Body Solid EXM 1500 Home Gym

"One bad thing is that it does not include the really hot chick in the picuture"

"Though the boxes of pulley's and cables and odd-looking pieces of metal were a bit daunting at first the product assembled rather easily given the total number of parts. I will say the manual could use some work when it comes to detailing the fasteners and the differences between then. I had to do more than a little guessing when it came to which bolt to use. Perhaps if I walked around with my Mechanical Engineers handbook I would have been able to tell the difference between an M6 SHCS and an M4 SHCS at a glance but alas . . .



In terms of stability and versatilty this product is an A+ in my book. Having spent the last decade as an aspiring bodybuilder and as a fitness industry employee I have a very descriminating opinion of fitness equipment quality. The smoothness of this machine is actually BETTER than some machines ranked "commercial quality" that i've used in some gyms.



I would like the leg extension to have a little more ROM adjustment but for what it is, its more than adequate.



The capper is the machine's footprint. This machine could easily fit in a spare bedroom or even in the corner of a family room and not have the oppresive dominating quality I've seen other pieces of equipment have - where its impossible NOT to know its there. For the price, Body solid hit a homer with this one."

"I didn't want another junk machine from a department store, but Body Solid is a real company that makes real quality gyms. This is their entry level gym, which is flat-out better than anything from anyone else in this price. Don't make the mistake of thinking this is the same as something from Marcy or Weider, the Body Solid EXM 1500 is light years ahead of those cheap machines.... You get what you pay for, and what you get is a machine that is made super well, and has more exercise options than you can believe. You are only limited by your imagination with this machine. The below seat bench-press hits the muscles in the chest way better than the overhead, and it also allows for improvisation of many other exercises. The crunch station, and the side mounted floor station are just super slick designs."

"I use this 4 days a week for about half an hour at a time. When I compare this to gyms costing much more they still seem to do the same exercise. This gym does the what I need and it does it well. I would buy it again. At the end of the day the most important feature of any home gym is that you need to use it."

"I've owned this product for about 10 years. I originally purchased it because my wife was pregnant with twins and I had a 2 year old. I knew that once the twins were born, my gym days were over. I wanted a quality machine without breaking the bank and when I found the Body Solid EXM1500S, I knew this was the right machine for me. With a lifetime warranty, you cannot go wrong. I've called customer support on a few occasions for minor problems and even though there's been some modifications to the original design, they have always resolved my problems quickly and sent me the parts at no charge! There's not many (or any?) gym equip. manufacturers that have a warranty enen close!! It's not the easiest assembly I've ever seen, but you only have to do it ONCE! I was skeptical at first, but 10 years later, I'm still using my Body Solid EXM1500S! This thing is built to last! Yeah, you can buy more polished machine, but you'll pay through the nose for a piece of equipment that only looks better, but as far as functionality is concerned, there wouldn't be a noticeable difference(if any!). You will not be disappointed with this gym. I purchased it with the optional dip station and Leg press. I've been extremely satisfied (for 10+ years!) with my Body Solid Gym. The fact that I took the time to write a review on a product I've had for such a long time should say it all! Looks as if the price hasn't changed much in 10 years either! Think I paid about a grand for the whole setup with the dip & leg press station. GREAT DEAL, GREAT PRODUCT, GREAT WARRANTY. You can't go wrong."

"This is a really nice home gym that's quite compact yet very versatile. It took a little while to set up, but I was pleased with the quality of engineering and smoothness of operation. The one assembly issue I had was at the very end; I could not use the built-in cable adustment to get the right resting length (it was a hair short). This was solved with a $5 mountain climbing d-ring and now it's perfect. [...]"

"Just set it up the other day. Instructions are pretty clear and it it wasn't too bad setting up. Took me about 2hrs. and I took my time. First of all I love the fact this takes up so little room yet offers so many exercises. I have always been a free-weight person and a gym member. Due to having two younger kids and a busy lifestyle my wife and I decided to cancel the membership and workout at home. Got us a Norditrack elliptical 990 from Sears that we love and added this home gym. I am very impressed with it thus far. You can do chest, flys, shoulders, back, lats, rows, legs, abs, etc. Very sturdy and well made too. Body Solid is the only company I know that offers a 100% Lifetime Warranty too. Only thing I would recommend is buying a revolving curl bar so it can move more naturally in your hands. The one that comes with it does not move so the motion is a little strange as you curl it back. Great gym for tight spaces as it is only about 42" wide with the chest station, 58" in length and 7ft tall. Don't waste your time on a Marcy or Weider for less money. I have read horror stories about the quality and setup tme taking over 6hrs."

"I saw a workout system for $1k at Costco and wanted it really bad as it seems to be a space saver. The Costco model was by Icon fitness and it folds up but seems awkward as you need to stand to do the exercises. I also own a Marcy free weight system but didn't have the space in upstairs loft. In the same price range I came accross reviews on the Body Solid EXM1500S and was impressed. So I went ahead and checked the 1500EXM out. It wasn't just that you could do 20+ of the basic exercises. Nor that it has a fairly small footprint in space. It was how smooth the system felt. I will tell you that the Body Solid system really is gym quality-like. Honestly not bad for a homegym. If you are a hardcore bodybuilder w/strength I don't think that this is enough weight. But if you are like me just trying to hit the basics this should be fine. The maximum that it comes with is 160lbs. As a father of 3, finding time to go to the gym is scarce and that's why I opted to have my little gym set. So I have a Proform treadmill, Nordictrack elliptical, and now my Body Solid EXM1500S (no regrets)."

"I use the exercise equipment 3-4 times a week. It was fairly easy to set up. The hardest part was separating the different bolts. Well worth the money. It is very sturdy and operates very smoothly."

"GREAT HOME GYM EXCEPT LONG ASSEMBLY PROCESS"