Body-SolidHome Gym

Had this shipped to Arizona, so it could make it on the moving truck as I moved to Alaska, and this product didn't ship to Alaska. Finally arrived on moving truck last week, finished set up yesterday. Here's my rundown:* This will take several hours for setup* Make sure you have good tools, multiple socket wrenches / sockets ( make sure you have large sockets as well to help speed it up )* *Directions were amazing -** must follow each stop one by one - dont look at the picture and jump ahead** If you follow the steps on each page, in the order they are listed, set up is a breeze. The hardware was nicely packaged and labeled for each step - for example, for Step 1 - there is a bag of hardware (bolts, nuts, whatever, etc) and that bag is labeled as Step 1 - 20 bags in all, all labeled as their proper step. **Note - No bag of hardware labeled as Step 9, because the hardware can be found on the pieces themselves, and you just remove the hardware, attach the piece, put the hardware back in.** I do have a lot of additional small pieces left over, that I couldn't find anywhere in the directions what their for - and they look mostly like cosmetic items - none of them are for the actual use of the machine - There were a handful of endcaps that just didn't fit on the ends, they were loose and just fell off the machine - again, just cosmetic mostly* however, some of the parts in the pictures in the book were very small when trying to follow the steps and figure out what small piece you're looking for - you can go to body solid website thought and view the instructions for each step and zoom in on the pictures for a larger view* only 2 pieces of hardware were missing - easily bought similar items at hardware store as a fix for now until I can order the correct pieces the machine needs.* Be prepared to lay out all the boxes in additional rooms so you can open each box, as for many of the steps you will be grabbing some items for the steps from multiple boxes. I set this up in a 18' long by 12' wide room, and had to use an additional room to lay out open boxes for ease of use*Make sure once you build the main foundation / base for this in the first few steps (all the steps prior to putting the weight plates on), that you then move it to exactly where you want it in the room. Once you get to the steps of putting the weight plates on, that's kind of where your gym is now going to permanently be - make sure you leave enough room to walk all around the machine - was easy for me, as this is a large room in its in - just leaving that tip up front to be mindful of.*The quality overall on this is amazing - I've bought other sturdy home gyms in the past for a lot less - but again you get what you pay for - this surpasses any home gym I've had prior in terms of quality, sturdiness, set up, and so forth - worth it to invest up front for the long term rewardsI only found 2 tricky parts on setup - in 1 step, you have to tighten 2 small allen screws on top of machine, you will need a step ladder for this, as you need to see the top @ about 7feet - next tricky part, getting the cables to reach the weight stack after the cables are looped through all the pulleys, they come up just short of reaching their final destination - there are several way to correct this, and are noted in one of the final pages of the book on how to make the cable adjustments - and you can also use metal hooks that come with it that are used to hook on to the accessories, to add additional length or additional chain.Since I used some of the hooks for this, I will buy more hooks and more chains of different lengths to use all the attachments I have, such as different curling bars, row bars, etc. that I have extras of that didn't come w/ the machine. You do get 1 curling bar - that can also be used for rows, tricep pushdowns, etc - and you get 1 lat bar attachment. The rest is all the machines stations themselves.I highly suggest, if you're 6' tall or taller, of going down to the hardware store and buying a couple more chains of different lengths and hooks, for some of the exercises that miscellaneous attachments are used for.As for the main meat and potatoes of the machine - each station works beautifully, and gets me motivated to begin my workout just lookin at this beast - And the variety of what you can do with this versus other home gyms, is beyond comparison - If you have the budget for this do it - dont go for a cheaper machine that has lots of inconveniences, is clunky, feels off-centered or uneven, , and makes you wish you could do more - just get this one, and do the more now!

This gym is fantastic. The assembly is not easy, particularly the cable system. There is a section about how to adjust cable tension in the manual that will come in handy. It took my husband and son about 15 hours to assemble. It was totally worth it. It’s high quality and heavy duty. Nearly commercial grade. The ability to use it at the same time as another person is great. Stations work well for people of multiple heights and sizes.Body Solid customer service is outstanding. My chest press bar was damaged in transit and they replaced it for me in less than a week. The customer service of the seller was also very fast and responsive…on a Sunday!I highly recommend this unit and this retailer. This machine will be getting a lot of use for many years.

So the machine seems very nice.My problem was in some of the instructions. Overall it was decent. However, there are parts in there that show on parts break out and it is so small it is hard to tell what it should look like. Those parts you tend to have to go by the picture (almost to small to see mostly) and the descriptions (generally somewhat vague)The other issue I have is there is a hardware bag for Step 1 to step 22 except for a few steps and there isn't anything saying the hardware required is pre-installed etc. So I spent time I shouldn't have had to trying do decide if I were shorted parts etc. Then there were extra parts in one bag, and stuff missing labels ( or rather stuff that should have been labeled that wasn't). Also several pictures depict something other than the final product.I know it is hard to get the instructions perfect when your designing these but this manual needs revisited.All and all it isn't terrible to build. If your not mechanically inclined or can't read the instructions and sort things out that may be confusing, then I would have someone build it for you.

Make sure you have a level spot with plenty of room. This is a machine like in a fitness club. Sturdy. Lots of different workout options. But it does take some time to assemble. Don't rush it. You don't want to miss putting a part on it. Be deliberate. I put it together by myself, which is ok if you have prior experience assembling stuff. If you're not that comfortable with turning wrenches, reading directions and lifting pieces into place, assemble as a team. Two people are plenty. It took me alone about 4 days. It comes completely disassembled. But, the upside of putting it together is that you know how it works too. The directions are well done. Just follow step by step. Lay all your parts out with the smaller pieces up on a table. Organize it all before you begin to assemble. Put all the pieces together according to their colored tags. Get all your smaller pieces organized up on the table. With prior organization, once you start rolling on putting it together, it goes just fine and then, you're done and ready to use it. It is an impressive sight once assembled, and it is smooth. Enjoy. Get healthy!

This is a very high quality machine that operates just like high end gym equipment. I recommend getting on Body Solid's website and watching all the different functions of this machine. It will also tell you what size of room you need to fit this in. This came on a good sized pallet packaged very nice with no damage to any item. Putting this together is a chore. A second person would be helpful although I did do it by myself. You will need a large area to unpackage and lay all the items out. There is little color dots to group the parts for different stations. I would say plan on 7 to 11 hours to assemble. The machine operation is very smooth and feels well made. It is about 6 months in with regular use and not a single problem. Very happy with this machine!