TITAN smith machine vs TITAN seated leg curl machine
This is a comparison between the TITAN smith machine and the TITAN seated leg curl machine including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.
Overview and review of the TITAN seated leg curl machine $469
This is an overview of the TITAN seated leg curl 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 seated leg curl machine
The
TITAN seated leg curl machine is a simplified version of the
seated curl you find in almost any gym across the country. This seat curl is
plate loaded instead of weight stack loaded. This drives down the cost of acquisition and keeps more money in your pocket. The
Titan seated leg curl machine is a good fit for home gyms with space or a private / commercial gym with a few members who know what they are doing. In large scale commercial setup you might want to invest in a beefier machine including a weights stack. The full specifications of the
TITAN seated leg curl are:
- Perform leg curls and leg extensions from the same seated position.
- Adjustable thigh pad design makes getting in and out of the machine much more efficient than the competition's cumbersome tube adjustment design.
- Rotary leg clamp mechanism and pop pins allows for easy adjustment and achieving full reps every time.
- Adjustable seat depth and seat angle positions to suit different size athletes.
- 4 Bolt down holes for concrete anchors or take advantage of the counter-balance weight post for stability without permanent mounting.
- High quality steel construction for a solid, long lasting design.
- Footprint: 36-in W x 34.5-in L.
- Floor Space Required: 4' W x 5' L.
- Thigh/Foot Roller Diameter: 5-in.
- Thigh/Foot Roller Width: 17-in.
- Seat Depth Positions: 7
- Seat Angle Positions: 3
- Weight Post Diameter: 1.95-in.
- Weight Post Length: 10-in.
- Weight Capacity: 220 lb.
- Product Weight: 117 lb.
This is a good addition to a home gym of a bodybuilder who has a barn or two space garage for the gym. A big basement also helps. If you are a commercial gym focused on rough, hard iron this plate loaded machine will use do well with your clients. If you have high footfall and want to appeal to the general population you might want to invest into something a little more upmarket.
Pros of the TITAN seated leg curl machine
As with all TITAN machine the Titan leg curl has been minimized to save cost and keep money in your pocket. Compared to professional grade machines from precor or other vendors you save more than half. Especially when you are the only one using the machines this is a good strategy to follow to keep yourself and the family happy while still training hard at home.
The fact that this machine is
Plate loaded also saves further cost. You are not paying for weights for each of the machines, as you will reuse the
plates you already own. If you do not you can purchase a set of
plates from TITAN for $375.
This machine also works in both directions for curls and extensions. While this has become an industry wide standard you can still find some machines where you can only do one thing based on how the lever arms are made.
Cons of the TITAN seated leg curl machine
-
Space requirements
-
Plate loaded
-
Build
The
Titan seated leg curl machine will take up extra space in your gym. In a home gym that might not even be an option or you have to compare it to other smaller machines. These could be a preacher curl machine or calf machine. In a bigger gym you can always find a corner to place a smaller machine like this.
While
plate loaded is a good approach for home gyms and to save costs it is not ideal for gyms with many clients. If you have high traffic it is better to the weights with the machine permanently to create fewer trip hazards and make the exercises more beginner friendly.
This
seated leg curl has been built with the average person in mind. It is not overbuilt for massive athletes like the Rogue and Eleiko equipment. If you are 2m talk and weigh more than 125kg you might want to look something more upmarket.
Alternatives to the TITAN seated leg curl machine
If you have covered all of your leg requirements already you might want to look into the TITAN tibia Dorsi calf machine. This will also train the calves and not eat up too much into your space as it does not swing like the leg curl machine.
The
TITAN smith machine is a good option for anyone who does not trust free weights. It provides storage for
plates and takes up the footprint of one
rack. I am personally not a great fan of
smith machines, but if you mainly train for shaping up rather than maximum strength they are an option.
Conclusion for the TITAN seated leg curl machine
The
TITAN seated leg curl machine is a nice small machines for a spacious home gym. The
plate loaded design saves cost. The Titan design is also learned back to realize additional savings. In a commercial setting you might want to get something beefier that includes a weight stack.
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.
Related articles
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.