I recently started using the Hammer Strength wide chest plate loaded machine and love it. I can feel my pecs working like never before, and my joints feel great. What are some of the best Hammer Strength machines and why do you like them?
My favorite Hammer Strength machines, in no particular are:
1.) [u]Decline Chest Press[/u]
When hitting these guys later in the workout, they give a great stretch, but still allow me to go heavy because getting it into starting position is easy. Decline movements always worked well for me, though, but I do pre-exhausting and do inclines DB presses beforehand at bare minimum.
2.) [u]Hi-Row[/u]
Whether I have gone stupidly heavy with one hand, use both handles for strict squeezing, or applying intensity techniques to these guys in some capacity, this never fails to hit my mid back. I like to use the highest/closest inside grip and put the seat fairly up high in order to do so.
3.) [u]Shrug Machine[/u]
Gotta love this guy for rep/squeezing work. Really anything except herky-jerky shrugs because it can’t really go that heavy.
4.) [u]High Incline Press[/u]
This isn’t the military press machine or the chest one, but one built for front delt work. If I’m going heavy on pressing I’m doing DBs or barbell presses - but I like this thing every once in a while to work into supersets or do higher-rep work.
But that’s about it, overall.
There was one at Ballys i used to train at called Bull Neck Press…i think.
I was a btn shoulder press on an incline.
My current gym has no machines but i can mimic a lot of HS machines on the cables…
pullover
all lats
underhand pulldown type machine
all lats as well
I can pretend I’m Dorian Yates in these as well
too bad my gym doesn’t have them
High Incline Bench Press - The Bench is about 45 degrees and feels a great stretch across the upper chest.
The row machine. Awesome
I like the one for dips
[quote]NOLAlift wrote:
I like the one for dips[/quote]
I’d be lost without this dip machine.
All of them are great if you can figure out how and when to use them.
FUCK MACHINES!!! THEY SUCK!!!
[quote]Michael Crehan wrote:
FUCK MACHINES!!! THEY SUCK!!![/quote]
Suck at what? building muscle? hardly.
Hammer strength leg press hammers muh quads pretty good, I use it in place of front squats some workoits when I go heavy on back squats.
I actually have an HS hack squat machine at my gym. Might be my favorite thing ever!
Also, love a good 6+6+6 drop set on decline HS with 1 sec squeeze on each contraction.
[quote]browndisaster wrote:
underhand pulldown type machine
all lats as well
I can pretend I’m Dorian Yates in these as well
too bad my gym doesn’t have them[/quote]
Speaking of which, I’m surprised no mention of the DY row yet.
One-arm DY rows, heavy in the 6-8 rep range with some body english on the positive, slowish negative, and a quick pause at the stretch are just killer.
Also, x3 on the HS dip. I can’t do bodyweight dips (weird shoulder issue) but machine dips are almost never a problem. Loved them when I tried them on this one, especially with a pronated “barbell-ish” hand placement.
Honorable Mention to the H-Squat. Winner of the “Sweet Baby Jeebus, what were the designers thinking” award.
If I ever find one, I have to try it.
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
Honorable Mention to the H-Squat. Winner of the “Sweet Baby Jeebus, what were the designers thinking” award.
If I ever find one, I have to try it.[/quote]
what in the fuck?
That is the dumbbest looking thing I’ve ever seen.
But at the same time I feel like it could possibly be one of the best inventions I’ve ever seen. You could go to failure without the fear of passing out and being crushed by mounds of weight or falling to your face
That H-Squat seems like it could easily be built half the height and accomplish the same thing.
Many years ago a gym I went to had the HS grip machine. Apparently there is an HS wrist curl machine.
i freakin love the hammer seated rom machine. Not the one with the high handles or the low ones, but the handles right in the middle. There’s a chest supported pad. It’s too bad i don’t have one of these at my current gym…this was always a staple in my back routine.
The row machine.
The only row I can feel my lats working on.
1 Like