ATX ®Triplex MULTI STATION Gym
If there was a competition for compact multi station gyms. Where the winner was selected based on the number of quality exercises that could be performed with a certain foot print. The ATX Triplex Weight Stack Gym would be my entrant and I would be pretty confident of securing gold.
Now I must stress only quality exercises count. By this I mean it has to be as close to what it would feel like doing on a stand alone machine. There are a lot of gyms out there that can do loads of exercises. When packing in so many exercises, many become compromised.
In some cases it is a really important exercise like lat pulldowns. It may involve a complicated set up and due to a 2:1 cable ratio you might only get a max 50kg pulldown out of a 100kg stack.
If we take away or stand up the bench, we have a 1400 x 1400 footprint. In this compact space we have a lat pulldown that is basically a scaled down version of the nearly $4k Trinity Tower. If I threw a blindfold on you I bet you could not tell the difference.
The leverage bench press is by the best version ATX has released so far. Which is saying something because all the plate loaded Triplex owners will tell you that the previous set up was great.
And to top it off the bench. I am not going to say anything. It is just beautiful.
ATX® Triplex Weight Stack Gym Key Features
High Pulley
100 kgs stack – 20 x 5 kg plates.
1:1 Ratio – No Mechanical Advantage
Cable Adjustment System
Safe Working load up to 160 kgs
Low Pulley
Rubber Feet Support Pads
Aluminum Pulleys
Anti-Slip Footplate
Iso lateral Lever Arms
250 kgs safe working load (2 x 125 kg)
Knurled Grips – medium knurling sharpness
2 grip variations – neutral and overhand
Lever Arm Adjustments and Storage
Machine
Total Laying Area – 1225 mm
Backrest Pad Length – 810 mm
Seat Length – 370 mm
Pad Width – 270 mm
Pad Thickness – 60 mm
Bench Height – 445 mm
Bench
FID – 15 Adjustment Positions – -10° to 83°
Bench docks in between the rubber feet
Can be stored upright
500 kgs Safe working load
Seat and Backrest pad can be upgraded to PU
Inclusions
Lat Pulldown Bar
Triceps Rope
Seated Row Handle
Lever Arm Straight Bar
Optional Attachments
Optional Bench Attachments:
ATX Leg Extension/Leg Curl Attachment (ATX-OP-LEA-II)
ATX® Bicep Curl Pad (ATX-OP-BCP)
ATX® AB Attachment (ATX-OP-ABA-II)
ATX® Pec-Fly Attachment (ATX-OP-PEA-II)
ATX® Biceps Curl Attachment (ATX-OP-CUA-II)
ATX® Attachment Storage Rack (ATX-OP-STOR)
Lat pulldown station
The pulldown is amazing for such a compact multi station gym.
The first thing that hit me was the grooved, bearing rollers on the high and low pulleys. Normally there is just some form of rod that stops the cable from jamming into the pulley. But these rollers are very handy, especially on the high pulley.
Gym equipment in the American market is normally big. Europeans on the other hand require more compact units. The standard height is usually around 215cm, which is the height of the pulldown. If the high pulley is at this height, it can make doing certain exercises like face pulls tricky.
Might not seem like a big deal but I tried to solve this issue nearly 20 years ago on Powertec Leverage Gyms. If you tried to perform certain high pulley exercises the cable would scrape. My solution to this problem was to cut a section of garden hose to protect the cable. A cut section of garden hose was a common engineering solution in Australia to the most complex issues. So, when I saw what the Germans have come up with I was impressed because it really works.
SMOOTHEST AROUND
Behind the rollers you can see that it is running aluminium pulleys throughout. Just like the Trinity Tower it has the great start stop height adjustment. Yes I know you can use a chain, but once you start using it you will appreciate how convenient it is.
The weight stack glides up and down on solid 20mm guide rails. They have the exact same system as the Trinity and LSW-750. The guide rails sit in position but are not locked in. We actually had a LSW-750 customer thinking there was an issue because they weren’t in there super tight. There is meant to a bit of play as over tightening can cause guide rails to bow. By having a bit of play the stack just glides up and down. The previous ATX systems were great, but this is just better.
WEIGHT STACK
Now while we are talking about the weight stack, a lot of people will say 100kgs is not enough. For starters I will explain why it is only 100kgs. To make the gym fit under the standard 215cm, the pulldown height is restricted. This means shorter guide rails. So the bigger the stack the shorter the range of motion. You can’t have both.
The other factor with the weight stack is that it is 1:1 – so you are lifting 100kgs. I have told the story many times before of how people have come in looking at the Multiplex which also has a 100kg stack thinking it won’t be enough. They jump on and are topping out at 60kg on lat pulldowns. In the gym they may have been lifting more than a 100kgs, but the cable ratio was obviously not 1:1
For most lifters 100kgs will be more than enough. I can feel some lats flaring up out there in disagreement. To work out where you sit on the totem pole we are lucky to have Big Dave Napper from Brisbane North Barbell who has Trinity’s in his gym. Big Dave has 300kg + competition deadlifts and squats. Big Dave reps out 100kgs – it is important to note the form.
If your lifts are not in the vicinity of Big Dave’s you will be sweet. Instead of wasting your money on buying a lat machine with a bigger weight stack spend the money with some coaching with Dave. You will get far better results from his advice than flailing around trying to move a weight that is too heavy for you.
For the true beasts out there, ATX have made it simple to add more resistance. The resistance band set up is the easiest and cheapest way to add resistance.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Next up is the leg lock system for pulldowns. Once again it is so well designed and easy to use. Normally on this level of equipment it is just a basic pin, which worked fine. But ATX have now got a custom pop pin and it just makes it better.
The rollers are now PU and are secured in place with anodised collars. If you compare it with our old Multiplex which just has vinyl covered rollers and no collars. This worked fine and it is still one of my favourite gyms. But it just shows the lengths ATX is going to constantly improve their gyms.
At the bottom it has the custom ATX footplates. You can sit on the bench in the decline position for cable rows. Alternatively you can sit on the floor for a traditional seated row. If you want to make it more comfortable you can get an ATX row seat.
MULTIPRESS STATION
The ATX Multi Press has always been popular. The old design was great, we still have one in our gym because we can’t get enough stock of the new version to set one up. I won’t be selling it any time soon despite countless offers because it gets used so much.
But this new version is just better again. The weight horns are now chromed and 50mm versus 30mm with nylon sleeves. They are angled so that you don’t need to use collars.
Underside the old models had basic straight protective strips for the arms to rest on. Now they are custom shaped and made from some sort of space aged material. This is a far cry from the rubber strips that they used years ago.
The locking system for the arms when you are using the lat pulldown is also well designed. It has stoppers and custom ATX pins.
There are no grips that wear, just handles that have mild knurling and textured paint.
My favourite upgrade is the revised angle selection. It is easier to get the right position for pressing. Plus you have great rowing options which ironically are my favourite exercises on the pressing station.
BENCH
The gym comes with the ATX-MBX-650 Multi Bench. This bench is amazing and I won’t go into detail on it here. We sell this bench for $1,050. This thing can do things that benches twice the price can’t do. And it would be just as good quality too.
The most important feature though for someone who is looking for the ultimate compact gym is that the bench accepts the ATX attachment range. So you have the flexibility to add extra exercises without a major increase in footprint.
DOWNSIDES
If you are looking at buying this as a complete multi gym for home, the one area that is lacking is leg exercises. It comes with this straight bar that you can attach on the lever arms. You can do squats with it, also close grip bench press, but I don’t really count this as a legit exercise.
If I had this as my sole multi station gym, I would do squats and lunges with the bar, but it would be high rep work. For squats, since you start at the bottom of the range, you can’t really go for max weight lifts. Ultimately it is a press station that you can do some leg work on.
If I was really tight on space I would get a compact hex trap bar and the leg lift attachment. For those with a bit of extra space, this gym combined with a compact leg press and a set or Ironmaster dumbbells would be heaven for me.
The only other issues with the layout of the gym is that it will take a few sessions to figure out your foot position for lat pulldowns. You have to clear the rubber feet when getting in and out.
Also you just have to be mindful of the weight horns when they are in the upright stored position.
But in the scale of things and in comparison to similar compact gyms this is trivial.
QUALITY AINT CHEAP
Lastly the issue for many will be the price. This is not a cheap multi station gym. But hopefully this video will demonstrate that you are getting unbelievable value. A leverage bench press, super smooth weight stack lat pulldown and amazing bench. Personally I am not aware of anything of similar quality and features.
If you are on a budget you do not need to go out and rob a bank. Just get the plate loaded version. I will be doing a review of the latest version soon. But you will see that the old version is highly rated amongst the garage gym community. Personally I have trained on these style of gyms for so long and can say that they will do just as good job as this weight stack version.
RECOMMENDATION
If you have got the money and this amount of space I recommend this gym to anyone. Whether you are new or advanced this gym will blow you away. If you are buying it to be your sole machine, just bear in mind the limited leg training I mentioned previously.
But if you were starting to build a home gym or small studio, this is the perfect starter piece on which to build your gym around.
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