Powertec Basic Trainer P-BT
The Powertec Basic Trainer was not really that ground breaking in terms of design. It was just a bodyweight training station. They are sometimes referred to as Power Towers.
What set it apart from the pack was the quality. When I first started importing them eBay was the go to place to by rubbish gym equipment. If you analysed the market and monitored sales data on there your mind was blown. Who was buying this junk? Then you would see them on the nature strip at every council clean up.
Below is the 2008 model. It had the chin up and dip on opposite sides. This was great for gyms. However the revised version with both stations on the same side was better for home gyms.
Quality Is Sometimes Hard To Sell
The Powertec Basic Trainer looked very similar to the crap on the market. Powertec was a new brand in Australia. Plus internet sales were only in their infancy. No Youtube, Instagram or Facebook to post videos detailing the build quality. If I wholesaled them to retail outlets they would have been so expensive. As a result they didn’t fly out the door.
Secondly bodyweight training was nowhere near as popular as it is today. A basic trainer combined with a hyperextension machine and nordic curl bench would make a great gym.
Original Powertec Promo
The Powertec Basic Trainer can be used as standalone multi gym or as an addition to your home gym for some bodyweight training. The use of bodyweight exercises has been used by armed forces forever. So if you want to add some serious functional strength then the Powertec Basic Trainer offers several advantages over the cheap power towers that you see all too often these days.
The first and most important advantage this unit has over other models is the build quality. The Powertec Basic Trainer is a tank. It has plenty of height allowing you to get a full stretch on chin ups. The joints all have backing plates. Combined with the high tensile steel nuts and bolts the Powertec Basic Trainer has a really solid feel ? it does not sway in the breeze like cheaper versions.
Upper body workout with your own Bodyweight
The padding is heavy duty, particularly for the forearms on the vertical knee raise. The padding is three times the thickness of some units out there. It is really important that this padding is heavy duty as resting your bodyweight on them over time really takes its toll.
The Powertec Basic Trainer has multiple grip positions for chin ups. There is a flat and angled wide grip. There is a flat bar that can be swiveled over to perform chin ups with a narrow grip.
The padding for the vertical knee raise is contoured inwards. This really locks you into the correct position for this exercise and allows you to squeeze out an extra couple of reps if you normally have trouble holding yourself in this position.
You can work your chest, shoulders and triceps with the dip station and push up bars. The push up bars allows you to get a deeper stretch than traditional pushups.
