TITAN smith machine vs TITAN standing back extension machine

This is a comparison between the TITAN smith machine and the TITAN standing back extension machine including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the TITAN standing back extension machine $381

This is an overview of the TITAN standing back extension 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.

Overview of the TITAN standing back extension machine

The TITAN standing back extension machine is a simple and robust design from TITAN. With this machine you can do back raises and side raises to train your core and back. The pad is adjustable in height and can also be tilted in different positions. This is a machine for accessory work that can not be done with a lot of other machines. It is great for what it does if you have the space for it. The full list of specifications is:

- Strengthen your posterior chain

- Fully adjustable unit to fit a wide variety of exercises and athletes

- (8) adjustable foot roller and round pad positions in 1-inch increments

- (4) adjustable angle positions for the rounded pad

- High-quality 2 x 2-inch steel frame for a solid and stable design

- Footprint: 65-in x 28-in (39.5-in with band pegs)

- Footplate Dimensions: 24-in x 24-in.

- Rounded Pad Height: 28-in – 35-in.

- Foot Roller Diameter: 3.5-in.

- Product Weight: 112 lb.

Simple, elegant and effective. This is a machine that is easy to use and can be used in many different ways. Compared to a reverse hyper or GHD it delivers similar results but in a more accessible way for the general public.

Pros of the Titan Standing back extension machine

The pros of the Standing back extension are:

Price
Easy to use

As with almost all TITAN products you get an industrial grade machine for a consumer price. TITAN undercuts their competition by about half and the standing back extension machine is no exception.

This is a great machine for a commercial gym to provide options to train g your back and sides. In a home gym you might want to go for a GHD and reverse hyper combo as it offers you more options while it takes up roughly the same footprint.

Cons of the TITAN back extension machine

The cons of the TITAN back extension machine are:

Footprint
mainly suited for bodyweight exercises

For a bodyweight exercise machine the standing back extension takes up quite a bit of foot print. For this big a machine you might want to get something else instead that enables you to add resistance to your exercises via plates.

Alternatives to the TITAN standing back extension machine

Alternatives to the standing back extension machine are:

The TITAN H-PND is TITAN’s Monster Reverse hyper. This thing is built like a tank and will have enough padding for even the biggest of athletes. If you want to train your lower back with a reverse hyper than this is the best you can get from TITAN.

The TITAN economy H-PND is the little brother of the original H-PND from TITAN. The steel gauges and the padding have been downsized to offer this reverse hyper at a lower price. The economy H-PND also builds the base for the Glute and hamstring combo, which is a great choice to train your posterior chain in a spacious home gym.

The Rogue donkey is the gold standard in the market for posterior chain development. Rogue came up with a clever design and executed it perfectly. Especially the lad on this machine is very high quality and supports even the biggest athletes. Good quality also comes at a high price as the Donkey puts you back close to $2000.

Conclusion for the TITAN standing back extension machine

The standing back extension machine is a great addition to any commercial gym with space. You might even want to get multiple of these and create a back area. In a home gym the glute and hamstring combo might be better use of your space.

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.

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.