Should I Buy Plate Loaded or Weight Stack Machines?

Is a Plate Loaded or Weight Stack Machine Right for You? We often get asked about the Pros and Cons of weight plate-loaded machines vs their more expensive cousin, the weight stack machines.

Below, I’ll cover all you need to know about the differences between these machines, and which one you should buy for your needs and budget.

SUMMARY: Plate Loaded or Weight Stack Machines

	Plated-Loaded	Weight Stack
Dropsets
Space Saving
Ease of Use
Portability
Durability
Budget
Premium Option

Dropsets:

One of the main reasons why a lot of people would say they need a weight stack machine is for dropsets. After years of training with plate-loaded machines, I can confirm that you can still do dropsets using plate loaded versions. No, it’s not quite as quick, but it’s still doable. Look at it as extra cardio.

WINNER: Cable Stack (debatable).

Space Considerations:

Now, the one disadvantage that a plate-loaded machine may have over a weight stack is that often you will require a little extra space at the back of the weight stack machine. If you refer to the two ATX Lat Pull Downs above for a perfect example of this situation.

You can pretty much have a cable stack flush up against your wall. But just remember, with your plate-loaded machine, you’re going to have to allow the space from the wall for your biggest weight plate. So if you’re really tight on space, you might have to get a weight stack. But if you don’t, you can get a plate-loaded version and save some money.

WINNER: Weigh Stack (debatable).

Ease of Use:

It goes without saying that weight stack cable gym equipment will be easier to use than the same plate loaded equivalent. Pulling a pin out and putting it back in is easier than getting a weight plate and putting it on the carriage.

My recommendation when making this consideration is to apply the appropriate weighting to this factor in your decision making process. Yes it is clearly extra effort to change plates. My question to you is what are you going to do in the time that you save by using a weight stack?

Personally it gives me something to do between sets. Get up change the weight and have a sip on your drink. Then you are close to going again on your next set. Versus sitting on the machine twiddling your thumbs.

WINNER: Weight Stack

Budget/Cost:

If money and space not an issue, get a weight stack machine. But if you’ve got budget constraints and you’re trying to build a complete home gym from scratch, the extra money you spend on that weight stack machine could go towards buying a really good adjustable gym bench or another smaller machine, such as a back hyperextension machine. So just bear that in mind when you’re budgeting for your gym.

WINNER: Plate-Loaded

Summary: Should I Buy Plate Loaded or Weight Stack Machines?

I can 100% promise you that I still use a Plate-loaded Lat Pulldown Attachment on the back of my 20-year-old Powertec Power Rack. The reason why I haven’t changed it over is because I actually prefer it. Yes, it is a bit of an extra effort to change the weight plates, but one of my pet hates is when people say, I’m too lazy. Mate, we’re weight training and we’re not lazy! We’re actually making ourselves better. And that extra bit of effort is, in my opinion, worth it to save a few dollars.