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TITAN smith machine vs Floor Glute and Hamstring developer

Written by Pascal Landshoeft | Jan 8, 2021 5:00:00 PM

TITAN smith machine vs Floor Glute and Hamstring developer

This is a comparison between the TITAN smith machine and the TITAN Glute and Hamstring developer including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

 
 

Overview and review of the TITAN Floor glute and hamstring developer $259

This is an overview of the TITAN floor glute and hamstring developer 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 of the Titan floor and glute hamstring developer

 
The TITAN floor and glute hamstring developer is a compact machine that you can easily transport and lean against a wall to develop your glutes and work your core. The price is low and it can also be stored against a wall easily to save space in a crammed home gym. If you want a Glute and hamstring developer in your hoe gym, but always though other solutions are too bulky, this is the solution for you. The full specifications of this machine are:
 
- Handle and wheels for easy mobility and storage.
- 6 adjustable foot roller positions. 
- Low profile allows for easy storage. 
- 2" thick pad and 4" thick foot rollers for your safety and comfort. 
- Heavy duty steel construction.
 
- Pad Dimensions: 23" x 49" x 2"
- Overall Footprint: 24.5" x 58"
- Foot Roller Length: 7.75" per foot. 
- Foot Roller Diameter: 4"
- Adjustable Foot Roller Height: 2.5"-7.5"
- Foot Plate Dimensions: 19.5" x 10"
- Material: Steel
- Weight: 115 LB
 
This is a good compact solutions for small gyms or physiotherapists with small offices where they want to work with their clients on rehabilitation after a sports injury.
 

Pros of the Titan floor and glute hamstring developer

 
 
  • Compact design
  • Low price
 
The two main positives about this Glute ham developer are its compact design and low price. Compared to the bigger machines this cuts your invest by two thirds and you usually do not load Glute ham development exercises heavy anyway. This can be stowed away under the bed and wait for you in the mornings or evening to do your prehab and rehab before you do your heavy lifting somewhere in the day.
 

Cons of the Titan floor glute and hamstring developer

 
 
  • Can move around while you are exercising.
  • Close to the ground might not be for everyone
 
If you are giving it your all on this machine with yanking movements it can start to travel on the floor. If you get this and use it regularly I recommend that work with very controlled movements. With the bigger machines you can get away with more and of course also fit bigger athletes on them to train.
 
With this machine you are very close to the ground. Depending on where your gym is, what type of floor you have and how regular it is being cleaned not everyone might like to have their face in the mud.
 

Alternatives to the Titan floor glute and hamstring developer

 
 
 
The TITAN Glute and hamstring developer is the best machine you can get from TITAN to train your posterior chain. It combines a GHD and a reverse hyper based on the Economy H-PND. The pad might be a bit small depending on your own size, bu overall this is a solid option for all your posterior chain needs if you can fit it in your gym.
 
The TITAN H-PND is the biggest reverse hyper you can get From TITAN. It has a massive table and steel tubes. The padding can take almost anyone on and you will not be disappointment. This is a good option for a Iron den gym that is looking into getting a reverse hyper and a separate GHD.
 
The Rogue Donkey is the current gold standard in the industry for reverse hypers and GHD machines. It is build like a tank, has a great pad and is finished with great stitching and leather. All of this also comes at a high price and space requirements. We are in the range of $2000 for this machine and it takes up considerable space.
 

Conclusion for the Titan glute and hamstring developer

 
The TITAN Glute and hamstring developer is a great option for a home gym or a commercial gym with very limited space. It is easy to store and move and does not cost a lot to train your glutes. The only downside is that it can not be loaded with weight and might move around on the ground of your exercising like a maniac on it. 
 
 

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.

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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.