Matrix
Ultra Hip Adductor
Mid-sized Sean
Member Since 2/22/2026
1137 points
A mid-50's lifter who discovered lifting late in life (age 40), and is now trying his darndest to stave off age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia) as he enters his sunset years - hence the name of my gym. As Dylan Thomas once said, I refuse "to go gentle into that good night." But I don't engage in strength training as an expression of existentialist revolt again the void that is death, nor do I do it for its own sake. Rather, as a follower of Christ, I see it as my spiritual duty to upkeep my body - a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19) - for as long as my sojourn on this earth lasts, and, in my view, strength training offers the best way.
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Mid-sized Sean's Reviews (89)
(3.67)
My old Planet Fitness had one of these infamous "good girl/bad girl" machine (which is which depends on the boy judging - whether he's a good boy or a bad boy). Having arrived early one morning, when the gym was mostly empty, I decided to try it out ("for science"). The movement felt horrible! I thought I was going to tear something very personal to me. Maybe I lack the requisite mobility or whatever - but it felt like a Medieval torture device. Never again will I use this machine! I'd rather pull sumo to build more adductors.
(3.67)
This is another machine I used frequently at Planet Fitness. I expected to get a good low back pump, but ending up smoking my hamstrings in addition to my spinal erectors. It felt like I was doing a "seated machine RDL" (if that makes sense). If that's what you want, this machine is great. But if you want a machine that targets spinal erectors specifically, you might want to look elsewhere.
(4.33)
This was one of my favorite machines at a Planet Fitness that I used to be a member of. I felt really locked in during the dip motion, and I like the option of having either a wider or narrower hand placement. The slight forward lean of the back pad helps to isolate the triceps.
(4)
This is another machine that I used to use frequently at my former Planet Fitness. I felt safe only using moderate weight, because you start at the stretched position, and my old-man shoulders felt vulnerable if I went heavy. They could have included a foot lever, which assists the user to push the handles out when starting a set to alleviate the above worry (some commercial chest machines do have that feature for that very purpose).
(3.33)
A local Planet Fitness that I was a member of for about a year had outfitted all of their machines via Matrix (customized with their ugly bright purple and yellow). This was one of them, and I used it numerous times. It performs well when doing high reps with light to moderate weight. But when I tried to go really heavy with crunches, I had trouble keeping my butt down on the seat - and would end up doing a movement that might be described as a "leg raise from a seated position"! In short, they should have built a way to hold the user down during the exercise.
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