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Currently available at an entry level price point, the Powerline PCCO90X Cable Crossover Machine supports a full range of upper and lower body exercise options, without the need for bulky weight plate towers.
In this review we take an in-depth look at the design, as well as the exercise options you can include in your workouts, and a quick summary of why this crossover machine has such a high average review rating.
Design features
If you were to take a walk around most commercial gyms, you would probably find a mix of both free weights and cable machines.
Using both types of fitness equipment in your workout routine not only offers a wider range of exercise options, but will also help the overall development of the muscle, due to the different planes of motion.
Considered their entry level machine due to the lower price, the Powerline PCCO90X by Body Solid provides a simple yet effective way of owning your own cable crossover machine.
Although not as compact in terms of size compared to the GDCC200 and GDCC210 functional training centers, the price is considerably lower. You also don’t have to worry about the setup and maintenance of any heavy weight plate towers.
Instead, the PCCO90X generates resistance according to the number and size of the weight plates loaded onto the weight plate pegs on each side.
Suitable for both Olympic and standard sized weight plates, this lets you make the most of any plates you might have at home already.
The only downside is that it does take slightly longer to adjust the weight, as you aren’t simply adjusting the position of a sliding pin in a weight stack.
Cable pulleys are positioned at the top and bottom of each upright support, allowing you to train both upper and lower body muscle groups effectively.
To get a clearer idea of how the Powerline PCCO90X could benefit your own workouts, we’re now going to take a look at some of these exercise options in more detail.
Powerline PCCO90X – Features Summary
- Crossover machine offers total body conditioning with a 180 degree range of motion
- Includes two cable handles and one ankle strap; chin-up handles, weight plates, and collars sold separately
- Large diameter, high-resin top and bottom pulleys
- Professional carriage system travels on patented nylon bushings
- 10 Year frame warranty, one-year warranty covers all other parts
- Eight sealed ball bearing
- Accepts both Olympic and standard plates
Upper body workouts
Despite the cable pulleys being fixed rather than height adjustable, you can still create a surprisingly high number of exercise variations to train your upper body.
This is partly due to the versatility of the Powerline PCCO90X, due to its compatibility with so many different attachments.
Even using a basic set of single handles as shown in the image above, you can still setup routines that work every major upper body muscle group.
Although it’s impossible to list all of them here, we’ve put together a quick summary of some of the most effective options, according to the primary muscle group they develop.
- Chest – Cable crossovers (low and high), incline chest flys (bench needed), iso-lateral cable cross, pullovers (bench needed)
- Back – Seated rows, rear delt flys, straight arm lat pulldown, standing cable rows
- Shoulders – Upright rows, side lateral raises, seated shoulder press (bench needed)
- Biceps – Single cable curls, straight bar curls, hammer curls (rope attachment), standing concentration curls
- Triceps – Pushdowns, pulldowns, overhead extensions, cable kickbacks
Training your lower body
Although cable crossover machines are traditionally used for upper body workouts, with the right attachments you can still isolate the full range of lower body muscle groups.
The Powerline PCCO90X even provides you with the two cable handles and ankle strap attachment as standard.
If you want to isolate your quads, glutes, hips, or hamstrings, the ankle strap is what you’ll need.
Similar to the upper body exercise options above, we’ve put together a quick list of the various lower body exercise options that are available.
A quick search on YouTube should find detailed explanations on how to perform each of these exercises correctly and effectively if you’re unsure.
- Quads – Lunges, standing leg lifts, cable split squat
- Hamstrings – One-legged cable kickback, standing leg curls
- Glutes – Rear glute extensions
- Hips – Cable hip extension
Unfortunately it’s not as easy to perform squats using the PCCO90X as it is with one of the functional trainers from Body Solid’s GDCC range.
This is due to the extra width between the towers making it difficult to find an adaptable bar attachment that connects cables from both towers.
Customer reviews
The combination of having lower price than most cable crossover machines and being produced by one of the world leaders in fitness equipment means that there’s no shortage of customer reviews for the Powerline PCCO90X.
With more than 60 reviews currently available on Amazon alone, these can be a great source of information if you’re looking to find out more about the build quality, as well as any potential flaws.
Although reading the full reviews will give you a better impression of each customer’s experience when buying this machine, we’ve also provided a quick summary in the lists below.
These should hopefully provide an insight into the reasons behind the high average rating and popularity of the PCCO90X.
Pros:
- Smooth cable pulley motion
- Low price compared to similar cable pulley trainers
- Wide variety of exercise options available for each muscle group
- Both high and low cable pulley positions available
- Much lighter frame than most crossover towers
- You can use your own existing weight plates instead of having to pay extra for weight stacks
- High quality materials and design
- Allows you to effectively isolate muscle groups from a wider range of angles than free weights alone
Cons:
- Lack of a low cross-brace means the legs on each side can move slightly when pulling the lower cables together with heavier weights
- Assembly instructions in the user manual can be a little difficult to follow, resulting in a longer assembly time
- Adaptor sleeves need to be purchased separately to support Olympic weight plates if needed
- Limited range of attachments provided. To get the most out of this machine you should expect to pay an additional $50 to $100 to stock up on some different variations.
Review Overview
Overall Review Rating
4.5 / 5
Utilizing their patented nylon bushing technology and 8 ball bearings, Body Solid have created a crossover machine with a smooth range of motion, at an extremely affordable price.
There are really just two main differences between this and higher priced designs; using weight plates instead of weight stacks, and the lack of adjustable height settings for cable pulleys.
That being said, you can still use a similar amount of weight, have access to both high and low pulleys, and can use both standard and Olympic weight plates.
You can also still perform almost the same range of exercises thanks to the 180 degree movement in the pulleys and attachments provided as standard.
Assembled dimensions: 82" (H) x 112" (L) x 39" (W)
USA Home Gym gives in-depth insights into gym equipment, supplements, and fitness training methods. The motivation behind USA Home Gym is to provide you with information that goes beyond what you can find in any user manual, customer review, or other online review sites.
We go to great lengths to ensure that our reviews are completely comprehensive, usually covering everything from the design features to the warranty coverage and exercise options. This is all to help guide you towards the home gym equipment that’s best suited to your goals and budget, whilst also being the highest quality option in your chosen price range.
