TITAN smith machine vs TITAN T bar row machine

This is a comparison between the TITAN smith machine and the TITAN T bar row machine including pros, cons, and alternatives. Follow the links for more details.

Overview and review of the TITAN T bar row machine $489

This is an overview of the TITAN T bar row 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 T bar row machine

The TITAN T bar row machine is their take on a classic in every gym. Most movie montages with bodybuilders will include some type of the t bar row and with good reason. The T bar row is a staple in building bigger backs and putting on mass. With a dedicated station for T bar rows you save time for the setup and can go heavier. This station takes up considerable space and therefore might be not the best option for a home gym. In my opinion a commercial gym that wants to provide strength to their clients absolutely needs one of these. The full specifications of the TITAN T bar row machine are:

- Dual diamond plated footplates for grip

- Vertical and horizontal grip handles with a durable rubber grip

- Adjustable handle height

- Includes holes for bolting the machine to the floor

- Olympic sized weight plate holders

- Tough, solid steel construction is long-lasting and dependable

- Powder-coated paint job prevents rust and early scuffing

- Overall Height: 22.5-in.

- Overall Length: 39.5-in.

- Overall Width: 85-in.

- Footplate Dimensions: 15.75-in x 8.65-in.

- Grip Handle Diameter: 25 mm.

- Weight Sleeve Length: 12.7-in.

- Knurling: Medium Diamond Texture

- Finish: Powder-Coated Black

- Material: 2-in x 2-in 11-GA Steel

- Weight Capacity: 440 lb.

- Product Weight: 150 lb.

This is a great addition to any commercial gym that has the space.

Pros of the TITAN T bar row machine

The pros of the TITAN T bar row machine are:

Price
Well built frame
Easy use on heavy rows
Weight moves inside rather than outside your frame

One of the main advantages of buying from TITAN fitness is that they undercut their competition on most of their products by half. The T bar row is no exception in this. As a T bar row station is no rocket science to build, you should try to save some money on it. Where I would lean towards spending a little more are belt squat machines, barbells, and functional trainers. These take a little more care and engineering to build well.

The frame of the T Bar row is heavy and can take big weights and athletes. If you have people rowing multiple plates on a regular basis,this is the machine to get.

A big advantage of T bar rows is that you can load them very heavy fairly easy. With a barbell you always need to load on both ends, while with a T bar row you can just keep adding at the front. With the station it also means that the pin rests in a place where you can immediately add plates without the need to jack up a barbell.

Compared to barbell rows t bar rows also behave a little differently as the weight moves inside the athlete's frame rather than outside of it. It is a minor thing, but it can be nice to break the routine and row on a t bar, rather than with a barbell.

Cons of the TITAN T bar row machine

Cons of the TITAN T bar row machine:

Space requirements
Price

The main point against a T-Bar row machine is that it eats up a lot of space to only do one thing. Barbell rows can pretty much do the same thing and also leave more room for variations. This makes the T Bar row a bad choice for home gyms that need to save space. Here a landmine combined with a barbell handle for t bar rows comes in handy.

The price of a T bar row machine is hard to justify, if you already have plates and a barbell. With this equipment you can build your back and row the heck out of your body to get bigger already.

Alternatives for the TITAN T bar row machine

TITAN Chest supported adjustable row bench
TITAN Adjustable prone row machine
TITAN Plate loaded seated row
Rogue T bar row machine
Landmine attachment and barbell handle

The TITAN chest supported adjustable row bench is a very specific machine that minimizes the activation of the entire body in the row to focus on the back only. This is popular with powerlifters and strongmen, but not necesserily the best machine to get for the average commercial gym. It also puts your body at a 45 degree angle to make the exercise more stable and challenging.

The TITAN Adjustable prone row machine is a variation on the barbell row which allows full extension of the arms when rowing while lying flat. This is also a good exercise for building your back which is popular among powerlifters and bodybuilders. Therefore this machine is more geared towards the "hardcore" gyms rather than the more mainstream ones. In a home gym setting you might give up too much space for a machine that can only do one thing.

The plate loaded seated row is a classic you find in many gyms up and down the country. If you have a spacious home gym this is an option as it takes up little space compared to other machines. For a commercial setting i think one of these is a must. In very frequented commercial gyms you might want to consider a version with its own weight stack rather than a plate loaded one to save time for your customers.

The Rogue T bar machine is the direct competitor of the TITAN T bar row. The price difference between the TITAN and Rogue version is $200. If you only want to do T bar rows, get the TITAN version and save yourself $200. The main difference in design is that the Rogue version also allows for band pegs to be used so you can do banded rows. If you are big into the west side method in your gym, get the Rogue one instead, as attaching bands to the TITAN version is awkward at best. Remember to add the band pegs to your order with Rogue as there are none included on the T bar row order (on rack orders this happens automatically).

If you want to T bar row in your home gym, try to get the cheapest landmine attachment for your rack and a handle for your barbell. Also keep the handle relatively small so that it is easy to store. Otherwise it will just be in the way most of the times. For a homegym that only fits a rack, this is the best option to do T bar rows. In a home gym you also do not have to worry that you will wreck the equipment for setting it up for the T bar row.

Conclusion for the TITAN T bar row machine

The TITAN T bar row machine is a great option for any commercial gym to save cost and still provide a proper t bar row to their clients, I personally think a T bar row machine is a requirement for a commercial gym that has the necessary floor space. Get rid of one of the many bench stations most of the big gyms have and install a T bar row instead. The general gym rat population should do more rows anyway. In a home gym scenario the T bar row is a massive one trick pony that eats into your space. Attach a landmine to your rack instead and get a handle while minimizing cost on thise. If you are not careful you might shell out up to $500 on these two items in total so try to keep it cheap, unless money is not an issue for you.

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.