ATX® Single Cable Station – Wall Mounted

Normally I like to take a deep dive into the build quality of the machines I review. That is what we get a lot of questions about. However, on this machine, there is not much to go through as it is very basic.  

There is just a base. Guide rails for the weight stack. A chrome upright for the adjustable pulleys.  

There are 2 pulleys – one for low pulley work and the other for high pulley work. They swivel on bushes. You adjust the height with the commercial pull pin. There are 18 height adjustment positions.  

From there the cables run through pulleys to the weight stack.  

The weight stack is 50kg. It has 20 x 2.5kg weights, with a 2:1 ratio.  

It has covers to make it look good and prevent people from pinching appendages on the weight stack. 

The whole unit is then bolted to the wall with brackets at the top and bottom. It comes standard with two nylon stirrup handles.  

Well the actual machine we have in our gym is very old. At least 6 years old and these models only had 40kg weight stack. Even with this weight stack I never find myself wanting more weight. Linas here has held Australian bench press records and he has not been wanting more weight. 

Yes there are ways I could lift this stack. But not with the many exercises that I do on this machine. This machine is all about doing your isolation and accessory work. You break the records with a barbell. Not with this machine.  

For all you specimens out there we are lucky to have Lee Priest to show just a fraction of the exercises you can do on this machine. Most importantly he shows you how to do them properly.  

You will notice that Lee always performs the movements with textbook form – controlled movements in the correct position to isolate the target muscle. If you follow this simple advice you won’t need a lot of weight. You will work the target muscle without stressing your joints – this is the purpose of this machine.  

Without prompting, Lee started doing two handed movements. This machine is not designed for two handed movements. But you can do them. I do them regularly myself. Naturally it is not quite as good as a dedicated two handed machine, but given the footprint it is pretty bloody good.  

However mostly I do the exercises with one cable. I like doing isolation work one arm at a time. Working between each arm without rest, trying to keep my heart rate up so I can burn some calories. It is the best way to finish off a workout.  

To put it simply, if $1,700 is not a lot of money for you and you have the space, then this is a no brainer. Especially if you are an old fart like me. Once you play around with this machine and figure out all the exercises you can do with it, you won’t be able to live without it.  

The worse thing about getting old is that you want to train hard and often. But sadly your body doesn’t want to. For a nut job like me that is not going to work. I need to train nearly every day or I start going crazy.  

This machine is perfect for that fix. I can come out and do some slow and controlled isolation work on all muscle groups. You can get a pump, clear the head and your body is not going to be aching the next day.