Marcy Smith Cage Workout Machine Full Body StrengthTraining Home Gym Equipment System with Leg Developer, Press Bar, PEC Deck, and Squat Rack

I read review after review before finally pulling the trigger on this purchase. My wife wanted this machine and I was concerned about the size, the complexity, and the weight. First...the size. It is tall, wide, and long. You will also need to consider that you need about 2 feet on the three, non bench, sides to move weights. So when deciding where it will go, don't forget that fact. On the bench side...you will need even more. You will be moving the bench in and out and up and down and need some room to maneuver. We have about 6 feet in front of the machine and that seems to work well. We ended up with about a foot on one side and the back and while it works...it is not ideal. The last thing on this point...this is not a knock on the machine...it is just something to consider when purchasing. Next was the complexity of the machine. Using it is a breeze. My only complaint is that the two latches on the bench (for the seat back, and the curl pad) must be unscrewed and screwed back in. I saw this in other reviews and was willing to accept the annoyance. But know... it is not a 2 second operation...more like 30 seconds. Now...the real complexity with this machine is the assembly. I saw lots and lots of negative comments about it. But also lots and lots of helpful hints. I will condense several of those and few of my own here. First...this thing comes in three, big, boxes. They are heavy. You will need to inspect them when they arrive for damage and don't accept them if you notice any or if any of the boxes are heavily damaged or have been ripped open. Once you have ownership of the boxes...carefully unpack them and sort the pieces. In my case, I matched each part with the picture in the construction manual and put a small round sticker with the part number on each. ***If you have one take away from my construction story...this should be it...take the time to organize and label your parts. It will pay off in spades as you work. The hardware was packaged well and labeled on cardboard packages and was very easy to work with. Take your time. Understand what you plan to do...get all the parts ready...ensure you understand your goal and then proceed with each step. You will do much better if you have someone to help you. Sometimes, just someone holding a large bar in place will save you a ton of time. Start by assembling the bench. It is fairly straight forward and you will learn a lot before you get into the bigger pieces. The super structure is straight forward and is just bulky...this is where the second person really comes in handy. Make sure you have everything lined up and bolts in before you tighten the bolts. In some cases you simply need the "wiggle" room to get thing to fit. In any case...the most complex and confusing part is the cables. Three hints here. 1. Take all the time you need to logically work out what they are trying to do. It is complicated and involves multiple fly wheels in one, very complex, mechanism. It was not until I was finished that I understood how it was going to work. The part that can get very confusing is the long cable that goes through the part with two wheels side by side. Really study the picture and understand the direction of the cable as it goes through. This is the part you will get backwards if not very careful. 2. In the Owners guide, they give you the same pictures as the construction guide, but they add words for the cabling. Read this. It helps a little. 3. Do not tighten everything up, for a step, until you are 100% sure you have it right. This will save you a lot of heartache later! In the end, it took my wife and I about 90 minutes to label everything and about 7 hours, spread over 3 days, to finish construction. I used a pair of pliers, a rubber mallet, and a socket set. Those were the only tools I needed to provide...the allen wrenches were included with the hardware. The last area to consider is the weight of this machine. I live in a house that was built in the early 60's with wood construction. This would not fit in our basement so it had to go on the first level. I was concerned. About 400lbs of machine...say...another 200lbs of weights...and then me ~300lbs and possibly my wife...(no weight here...I am not a rookie husband)! But we are easily pushing 1000lbs. Hmmm...should I be worried? Yes. So I called a friend of mine who was a contractor in my neighborhood (so knew our houses). He told me it was not a problem. He said...think about a bedroom set with a water bed. Four contact points and well over 1000lbs. Fair enough. This machine has the footprint of a small bed...and the feet are actually wider than that of a water bed. There is also a fifth foot under the rear weight assembly. So that concern was negated. We installed it...have about 150lbs of weights and not a creak can be heard from the floor. So no problems there. In the end...we love our machine. We use WD40 on back post and on the posts for the bar bearings. We also make sure the cables are not kinked. We adjusted the tension on the cables after the first week (see the owners maual for how), and have added some padding to keep from banging heads and legs on things. The quality is good and machine is sturdy and works as advertised. I highly recommend this machine and look forward to updating my review after we have used it for a year (to give you an idea on wear).

So couple things. First of all, I’m a 5’4” 125lb woman and I put this together BY MYSELF cables included. It may be a little hard, but you do not need two people to assemble despite other reviews, just need some common sense and a ratchet set with the 5/8th bolt size. Second, do NOT rip open all of the cardboard sheets that hold the nuts and bolts. I took my buck knife and only cut out around the exact ones I needed for the next step and only took out the very one I needed. You can easily start mixing them up if you take out different lengths at a time as some of the bolts only vary by an 8th inch. ONLY WORK WITH THE EXACT NUT/BOLT COMBO YOU NEED AT A TIME. I went one page at a time on the directions and one nut/ bolt combo at a time pictured and worked my way through that page until I had completed everything. For some of the cable steps, you don’t attach the cable pulley mount to anything until a few pages later- just let it hang there until it says to attach it to something. Third, and this is VERY IMPORTANT IF YOU’RE SHORT OR WANT EXTRA RANGE OF MOTION. Being 5’4 and wanting to do hip thrust, deadlifts, stuff that requires the bar to be close to the ground, DO NOT PUT ON THE SAFETY HOOKS. As you can see from my one picture holding the safety hook up you lose about 3 inches of range of motion at the bottom if you have these on the pole. Being that it’s a smith machine and you can rack it every few inches I don’t think they’re necessary and it took about an hour to get them off after I had already assembled the whole thing, which can be done by removing the j shaped weight storage racks and sliding them off of the bottom of the pole- not fun. I included a picture at the bottom of my hip thrust range of motion which is the perfect height without the safety hooks being installed. Clamps- upgrade to quick release clamps, I got the amazon recommended black ones pictures they run about $8 a set and are worth not having to deal with the metal ones. Attachments- they’re just okay, I bought a separate ankle strap that is much more padded and a Bar pad from perfect peach athletics- $26 and is so worth it. I also recommend purchasing some quick release carabiner hooks to attach all the accessories with, I found 4 for $7 on here which is better than having to unscrew them each time. Weight types- this machine CAN run off OLYMPIC OR STANDARD WEIGHTS you just don’t put the black sleeves on if you want standard sized plates. Bench- the bench is actually pretty good when it comes to the leg/ bicep attachments and again can work off Olympic or standard weights. Only thing I don’t like is that there’s a lumbar support in the bench it is not completely flat and that you have to unscrew the pin to incline the bench. Otherwise fairly sturdy. Also it doesn’t have wheels which is annoying to move. Take your time putting this monster together, I did it in about 8 hours over a couple days and it went almost completely smoothly since I took my time. This is a great addition to any home gym you can do SO many different exercises with it and is well worth the price. Also, I found an entire set of Olympic plates at goodwill for $112 plus a lot of standard sized and dumbbells. Check out second hand before you spend a fortune on a few plates of iron- I restored mine with a wire brush and some rust oleum spray paint and they look new again. Hope this review helped you make a decision and happy lifting guys!

I read a number of reviews before buying this product, and the price is hard to pass on. This is a great home gym and a great price. Remember you still need weight plates. Construction: this arrives in3 boxes. Box 1 is the main frame and weighs about 250lbs, box 2 is more parts to the main unit and weighs about 100 lbs, the third box is the bench and weighs about 80 lbs I think. Some folks said they took 8hrs to build this. My son and I worked together building the unit, recommend having help for sure. We took about 5hrs total to assemble the entire unit. The directions are like Ikea instructions, mostly just pictures of what to assemble. Keep the parts in their shrinkwrap tray while assembling, this will help keep things organized. The cables were probably the most challenging just to be sure about the routing but not really a problem. Do route the cables under the pulley before securing the pulley with the bolt and nut. Likes: Has barbell storage cup, can hold Olympic or standard weights (won't stack bumper plates well), integrated fly machine, solid build, adjustable in a number of ways. Lots of exercises, can easily use with curl bar or strait bar. Dislikes: the adapters for Olympic weights are not as sturdy as I would like, the Smith machine does not have a counter weight though at this price point I would not expect it, the bench is really not comfortable I don't know who the lumbar support was built for. I am about 6'1" and use an Olympic bar for squats rather than the Smith machine here, I found that the bar wasn't out of the way enough for me, so I rigged up an option to hold it up and out of the way. I don't think this will be much of an issue for most folks though. Final thoughts: my whole family loves this and we use it daily. we added smaller snap-links to the ends of the cables for easier swapping out of accessories. While we wish that there were some higher end features like an integrated plate stack for the cables, I really can't complain. The features packed into this unit for $1,000 are great. Everyone can get something out of this unit. Do not plan on using the weight storage pegs with bumper plates because they won't stack as the pegs are too close together. Standard metal and rubbercoated (standard and Olympic) fit just fine. Highly recommend this product, a great home gym!

We spent about 3 hrs just inventorying and labeling each part with marker and white tape to be able to clearly identify each during assembly. Most parts are NOT labeled with numbers as the part list ,illustrations show. I recommend doing this to avoid endless searching or if you have a missing part. Some parts are on the list but you cannot find because they are part of another,confusing! The assembly pictorials are not always clear to understand,no written instructions,just pictures with dotted lines to give you direction of assembly. Some times you have to undo your steps as find out something else in the picture needs to come first, Who Knew? We spent another 8 to 9 hours to get everything right. It seems to work well and be safe and well built. I would tell the manufacturer that if they would pre assemble as much as possible would be helpful. A lot of time positioning tiny parts that could have been all assembled We are happy with the machine itself,but get out your Excedrin for this one! Take breaks. The cable routings are also difficult because of the illustrations,but doable. Good luck , it is a good machine!

In case you are not aware, muscles react 30% better to free weights then they do to machine weights. The problem for many people, is getting that free weight motion safely if you have to workout alone. This Smith Machine concept tackles that nicely. I researched for weeks what would be the best free weight (or similar) home gym, at the lowest price possible, and as safely as possible without a spotter, but without sacrificing quality. This Marcy smith system won the toss. There were a few other possible runner-ups (like the Body Solid Series 7 Smith Machine at $2800, or the PowerTec Multisystem Leverage Gym at $1500). Both had their pros (quality) and cons (size/price), but in the end when I compared everything this Marcy gym won hands down. The Linear Bearings used in it dramatically increase the quality factor, and while some reviews said they were not "Thompson" bearings, I find them to be of very good quality and extremely smooth (besides, how "brand name" do you really need little steel ball bearings to be anyways). Anyhow, there are a few things to note about this gym: PROS: GREAT price at only $982 on Amazon w/ free shipping (and it arrived in a week) EVERY major exercise you can think of. I pulled out my exercise routine I followed when I was a member of Bally's Gym, and I was able to do every single exercise on my list. I am still amazed at everything this gym has! THE SIZE of it is even more compact than I thought. The frame is only about 5 feet wide by 5 feet long (but keep in mind that the smith bar extends about 7 feet across, and the bench sticks out about 2 feet longer than the frame itself). LOOKS - it is probably the most stylish smith gym I have seen in blue and white (coincidentally, our walls are the same color blue, so that was a bonus) CONS: You need to buy separate olympic weights. This is not actually a CON, since most of these free weight gyms require the same, but you can tack on a few hundred more for those (I found the best deal at Sears for 300 lbs + the bar at only $275) The instructions - although they are fairly easy to read, they are aboslutely horrible for matching parts. NOTHING, not a single solitary part (and there are about 100) have labels. You have to actually hunt through the boxes to match the right piece with the right step and diagram you are on to make sure you have the right match. What were they thinking here? The good news is that ech part is pretty much one of a kind, so you shouldn't have too much trouble matching the piece, it's just finding it amongst 100 pieces that is the trouble. They could have made this much easier. The build time as stated in several reviews online said 5-8 hours, and yes it took me all 8 hours simply because of the hide and seek of matching parts. Proper labeling could have easily cut this down to 6 hours at a maximum. Lastly, two of the frame pieces were bent when they got here (although no visible damage to the boxes). I had to hammer one piece back to it's correct shape, and the other had an elongated hole in it for a bolt to fit through, but because it was bent so much I had to drill about a 1/4" more space to accomomidate the bolt. All in all, I would absolutely buy this again, as long as you don't mind an 8 hour build time and the "possiblity" of a little extra handy work. My logic with this product was to buy it for $982, buy the Bowflex SelectTech dumbells (see my 2009 model review of those on Amazon) as well, buy the free weights, and buy an extra EZ curl bar but still stay under $2000. I did exactly that, while at the same time maintaing the ability to keep free weight quality and encompass all necessary exercises. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, AND WE ARE 100% SATISFIED!

So I wanted to wait a little over a year before posting a review to ensure I had really experienced this. I'll have to say, for the price, I'm very impressed. I workout anywhere between 4-6 times per week. Typically heavy lifting and this system has met my needs with few exceptions. I have had to improvise a few lifts- seated calf raises have to be done with the smith machine and a pad. There's no lower cable cross- it only comes from the top. But other than those small inconveniences, this thing has held up great. The action on the pulley system obviously isn't going to be as smooth as a system 3x this price, but it works perfectly fine. I do recommend some sort of spray on grease just to keep the rails and pulley wheels moving smoothly. What else you'll need: Somewhere to do pull-ups and dips if you're into those. Good barbell and Olympic weight set (not included with this). Dick's had a good set for about $150. Spray on grease for pulleys/rails. New clips! The ones that it comes with are threaded and take way too long to change. Carabiner clips work MUCH better- just make sure they're rated for the correct weight. Thread lock compound- the seat on the bench tends to wiggle loose pretty often. A little thread lock will fix that problem easily. As others have mentioned, set up is a BEAST. I did do it alone with a helping hand just a few times from my wife to hold up a bar here and there while I secured it. Its going to take a long time. Turn on some music and settle in for the long haul. Best advice I saw on here was to separate out the various nuts and bolts and label them. I used plastic cups for this. LIFE SAVER. Do not skip this step. You'll regret it later. Overall, great workout system. I would definitely buy it again. Holding up great and not seeing any signs of it breaking down soon.

I have been using the machine 4 times a week for several months now and it works great. When I got it, I pulled up a strength routine and adapted it to the capabilities of the machine and it does everything I need. I'm not saying it is perfect but I definitely recommend. When I first ordered it, the shipping was a little frustrating. They gave me a window and came 15 minutes prior to that window so I missed him. When I called they set me up for delivery the next day. Waited all day and got nothing. Long story short, it came about a week later in boxes held together with tape. I was skeptical that all the pieces were there, but they were. I did not have any problems putting it together like other people. It will definitely take 5-10 hours depending on how much help you have. Just follow directions carefully and take your time. The pulley system took me a minute of just staring at the picture trying to figure out how it goes. Once together, the cage is pretty sturdy. I have checked regularly for loose bolts and haven't found any. One of the ball bearings was a little tight and was scraping but there is an adjustment screw so that was an easy fix. The bench is the biggest knock I have on the set. I get by with it, but if I ever find a better bench I like, I think I will grab it. I have had to tighten bolts on it periodically from use so I keep the allen wrench close by. I like that it has a preacher curl pad, but I did away with the little bar that came with it. I bought a separate curl bar and that worked great. Also, the grips that slide on the feet at the bottom kept coming off so I put some glue on them and they haven't come off since. My last little gripe on the bench is that it doesn't go back in the cage as much as I would like. This very minor and only affects 1 workout. I have had lower back problems and wanted to do a seated military press with the bench seat up to support my back. The bench does not go back far enough to do this though. So I just straddle the bench with it down flat. Overall, the machine is great. I definitely recommend it.

My machine was delivered last Wednesday. I was so excited and couldn’t wait to build it. I had taken off the following day from work to do so. Everything was going awesome- until I got the pulley system and realized I’m missing part 100 (bushings). I couldn’t proceed further until I had those. I called the company the minute they opened on Thursday to request the missing bushings as well as a new lat bar as mine came all gouged (the grips). The initial lady I spoke too was pleasant enough and informed me she ordered the parts and should take 5-7 business days. I called back about 30 minutes later upon finding a plastic housing also cracked in one of the parts- the second lady I spoke to- makes me want to return this half built machine currently in my basement. While on the phone with her and her huge attitude, she was looking at the order the other representative had placed- and stated I didn’t need a new lat bar, just new grips and maybe I should be more specific next time. While she was placing the order for the plastic housing- I asked if she could please expedite the bushings because I really want to built this thing and finally be able to use it. I told her I was originally told 5-7 business days but hoping it could be sooner. She laughed at me and said “ha more like 10 business days”. So again I ask if there’s anything she can do and she said “people make mistakes, not every package will have all the parts. These are packed overseas” The customer service I received was so terrible. May 6 I ordered this product. May 22 it was delivered. Last Thursday morning (May 23) I had requested the parts. It’s now Tuesday (May 28)- they still haven’t shipped them out. As wonderful as it’s been having a half built useless piece of machinery in my basement, I decided to return it. I’d rather pay more elsewhere for a better product with less broken parts and way better customer service. Amazon needs to get on them. There are way too many reviews with the same issue of missing or damaged parts. For the amount of money we are handing over- this isn’t ok. I wouldn’t recommend this company. Ever.