Wednesday, 18 September 2024

Fitness, Multi Gym

French Fitness X2 Corner Home Gym System Review

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French Fitness X2 Corner Gym Product Picture

The main goal for any home gym is to make the best use of your space. You want fitness equipment that packs away easily and has additional storage. And, equipment that bolts onto walls and lines up with corners.

The French Fitness X2 Corner Home Gym System offers a space-saving solution with a whole ton of benefits. We’re talking two-user functionality and two dual weight stacks to improve your compound and isolation exercise game.

That said, let’s take a look at this home gym system’s stations, features, and build.

French Fitness X2 Design Features

French Fitness X2 Design

Before diving into a big equipment purchase, there are a few things you need to know.

One of the first things you want to check is the weight stack. Entry-level machines generally have less weight than heavier systems.

We’re talking upwards of 200 lbs for heavier machines. And, a range of 66 to 88 lbs for lighter home systems.

Next up, you want to make sure the exercise options match up with the types of workouts you want to do. Ideally, you want a machine that hits all the major muscle groups.

Then, you need to look at the equipment’s size and footprint. Ensure the dimensions work with the space you have.

Lastly, weigh up the stability and adjustability. You want to enjoy using the home gym system. This means it should have adequate padding, a solid build, and support good form.

Does the French Fitness X2 home gym system measure up?

Weight Stacks

X2 Weight Stacks from behind

Heavier is better, say most lifters. This is because having a bigger weight stack allows you to progress and get stronger.

But, most home gyms don’t need to be built for Mr. Olympia title holders. Not immediately, anyway.

The X2 offers 2 x 150 lb weight stacks with increments of 10 lb plates per side. The poundage is lower than the heftier gym systems, but a good way ahead of the entry models.

For beginners, this is great as it allows room for progression as you grow stronger. Most home gyms don’t need a huge amount of weight.

Depending on your fitness goals and desired gains, a huge stack could be overkill. If realistically, a mid-range weight stack would suit you, the French Fitness X2 is a good option.

Exercise Stations

French Fitness X2 Product Picture Side Profile

No home gym system is the same. From one machine to the next, there is a huge variance in the exercise stations offered.

Our tip is to look out for the crucial ones. As a minimum, your home gym should include these exercise station types:

  • Chest press
  • Lat pulldown
  • Leg exercises
  • Pec dec
  • Preacher curls
  • Weighted rows

The X2 Corner Home Gym System offers these stations, plus some more. Take a look at the two towers’ stations and resulting whole body exercises below.

Tower One

  • Butterfly station: You can perform exercises like the Pec Fly and Rear Delts with this station. It’s also adjustable.
  • Chest press station: Build up your reps with this classic upper-body strengthening exercise.
  • High pulley station: Perform lat pulldowns and tricep pushdowns to sculpt your arms and shoulders.
  • Leg station: Develop your lower body with leg extensions and standing leg curls.
  • Low pulley station: Do compound and isolation exercises with one-leg curls, one-arm lat raises, bent-over rows, and other multi-muscle-group exercises.
  • Preacher curl station: Grow your biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis with this classic movement. The station height is adjustable so you can find the position that serves you best.

Tower Two

Tower two goes that little bit further. It offers:

  • Leg press station: You can perform leg presses and calf raises with this station. Note that the leg press has a 2:1 weight ratio. This means it has a real feel of 300 lbs, for a heavy-duty leg workout.
  • Shoulder press station: Achieve aesthetically-pleasing shoulders with this classic upper body exercise.

Take a look at this home gym system in action below.

Size and Footprint

The size will depend on the number of stations and the weights stacks. Generally, around 6ft 5” (2m) each for width and depth shouldn’t be too far off the mark – about 43 sqft (4 sqm) in total.

Height is also important. Many home gym systems are about 6.5 feet tall (2m), which can make them too high for some spaces.

The X2’s dimensions are 91″L (Leg Press Side), 83″ Wide (Bench / Leg Ext Side) x 81″H.

Luckily, it’s a piece of equipment designed to fit into a room corner. So you can make the most of the wall space. 

The height is just over 6ft 7”. The longest side is around 7ft 5”. Since the longest side is the leg press station, it makes sense that more room is needed.

If you have a compact gym, this piece of equipment is not for you.

Stability & Adjustability

X2 in a parking lot

In terms of stability, the X2 gym system is made with heavy-duty steel tubing and approximately 4” (10 cm) sealed bearing pulleys.

If you’re worried about not being able to go all-out on the machine, the 2000 lbs-tensile-strength aircraft cables will put your mind at ease. This home gym system is made to withstand heavy use.

Both the butterfly station and the preacher curl station are adjustable. This means you can set these to the best position to secure correct form, controlled time-under-tension, and optimal comfort.

French Fitness X2 Corner Home Gym – Features Summary

  • Weight Stack: (2) 150 lb
  • Features Leg Press with 2:1 ratio (real feel of 300 lbs)
  • Stack Increments: (15) 10 lb plates per side
  • Weight: 582 lbs (264 kg)
  • Steel Tubing: 45mm x 45mm x 2mm and 45mm x 45mm x 1.5mm
  • 14 and 16 Gauge Steel
  • Multi-station equipment
  • 2-Stack system allows two users to perform simultaneous movements

Available Attachments

French Fitness X2 Attachments

If you want to get the most out of a gym system, it’s worthwhile to look at the extra available attachments.

These will add to the price, but will also maximise the exercises you can do on one machine. Taking up less space and adding more exercise value. 

The X2 offers these attachments.

Accessories:

  • Body-Solid Stack Adapter Plates (2.5 lbs)
  • Body-Solid Stack Adapter Plates (5 lbs)
  • Aluminum Pulley Upgrade

Cable Attachments:

  • Multipurpose Bar
  • Revolving Straight Bar
  • Stirrup Handle (variety of materials)
  • Triceps rope (variety)

Exercise options

We touched on a number of the exercises you can perform earlier in this post. Here is a more comprehensive list of the exercises you can perform.

  • Tricep pushdown
  • Tricep kickbacks
  • Lat pulldowns
  • Preacher curls
  • Standing one-leg curls
  • Leg extension
  • Rear delts
  • Chest press
  • Pec flyes
  • Standing bicep curls
  • Upright rows
  • Seated rows
  • Standing leg lateral raises
  • Standing one-leg glute kickbacks
  • Standing front leg raises
  • One-arm lateral raises
  • One-arm front shoulder raises
  • One-arm rear delt
  • One-arm shoulder press
  • One-arm standing curls
  • Calf raises
  • Shoulder press
  • Leg press

Warranty

  • 10 Years Parts
  • 1 Year Labor

Final Thoughts on the French Fitness X2

French Fitness X2 station

We’re big fans.

The dual stacks and spacious gym design allow for two people to work out together without stepping on each other’s toes. The stacks make both isolation and compound movements a dream. And, the weight capacity is great for most fitness levels.

The multiple stations offer a huge variety of exercises across all major muscle groups. If you’re a fan of lower body and upper body splits, you can tackle different stations on different days. It also provides for a killer full-body session if you prefer a longer whole body workout.

It’s a solid design while being adjustable where it matters. So, you can push hard and keep your form constant.

The only buzzkill is that it’s not a great match for compact home gyms. But, if you’ve got the space, we say go for it. Especially since it’s a corner gym build.

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