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TITAN smith machine vs TITAN Economy H-PND

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Dec 30, 2020 9:00:00 AM

TITAN smith machine vs TITAN Economy H-PND

This is a comparison between the TITAN smith machine and the TITAN Economy H-PND including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

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Overview and review of the TITAN Economy H-PND $399

Overview for the TITAN Economy H-PND

 
The Economy H-PND is a budget version of the H-PND that TITAN build first. This is a reverse hyper that takes up less space in your gym than the bigger version and also takes less money out of your pocket. If you are an average sized person the padding on this is more than enough for doing your exercises. If you are a huge athlete you might want to look into the H-PND option instead. A reverse hyper can be used to train the lower back to get more stability on heavy squats and deadlifts. These areas are usually hard to train with conventional machines and free weights. This is why Louie Simmons, creator of the Westside training method, made extensive use of reverse hypers more popular.The full specifications of the Economy H-PND are:
 
- 2-in x 2-in steel tubing makes for a sturdy and firm frame
- 6-inch handles swiftly adjust to eight positions in 2-inch increment to cater to every athlete looking to strengthen their posterior chain and lower body
- Includes (2) spring collars and strap
- Rubber feet on each corner prevent floor scuffing
 
- Overall Height: 44.5-in.
- Footprint: 55-in x 39-in.
- Sleeve Diameter: 1.95-in.
- Loadable Sleeve Length: 10-in.
- Step Dimensions: 2-in x 2-in Tubing, 8-in Long
- User Weight Capacity: 300 lb.
- Loadable Weight Capacity: 700 lb.
- Product Weight: 147 lb.
 
This is a good machine for a spacious home gym, or a commercial gym where people get a lot of attention from personal trainers. It is not the best machine to get for a gym where clients are mainly left to their own devices as it is not completely self explanatory and fits a training style that is not often followed by the general public.
 

Pros of the TITAN Economy H-PND

 
The pros of the TITAN Economy H-PND are:
 
  • Price
 
The main advantage of this machine is that it is a reverse hyper for the possibly lowest price you can get it for in the market. If you go to other vendors you will usually pay more for this very specialized piece of equipment. To get to this price point TITAN had to cut a few corners and strip some material out of the padding and the metal itself.
 

Cons of the TITAN Economy H-PND

 
 
  • One trick Pony
  • Space requirements
  • Less sturdy  built
 
While the Economy H-PND delivers on price it falls short on comfort. This is not the right machine if you are very heavy yourself or you go very heavy on your reverse hypers. For the best kind of comfort and security for the big guns go with the original H-PND rather than the economy.
 
If you are strapped for space this is also not the best machine to get. If you are serious about training your posterior chain you probably want to do reverse hypers and glute ham raises. For this the GHD combo from TITAN is the better choice as it only cists a little more, but than you do not have to buy two machines.
 

Alternatives to the TITAN Economy H-PND

 
Alternatives to the TITAN Economy H-PND are:
 
 
The TITAN H-PND is the original H-PND that is massive. The padding is big and this whole machine is build like a tank. If you can afford it and do not want a combo for your reverse hyper, buy this instead.
 
The TITAN Glute and Hamstring developer takes up roughly the same space as the Economy H-PND but mainly focuses on your glutes. If you mainly work with bodyweight exercises or have the space to get the GHD and the Economy H-PND this might be an additional option or alternative.
 
The TITAN Glute and Hamstring combo is in my opinion the best option you can get from TITAN if you buy into the benfits of training the posterior chain with this kind of machine in your home gym. It covers all the exercises which are hard to do for that area with freeweights and conventional machines while saving space in a 2 for 1 design.
 

Conclusion for the TITAN Economy H-PND

 
The TITAN Economy H-PND is a good reverse hyper for average sized athletes that have the space in their gym to have it. Commercial gyms might want to invest their money elsewhere as this is a machine with a very unique client set. Ultimately, for what it does, I would buy the Glute and hamstring combo instead for myself.
 
 

Overview and review of the TITAN Smith machine $1069

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.
 

Topics: TITAN

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