Life Fitness
Not your average piece of gym equipment. This is serious and definitely not for the faint hearted – This review is broken up into a number of sections that will give you the user (you) to use your preferred browser's "Find on page" function to skip… Read more
to the area of interest.
[The Summary] [The Product] [The Package] [The Pros(+) vs Cons(-)] [The Final Thoughts]
[The Summary] Since around late 2019 to early 2020, between bushfires and of course a global pandemic, I had always wanted a home gym, but not like any home gym, a commercial-grade level that you or any one else could find in any independent or franchise gym location.
For me and my partner, I wanted bespoke and I wanted commercial-grade, or at the very least close to it.
Why? Why is that an important factor?
Some might argue that you can easily just go to your nearest Rebel Sport, Kmart, Big-W and be presented with a bunch of generic offerings. However, it is dependent upon several factors: (1) space; (2) cost, delivery and installation; (3) how serious are you in your health and long-term goals?... I am sure there are plenty though these are the only ones I can think of at the time of writing this review.
Since late 2019 to this very present moment, I have invested a great deal of time, money and energy in getting gym equipment for home use. Converting a disused single car lock-up garage into a gym and splitting the equipment to lower body equipment would sit onto a covered alfresco.
Though as you're reading this now, I haven't really answered the question, going back to Why. The plain fact is that I wanted equipment to last and have a higher build-quality. I've had my fair share of gremlins with poor quality equipment. There is a downside of course and that is cost, this is by no means cheap or expensive, it is relative upon what you're expecting in the long term.
And so, having purchased rubber bands earlier to perform a variety of exercises, we thought it was too dangerous to use the same bands to perform assisted chin/pull ups and dips. So jumping onto the Internet as I was presented with a variety of offerings to choose from; at first I thought may be it would be good to choose something either pre-owned or a generic brand.
Most of the gym equipment we had we ForceUSA branded, but having to look at ForceUSA, they didn't have anything that I was looking for. So I eventually decided to go with a brand that was well-known in all gyms across the country and went with Life Fitness.
Noticing that from their website, that they were doing a special, my partner and I discussed and soon made a decision. After 1.5 months of ownership, we are grateful and we are happy for a positive outcome.
[The Product] Is as advertised.
As much as comments made within the summary is supporting of this product's intent. The reason why we bought it in the first place, is that we wanted to be able to perform a variety of chin ups, pull ups and especially dips as well as a number of other exercises lacking in other unavailable pieces of equipment.
This product uses a counterweight through a cable system where it connects to a weight stack which is very effective in all of your intended exercises. It is also very straight forward to use.
Some might argue, that to perform these similar exercises, you could use rubber bands... which we have also, but seeing the amount of exercise failures on YouTube, we just didn't want to have any mishaps, particular at our age.
The weight stack has a digital counter at the top of which is useful, though for us at the moment, we have not properly utilised and needing to work out where to put the batteries.
[The Package] I bought this directly from the manufacturer in Melbourne and upon arrival via a massive long-wheel-based truck that filled our entire driveway, came with two Life Fitness delivery employees that unloaded, played lots of origami in moving it in place into our single car lock-up garage slash gym. And unfortunately due to the unleveled concrete floor of the garage, the product sits stacked in part on top of books to ensure that it is levelled.
Lets just say, that it definitely will not go any where without removing some internal infrastructure in the process.
I assumed that the product would come in pieces, but instead, it came padded with shrink wrap, foam padding and temporary pieces of plastics at the base.
[The Pros(+) vs Cons(-)]
The Pros(+): - The price: as it was on sale - The user experience - Compact footprint - A digital counter - a rubberised shelf above weight stack: good for mobile phone, keys and other small items - Will suit every one's needs - A well known brand - build-quality and full commercial grade - weight stack is shrouded to allow an additional level of safety and cosmetic appeal
The Cons(-): - The price: though it is relative depending upon what you're expecting - Though it is a compact footprint, it does take up some space, so make sure you have enough space - Digital counter is almost unusable, provided you have enough lighting. Would be nice if it illuminated - You will have to pay for shipping and installation costs: best to get a professional and do it.
[The Final Thoughts] My partner and I do not have any regrets upon purchasing this and for anyone who is a gym enthusiast or wanting something to do the job, then I would recommend this as part of your short list. There are bound to be plenty of other offerings on the market and perhaps better.
In the near future, we will be adding more gym equipment and will take Life Fitness a look upon their other offerings
The scoring that I have given this review is unbiased and fair due to two things that may have improved the purchasing experience. In this instance, if the product came in pieces that allowed better and easier installation, as the amount of time it took was close to an hour, if not just a little more. The second, would have to be the competitiveness of what this product represents to the consumer market. This is intended for individuals who are running and operating a gym business as opposed to the average private consumer who in most cases, will not purchase something as unique as this.
Thank you for reading.