Body-Solid Single Stack Home Gym G1S

excellent machine for home gym, easy to use and really sturdy

First, there is a serious error in the instructions. In routing the Lat Pulldown cable, the instructions (Step 8, Diagram 1) show the cable going up through the frame and over a pin directly in front of the 3-1/2" pulley. See attached pics. This is wrong and will chew up the cable as well binding up when trying pulling the lat bar downwards. I found out as soon as I tried to use the Lat Pulldown. This was the culprit. A few pulls and I scraped the coating of the cable right off.

Otherwise the manual for the most part is fairly clear cut, but the numbered hardware bags don't seem to follow any logical sequence of the assembly as far as I could tell. I ended up opening all of the 10mm bolt bags and sorted them by size to keep the assembly process moving. The scale at the bottom of each page was a huge help.

There was one bag for the seat and back hardware that was clear as to what it was for. Unfortunately the shorter 5/16" bolts for the seat were actually 8mm. I started tightening one of them and quickly realized something was wrong. Trying to back out the bolt ended up stripping the threaded insert out of the seat, destroying it. Watch out for this and test the bolts is the seat (and the back pad) by hand. This is what happens when a product has both metric and english threads. I was also missing the 2 - M4x10 screws fr the water bottle holder.

As far as Body Solid's customer service, they are outstanding. They are dispatching a new seat and bolts, the missing M4x10 screws and a new rubber grip for one of the chest press handles that got chewed up. This particular component was pretty scuffed and banged up from shipping.

I just found the assembly instruction error so I didn't have the chance to inform them of this when I spoke to customer service.

Other than those issues it seems like a very nice piece of equipment.

Bought this for a basement with low ceilings. It took a bit of fiddling to get it to fit beneath the rafters, but fit it does.

This gets delivered in multiple boxes. If you're worried about transporting the boxes from the driveway drop to wherever you're setting it up don't be. Each box is pretty easily transported by a single person.

The unit is well-built, and while it takes about 6 methodical hours to put together the instructions are clear and the assembly went without a hitch even doing it solo. My only recommendation is to not put on the silver end caps to the foam pads for knees and ankles; the pads seem to stay just fine without them and this allows you to change their location if you've got short and tall people both using the gym. A good socket wrench set will also make things a lot easier than using the chinzy cheap tools they provide with the kit.

160lbs might not be enough for some guys and stronger women, so be aware of that. From the looks of it it should be possible to modify it to add additional weights if you're handy.

This gym strikes a great balance between size, cost, and features. It is high quality and seems like it will last a long time. I looked at a lot of more expensive gyms in the local area, but finally settled on this.

I use this gym for auxiliary exercises. So I really like the mid-height pulley, and the bottom pulley for various shoulder and back exercises. If the gym were taller, I'd get more range of motion for some cable exercises like cable cross-overs. But then it wouldn't fit in the garage under the garage door when the door is up. The range of motion is sufficient.

One of the greatest discoveries is using the mid-height pulley to do shoulder stretches instead of bands. The pull is much more consistent - I use 20lbs - and I get much better stretches.

I find that the pulldown bar does collide with the chest press bars in certain circumstances. However, I don't use the gym for lat pulldowns, so this hasn't been a problem for me.

You'll need additional accessories besides the included ones. I bought tricep rope, metal single grip, and strap handles. Also bought nicer ankle straps. The included ab straps gave me rug burns when used for pull throughs.

It does take a long time to put together, but just follow the instructions and you'll be fine. Do lubricate the weight guides or there will be some vibration and sticking. I use a very thin coasting of silicone grease.

This is a great machine. I am certain you cannot get anything of better value right now (I looked at a ton of machines). However, this company losses a star for the HORRIBLE packaging and instructions. The Mechanical engineering is GREAT but they need a good marketer or lament person to review the instructions and packaging. You can definitely figure it out; however, at least two hours could have been saved if the machine was packaged better and the instructions were more direct.

The machine is great. I feel like I have a complete gym at home mainly because of this machine, my glider and bike. You are able to work your hold body with the G1S. It is compact. It's thus far very good!!!!

Happy Customer!!!!