Smooth Fitness Strength Training Exercise Equipment Review
9.21/10
Quick Overview
- Difficulty
Moderate
- Cost
Average
- Trial Period
60 Days
Smooth Fitness has been one of the most prominent fitness equipment manufacturers for over a quarter-century. Although you may be familiar with Smooth Fitness primarily for its line of cardiovascular equipment (including treadmills, ellipticals and exercise bikes), the company also offers serious strength training in the form of its home gyms. These include the S490 Force Elite Home Gym, S2490 Two Station Multi-Gym and S3490 Three Station Multi-Gym. Each model includes everything you'll need to get started on a variable resistance total body workout program, allowing you to sculpt and tone your body while increasing muscle density and mass.
As with the rest of the fitness equipment available from Smooth Fitness, the company's home gyms offer affordable pricing that allows you to piece together a comprehensive home fitness center on a modest budget. Smooth Fitness achieves low price points by cutting out middle men, distributors and local retailers and instead relying on a direct-to-the-consumer sales model. One of the biggest advantages of Smooth Fitness strength training equipment is that it provides a total body workout, with exercises designed to work your abs, arms, legs, shoulders, back and chest. For less than $1,000, you'll have all you need to get a gym-quality workout without leaving home.
Smooth Fitness strength training machines are backed by one of the strongest warranties in the fitness industry: lifetime on parts and two years on labor. Smooth Fitness can afford to offer this sort of warranty as a result of the quality of the materials they use to construct their home gyms. Sealed bearing composite pulleys, vinyl-encased steel cables and 12-gauge steel parts make for a home gym that's highly resistant to breakage and wear under normal use.
Smooth Fitness strength training home gyms include a variety of technologically advanced features designed to enhance the quality of your workout and the durability and comfort of the equipment itself. Some of these features include the following:
- Multi-Directional Press Arm (which combines the safety and convenience of a home gym with the unique feel of free weights)
- Rubberized Weight Stack (with up to 200 lbs of adjustable resistance)
- Weight Stack Shroud (which improves the equipment's aesthetics and prevents fingers and foreign objects from getting caught in the weight stack)
- Adjustable Telescoping Seats (with back pads and seat pads that are adjustable with a standard pull pin)
- Leatheroid Padding (which protects the seats and improves comfort and durability while maintaining the look and feel of leather)
Another technological breakthrough accomplished by Smooth Fitness home gyms such as the S490 Force Elite is the way they save space. Although the S490 measures 60" x 38.5" x 83.5" when fully assembled, its unique design allows it to be placed in the corner of a room.
The Smooth Fitness S490 Force Elite Home Gym is a total body strength training machine that features everything you'll need to work a wide variety of muscle groups, including the chest, shoulders, back, arms, abs and legs. Some of the exercises possible with Smooth Fitness strength training equipment include the following:
Chest
- Pectoral Fly
- Decline Bench Press
- Incline Bench Press
- Chest Press
Shoulders
- Shoulder Press
- Upright Row
- Lateral Pull Down
- Shoulder Shrug
Back
- Single Arm Reverse Fly
- Seated Row
- Bent Over Row
- Seated Mid Row
Arms
- Forearms Curl
- Biceps Curl
- Triceps Press Down
Abdominals
- Obliques Bend
- Abdominals Crunch
Legs
- Leg Extension
- Squat
- Standing Leg Curl
As with all of Smooth Fitness' cardiovascular and strength training equipment, their home gyms offer detail-oriented, robust construction designed to last for years to come, as proven by the lifetime parts warranty. All Smooth Fitness home gyms are constructed from heavy duty 12 gauge steel, allowing for exceptional durability and stability.
The zero-maintenance composite pulleys come complete with sealed ball bearings and fiberglass reinforcement, allowing for a fluid workout without worrying whether a pulley could suddenly break. The cables running through the pulleys are also extremely robust - they've been tested to 2700 lbs, and their vinyl-encased steel construction ensures smooth action and a lifetime of durability.
Smooth Fitness offers direct customer service through several channels, including fax, toll-free phone and email. Support hours are maintained from 8:00am through 8:00pm, Monday through Friday (note that customer service ends two hours early on Friday).
If you're seeking customer support for any Smooth Fitness strength training equipment, you can visit the Customer Service area of their site. Here, you'll find features such as order tracking, warranty registration and free downloadable product manuals for all Smooth Fitness equipment.
The Smooth Fitness S490 home gym is backed by a lifetime warranty on all included parts. It also includes a 2-year warranty on labor, which will be performed in your home at no cost in the case of a mechanical failure. This represents one of the strongest warranties available for home gyms from any manufacturer.
In addition to the aforementioned warranties, Smooth Fitness home gyms come with a 60-day trial period. This allows you to try the S490 Force Elite or another Smooth Fitness home gym in your own home for nearly two months. If, during your trial period, you decide that you're unsatisfied with the equipment, you can return it for a full refund of the purchase price. You'll need to pay for return shipping and ensure that the unit is packed in its original packaging.
In order to request a repair on your Smooth Fitness home gym, you can contact the company via a Service Request on the Customer Service area of the Smooth Fitness website. You'll need to fill out a brief form describing the nature of the problem you're encountering with the equipment. After Smooth Fitness processes your inquiry, they'll schedule a service visit. As per their warranties, Smooth Fitness home gyms come with two years of free labor and free replacement parts as long as you own the machine. Read top facts about Amanda Cerny - Famous model, and fitness influencer
The Smooth Fitness S490 Force Elite Home Gym has a price tag of $999. You'll have the option of paying for the entire unit up front or paying over the course of 6 months with no interest. Shipping is always free, though you may choose one of several shipping upgrades at the time of purchase:
- Delivery in Front Door - $49
- In-Room Delivery (up or down two flights of stairs) - $99
- Delivery and Product Assembly - $299
Prices for other Smooth Fitness home gyms, which will be available in the near future, are as follows:
- S2490 Two Station Multi-Gym - $1499
- S3490 Three Station Multi-Gym - $1999
Summary
The home gyms available from Smooth Fitness represent some of the best values in the health and fitness industry, thanks in large part to the direct-to-customer sales model that the company has employed since starting in 1984. By selling directly to their customers, Smooth Fitness saves money. This money is then reinvested in the design and construction of the company's products, resulting in high quality and extremely durable equipment that you might expect to find in a commercial gym.
If Smooth Fitness home gyms have a significant disadvantage, it's their space requirements. These are traditional home gyms with a fairly large footprint, and you'll need a room capable of accommodating this. Fortunately, the space requirements are at least partially offset by the fact that you can place the unit in a corner.
If you're looking for a do-it-all home gym that prioritizes a diverse range of exercises, exceptional build quality and a premium warranty over gimmicky attachments and tech-y bells and whistles, the Smooth Fitness S490 Force Elite Home Gym or one of its upgraded counterparts may be an ideal choice.
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