Bro if you lowered the lever arms and laid down on the bench say for bench press it would change the force curve. Also that chest machine you got doesn't give you a deep stretch it gives you way less of a stretch then even a barbell bench press
I watched the whole video waiting to hear why he didn't lower the arms for chest press and....nada. Seems like it may not have occurred to the poster to do this. I use safety arms as stoppers for the lever arms on my rack so I can get the right working height for the strength curve I enjoy.
@@jonstewart5386exactly idk, I guess not everyone with a bit of money has a bit of intelligence. The cool thing about the lever arms is they can literally do the exact same thing as that machine if you position them there. I'm disappointed I watched this video.
I agree that the number 1 thing is you need to enjoy doing the movement and I totally see how those two machines are probably better than levers arms, using the lever arms flat and resting on safety arms would over come the weight curve but not that issue where they converge out at the top of the movement
I have one of those force usa all in one racks with a cable functional trainer. The lever arms for these work well because I attached the cable system to each lever arm. You can use cam bucke straps for the length adjustment. I actually have the official bowflex cambuckles that have a carabiner connetion point. What it does is provides costant tension no matter the position. But if I were to use weight plates only, like you thats where you have the strength/resistant curve problems . Otherwise if you use weight plates you'd have to set up the lever arms in position where it can work against gravity. And too me that just too much work to find the right locking position on the rack every time you wasn't to do a different exercise. So i can see why a lot of people regret buying them. But if you have a cable system with your rack and lever arms be creative and connect them together. You'll that combination far better and see how much more effective it is.
I was contemplating lever arms for my home gym rack. Not Titan, but Major Fitness. Seeing your opinion on it clarified my question regarding the proper motion and resistance curve. I'm gonna stick with the barbell and dumbbells.
If you have the space, a functional trainer is awesome as an addition. I got Valor Fitness. You could also check out syedee at Walmart or GMWD on Amazon
Great explanation. So true. Also, you are not being nitpicky 𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡. The resistance curve basically renders these exercises useless. That machine you bought is really well priced and looks incredible. But in its absence it would still be better to spend the money on a pulley system or adjustable dumbbells rather than the lever arms.
you should of looked into the signature fitness lever arms they have a swivel so they dont make work outs awkward and straight. to get the optimal chest press you would want to lower the base to like shoulder height and use some form of stopper like a chain or weight peg.
Precisely! Strength curve is an issue. That is why - and this goes all the way back to Nautilus - machine designers work with engineers and kinesiologists to manufacture cambers that alter the strength curve appropriately throughout the lift cycle. These lever arms have absolutely no means to account for the appropriate strength curve changes that occur during their movement.
As far as the chest press with the lever arms, you have much more leverage advantage at the top of the lift when your arms are extended then when they are down near your chest. Just consider how many times you have been able to lift heavy loads off the rack before a bench or squat, only to find that you could not move it at the bottom of the lift. This principle works EXACTLY like lifting a heavy bar off the squat rack two inches to get it free from the pins. You can easily lift FAR more those last few inches than you can at the bottom of the squat. In fact we have all experienced this in both lifts where we have easily taken it off the rack, and could not perform the movement once it hit our chest, or the bottom of the squat. There are videos after videos out there of people easily taking the bar off the cage and then failing to finish the movement. Hope this makes sense
I'm with you! In my opinion and body structure/muscle development, there is a little too much bias toward triceps with these. A barbell, dumbbells, or machines puts more stimulus on the chest for me, which was what I wanted to focus on.
Wish I would have seen this video before I bought my lever arms. I totally agree. I don't ever use my lever arms. I don't like the strength curve and most exercises don't feel right. But I am also lazy and don't like spending time to set up the lever arms for different exercises. I get way more out of individual machines that I have in my gym versus lever arms.
Thanks for the comment, brother! I felt the same about machines vs. Lever arms. I'm sure laziness also plays a role here. If I'd rig them up in different ways with bands etc., maybe it'd feel better. For now, they sit on marketplace
Look up "unlock the full potential of your lever arms, he attached cable pullyes to each arm and it makes it an even resistance curve the whole time. I'm planning on doing the same thing. And Kiezen DIY made an attachment that lets your lever arms swivel in any direction, so with those two hacks you can replicate any machine in the gym, I'm seen a guy just tie his cable from his low pulley to it from his rack mounted last pull down station that would work as well. The one I'm excited about most and putting a pull up bar to link both arms together, and doing leg press off my incline bench. Haven't tried any of this yet, but looks promising.
Love his channel. The rotating solution he has does allow for converging, but doesn't fix the strength curve. Good solution for people without space, but still inferior to machines imo
You can literally manipulate the strength curves of all exercises on lever arms. Your example with rows can even be fixed with just placing the arm below the pivot point. Not a good video.
Glad you're liking yours, brother! I haven't been a fan, but that's just my experience. Important that everyone finds exercises they enjoy and get good stimulus from.
I love my lever arm. Singular. Belt squats and standing calf raises are what I mostly use it for. No problem with strength curve or anything else. Chained to be able to start standing.
Totally agreed. I find these kinds of arms almost completely useless. It's also why I only use bands for limited applications, like physio type movements, warmups, or for adding resistance to barbell exercises, or assisting in pullups
On your new converging arms bench press, if you stow the bench vertical, and sit on the ground in front of it facing away from the unit, can you do a comfortable, good form shoulder press with it?
I usually did from a vertical or incline bench so the path was the same as a bench press, trying to replicate hammer strength machines. Happy with my alternative now instead of these!
If you lowered the arms the only different in physics is that the handles close on the single machine, which is obviously more preferable but still no different to the bench press in hand positions, was it really that bad?
The machine is much more stable than a bench press which is great for variation. And yes they converge. Vendetta attachments for the lever arms would set up the lever arms in a similar path, but are very expensive.
One of the best and clearest evaluations of lever arms in general and Titans (which I have...) specifically... The faults are greater than benefits... like to get rid of mine and go for the bench press machine he reviewed... Job well done ... Hope he puts out more of same good quality so the average buyers will not make same mistake due to lack of experience or knowledge... Thanks for taking time to go into detail instead of the usual white wash most reviewers give... Stay safe and enjoy the journey...
Mikola fitness has a new jabber arms with a spider joint it has a better range of motion u can Even do chest Flys with. I had the syedee b4 I had my mikola cage
The strength curve for row and press are opposite. You want higher resistance at the lockout point on presses. There is only one row I’ve used that has a great strength curve. The Rogers pendulum row. It’s a tough design.
I'll give that a look, thanks! The lever arm presses were so drastically different in lockout vs bottom that I didn't feel like they hit the chest well for me. More like a slingshot press almost
It was Gary Jones who developed the idea of the CAM after years of Arthur Jones trying to correct the strength curve of the flagship Nautilus Pullover. That is to say- companies actually have to give an eff. Best Chest Press I've ever used: Nautilus 2st Vertical Chest Press
I see a lot of mistakes in there, to many specialised machines what you need in a home gym is low space multi purpose machines so you can do many exercises on each machine
Not if you have the space for machines superior for each body part. Most work is done with cables, dbs, barbell. Machines for the body parts I really care about building.
Bang for buck I wonder if the powertec ( or knock offs) lever gyms are the best investment in that they cover a ton of ground. I like the small foot print of those two units though. Jammer or Lever arms alone are way overpriced imo.
I'm glad for your that you got rid of those titan arms... useless in my opinion and went with a more shocking inexpensive chest press...This brand is killing it ...with the prices...
My problem with the band solution is that it still is overloaded too much at the top positions as the bands stretch. Getting a couple machines has solved my issue at the core
Sir, you're Not big enough to be Picky, but aside from that compliment - jk IF I were to use any "Lever Arm" attachment - It would ONLY probably be specifically for: 1) Incline Chest Press (with Bands attached at the bottom position - so there's immediate resistance) 2) Military Shoulder Press I can already tell just by looking at the Lever Arms, that it wouldn't be good for any type of Back exercise or anything else for that matter. note: If you Trained to Failure, this Information you're Providing Us wouldn't even Enter your Brain. 🧠 Note: I just thought of this: I would Install the Lever Arms on the other side of the power rack (the non-busy-side) (If you have room on that side of course) - that way, they are always there and No put-on or take-off involved
If anyone wants to buy a pair of Rep ISO Arms for the 4000 series let me know. I never use them for the exact reasons in this video. Probably the worst home gym purchase I've ever made. They look so cool in the promotional videos but the strength curve feels completely wrong. I expected it to feel like a Hammer Strength machine and it's not.
