The Best Cable Machines For Home Gym

A plate-loaded cable machine may not be the best option for most people when setting up a home gym, primarily due to its cost and space requirements. However, for those who have enough money and home space, investing in cable machines for home gyms can be a valuable addition.

Cable machines, such as the plate-loaded cable machine, provide constant tension throughout each exercise, allowing for a more effective workout. They are compatible with Olympic plates, ensuring that users can customize the weight resistance to their preferences. Additionally, these machines offer a full-body workout, targeting various muscle groups and improving overall fitness. For those with the means and space to accommodate such equipment, a cable machine can be a worthwhile investment for a comprehensive and versatile home gym setup.

Plenty of people have always had home gym setups within their households. However, the number of people looking for the best gym equipment throughout this unprecedented time in the world’s history has shot up exponentially. This creates a challenge for people everywhere trying to figure out what piece of equipment is the best to put in their home gym, such as a traditional cable machine often found in commercial gyms.

You need to learn about different exercises you’ll want to be able to do, like a lat pulldown or pull-ups, as well as lower body exercises. It’s also essential to consider the various brands of equipment—Body Solid, Gold’s Gym, Bodycraft, Valor Fitness, Bowflex, and more. The best cable machine overall should offer versatile cable attachments for effective resistance training, targeting both upper and lower body muscle groups.

One of the toughest parts of creating a workout space in your home that provides everything you want it to for your workout routines is having enough room. Most of us aren’t able to have a different machine for every type of exercise we want to do. The amount of space you have or don’t have will be one of the biggest determinants for what piece of equipment is going to be right for your home. That’s why the best compact cable machine for a home gym is such a good investment.

A favorite cable machine among home gym enthusiasts, the best portable cable machine offers a space-saving solution for your home that gives you the means to do many types of exercises working for more muscle groups. With an adequate weight capacity and cable machine weights accurate to your needs, you can ensure effective strength training at an affordable price.

The best compact cable machine combines convenience and functionality, allowing users to achieve their fitness goals without sacrificing too much space. As you consider your options, keep in mind the importance of cable machine weights and weight capacity, ensuring you select a machine that meets your requirements and offers the best value for your investment.

In addition to a versatile cable machine, you may want to explore other options, such as a Smith machine or power rack, to ensure a comprehensive workout experience at home. By researching and comparing different types of equipment and brands, you can make an informed decision and create a home gym that meets your fitness needs and goals.

Cable Machine

• Best Cable Machine Definition

In general terms, a cable machine is a piece of exercise equipment that lifts weights through a pulley system. Not all cable machines are the same, there are different types. You’ll find some that are only meant to do a couple of types of movements, such as pushing and pulling, while other cable machines have more than one series of cables for different kinds of action. Home gym owners can also go with a cable crossover station machine. You’ll find versions that are free-standing or wall-mounted options. You’ll also find them in all sorts of price ranges. There’s more budget-friendly equipment, like Body Solid, or high-end quality machine equipment like NordicTrack and Xmark functional trainer cable. Body Solid still does what you need it to, just without all the bells and whistles. And, for some, you can customize the weight stack with different weight plates.

Best Cable Machine

• Best Home Gym Cable Machine Is Good

The benefits of cable machines are significant, especially for those who like to lift weights. They have some specific advantages, such as the pulley system that allows you to lift heavy safely even without a spotter. For example, during a bench press, if you find yourself in trouble, you can drop the weights, and the weight plates will just drop back down onto the weight stack. It’ll be loud, but not unsafe.

Cable machines offer the ability to target different muscle groups by using various cable machine attachments, making them an excellent choice for building muscle mass. With cable handle attachments, you can easily switch between exercises and focus on specific muscle groups, making the cable machine one of the most versatile workout tools available.

Investing in the most versatile cable machine or best cable machine for home gym will enable you to maximize your strength training routine while minimizing the risk of injury, making it an ideal addition to any home gym or fitness center.

Using a functional trainer cable machine also helps the person who is new to lifting keep good form and execute the exercise correctly, which helps to avoid any injury. You get really good isolation of the muscle group you are working, too, so you can develop it more quickly. If you get a home gym cable machine for your home that has various pulley system options, you can work every different muscle group in your body.

What a cable machine isn’t as good at is allowing you to develop those smaller muscles that help to stabilize and support your body when you’re weight training. The cables and cams on the machine do all of the stabilizing and support for your body so those little muscles aren’t getting the work they would be if you were using free weights. If you want your body solid and completely stable, you can use your tonal smart home gym cable machine and some free weights in between.

Best Cable Machine

• Is It Better Than A Free Weight

Both of these kinds of equipment have their strengths and weaknesses. One isn’t truly better than the other. They’re each better than and worse than the other in certain areas.

Free weights are better than cable machines at:

• Providing a cost-effective home workout option
• Pulling the entire body into the workout
• Working more than one muscle at a time

Cable machines are better than free weights at:

• Isolating one muscle at a time
• Helping to avoid injury by ensuring proper form
• Providing a time-efficient workout

Best Cable Machine

• Best Home Gym Cable Machine Build Muscle

Most cable machines, such as the Rep Fitness FT, will help you build muscle. They allow you to isolate the muscle you want for more rapid growth in that one area. However, as mentioned earlier, the cable machine takes the work away from the smaller stabilizer muscles, so you won’t get the extended muscle growth in the entire group as you will from free weights.

The Rep Fitness FT cable machine is designed to save space in your home gym with its wall mount feature, providing an effective and efficient workout without occupying too much floor space. By incorporating a cable machine like the Rep Fitness FT into your routine, you can target specific muscles while still enjoying the benefits of a versatile and space-saving workout solution.

One way to combat some of the takeaways of the stabilizer muscle growth is to use a cable crossover machine or a cable crossover station in your home gym. Using the cable cross pulley system requires you to stabilize a bit more because holding your form is more difficult than when using other functional cable systems. Your body does have to do more to keep the cables in the right position when you’re using a cable crossover machine or crossover station.

Some home gym cable machines have a traditional pull-up bar or chin-up bar where you can do regular pull-ups with no help from the pulley system. This will definitely ensure you build upper body muscle, including the stabilizer muscles it takes to do pull-ups.

Best Cable Machine

• The Cost of Cable Machine For Home Gym

There is a wide range of prices for cable machines. Not only are there different levels of quality, but there are also many different versions of these machines. You can find cable machines going for a couple of hundred dollars that give you the option of a few different exercises, or a high quality machine that costs thousands of dollars and provide angles and attachments that will allow you to work your entire body.

You’ll need to start your search for home gyms by deciding how much you can spend. Decide what features you have to have. Do you want a lat pulldown bar that lets you do lat pulldown exercises or a crossover station that will allow you to do all kinds of different exercises including lat pulldown? What about pull ups? Do you want something that helps you build toward doing pull ups or just a straight bar for it, or do you just not care about pull ups at all? Do you want a functional cable pulley system that can be adjusted down to the ground and can be used with an ankle strap for leg exercises? You may also have to spend more if you want heavier weight plates and weight stacks.

If you want to stay under $1,000, Bowflex, Weider, and Gold’s Gym all make home gym cable machines that fall in this price range.

Best Home Gym Cable Machine

• What’s The Best Home Gym Equipment?

The best home gym equipment is going to vary for different types of equipment. Here are the home gym pieces that top the list for their categories.

• Best cable machine – Bowlflex Blaze Home Gym

• Best treadmill – ProForm Pro 2000

• Best stationary bike – Exerpeutic Folding Upright Bike
• Best dumbbells – Powerblock Elite
• Best resistance bands – Therabands
• Best exercise ball – TheraBand Exercise and Stability Ball

Best Home Gym Cable Machine

• What’s The Best Cable Crossover Machine?

Cable crossover machines are popular pieces of equipment in any gym. They’re a good cable machine because any level of lifter can use them safely and effectively. They also allow for a wide variety of exercises and full range of motion in all different angles.

One thing to remember with a cable crossover machine is they need a decent amount of space. They’re wide to allow you to stand in the center of the functional cable system. When you lift with a cable cross machine, you sometimes have to extend your arms all the way out. You can also get a cable crossover machine that has other functional trainer stations on each end. Add that to the space needed for the weight plates and the weight stacks and you’re looking at a large piece of equipment. You’ll just need to assess the space you have and make sure to measure properly.

So, adding one of these to your home gym is certainly a good idea. But, what is the best cable crossover machine for your setup? We’ll give you the best for different budget levels so you can find one that works for your household.

Best cable crossover machine:

• Inexpensive—Body-Solid Powerline PCCO90X Cable Crossover Machine
• Mid-range—IRON COMPANY BodyCraft HFT Functional Trainer Home Gym – Dual Adjustable Pulley Machine
• Expensive—BodyCraft Jones Light Commercial Complete System
• Overall—FreeMotion Dual Cable EXT

Cable Machine

• Does A Cable Machine Have Other Names?

You’ll often hear of a cable machine being called just that—a cable machine. It could be a compact cable machine or a portable cable machine, but it’s still called a cable machine. However, it also is referred to as a pulley machine, sometimes. Other than that, people will mention it as a home gym system.

Cable Machine

• How Do You Adjust The Height of the Cable Machine?

You’ll need to adjust the height of your cable machine when you’re doing different kinds of exercises. Before you do that, make sure you take the pin out of the weight stack. Once you’ve done that, follow these steps:

1. Unlock the mechanism holding the pulley in its current position. Usually you’ll either need to pull a pin or turn a knob for this.
2. While holding the pulley in place, remove the pin that keeps the pulley secured to the tower.
3. Raise or lower the pulley to its next position.
4. Reinsert the pin to secure the pulley in its new position. Lock it in place.

What If It Breaks—How Do You Fix A Cable Machine?

If you have a cable break on you, the machine isn’t going to work properly until it is fixed. You can’t really repair the cable itself. That’s dangerous and can result in injury. Your best option is to replace the broken cable. You can do this by either purchasing a replacement cable from a retailer, which can be kind of expensive, or you can make a new cable out of materials you can find at a hardware store.

How Can I Make A Cable Machine For Home Gym?

You might find that making your own cable machine is the most cost-effective option for your needs. If you’re good at DIY projects, it’s not a bad idea. Here’s what you’ll need.

• 2 heavy-duty screw hooks
• 2 sections of 3/16 steel cable (add a foot more than your ceiling height for each)
• 2 pulley wheels with 125 lb. grade at least
• 2 24” sections of chain (heavy grade)
• Electrical tape
• 4 utility links (heavy grade)
• 4 1/2” cable clamps
• Fitness band with handles
• Knife, scissors, or box cutter

You’ll start by screwing one of the hooks into the ceiling where there’s enough support to keep the machine from falling on you. Then put one of the pulleys through on the hook. Next, you’ll thread a cable through the hanging pulley.

Make a loop with the end of the cable and wrap it with electrical tape. Apply a cable clamp over the tape. Do the same thing to the other end of the cable.

Put 10 lbs. of weight on one of your chains. Attach the two ends of the chain with a utility link. Then, attach the link to one of the loops you created. Take your other utility link and put it on the other end of the cable.

Remove the handles from your fitness band by cutting them off. Then attach those to the utility link on the opposite ends. Voila! You have your own home-made cable machine. You can test it out by grasping the handles and doing a Pulldown maneuver to see if it works properly.

We will caution you to only take this project on if you’re good at building already. Building a piece of equipment to work out with is risky if it’s not done properly. You could end up with a serious injury if you don’t get it right. Many people make a version of their own cable crossover machine. It’s probably one of the easiest to make. However, you still need to take all precautions and do it according to recommended instructions.

Source: flickr.com

Best Cable Machines For Your Home Gym

Look for a cable machine that fits the space you have available. You also want to stick to your budget. There are cable machines that range in price so there’s something to fit most budgets. To get the most bang for your buck, look for a machine that gives you a lot of different options for exercises, not just movements for a specific muscle group. Whatever your fitness goals are, a cable machine is a good addition to your home gym setup. It gives you a safe way to isolate specific muscles you want to workout, even if you’re exercising alone.

Best Cable Machine For Your Home Gym

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Body Solid a good brand of home gym workout machine?

Body Solid is a manufacturer of gym equipment that’s been in the business of making functional trainer machines for quite some time. They make everything from a simple cable crossover machine that is only for doing cable cross exercises, such as the Powerline PCCO90X which is a plate loaded crossover machine, to all sorts of other workout machines. You’ll find, too, that Body Solid equipment is generally affordable. For instance, the Body Solid Powerline PCCO90X is only about $600 on Amazon. Compare that to something like the Bodycraft HFT Functional Trainer, which to be fair has more to it like dual weight stacks and other attachments, you’ll see that the price tag for this machine is a upwards of $2,000. Body Solid is a good choice for those looking to stick to a lower budget.

Is Valor Fitness the best home gym machine?

Valor Fitness offers a lot of equipment for your home that doesn’t take a ton of space to accommodate. The prices for Valor Fitness equipment are on par with Body Solid. You can get a functional trainer crossover machine that is wall mounted or one that is free standing. They work with weight plates so there aren’t any weight stacks included in the machine. Valor Fitness also sells free weights and weight racks you can add to your home gym.

Which is best home gym cable machine

Body Solid or Valor Fitness?

Body Solid has a wider array of functional trainer options than Valor Fitness does. Their pricing is similar, as is their quality, but if you’re looking for more variety, go with Body Solid. Valor Fitness is more targeted toward those who are looking for small pieces of equipment they can fit in the corner of a room and items that aren’t weighed down with heavy weight stacks. Valor Fitness equipment may be better suited for those who live in apartments or condos.

Best home gym cable machine:

What machine is a functional trainer?

Just like the Xmark functional trainer, it is a machine that functions through the use of pulley systems. It allows you to do many varieties of exercises and is weighted with either weight stacks or weight plates.

What best exercises can you do on best functional trainer machine?

This will vary based on what type of machine you have. Here are some of the exercises you can do on various functional trainers:

• Shoulder press
• Bicep curl – that uses a curl bar
• Squat row
• Deadlift
• Reverse fly
• Hip abduction
• Lat pulldown
• Tricep extension – most often involve either a straight handlebar or triceps rope attachment

What’s better, weight stack or plate loaded?

This could just be a preference, but it could also be based on your budget. Machines that come with a weight stack or two will cost more than those that are weight plate loaded. The difference here is that the weight stack machine comes with all the weights already built in. The plate loaded machine requires that you purchase a separate set of weight plates to use. You’ll then have to manually load the plates onto the machine to your desired weight. The weight stack machine only requires that you move a pin to change the weight.

Another difference here comes as the weight of the machine itself. A weight stack machine is much tougher to move than a plate loaded one. They’re also heavier for shipping so you may have to pay more to ship a weight stack machine.

If you’re going with a weight stack machine, you can also choose between those with one or those with more than one. That’s another thing that will change the price and the ability to lift heavier.

Which gym machine is best for home?

The best gym machine for home use depends on individual fitness goals and available space. However, a versatile and popular option is the adjustable all-in-one home gym system. This machine typically combines multiple exercise options, such as a cable system for resistance training, a pull-up bar, and a bench press setup. It caters to various workout routines targeting both upper and lower body muscles, making it suitable for full-body strength training and muscle toning. Before investing in any home gym equipment, it is essential to consider your specific fitness goals, budget, and the amount of space you have available in your home.

Are cable machines worth it for a home gym?

Cable machines can be a valuable addition to a home gym for several reasons. They offer versatility, allowing you to perform a wide range of exercises that target various muscle groups in both the upper and lower body. The constant tension provided by the cable system can lead to effective muscle growth and improved functional strength.

However, before deciding to invest in a cable machine for your home gym, you should consider factors such as your fitness goals, budget, and available space. Cable machines can be relatively expensive and require a significant amount of space compared to other compact home gym equipment.

If you have the budget and space for a cable machine, and your fitness goals align with the benefits it offers, then it can be a worthwhile addition to your home gym. Otherwise, it might be more practical to consider other equipment options that better suit your needs and circumstances.

What is the best cable workout machine?

Determining the best cable workout machine depends on individual preferences, fitness goals, and budget. However, a popular and versatile option is the functional trainer or cable crossover machine. This type of equipment provides a wide range of exercises targeting both upper and lower body muscle groups, allowing users to perform various workouts for strength training and muscle development.

Functional trainers usually feature adjustable cable heights and multiple attachments, making them suitable for users of different fitness levels and allowing them to perform diverse exercises. Before investing in a cable workout machine, it’s essential to consider factors such as available space, workout goals, and budget to ensure you choose the best machine for your needs.

What machine is best for a home gym?

 

Can I build muscle just with a cable machine?

 

What are the disadvantages of cable machines?

Last Updated on May 9, 2023 by Harold Chan

DISCLAIMER (IMPORTANT): This information (including all text, images, audio, or other formats on FamilyHype.com) is not intended to be a substitute for informed professional advice, diagnosis, endorsement or treatment. You should not take any action or avoid taking action without consulting a qualified professional.   Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about medical conditions. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking advice or treatment because of something you have read here a FamilyHype.com.