My regular gym is undergoing a relocation. In practical terms meaning a change of gym (within the chain) - from Nautilus/Hammer to Technogym selectorized machines.
I don’t know much about Technogym apart from looking like well designed equipment. Appearantly an italian brand (?).
Anyone having used it? How is the leverage compared to other brands (Nautilus)? Do these machines allow for full range of movement? (I simply hate when you can’t find a decent position in a machine, for example when in some brands you can’t get a proper stretch in the bottom/starting position of a bench press).
I used a couple (chest press, row, leg press) a few times. Overall I liked the angles and the handles. The seats were softer than I would have preferred. The machine itself was really smooth through the whole ROM with no catching. There definitely wasn’t anything about them I’d caution you against.
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Ok. So now I have tried the TechnoGym machines a couple of times. Lightweight, nice looking machines. You were right @TrainForPain, the angles are great and it’s easy to find a good position. Especially the leg machines were a pleasant surprise.
That said, I do have some constructive criticism on the upper body machines. When using lighter weights you experience no problems what so ever, and the leverage is smooth over the entire movement. Going heavy you experience an unevenness in force delivery left vs right - one side is more of the driver and it can feel a bit stuck during the movement. Also, when going heavy it feels more unnatural, like the weight being lifted is someplace else than with the machine - it feels unnaturally heavy. For instance I can top out some (smooth) Nautilus machines. On TechnoGym it’s more like light at first when gradually increasing weight, before suddenly it feels really heavy. Strange considering you have half the weight stack left to use! In other words, the weight stack does not gradually get heavier, it just suddenly becomes extremely heavy over a couple of weights. I honestly believe you would break these machines if you attempted moving a full weight stack on any of these.
In short, these are great machines for ordinary people going through the motions. Anyone trying to cross their limits are up for a negative surprise. I have previously tried 5 other machine brands, and they all respect a natural weight progression. It’s sad because TechnoGym is probably the one brand where you fit in the machine best, instantly. Such a great first impression (and sales argument).
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Even a broken clock and all that.
That’s interesting about the curve. I’m not sure I noticed it, but I never went really heavy either. All mine were plate-loaded. Are yours selectorized?
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Selectorized. I have grown a weak spot for plate loaded machines, as they simply feel more ergonomic than selectorized. Tried a selection of Hammer Iso plate loaded machines today - simply great machines, with a beautiful strength curve allowing great resistance with less weights. Amazing.
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They really are just two different categories of machines
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I generally prefer plate loadable machines A) Because you can load them much heavier & B) Because, their doesn’t (in my experience) seem to be anywhere near as much variance in how heavy a certain load feels.
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