TITAN smith machine vs TITAN heavy duty power tower
This is a comparison between the TITAN smith machine and the TITAN heavy duty power tower including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.
Overview and review of the TITAN heavy duty power tower $299
This is an overview of the TITAN heavy duty power tower 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 heavy duty power tower
This is the indoor version of the
TITAN outdoor power tower that comes without the extra coating for weather resistance. With this machine you can do pull ups,
dips, sit-ups and other calisthenics exercises to build up your body without using weights. The full specifications of this machine are:
- Achieve a full body workout at home with this all-in-one Power Tower.
- Chin-up / pull up bars with multiple grip options to target different muscle groups.
- Comfortable back and arm pads with hand grips for leg raises.
- 2" Thick powder coated steel dip bars for a solid, shake-free design.
- 7 Different mounting positions available for the sit-up/push-up bracket to suit a variety of workouts.
- Heavy duty steel construction for a solid, long lasting design.
- Floor Dimensions: 58" L x 30" W (42" With Foot Roller)
- Overall Height: 83.5"
- Dip Station Height: 54"
- Dip Bar Spread: 24"
- Back Pad Dimensions: 10" x 10"
- Arm Pad Dimensions: 12" x 6"
- Frame Material: 2" x 2.75" Steel
- Color: Black Powder Coat
- Weight: 135 LB
This is a great power tower for indoors with extra pads that make dips and leg raises more palatable.
Pros of the TITAN heavy duty power tower
This power tower covers all the bases so that you can do pull-ups,
dips, and leg raises to shape a fitter body and feel better about yourself. You will have all of this in a compact, stable station that will not take up too much space in your home or commercial gym.
What is great about the TITAN line up of products is that they are optimized to keep money in your pocket. If you want to find a similar power tower for a lower price and the same amount of support behind it in the market you will have a hard time.
This
heavy duty power tower comes with extra padding for leg raises which makes it easier to run through an entire routine. A bit of comfort is never bad for keeping a routine up long time.
Cons of the Titan heavy duty power tower
-
Space requirements
-
No bench attached
Even though this is a great power tower it will still take up roughly the same amount of space as a small power
rack. If you are already giving up that much space compared to a couple of
kettlebells you might as well build a full home gym.
As this power tower has no bench attached it will limit the am point of exercises you can do compared to a model that comes with a bench.
Alternatives to the Titan heavy duty power tower
If you also want to use a bench in your training routines you can opt for the
TITAN power tower bench combo instead of the
heavy duty version. This will take up more space in your home and at the same time address more exercises for a similar price point.
The
TITAN outdoor power tower costs slightly more but has a special coating that makes it more durable in weather. It also has been stripped of any parts that would soak up water in the rain. This is the right power tower to get if you want to make use of your garden or backyard and you do not want to give up space in your home.
The rogue Jammer bar is a great tool to put over your kitchen door. Every time you walk through you do as many pull ups as you can. Space efficient, not too expensive, and keeps the entire family fit.
Conclusion for the Titan heavy duty power tower
The
TITAN heavy duty power tower is a great addition to a commercial or home gym that has a corner free for more bodyweight exercises. In small home gyms a
rack with a pull up bar might be the better option. For working out outside a power tower is great, just get the
TITAN outdoor power tower which has been optimized for that purpose.
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
-
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 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 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.