Body Solid EXM3000LPS Home Gym Review

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The Body Solid EXM3000LPS is an upgrade to the single stack EXM1500S model, with more workout stations and a 50 lb increase for each of the two weight stack towers.

Now with 7 workout stations bringing an increased number of upper and lower body exercise options, we wanted to find out how it measured up to competing home gyms from companies such as Powertec and Inspire Fitness.

In this review we take an in-depth look at the benefits of each station, together with the exercise options, warranty coverage, and what you can expect from the assembly process.

Multi-Press Station

When you’re buying a new home gym, it’s important to consider the range of compound upper body exercises available. This means multi-joint exercises that work multiple muscle groups in the same movement.

Because the main pressing arm on the EXM3000LPS is unilateral, you don’t have quite the same range of exercises as the isolateral pressing arms of machines like the Inspire M4.

However, you also have to bear in mind that the M4 usually retails for a higher price than the Body Solid design (usually around $3500).

That being said, the multi-press for the EXM3000LPS does provide you with a variable starting position, with six incremental settings to choose from.

This allows you to find the most effective angle for your height and body type in exercises such as chest press, incline press, shoulder press, and even mid-row exercises.

High density cushioned rollers have been added to keep your lower body in position when using the multi-press for rows or the lat pulldown above.

Multiple grip positions during these exercises allow you to place greater emphasis on specific areas of a muscle group, such as upper and lower chest.

To cater for a variety of user heights, Body Solid have also made the seat for the Multi-Press station height adjustable, placing the padded rollers at the optimum position against your ankles when using the leg developer.

Leg Press / Calf Press Station

If you want to build a strong, well-balanced physique, you’re going to need an effective lower body workout routine.

However, something we’ve noticed across the board with home gyms is that they don’t provide more than a 500 lb capacity for lower body exercises.

If you’re lifting heavier than this, your only option is a heavy duty power cage. The Body Solid SMR1000, Titan HD Power Rack, and Valor Fitness BD-33 all have a 1,000 lb capacity.

But for most of us, 500 lbs will be more than enough weight to be moving in our own home gym, so it really comes down to exercise variety and personal preference.

The Body Solid EXM3000LPS has a leg press station which uses an identical 210 lb weight stack to the one used by the Multi-Press and Perfect-Pec stations, but with a 2:1 ratio.

This means the 210 lbs of resistance converts to 420 lbs, which can be used for calf raises as well as standard and iso-lateral leg presses.

Your back remains well protected throughout each exercise thanks to the thicker DuraFirm padding towards the lumbar region, with handles added to keep prevent unwanted movement when pressing heavier weights.

The heavy-gauge foot plate has also been rubber encased to give it a safer non-slip coating that keeps your feet firmly in position.

Perfect Pec Station

Pec flys offer a similar range of motion to dumbbell flys, but with the benefit of being in a vertical rather than horizontal position.

The stretch on the pecs will be virtually the same, but having the visibility on the angle of your arms will help you make important adjustments to your arm and shoulder positions.

This combines with six starting position settings per side to reduce the stress placed on your shoulders.

You can then choose the range of motion that suits you. Shorter if you suffer from injury, or wider if you want a deeper stretch across the chest.

If you’re looking to train your rear delts, you can even use the Perfect Pec station for rear flys, with the 210 lb weight stack providing ample resistance.

Lat Pulldown / High Pulley Station

In addition to the seated rows with the Multi-Press arm and rear delt flys with the Pec Station, the Body Solid EXM3000LPS also comes fitted with a lat pulldown station.

The height of the pulley and distance between the top of the weight stack and top of the surrounding shroud means you have all the space you need to perform a wide range of lat pulldown variations.

This lets you switch between close grip, wide grip, overhand, and underhand to emphasise the amount of effort place on specific areas of your back – the largest and most complex muscle group in the body.

From a standing position you can use this same high pulley for tricep pushdowns and overhead extensions. Combining this with the dips from the optional VKR attachment ensures you hit all three heads of the tricep (long, medial, and lateral) for complete muscle development.

You won’t find too many home gyms that offer more tricep exercises than these, but the truth is that they are isolation exercises. What about if you want to train your triceps together with chest and shoulders as part of a mass-building upper body workout?

Body Solid have solved this problem by developing their VKR30 dip attachment, which attaches to the side of the frame and also supports various abdominal exercises.

Leg Extension / Leg Curl Station

As an extension to the lower body exercises you can perform on the leg press, you also have the leg developer for isolating your quads and hamstrings.

From a seated position you have a similar set of handles to the leg press, which can be used to prevent your upper body from rising up the back support during heavier leg extensions.

From a standing position you can also perform isolateral leg curls to isolate your hamstrings.

Additional lower body exercises are also available via the low cable pulley, such as outer thigh abductions and glute kicks.

Seated Row / Low Pulley Station

The low cable pulley alone gives you dozens more exercise options to choose from. This includes upright rows, bicep curls, hammer curls, shrugs, concentration curls, side lateral raises, and the lower body exercises we mentioned above.

For the majority of exercises and fitness levels the 210 lbs of resistance provided by the weight stack will be more than sufficient.

However, if you’re training for strength and want to use a heavier weight for exercises like shrugs and upright rows, you might also want to take a look at the Body Solid SBL460P4.

Although this is a plate loaded system, the capacity for these exercises would be closer to 500 lbs.

That being said, if 210 lbs of resistance is sufficient for your future strength goals, the low cable pulley on the EXM3000LPS is excellent for building depth in the middle back and lower lats.

VKR30 Knee raise and dip attachment

As one of the top gym equipment companies in the world, Body Solid are renowned for their versatility, with their modular DGYM allowing you to custom build your own custom home gym system.

Although you can’t expand on the amount of weight in the stacks, you can benefit from their VKR30 knee raise and dip attachment, which fits to the frame of the EXM3000LPS.

Arm and back supports use a similar high-density padding to the seats, helping to provide an extra level of support and comfort.

To strengthen your core you can use the VKR for knee and leg raises, adding a twisting motion to place more focus on your obliques as well as your abs.

The handles at the front are perfectly positioned for dips, with a step up bar putting them within easy reach. This same step up bar can also be used as a point of elevation for your feet if you wanted to include decline push ups in your workouts.

Although you’re missing the pull up bar that’s available with their FCD Fusion VKR, attaching to the frame means you don’t need such a wide base to ensure stability and safety. This results in a more efficient use of space and more room for other fitness equipment if required.

Professional home gym assembly

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 EXM3000LPS, 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.

What’s covered by the warranty?

The warranty coverage for Body Solid equipment tends to vary by model, with three levels available.

The EXM3000LPS carries their Full Commercial Warranty, which gives you:

Box includes

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