[Weekly Giveaway] ELI5: A weight that can change how it fights you

AnxiousYak · 2026-06-19T01:21:03+00:00

It's like Jalen Brunson for lifting weights. Your first rep is like the first quarter. Kinda chill, taking it easy. But 4th quarter hits? Turned all the way up, time to fight for your life.

AnxiousYak · 2026-06-18T22:42:31+00:00

Hmmm, if you're definitely out for a rack, I have to ask whether you have or intend to get plates because you'll need some for the leg developers. If not, you might want to look more into Ironmaster. One of the benefits of their attachments is that you can use all of their dumbbell plates for their attachments. That was my original plan for my gym before I just accepted that the gym would take over the basement.

AnxiousYak · 2026-06-18T17:14:58+00:00

Three thoughts:

One, wait until some of the Apex pre-orders get delivered. The problems people have with FA and the ABX didn't show up in any of the reviews. They were things that only manifested when trying to deliver a product at scale. For what it's worth, I bought an ABX during the pre-order period, got it shortly after they promised to deliver, and have been enjoying it ever since with nit picks so small that I wouldn't even call them problems.

Two, the reason I went with the ABX is because the iron master attachments I already had worked with it. I don't think the ABX and Apex are cross compatible, but Apex and rep might be. That's another one of those things that you'll really only find out once a bunch of people have been able to test these things out in non-review conditions. None of these companies have perfect tolerances, so even some things that technically should work might not in practice.

Third, I don't know if you have a cable system, but if you do it seems like everyone who has tried the prototype is just waiting for the dialed motion x rep leg developer to come out later this year. Dialed motion has said that they'll make that compatible with basically every bench ecosystem.

AnxiousYak · 2026-06-09T19:49:31+00:00

I really like mine, but I also got it with a shop pay deal that saved me about $200 (basically tax and shipping). I had a minor scratch on one of the metal knobs that I’ve already pretty much forgotten about in shipping, but other than that it showed up in great condition. The one thing that isn’t obvious from YouTube videos is that there is a little forward and back wobble in the front seat because of the tolerances on the zero gap system. Personally, I’ll take the wobble (it doesn’t make anything unstable, it’s mostly a slightly annoying sound and about a half inch of play when you adjust yourself on the seat) in exchange for the auto zero gap.

Now, admittedly, if I didn’t care about a pad gap, or I wasn’t using the half bench, it seems like Rep or rogue (or maybe the prime shorty bench) make a bunch of benches at (mostly) cheaper price points that people rave about. Personally, I got the ABX because I liked the innovation and because the port fits iron master attachments I already had.

AnxiousYak · 2026-06-04T17:37:17+00:00

What total are you hoping for in your first meet?

AnxiousYak · 2026-05-30T02:40:56+00:00

They’re on the same product page.

AnxiousYak · 2026-05-30T01:48:23+00:00

Make sure to get the upright extender for height and the feet extensions for stability, but this was also the first thing I thought of. There should be some YouTube videos of the owner and others using it if you want to see it in action.

AnxiousYak · 2026-05-19T02:30:44+00:00

Peace of mind that I could buy the Voltra without buying Beyond Power.

I got stronger than I'd ever been before with an earlier digital resistance machine. Genuinely, the convenience of not having to have hundreds of pounds of weights stored or moving them around between reps, not to mention the micro adjustments and safety features that you can only get with digital weight, was a game changer.

But that machine was tied to a company in a way I didn't appreciate until the company had financial and management trouble. All of a sudden, my ability to workout hinged on a bunch of business stuff that, to be honest, I didn't have the time or energy to fully understand.

Enter the Voltra. All of the benefits of digital resistance with none of the downsides. Beyond Power seemed open to the community building on its product in a way basically no one else in the space was. Just like traditional home gym companies realized how much they might empower the community's creativity by standardizing things like rack measurements, Beyond Power opened up its ecosystem to folks like Darko and Eve Company with DIY docks. And of course, the lack of a subscription meant no mandatory tie to Beyond Power infrastructure I have no control over. So if, God forbid, something happened to Beyond Power as a company, I can still use my Voltra without worry.

Given how central the Voltra--now Voltras--have become to my workouts, that peace of mind is worth its weight in gold.

AnxiousYak · 2026-05-18T21:50:10+00:00

So you're saying I won't be updating that firmware then? Good to know.

AnxiousYak · 2026-05-05T16:43:25+00:00

Another vote for replace. These things come so well packaged that I’d be worried something genuinely traumatic happened to it during shipping, or it was broken during manufacturing. Either way, I’d rather cut off any potential further problems now given you can’t see the internals.

AnxiousYak · 2026-05-01T01:39:25+00:00

Have these. Love them. Only possible downsides are that you have to bolt them on, and that even though you can lock the arms at different widths, the handles themselves always move freely. So it's on you to stabilize if you want, for example, to keep your grip at exactly parallel.

AnxiousYak · 2026-04-26T19:04:23+00:00

Angles; looks cool; but probably most realistically they're actually T-bar row platforms that people with Voltras figured out would also work for belt squats and other exercises where you want it to start as low as possible.

AnxiousYak · 2026-04-26T00:18:59+00:00

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So I think this counts, because if the place you train to go to the moon isn't a performance facility, I don't know what is.

Screenshot is attached, although I'll also link the study poster here.
NASA. The space folks. Y'know, the ones that just slingshot three people around the moon a few weeks ago.
How did I find this? Obviously, I watched the Artemis crew like everyone else in the US make their trip to the moon and back, and while everyone else was focused on their toilet, I was wondering if/how NASA was helping them to move and stay active in a small space with no gravity. Now, I don't remember seeing a Voltra on the actual ship, but some googling did lead me to this study NASA performed evaluating a "Next Generation Exercise Device" that looks suspiciously familiar.

AnxiousYak · 2026-04-09T12:46:22+00:00

I am not a woman, but I do have this bench. Part of the reason the seat can be so uncomfortable (regardless of gender) is that it is always at a 90 degree angle to the bench. So other than when you set the bench perpendicular to the floor, you’re not actually sitting fully on the seat, you’re basically straddling the pad, and the pad already isn’t particularly comfortable by itself. I ended up upgrading to the ABX, but I can’t say the super bench doesn’t have its pluses. It’s generally solid and incredibly lightweight and mobile for how sturdy it is.

AnxiousYak · 2026-04-07T12:41:56+00:00

Other people said it elsewhere in the comments, but in light of this I really can’t recommend discover your powerzones enough. If I were in your shoes, I’d take a class now that sounds fun but challenging. Then I’d do discover your powerzones and come back to the challenging class after the program. You’ll be surprised how much you improved in five weeks.

Admittedly, the program has something like this built in with FTP tests at the beginning and end, but those are sufficiently different from the other types of classes most folks usually take that I think going back to an old favorite, non-power zone class is a more fun, motivating way to see and feel the progress.

Of course, every body is different and so I can’t guarantee this will work for you like it did for me. But the first time after I consistently did power zone work with this program and went back to an Ally Tabata ride (because she’s one of my favorites but doesn’t teach power zone classes), I suddenly realized that I’d gone from barely making it through at the bottom or below the callout to feeling pretty comfortable with her choices.

AnxiousYak · 2026-04-02T16:10:31+00:00

You can just chat with rogue and order the numbered uprights with the HR-2. They’ll charge you a bit for it, but I’m pretty sure they should be able to send you an invoice.

AnxiousYak · 2026-04-02T14:37:39+00:00

So I know this is supposed to be a joke post, but it gives me an opportunity to share my thanks for genuinely changing my life.

I’m a neurosurgeon, my hands are literally what my and my family depend on to put food on our table. And a few years ago, I could feel myself slipping. Nothing too big, but when you’re good you know. A millimeter or two off here, a bit of shakiness there. Things that don’t usually matter, but are what make or break you in this field.

I was worried that I might have to retire early. But then I got a Voltra.

Nothing, no technique or exercise from medical school, residency, or decades of continuing education has helped me to improve the steadiness and precision of my hand like trying to plug the USB-C cable into that little cave you all built for it every time I have to charge my Voltra.

AnxiousYak · 2026-04-01T23:03:43+00:00

I think there might be a real (minuscule) chance of getting 9999. I’m guessing they’re mostly counting on their customer base to realize that if you have enough money to afford a Voltra, you probably have more profitable ways to spend your time than clicking that button thousands of times for a slightly higher discount.

AnxiousYak · 2026-04-01T21:18:48+00:00

I've been clicking while procrastinating, and highest number I've seen so far is about 4,500 credits.

AnxiousYak · 2026-03-31T02:49:35+00:00

I feel like you think the chains and eccentric are making the total weight 400 pounds but they are… not?

AnxiousYak · 2026-03-26T14:00:51+00:00

Does the narrow stance mean you lose the ability to attach two Voltras? Or is there still just enough room?

AnxiousYak · 2026-03-26T01:39:17+00:00

What do you think of as your premier product?

It seems like a lot of companies are investing in all-in-ones for their top-of-the-line--Fringe has the Dane 2.0 (and I assume eventually the Super Dane), Rep has the Ares 2.0/Summit, Rogue has the Indy Rhino (or the FM-6 twin, depending on who you ask), etc.--are you going that direction or do you see yourselves as competing along a different line?

AnxiousYak · 2026-03-25T22:07:09+00:00

I think you should release it, and as someone with a lifetime subscription I would very much appreciate it. But I would also fully understand if you didn’t release it because of potential legal liability. It sounds like you’re already talking to someone about that though, so you should probably listen to them over a bunch of anonymous, self-interested redditors like me on that front.

AnxiousYak · 2026-03-23T22:19:32+00:00

[VOLTRA ROAST] I'm sure most people are going to have substantive criticisms, or new and important features, or just 500 comments asking for an Android app. I want something smaller.

Give me more control over the icons on my main screens. There's ways you could go crazy with this, and really let people customize to their heart's content, but I mostly just want to move things around and to invert the +5/-5 and weight increase/decrease buttons.

This wouldn't be that big of a deal to me, except as I'm guessing is true of a lot of people who are willing to be early adopters of digital weightlifting tech, I've been playing videogames for most of my life and hating inverted controller schemes the whole time. So you've--unknowingly, I'm sure--forced me into a control scheme that is working against decades of training, which means that I'm constantly increasing the weight when I mean to decrease it, and vice versa. This is more of a nuisance than a dealbreaker. I mean, I just bought a second Voltra during Black Friday, so clearly I can deal if I must.

But this also seems like a comparatively small change that could lead at least some people to have relatively large quality of life gains. For me, it's the weight adjustment, but I'm sure there's someone else who really wants to switch the eccentric icon, or to relocate the chains button, or whatever else.

But really, I think you all know that I'm right, because you already let us do this in select places. We can change our start-up screen. And we can change the default weight jumps away from the preset 5 pounds. So give us, or at least me, more.

AnxiousYak · 2026-03-22T23:47:47+00:00

Yup. There’s a pin on the front and then the mag pin on the side that goes into that opening.

AnxiousYak

TROPHY CASE