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The Body Solid EXM2500S StrengthTech is an upgrade of the EXM1500S, and one of the top home gyms in their high quality range of home strength equipment.
So what exercises can you perform with the high, mid-range, and low cable pulleys, and how does the price compare to one of Body Solid’s leverage home gym systems?
This review takes a closer look at the design, compares the features of the two home gyms, and provides a summary of pros and cons from the customer reviews on Amazon.
Design features
An upgrade from the EXM1500S model, the Body Solid EXM2500S includes a number of important improvements in its design.
This includes a much heavier standard weight stack at 210 lbs (50 lb heavier than the EXM1500S), and an entirely new workout station that allows you to add pec flys to your chest workouts.
There are also a couple of more subtle changes that should help to improve the effectiveness of both your upper and lower body workouts.
The main pressing arm now pivots at a high position instead of low, which helps to create a more natural range of motion when performing the chest press.
This is also helped by the slightly steeper angle of the seat, which helps to create more room between your legs and the padded rollers when performing lat pulldowns.
In terms of improving your lower body workouts, with your quads at a steeper angle due to the design of the seat, this creates a wider range of motion and better stretch in the muscle when performing leg extensions.
The 50 lb increase in the weight stack also makes the exercise more challenging for anyone who has been training for a while.
Thick DuraFirm Pads also provide additional lumbar support compared to the EXM1500S, creating a more comfortable workout and preventing any lower back strain.
Body Solid EXM2500S – Features Summary
- Consumer Magazine’s Best Buy Home Gym!
- 210lb. Selectorized Iron Weight Stack in 10lb. Plates
- Heavy duty steel, DuraFirm pads, No Cable Changes, Tough Finish
- Pec Station, Press Arm, Leg Developer, High, Mid, and Low Pulleys
- Body-Solid Lifetime Warranty on Everything Forever
Exercise options
As well as the build quality and footprint of the Body Solid EXM2500S, it’s also important to know the exercises you can perform at the various stations.
Whether you have a workout plan already, or are looking to create one as part of a new fitness plan, it’s important to know that you can work each muscle group effectively.
A balanced workout plan not only helps to keep your body in proportion, but also prevents the overdevelopment of a particular muscle group that could lead to injury of a weaker supporting muscle group further down the line.
The following list is a small collection of popular exercise options, chosen from the 30+ exercises that are available with this home gym.
- Leg extensions
- Hamstring curls
- Lat pulldowns
- Pec flys
- Weighted ab crunch
- Tricep pushdowns
- Cable lunges
- Bicep curls
- Upright rows
- Shrugs
Customer reviews
Before buying any new piece of home gym equipment, it’s important to do as much research as possible about the product.
Fortunately the Body Solid EXM2500S appears to have lived up to the popularity and high ratings of the earlier 1500S model, with an average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 on Amazon.
In fact we found it difficult to find any reviews at all that were rated below 4 stars. After reading through each of these customer reviews, we’ve summarised the main pros and cons and listed them in a convenient list below.
This product is very high-quality, super-nice construction, looks great and feels great when you’re using it. Robert L. Phillips, Amazon Verified Purchase
Pros:
- No need for a spotter like there can be with lifting heavier free weights
- Solidly built
- Lifetime warranty on everything
- Smooth cable motion when lifting the weight stack
- Strong and stable frame
- Wider range of exercise options than similarly priced home gyms
- Iron weight plates help add to the feeling of quality
- Well suited to both taller and shorter users due to the seat height adjustment option
Cons:
- Assembly can be time consuming due to the quality of instructions
- Takes up more space than the earlier EXM1500S model
- No leg press available as an additional attachment
Professional home gym assembly services
When ordering a new home gym system, you might be wondering how easy will it be to setup? Most will include some form of manual, but the quality of assembly instructions can differ greatly between the different models and manufacturers.
This can be especially true with multi-station home gyms like the Body Solid EXM2500S, where you have multiple weight towers to assemble and a complex multi-point cable system.
One option is to hire a professional – someone who has experience setting up this type of home fitness equipment. So who can you trust to get the job done?
Amazon have recently introduced a number of home assembly services, for ellipticals, treadmills, and now home gyms. Simply enter your zip code in the form above to check the options for your location.
You can even find hundreds of highly rated reviews from customers who have already taken advantage of Amazon’s professional home gym assembly service.
With all the necessary tools and experience, and a typical assembly time of just 3 hours, it’s often the quickest way to get started with your new weight training workouts.
Review Overview
Overall Review Rating
4.5 / 5
The Body Solid EXM2500S StrengthTech home gym is ideally positioned around the middle of the range in terms of price, while providing many of the features from high priced machines.
The next model up in Body Solid's range is the EXM3000LPS, and although this does come with the added benefit of a leg press station, it does require an additional 210 lb weight stack and a lot more floor space. The price is also usually around $1000 more than the EXM2500S.
As well as the main workout stations, you also get a full size workout poster, lat bar, straight bar, utility strap, and the ab/triceps strap.
With 3 cable pulley positions to choose from and additional attachments available, it's no surprise that this home gym has such a wide range of exercises.
In terms of the warranty, Body-Solid are currently offering an 'In Home Lifetime Warranty', which essentially means that everything on this gym is covered forever.
Product dimensions: 83" (H) x 51" (W) x 83" (D)
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.