Marcy Diamond 200 Pound Stack Home Gym

Marcy Diamond 200 Pound Stack Home Gym

By Goodtobeagator

Shipping:
We ordered this from Amazon who sent it to a warehouse 2 hours from us. It wasn't delivered to our door until the following week. So don't count on the delivery date being the same date it arrives at your home. On to the gym. I've got a short list of goods and bads...

Goods:
The range of movement during workouts is nice
Workouts feel challenging
There is more weight than my wife or I can lift
The gym feels sturdy (other than the seat being a LITTLE loose, but it's adjustable so I'm not sure that can be helped)
*UPDATE 1/18/12* We're really liking all the different workouts we can do. Pulls, pushes, lifts, etc. Good variety.

Bads:
- The seat, while adjustable, doesn't adjust as much as we'd like. It leans forward at various angles or can be straight up and down.
- The lower cable (floor level) is good for leg lifts but the "shiver bar" is useless. I don't think I'll be doing curls or any biceps with this gym. Who knows though. It might just take some getting used to.
*UPDATE 1/18/12* I'm using about half the weight stack and the gym creaks like it's under a lot of stress. Nothing has broken or bent yet but I just have this feeling that I don't want to use more than 6 plates.

Assembly:
I was fortunate to have received all the parts and the instructions were easy to follow. Scary pictures but if you go step by step they make sense. Oh, there's an error on step 9 I think... when it asks you to use 2 #83 bolts after you've already used them all, if you look at the diagram it says #81 or something, so if you get to the end and are missing two bolts, just look at the picture and go by that.
*UPDATE 1/18/12* As mentioned above, no problems yet. Today I had to adjust the tension on the hanging pulleys which only took about 5 minutes. When I put the machine together I had it on the lowest hole, and today I just moved it up to the 2nd from the bottom.

Conclusion:
Glad we got this gym. Got it for $346 during a random (and short-lived) sale on Amazon. Well worth the money.
*UPDATE 1/18/12* Still happy with the gym, but I have this feeling that as much as we like it, it's kind of cheap. The welding isn't great and the metal doesn't feel strong. No problems yet, though. I guess I'll just say we're still happy and leave it at that.

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Weider X-Factor Door Gym

 

Weider X-Factor Door Gym

Well, let me start off by saying I bought this yesterday (Valentine's Day) returned it today because I couldn't find a door that would shut with the equipment installed. I'm disappointed because I think it would be a good exercise product & I was really looking forward to trying it out. I gave it 4 stars because of the price, quality & ease of installing/removing & storing it. I'd like to give it 3.5 stars though, b/c I couldn't find a place to use it in my apartment. Also, shop around.... I bought mine at a local Dick's store for $99.99 plus tax, didn't have to wait (or pay) for delivery.

Pros:

- Seemed well made for the price. (Didn't get to use it, so don't know about longevity, but nice out of the box)

- EXTREMELY easy to install. From the box to installed in 10 minutes. Very easy to put up, take down & store. (I easily moved it around to every door in my apartment trying to find a good place to use it)

- Small, light weight & portable.

Cons:

- The brackets that go over the door are wide so they'll fit over thick doors. They don't fit thin doors very well.

- Instructions, which you don't see until you buy it, recommend installing the X-Factor on the side of the door that closes against the door jamb (for example, most doors open into a room, so you would have to install it & exercise on the side of the door that's in the hallway). The reason is to increase the strength of the door as you pull against it during exercise. They don't come right out & say it, but this reduces the chance that your door could bust open & fling against you during your workout. Referring back to my example, if you're exercising inside the room, the only thing holding the door shut is the door latch.

- There MUST be at least 1/8" clearance between the top of the door & door frame (header). Same for the bottom of the door & the floor (sill). This is so the bracket can fit between the door & the frame/floor when you shut the door w/ the X-Factor installed. This is where I had problems and had to return it without any chance of using it. I found reviews on other websites (sorry, can't recall where), that a few people had the same problem but didn't give details, so I took my chances. One person said they trimmed the door shorter to fix the problem. I'm a renter, so that's not an option. Another point to be aware of, if your doors are hollow core, not solid wood, trimming them shorter may reduce their strength, and when you start pulling on them w/ the X-Factor you may end up damaging your door & hurting yourself.

So, before you buy this, check your doors to make sure there's enough clearance & that you can install it in a place where you'll enjoy working out & be able to watch the videos too (back to my example... I don't know anyone who has a t.v. & dvd player in their hall).

Also, Google around for other reviews. It seemed like there was a mix beginners & pros, and there was a variety of opinions. The pros felt it was a good "back-up", but wouldn't give up their pro equipment, and the beginners thought it was a good product to start with.

Not sure if this will add to your decision or not, or your opinion on my review... so here's a little about me:

I'm a 34 yr old female. I work in an office all day, and am very disgusted w/ how out of shape I've become from sitting on my butt for up to 70 hrs a week. I want something that will exercise my whole body and can be used in short or long time frames for a good work out. I also want something that doesn't take up a lot of space & is easy to move around as necessary, and, yah, doesn't cost a fortune either. I really thought I struck gold w/ X-Factor. Bummer... the search continues.

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Weider X-factor Plus Home Gym

 

Weider X-factor Plus Home Gym

I also had to purchase this machine at Sports Authority due to being out of stock. I had no problems with assembly provided you follow instructions very closely, all the bolts and holes lined up perfectly, it took about 1 1/2 half hours to put together. The dip station arms are a little far apart for most people. I bought this machine to work out/repair my shoulder from rotator damage, it is perfect for that. It gives me an excellent upper and lower body workout, flys, curls, lats, pecs etc. Leg straps are ok, could have been better but no problems with them. I would have liked another set of handles so I don't have to change from upper to lower cables, so I will order another pair. Inspect the pully wheels for burrs and remove any with very a fine emory board to avoid wearing/pulling of the covering on the rubber bands. If there are burrs on the wheels they will show up on the bands very quiclky as a fuzzy area on the band covering. All in all this is a great machine taking up little space in my garage. Believe me this is not just a machine for younger people I am 64 and looking forward to getting up in my treestand this fall for the first time in 6 years. Best $219 I have ever spent.

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