and versatile. You can find an option for almost any budget and can do a multitude of exercises in them. The general feedback in the market is that Rogue comes in at a higher price and delivers with solid builds. You can also see how Rogue incorporated client feedback and
kept improving their RIgs based on it. Buying anything out of the
Monster series also protects your investment for the future. Most upgrades are first released for
Monster and are only later made available for
Monster lite if it all.
Cons of the Rogue Monster Rig
How many clients should the Monster Rig 2.0 bring you?
Your first
monster Rig purchase will be very important. If you are at this juncture take a really hard look at your business plan.
- How many people live in the area?
- How many people are already on your books?
- What kind of training do they like?
- Are there other gyms in the area?
- What kind of equipment do they have?
- What do you like?
- What do you dislike?
- What kind of equipment do you have yourself?
- Is it compatible with the Rogue Monster Rig?
- How much space do you have?
- Where are the doors?
- Where are major obstructions?
- Where will you store equipment?
Just to name a few. It is easy to get excited about Rogue's great equipment and get carried away. If you are flush with cash have fun. If you are cash-stricken do multiple iterations of the planning process and reflect with others over it to get the optimum for your dime.
If you think that the
Monster Rig will bring you 7 to 21 new clients who pay you 50$ on a 1-year retainer it is worth the investment. This will yield 4.200$ to 12.600$ in net new revenue against an investment of 1.895$ to 6.095$. Adjust the numbers for your own gym accordingly. If this Rogue is being bought for opening the doors also factor in running costs like electricity, insurance, staff education, and labor.
Alternatives to the Monster Monster Rig
For this, I will go with the average between of 1.895 and 6.095 which computes to 4.995$.
This is the minimum configuration of the little brother of the
Monster Rig.
- Base Edition
- Rig length 10'
The main difference are the holes
which have been drilled into the material. This means that usually more accessories work with the
Monster than with the
Monster lite. Most rogue material is overbuilt for the purpose. I would not worry too much about stability and safety between the
Monster Lite and
Monster versions.
Conclusion
The Rogue Monster Rig 2.0 is an uncompromising start to your new gym. Even the biggest athletes will be able to brutalize it without significant impact or movement in the structure. If you have the money and want to build the best of the best, this is the way to go.