Life Fitness G5 Home Gym

Question

My wife and I are considering the purchase of a Life Fitness G5. We have Life Fitness elliptical and have been very pleased with it.  But I haven't been able to find many reviews on the G5.  Would you recommend this as a good piece of equipment?

Answer

The G5 is the top of the line home gym from Life Fitness (as of July 2007). The less expensive Life Fitness gyms are more traditional in design and are comperable to the Body Solid Home Gym line , and the Hoist Home Gym models V1 - V5.

The design of the G5 sets it apart from traditional "fixed plane lever arm home gyms" and the 3 free motion cable attachment points (high, middle and low) allow users to perform a wide variety of exercises using the independant pully system for things like chest presses, lat pulls, rotational exercises and leg training.

The integrated docking bench in the G5 can either be used in conjunction with the gym or completely removed and replaced by a stability ball for more focused core workouts that involve balance and stabilization training.

The only major gripe I have with the G5 is the light weight stack of 160 pounds. There is a 50 pound upgrade option available, but that may not be enough for stronger users or serious ahtletes.

If you're into core training and sport specific training the Life Fitness G5 is a good choice, although it can be an expensive investment because of local dealer pricing with no Internet sales allowed (true of all Life Fitness products including Parabody). For those of you with a smaller budget check out my best home gym page for my personal recommendations for every price range.