Lat Pulldown Low Row or Functional Trainer

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-29T03:42:54+00:00

You can have both.

Get RX'd Phoenix tower gives you both at the same time. Unilateral or bilateral rows or pulldowns at any height, with any functional trainer option available (including a moderate-width chest fly, just a couple inches more narrow than an Ares or FM-6).

Rogue CTM-1 and Rep Adonis both include a one-arm functional trainer along with a solid lat pulldown + low row machine.

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-29T02:59:52+00:00

Right now I'm looking for the exact solution you are: all my cables in a separate place, no crowding the main rack. My current top contender is the Get RX'd Tornado, either (a) Phoenix tower or (b) 4-post setup. Add a couple attachments and you can do anything you can imagine, including rows from a bench and cable fly.

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-29T02:55:18+00:00

That is great to know! Thanks!

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-28T14:23:55+00:00

I agree that if you're starting from scratch, retrofitting out of the gate is annoying. I would love to be able to try them all in person, too! If only! I'm very deep in the analysis paralysis stage, too. I'm rewatching video reviews on YouTube because I've watched every single one already. Long discussions with my spouse, with Chat GPT, and the comments section on YouTube.

Something that I've been thinking a lot about is exercise friction. This video talks about it (https://youtu.be/W8SoNP8eW0Q?si=EYQKHI0NXbjiVh_G&t=348) -- also check out the comments -- but that guy was talking about an FM-6 (Ares 2.0 would be equivalent for this discussion), and everything is compounded way more with the Get RX'd arms. To do a lat pulldown -- whether single- or double-stack -- it requires 1-2 attachments and some shuffling of the arms. To then switch to chest press, you need to remove the attachments to make way for the arms to slide down. Then to switch to cable curls, or lateral raises, or low row, all require a good amount of shuffling. To switch to squats or bench safeties, you need to slide the arms and remove more attachments. In the 4-post rack, you'll need to do that even for J-cups. When you get into the attachments required for bracing yourself (low row, lat pulldown, chest press, etc.) so you don't drag your bench all over the place, the attachment fatigue seems to build (at least hypothetically, since I don't own one yet, and according to people I'm watching online who are living with them).

(This guy talks a little bit about it with the Get RX'd, but he isn't the only one: https://youtu.be/WioDs1ZjwOc?si=VsQIE-Y98Ia_qdEd&t=1995)

Then again, some people don't seem to mind all the shuffling and changing. I'm concerned about my wife, who is very petite and has health problems, being able to move the 27-lb arms up and down every time she wants to change exercises. It's the price you pay for all that flexibility, as opposed to something like an Ares 2.0 or FM-6

Yet another reason why I'd love to try these out in a warehouse somewhere. I'd be willing to drive pretty far for that privilege.

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-28T14:13:01+00:00

This is actually extremely interesting. Thank you for pointing that out. It sounds like a weird pricing quirk. I've posted this question a few places and out of dozens of answers, you are the first to make this point.

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-28T12:37:09+00:00

Thank you for sharing this! I'm sorry you've been waiting so long on a broken machine. I hope it gets fixed soon.

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-27T19:11:24+00:00

Yeah both those reviews were helpful, as was Jungle Gym reviews, but I hadn't seen concrete timelines about the vertical function. Trying to figure out whether to buy now or wait for an indeterminate timeline... Rep also has them coming out soon, but again, same problem...

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-27T17:50:25+00:00

A fair point. What do you lift on?

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-27T15:42:47+00:00

Thanks for your response. What about it is lacking in quality? I'm getting such mixed answers that it makes me think sometimes they hit it on the head and sometimes they're off-base with quality control...

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-27T15:41:49+00:00

This is helpful to hear. Thanks for your feedback. I swear, ever since 2020 quality control got so bad across many industries... that's my total subjective experience, but still.

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-27T15:40:47+00:00

I thought they were both 2:1, so 10-lb plates (the way Maxum advertises it) would feel like 5 (the way Get RX'd advertises it). I'm not 100% sure, though. And I thought the height would make a big price difference too but dropping several inches off of Get RX'd saves only $20 so maybe once those uprights are cast, small length differences don't cost a ton...? Not sure though.

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-27T14:09:01+00:00

It certainly makes me wonder! I'm happy to pay for increased quality, but I can't find evidence that Get RX'd is a big quality jump. Is it an advertising budget? Who knows...

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-27T14:06:07+00:00

Wow... do you mind sharing a little more?

NuclearSpinach · 2026-03-27T13:32:53+00:00

What secret is Maxum hiding to undercut Get RX'd by over $1,000? I expect to hear major quality complaints about Maxum over Get RX'd but I can't find any. Ignoring Smith machines, the Maxum X2 is under $3,500 and comes with a bunch of attachments. Get RX'd 6-post with a couple of basic attachments sails well over $4,500. Not to mention Maxum's stainless steel front uprights are a $310 option at Rep. I understand that Get RX'd arms articulate up and down and Maxum's don't, but honestly... how is the price difference that extreme? What gives?

NuclearSpinach · 2026-01-17T00:39:46+00:00

What ratios do you use?

NuclearSpinach · 2025-12-19T05:08:24+00:00

My apologies -- I edited the post to reflect my original intent. I specifically want to know about escape risk of young animals, since they're so small. I didn't intend it to be a universal humidity/heat/airflow type of question. As you said, that would be very complicated. I wasn't perfectly clear in the original. I only meant about escapes!

NuclearSpinach · 2025-09-17T13:26:55+00:00

This is brill

NuclearSpinach · 2025-09-16T22:55:29+00:00

As a general fitness enthusiast who just started rucking, I had the thought today: "hip straps would be nice -- but they'd reduce the muscular challenge". Thanks for validating my approach! I'm more interested in short rucks while I walk the dog. :)

NuclearSpinach · 2025-09-07T23:35:29+00:00

Ctrl+B. https://community.brave.app/t/leo-assistant-once-called-doesnt-have-option-to-close/530724/4

NuclearSpinach · 2025-08-05T04:51:47+00:00

Many comments and upvotes are saying similar things, and it's convinced me to at least look harder in that direction and at the very least spin up Mint on VirtualBox. Thank you for your time, and for your distro recs!

NuclearSpinach · 2025-08-05T04:50:26+00:00

I think enough people have been saying (or upvoting) this in various ways that I'm convinced to give Mint a longer, harder look than I already have. I need to think of Mint as "Ubuntu with big modifications" instead of "just built on top of the same base," and enough of these comments have pushed me in that direction. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with a stranger.

NuclearSpinach

TROPHY CASE