One way you can tell that home training is becoming more popular is by the growing number of quality in-house training units that are available. Soloflex, along with all of its imitators, is doing booming business, and every time you turn around there’s some new or improved muscle machine claiming to be the latest high tech answer to your fitness needs.

Well, if you’re concerned about real heavy-duty muscle building, then you should be thinking barbells and dumbbells. To heck with rubber-band apparatuses and other “innovative” devices. Something like the Soloflex alone is fine in a pink (see Homebodies, July ’89 for a rundown on the Soloflex), especially for those who just want to put on a little more muscle and then maintain it. But to build really outrageous mass and keep it coming on a continuous basis, you’ve got to add real weights and lots of it. 

Which brings us to the Ironmaster, a Smith machine with all the necessary accessories for building real hard-core muscle. This is no wimpy tin contraption, believe me. It’s tough, and according to the manufacturer, the Ironmaster machine with its 1,000 pound capacity, may just be “the strongest weight-training machine on the planet.” These guys make their point by giving you a five-year warranty on all structural parts of this 320-pound unit so you can train hard and heavy without worrying about structural damage. 

The machine is relatively compact too – perfect for home training even in an apartment. Its dimensions are: height, 84.5”, width of frame, 48.5”, depth of frame, 42”, width of lifting bar, 77”. Basically, if you have a 7’ x 7’ area, you’re in business.

But enough about how the Ironmaster is built. Let’s get down to the real nitty gritty- like what you can actually do on this machine as far as training. To make it easier, let’s break it down by body parts:

·         Thighs: squats, front squats, leg presses, leg extensions (with optional leg extension/leg curl attachment)

·         Hamstrings: leg curls (with optional leg extension/leg curl attachment), stiff-legged deadlifts

·         Calves: standing calf raises, seated calf raises

·         Back: hyperextensions, pull-downs, bent-over rows, low-pulley rows, deadlifts, chins

·         Chest: bench presses, incline presses, decline presses, pec deck squeezes (with optional pec deck), one arm cable crossovers

·         Shoulders: seated presses, upright rows

·         Biceps: cable preacher curls (with optional preacher bench), standing cable curls

·         Triceps: dips, pushdowns

·         Abs: situps, leg raises, Roman chair situps

Add some dumbbells and your home gym is virtually complete-and safer than a regular free-weight gym.  With Ironmaster’s self spotting system you can go ahead and push to failure with total confidence; no matter where failure occurs, all it takes is a flick of your wrist to lock the safety stops into place.

Another thing that you’ll really like about Ironmaster is squatting on it. You can put your feet forward and move the resistance with total thigh power and no lower-back involvement. Talk about a quad pump!

The only real negative is the optional plate-loaded leg extension. With this type of device you tend to lose resistance at the bottom of the movement, but then again the top of a leg extension is the most important part anyway, so this complaint is immaterial. It is, however, velvet smooth-no drag- and is comfortable as well. The same goes for the pulldown system.

Price is somewhat of a limiting factor to those whose bank account balance often has a minus in front of it. Luckily, the Ironmaster comes in three models-Two higher priced versions and a low-end one. 

The Ironmaster Olympic edition retails for $1295.00. This price includes the main frame, bench, incline seat, Olympic weight holders, lat system and lat bar. It’s for Olympic iron only. 

If you’ve already got regular plates in your home gym, you’ll want the Ironmaster I (600-pound capacity), which retails for $1195.00 and includes the main frame, bench, incline seat, lat system and lat bar, or the Ironmaster II (400-pound capacity), which retails for $695.00 and includes the main frame, bench, incline seat, lat system and lat bar. The leg extension/curl, with its new six-pad design, is available for an additional $100, and you can get the pec deck attachment or $250. 

Remember, if you’re serious about bodybuilding, think iron. And if you want a complete home-training unit that will give you a lifetime of iron-clad workouts, get Ironmaster. It’s a sound investment in your training future. For more information, write Spartan Mfg., 1719 Grant St. Suite 1, Santa Clara, CA 95050.

Editor’s note: Steve Holman is the author of IRONMAN’s Home Gym Handbook, a complete guide to building your body at home, available for $14.95 plus $3 postage and handling ($ outside the continental United States) from Homebody Productions, 1163 San Vicente Blvd., Suite 337, Los Angeles, CA 90049 or from IRONMAN Books, 1-800-447-0008.