Before upgrading from my shorter rack this was less useful for anything but leaning forward to do tricep push downs. Once I had a taller rack it felt a lot better. Then I got rid of the whole thing for an actual cable machine. To aid with the swing that will tend to happen you have two choices both with their own considerations. 1. Go lighter and slower, which some people would benefit from in the name of time-under-tension and mind-muscle-connection. 2. Bands or chains connected to a secondary weight will create a ballast or guide rod to keep your weights in-line. You have to set it up with enough back-off distance that the tension doesn’t do something crazy like turn the whole thing into a trebuchet.

For shorter people, height and arms, doing most things with 25s and, god forbid 35s, will put the weights in a position that is not crazy awkward. For the duck walk and power stairs movements this tool is simple and effective with the signature rogue overbuilt level of craftsmanship. The handle does have a little wobble and play when pinned in. Take that criticism with a grain of salt. I’ve never used other power pins. I also don’t know how to solve that. Adding things like UMHW or a closer tolerance between shaft and pin might affect usefulness. It being such a simple tool, there is no need to improve or edit it. No one is breaking ground on new power pin technology. Price feels a little crazy for what it is at $165; feels like $65 would be more reasonable. But if I have to pay $100 to know this thing will never break, that’s fine Rogue. I’ll shut up and be quiet.

BodySmith by Parabody, this is the closest to the model I own. Pic attached is the model I own. This size first perfect for the home gym. And the price was good, if you can find it for $100 or cheaper. 1 inch, standard pegs aren’t the worst thing. I was able to find about 100lbs of plates the day after this purchase. The cons are, the seat is narrow, the cable is loose. The pulleys are fine, and it’s not the smoothest thing ever. It’s not rack mounted, but call me old school; I like my rack to be a rack. There are compromises to be made in the name of space and affordability. I put it in the perspective of “good enough”. It is an upgrade to the spud inc strap pulley. I shimmed mine to level it and I have a giant 40lb paver brick to anchor it down. If you’re into the hodgepodge, prison gym/deployment gym vibe, this guy is sturdy and gets the job done. It’s kind of a POS, but it’s my POS. And I don’t have to wait for people to get off of it after half repping the full stack.

You don’t ever have to buy a chalk bowl/container. In my time I have used a Tupperware container, a 105mm shell and now this mini storage container. This one might be my favorite. It’s tiny. It’s cute. It makes me feel like one of those overlander dudes that has a million containers for everything. Find something, anything, to put your chalk in. Save your money from getting anything with a fancy logo on it.

Drop tests and mechanical breakdowns are for YouTube reviews and not actual use cases when it comes to adjustable dumbbells. At this point, everyone who has a home gym knows the pros and cons list. The biggest cons to the most durable and high performance dumbbells are the cage. Dealing with the conditions of an irregular shape was not a compromise I was willing to make. Noubells are one of the few that don’t force you to make that decision. I don’t drop them. The slight slop when doing more dynamic movements like a fly or curls gets annoying, but not as bad as similar dumbbells, this style. Up to 80 is perfectly fine for most movements and most people. I’m 100% ok with purchasing pairs of hundos and heavier separately when I want them.

Got the 100lb one. First found these at the USAF SERE gym and it gave me the strongman itch I’ve never gotten rid of. This was the first addition to the home gym that wasn’t a plate, rack, or bar. Great for conditioning. It’s just heavy and awkward enough to force you to respect it. I love this thing.

Upgraded bar from a whippy Tru Grit OLY bar that I had with no center knurling, so this was a definite upgrade. Came in clutch peaking for my return to the powerlifting platform. Quality do-it-all bar that had minor damage of the sleeve from holding chains or something before my turn with it. I failed a bench on it and tried to dump it. The counter weight of the plates levered it out of my hand and the plates knicked the sleeve for a minor gouge. But it barely made a dent.

Does anyone really know what they’re doing with these functional movement pieces? Cant beat trying to see if it’s for you with something this cheap. It’s basically a bat with a collar. I leave a handful of change plates on it at all times and I swing it around like a sword to warm the shoulders a bit on OHP days. There’s no texture difference on the handle for grip or the loading area, but that’s not a problem. I haven’t lost grip and tossed it across the gym, yet.