I actually use mine for many things I never expected to, it can take some thinking ahead to keep the set up time down but I like to lower mine and use it for hip abduction, glute kick backs, leg extensions. I also use them for pressing and pulling. I lined it up with a cable machine attached to my rack so I can hook them up to that and get a much more even level of resistance throughout the movement. I really don’t think it’s that much more or less set up than a barbell movement. The mutant metals handles and leg rollers do make them a lot more functional though.
Always interesting seeing different opinions on lever arms. Personally, I find them to be one of the most versatile and useful pieces I own for my training style (bodybuilding as opposed to powerlifting). The biggest complaint I always see is adjustment time. For me, that has never been an issue. Determining variations that work and specific "settings" does take a considerable amount of time, but once I find something I like I note the specific holes/settings/ect and it takes less than 30 seconds per arm to adjust. IMO one of the biggest cons to them is that, by themselves, they aren't very useful. The resistance patterns are extremely poor, and useful movements are highly limited. To be able to fully utilize them I find you need a number of additional attachments and accessories.
Got the shorty's facing INSIDE on my 43" rack and really enjoy it!!! Incline, decline, shoulder press, shrugs, farmer walk, bent over rows, etc... longer ones seemed kinda limited to me... glad I got the shorty's
Another quality "down-to-earth" video, thanks for sharing. It's easy for many people to get sucked into "new equipment" rather than focusing on consistent time moving weight with what we already have access to thus increasing our strength and gpp. Now go kill-it at your meet!!
@@BasementBrandon Hmmm, if you are part product tester, then can it really be called wasting money? Whatever it's called all I know is better you than me. 🙃😉
I love these things for Shrugs to failure, Side Chest Press. Use the connecting seat and do leg press and Modified Verticle leg press, bulgarian split squat "And I feel much safer then with dumbells "Yes I am a balance impared." I think if your willing to find use cases you will with not a lot of crazy modifications. Can you do all these things with out this? Most but some will be expensive such as a leg press or vertical press. And side chess press. Are they expensive? Hell yes but If you are already purchasing Rogue monster racks your in the income range for these. Especially used. PS love your content Brandon! thanks for all the great reviews and Ideas!
I too agree - of all the crap I've bought, I was so excited to get them, but barley ever use them. Set up takes long, they're big and get in the way, and for many of my intended movements the movement or grip isn't natural to me. They're built great, the mechanism works well, the concept seemed great but they were a disappointment in reality.
Sportspecific these are great, I dont like the short ones, I have the longer versions and I use them everyday for my clients, these are great for boxing or baseball specific excercises you can do a lot of rotational work with it, they have great resistance with bands. Also they are used a lot in performance institutes for the NFL, of you play sports I would highly recommend them!
I bought a used set that might be an even older version than yours, and have all your same criticisms. They're in the way and I never use them other than as an overly expensive and less functional monolift. Somehow I feel like the handles are too far apart to enjoy using it for something like chest supported rows, and trying to incline press with it borders on painful.
I considered getting these at some point, but I figured out i'd probably only use them for some sort of chest supported row and that wouldn't be worth it. For bodybuilding there may be more uses, but for my powerlifting programming they aren't needed at all.
If you're buying because they look cool or for the same movement patterns used in bodybuilding or powerlifting, then obviously they're not a good fit. But if you are training for a sport that utilizes throwing or leveraged pushing (i.e. football or mma) then they'll work wonders
If you have the inclination Brandon, would you mind doing a review on the Stray Dog GOAT? Seems like a more versatile alternative to the sorinex bulldog pad but would like to hear your opinion.
As many have noted, couldn’t agree with you more! I am in the Sorinex ecosystem, and they are even more a pain to move. And I assume they cost more than the Rogue version. I do mostly powerlifting like you and have found the arms truly worthless.
They really should offer them in different colors, they already do the uprights for the rack. Don’t think it would be that much difference/difficult to do
I'm sorry but the setup argument IN MY OPINION is a bit of a subjective matter and kind of annoys me. Sure, you have a full blown basement gym (which is amazing and I'm very jealous of) so you can conveniently use another machine for some exercises but again, IMO its really just half a step above racking weights on a bar, and is extremely useful for people with limited amounts of space who want some awesome variety. A lot of people shit on lever arms for this reason, making it seem like it's huge pain in the ass to setup, which i really think it isn't. Awesome review though, I appreciate the point of view!
I think it comes down to training style and where you fit these into your routine. For me, as an accessory, they don't make much sense as I don't want to spend a lot of time setting them up. For someone who will use them for their main training, the set up prob isn't as annoying.
@@BasementBrandon Probably true, but I don’t have either as I don’t have a need for them with my training. The surplus strength UPS and Irwin Fitness roller J-cups are much more useful as I have the former and the latter is on order.
I’m new to the home gym scene… like everyone I spent a large part of my life in gyms and being used to having access to a ton of accessory machines. I bought the Rogue 50 cal 2.0 in hopes of mimicking all the Hammer Strength chest and back plate loaded machines. It does a few things ok like chest presses and shoulder presses at various angles. It saves a lot of future time if you document the bench and arm settings when you find a configuration that works. For back pulls and what not they are virtually worthless unless you use spotter arms to move the weight and have an extra 20mins to deal with setup. I think being inside the rack and having flip down safeties to rest the arms on makes them a lot more versatile than outside the rack unless you plan on doing explosive movements where the longer arms would work better. I think most home gym owners buy them for accessories, if that is the case they are much better inside with flip down safeties. With that said I still don’t think they are worth the money. If I had a redo I would not buy them and spent that money on some specialty bars. Again thanks for all your help!
To be honest this video made me want to use my iso arms even more after seeing how they can be set up for a low row :) Offsetting and being able to change the weight distribution according to my needs with those safety spotter arms is just a ridiculously good idea in my opinion (higher resistance at the bottom of the movement and lower at the top where the muscle is at its weakest point). This is kind of how all those Atlantis machines work. They have 2 loadable weight pins and you can change the weight distribution just by messing with the amount of weights you put on each of those. Thank you for the great content, as always.
When I bought my lever arms I wasn't impressed. So hoping to improve upon them, I fabricated my own articulating handles for them and for added versatility, the handles spin inside the shackles too. In doing so, I thought it would change everything about how I train. Lol! They're now just collecting dust in the corner.
As someone who bodybuilds the jammer arms fit me perfect I can do leg press belt squats machine rows and press Are they a pain in the butt and get in the way yes but the options given for the size taken is worth it Depends on training style
Agreed I class myself as a bodybuilder/powerlifter but find I use my Jammer arms a lot more for similar movements like you mention i.e belt squats, rows shoulder press, unilateral leg press etc. I also don't have as much space in my garage to have multiple machines so this helps to fill in a lot of gaps. Setup is a pain in the ass but try to do during rest periods
@@274halo Normal Jammer Arms are way worse to set up b/c you always have to unscrew/pull out/adjust them. I just switched to the Rogue ones and love them.
This is what I mostly want them for--roller monolift. But now someone is making that, and I have a T3 rack, but the arms Titan sells are 2x2, so putting on spotter arms or j-cups won't really work. I think I'd probably rig up a hammy curl or knee extension to do as an accessory once or twice a week if I had them.
Dude, I made the mistake in getting the longer set versus the shorter set. It’s a pain to get them ready for a workout and the added length makes them that much more annoying if anything else. For a while I was using them religiously with tons of leg press setups/movements, bench variations, and so forth. The hand grip is also a terrible design and hate the non-standard weight horn diameter. After dropping about $1k on them, the design should have been better. I will however start using them as a belt squat now that I got the belt for it
@@Fatpotato44 i honestly wish i'd bought the long arms, short arms i find are even more limited to use. Longer arms, i'd use for rows, and deadlift variations for sure
I 100% agree. I am selling mine. I got the long arms and wanted to switch to the shorter version- I have version 1.0 which Rogue no longer makes. 2.0 arms are not backwards compatible, so I have decided to just wash my hands of whole thing. I got them originally for other family members to use, to make working out more fun, but the arms are so heavy to move up and down they never get used.
I should have just bought yours instead of new ones from Rogue haha My heart sunk when I started watching this cos I had massive buyers remorse for something I’ve lusted after for so long, but I think youve touched on an important point is that people like to get creative with them and that’s something I enjoy doing, plus in a tiny space that I have, I can hopefully get creative and mimic some machines and movements that I don’t have access to otherwise. Either way, it’s only money 😂. Now I’m determined to use them a heap so my mrs doesn’t give me shit haha. I also think Rogue have dropped the ball a fair bit as they had huge plans for attachments for these originally and almost none have come to fruition.
For a while I've been grateful that Rep rarely had theirs in stock, which saved me from another regrettable purchase. As you've stated, lots of promise, but also lots of work to utilize.
Yeah I feel you man. I got a cheaper (less adjustable) alternative so I don't regret it that much but I'd be kicking myself if I spent what the Rogue ones go for. There's one exercise on them that I still do and would recommend though: Bulgarian split squats. Since you're tethered to your rack you don't have to worry about balance as much so you can really focus on the movement and even go heavier. I'm a lot less winded after doing them compared to free weights as well.
Brandon is probably too nice in this review if that's possible. I own the latest version of the Rogue Monster Trolley arms with the articulating handles. This is honestly the most disappointing gym purchase I've ever made. I can't recommend them to anyone. I hate them so much that I can't even bring myself to sell them because I'd hate for anyone else to be this disappointed. Jammer arms make the Reverse Hyper look like the best home gym investment of all time.
I like using mine weekly for chest press and chest supported rows, but for most people I agree, not worth it, especially if they train like you. Next time I feel Pendergraphy I have some ideas for a belt squat for it.
They can be a bit cumbersome. To make things a little easier I use a set of 1 inch dumbbell handles rather than the handles that come with it. Much easier to take off and get out of the way. Also makes it a lot lighter when moving them up and down the rack.
Awesome review mate. I have a verve set in Australia which mimic the rep ones. When I got them I thought I was going to become a king of lever arm movements. Target every angle and have a thousand exercises I do with it. But alas.. just lock them up and use them for chins where u can fully hang off the ground and sometimes for bench with the poor man’s monolift.. I believe I have fallen into the category to have them just to say I have them..
Watched this video a while back, didn't heed the advice and now regretting a lever arm purchase. I'm sure some people get great use out of lever arms and love them. But I'm too lazy to set them up. Just want to work out when I go to my basement gym. And space has become an issue in my gym. Shame on me!
Thank you for the honest review. I'm sure you've saved a lot of people $$. As you've mentioned, I don't imagine people using this type of attachment for their primary lifts, and so by the time you've transitioned to doing your accessory workout using this, you've already cooled down and potentially risk injury!
I use mine almost more than anything else in my gym, I love them! But as you said it doesn’t fit your workout scheme, it fits perfectly with my regimen. Main thing I don’t like about them is the price but hey it is what it is.
They are the older design. Rogue have upgraded the design to make them easier to fit and to adjust them on the uprights. The newer design is an improvement Also the articulated handles are a MUST. They are so much more functional than the standard handles.
For all the versatility and ease of storage, these things get a very serious amount of hate. Feels like they satisfy a lot of important garage gym requirements.
Any lever arm movement can be replicated with either dumbbells or cables. Lever arms are also limited in motion unless you get additional add ons like the side to side Kaizen pin. For the price lever arms aren't worth it. The only ones which I would consider are the Griffin adjustable lever arms that have full unrestricted articulating movement and locking mechanism at a relatively affordable price ($900 vs $1600 for Rogue).
Cables maybe but I don't think you can do the same with DBs with some of this stuff b/c of the fixed plane of motion. But do agree, not a good investment regardless for most.
@@BasementBrandon certainly a perfect replication isn't possible with dumbbells for all fixed plane of motion exercises. I actually found a fairly good way around that, at an affordable price, with extra functionality. If you get a TRX setup and anchor it to your rack, you can perfectly replicate any fixed plane of motion exercises using dumbbells, and it is much faster to load. If you ever get the opportunity you should try this with an exercise like an incline chest press and share your thoughts with the rest of the home gym community.
I've had these bad boys in my cart for months waiting for this review. I haven't been able to make myself pull the trigger and I keep thinking they're gonna be coming out with something that allows for some lateral articulation, possibly at a price point that would include free shipping. I would anticipate a nastygram and/or court summons from Matt Pendergraph. Every time I think I might not use these, I watch some of his videos and feel like I should probably have them on every upright.
I think your video's title should have been, "Do not buy - if you dont have patience or an imagination". I just took some time to experiment with angles and found numerous movements that rival my commercial gyms equipment. I wrote down all the configurations and now it takes a few seconds to move to the next exercise.
@@BasementBrandon I think if someone showed you how to configure the arms with flip down safeties you might change your mind. I've been able to do every angle of pressing and rowing, deadlifts, shrugs, calf raise, vertical leg press, front/side/rear raises, biceps curls, triceps extensions. I'm sure i've missed a couple but i think you get the point. I've been able to replace most machines from a typical commercial gym by just configuring my bench/safeties/trolley arms in different ways.
@@BasementBrandon take this into consideration. I stopped barbell pressing due to shoulder issues for a few months and replaced it with the trolley arms. When went back to the barbell, my 3 rep max went up 35lbs. I know barbell is king in a lot of peoples minds but i truly believe the trolley arms can have a very useful role in any gym.
I have jammer arms and used them mostly for my shoulder recovery. What are those small upright attachments on either side of the inside of your rack?? Great video, keep it up!
hey Brandon, just been thinking about something for a while and wanted to get your input on it. I'm really not sure and kind of afraid to ask though. The answer has been eluding me for years. Based on your experience and all the custom equipment you have, does the bar lie? I am just so unsure. Thanks in advance and Regards, Morgan.
@@BasementBrandon There are two twin barbells, one of them always lies and the other always tells the truth. you are allowed to ask a single question to figure out which barbell don't lie. What question should you ask?
@@BasementBrandon The second barbell would say that the first barbell is the liar! PS: I'm going to believe from now on you got the slogan from Labryinth th-cam.com/video/tLhKLfEyDQ0/w-d-xo.html
@@BasementBrandon Well as far as i know any Viking press apparatus will set you back at least the same amount of money and will take up more space right?
@@importantstuff1130 I'd assume just getting one of the barbell attachments and rigging it up across the rack to rest on the safeties might be a cheap way to get it done, but I never do them, so what do I know 🤪
In the 3 years that I've owned my jammer arms, I've also only used them a few times. I keep telling people that they aren't worth it unless you have a very specific purpose for them.
How u doing g brotha?brother?? Its been a while. Hey do u still recomend the functional trainner over the leverage arms? I sold my prx rack and Valor lat pull down machine and some other equipment so iam looking for stuff to buy...I was looking at the rhino belt squat plus rack and it looks like I can do tons of exercises with it besides belt squats I can even add a slinger to do lat pull downs too. Anyways even thinking everyday what to buy..ether the rhino belt squat plus rack or rep fitness with ares or one of thoes all in one functio al trainners like brute force and it comes with leverage arms, weight stack, smith machine, cable system. etc...etc..they are all close to same price about $4000. I know it's my decision but if you were in my shoes what would you prefer. I habe 2 lower buldging disk in my lower back so belt squats will be cool I guess. I know rep has a belt squat attachment too. Anyways iam looking for the one that is more versatile
So it really depends on what you're trying to do. I don't think the lever arms make sense for hardly anyone. A functional trainer would be good for those looking to do a lot of cable accessories but the caveat is they're usually expensive, you can't go heavy on them, and they take up a lot of space. For my style of training, I think a lat pull down/low row would be most ideal.
In summary: After finally slipping what you thought you wanted through an elusive crack, you now have 1) Difficulty getting your big equipment up and down 2) Problems with insertion, in and out 3) Possibility of occasional decent movement - requiring endless creativity, ongoing investment, yet still variable results. 4) An overall pain in the ass 5) Just settling for a sandwich is a lot easier all around. I know the feeling.
I have always been curious about these but never tempted. They are versatile, but I do not feel like I would overly enjoy any movement I used them for.
Yeah I think in a limited set up they might be able to show some versatility more as you can do anything with them. I'm just too lazy and they're not as appealing to motivate me.
I wish I would have know this before I bought mine…I agree, I rarely use them. Maybe once a month. For the price this is something that should be used regularly. Now I just have to decide whether to sell them or not. They are my dedicated J-Cup holder. Have you thought about selling yours?
Exactly the reason why I don't want jammer arm. They take too much time to setup, and I can do the same exercises with barbell. Just focus on the big compound lift and spend the money on functional trainer. With kids I can only do circuits or superset in my training already and I have zero time to set this up and move them around all the time.
100% agree I couldn’t wait until I sold them. Horrible equipment not for the garage gym user but has more functional use in a commercial gym or sports training facility.
Are you still planning to get a rhino ?? I was thinking about it but when you changed your mind before, I decided to wait. You think the rhino is better then the squatmaxMD?
So from what I've heard, the majority of people who have done both think the squatmax feels better. However, I see the Rhino as being more versatile potentially. Currently neither in my plans due to footprint /cost and the fact I think I can get by with other barbell movements
Vendetta strength and athletics has a bracket that has holes every 15 degrees. May be the answer to your problem of keeping it up…well the lever arms that is. Lol
with such a small basement I've been looking at these for some time and think the hustle would be worth it to do certain exercises, Ill take them off your hands for you.
Part of having your own place to work out is getting your work outs fast and conveniently easy This attachment takes too much space in your rack for what it has to offer and it’s also pricey
Great video. I had these as future considerations because they look so cool, but I had a hard time getting motivated for them because they’re very expensive and don’t add any practical functionality for me. Everything I’d use them for can be performed with a barbell, which I’d rather use. Their fate is officially sealed.
I do agree that for most home gyms where most people tend to power lift they are not ideal. However, I think they have a ton of value when it comes to athletic sports performance training with fast explosive movements.which is why you see them in many collegiate are professional strength and conditioning facilities. one home use i do like is the belt squat with the Sorinex attachment. love you page .
@@BasementBrandon man I was consider getting these but now I think they aren’t even worth it. Plus the iso arm pushes probably don’t even do that much right? The marketing behind these make it look like a essential item to get
I actually use mine for many things I never expected to, it can take some thinking ahead to keep the set up time down but I like to lower mine and use it for hip abduction, glute kick backs, leg extensions. I also use them for pressing and pulling. I lined it up with a cable machine attached to my rack so I can hook them up to that and get a much more even level of resistance throughout the movement. I really don’t think it’s that much more or less set up than a barbell movement. The mutant metals handles and leg rollers do make them a lot more functional though.
It probably hurts its case in my set up where I have some dedicated machines others may not. But I agree it can do a ton of stuff, just not as well.
@@BasementBrandon makes sense to me, I’d love to have dedicated machines for that stuff but it’s just not feasible for my small basement gym.
Always interesting seeing different opinions on lever arms. Personally, I find them to be one of the most versatile and useful pieces I own for my training style (bodybuilding as opposed to powerlifting).
The biggest complaint I always see is adjustment time. For me, that has never been an issue. Determining variations that work and specific "settings" does take a considerable amount of time, but once I find something I like I note the specific holes/settings/ect and it takes less than 30 seconds per arm to adjust.
IMO one of the biggest cons to them is that, by themselves, they aren't very useful. The resistance patterns are extremely poor, and useful movements are highly limited. To be able to fully utilize them I find you need a number of additional attachments and accessories.
Hope you don't mind me using your videos :)
@@BasementBrandon ha, not at all! Happy to have helped 😆
@@DylanKJohnson Can you plz elaborate on the extra attachments and accessories?
Got the shorty's facing INSIDE on my 43" rack and really enjoy it!!! Incline, decline, shoulder press, shrugs, farmer walk, bent over rows, etc... longer ones seemed kinda limited to me... glad I got the shorty's
For me I just look at it as a barbell serves the same purpose mostly and is easier/preferable!
@@BasementBrandon That's fair, think its more of a variety use more than anything. I use mine inside my rack and enjoy them.
Sameee. Use them all the time. Weighted push ups, planks, belt squat, leg press, seal rows on Incline bench all day long. Love em
Another quality "down-to-earth" video, thanks for sharing. It's easy for many people to get sucked into "new equipment" rather than focusing on consistent time moving weight with what we already have access to thus increasing our strength and gpp.
Now go kill-it at your meet!!
Let me waste money so you don't have to lol
@@BasementBrandon Hmmm, if you are part product tester, then can it really be called wasting money? Whatever it's called all I know is better you than me. 🙃😉
I love these things for Shrugs to failure, Side Chest Press. Use the connecting seat and do leg press and Modified Verticle leg press, bulgarian split squat "And I feel much safer then with dumbells "Yes I am a balance impared." I think if your willing to find use cases you will with not a lot of crazy modifications. Can you do all these things with out this? Most but some will be expensive such as a leg press or vertical press. And side chess press. Are they expensive? Hell yes but If you are already purchasing Rogue monster racks your in the income range for these. Especially used. PS love your content Brandon! thanks for all the great reviews and Ideas!
Yeah I agree, if you can put the time in and don't mind, they can be super useful! I'm just too lazy I guess.
Couldn’t agree more. Complete pain to set-up and have only found a few movements that actually work for me. Great review!
Thanks Shane
I too agree - of all the crap I've bought, I was so excited to get them, but barley ever use them. Set up takes long, they're big and get in the way, and for many of my intended movements the movement or grip isn't natural to me. They're built great, the mechanism works well, the concept seemed great but they were a disappointment in reality.
Seems to be a theme!
Sportspecific these are great, I dont like the short ones, I have the longer versions and I use them everyday for my clients, these are great for boxing or baseball specific excercises you can do a lot of rotational work with it, they have great resistance with bands. Also they are used a lot in performance institutes for the NFL, of you play sports I would highly recommend them!
Thanks for the feedback
Yep!! Got titan lever arms and tried to use them for the first couple months and now just hand there.
We all got Got!
Additional (long) spotter arrms if they can be locked in straight position...
They are not meant to take that kind of drop.
Seems like a great option for us garage/home gym users that are not super locked in to powerlifting.
Could def be!
I bought a used set that might be an even older version than yours, and have all your same criticisms. They're in the way and I never use them other than as an overly expensive and less functional monolift. Somehow I feel like the handles are too far apart to enjoy using it for something like chest supported rows, and trying to incline press with it borders on painful.
Appreciate the first hand feedback!
Thanks Brandon for this video...I was debating to get these or not...you made me save a wide amount of cash!
I just think for most people they're going to run into the same issues I did!
Only exercise i would use the jammer arms for is seated chest press. But they are way too expensive for EU they are nearly 2k euros on rogue eu site…
Yeah a big ask for little use.
I considered getting these at some point, but I figured out i'd probably only use them for some sort of chest supported row and that wouldn't be worth it. For bodybuilding there may be more uses, but for my powerlifting programming they aren't needed at all.
Def think these would be better suited for BB!
@@BasementBrandon suppose the new ones can be used as a viking press for strongman aswell.
If you're buying because they look cool or for the same movement patterns used in bodybuilding or powerlifting, then obviously they're not a good fit. But if you are training for a sport that utilizes throwing or leveraged pushing (i.e. football or mma) then they'll work wonders
Right on
Hey Brandon, I like the wall clock you have. Would you mind sharing where you found it?
Just put it in the description.
Comes down to lifting style. I have the REP version and I use them all the time.
Yeah I think if you're short on space or like BB they might make more sense.
@@BasementBrandon yup. Both of those. Hit the nail on the head. Im short on space and do a lot of BB specific movements.
@ 8mi and 39 sec part of this video... what is that white attachment that bumps out in the inside of the rack?
They are detailed here: th-cam.com/video/NiwrECzi6cw/w-d-xo.html
If you have the inclination Brandon, would you mind doing a review on the Stray Dog GOAT? Seems like a more versatile alternative to the sorinex bulldog pad but would like to hear your opinion.
Never say never!
As many have noted, couldn’t agree with you more! I am in the Sorinex ecosystem, and they are even more a pain to move. And I assume they cost more than the Rogue version. I do mostly powerlifting like you and have found the arms truly worthless.
One of those things that had a lot of hype but no pop (for me)
They really should offer them in different colors, they already do the uprights for the rack. Don’t think it would be that much difference/difficult to do
Agreed
What do u think about the arms now that vendetta adapters came out?
Still don't find myself using them.
I’m a free weight guy, I didn’t use machines much even when I was going to a commercial gym.
Same!
Can these mount without the need to use side safety pin on 4 way post frames?
I'm not sure I understand the question.
Appreciate the honesty.
Trying to save people money for once lol
I'm sorry but the setup argument IN MY OPINION is a bit of a subjective matter and kind of annoys me. Sure, you have a full blown basement gym (which is amazing and I'm very jealous of) so you can conveniently use another machine for some exercises but again, IMO its really just half a step above racking weights on a bar, and is extremely useful for people with limited amounts of space who want some awesome variety. A lot of people shit on lever arms for this reason, making it seem like it's huge pain in the ass to setup, which i really think it isn't. Awesome review though, I appreciate the point of view!
I think it comes down to training style and where you fit these into your routine. For me, as an accessory, they don't make much sense as I don't want to spend a lot of time setting them up. For someone who will use them for their main training, the set up prob isn't as annoying.
@@BasementBrandon Thank you for the reply! I agree with you, it's down to training style/subjective matter.
Probably better for someone that does a more BBing style program
agreed!
I think the Henny Attachment strap system would be more versatile, less money and they don't get in the way.
I agree cheaper but don’t feel they’re nearly as versatile
@@BasementBrandon Probably true, but I don’t have either as I don’t have a need for them with my training. The surplus strength UPS and Irwin Fitness roller J-cups are much more useful as I have the former and the latter is on order.
What are the attachments you have on your middle post? And what are they for?
They are to offset j-cups if you want to take a wide grip on the bar. I'll do a video soon.
I never use mine either. One of my regret purchases. No lifts felt right on them.
Glad I'm not alone!
Yep, They are almost useless for power lifting! 👍 I may have gotten it for the looks hahahahah
Meaning nothing you cant do already with a barbell (in terms of power lifting).
Feel the same!
The main use I get out of mine is when she walks in the gym during bench press, I put my feet in em with immature comments that follow.
smart thinking
Bro you cut off the “Woooooh!”
I feel like depressed like Eeyore right now. I really needed that outro. :-/
Ah I had that track muted for the b roll
@@BasementBrandon Fortunately you have other videos (just a few lol) on TH-cam so I can get my fix
I still make your buffalo chicken meatloaf recipe. Just felt like sharing lol. Have been since back in day.
I should get back to those
@@BasementBrandon definitely a good idea. Maybe make some healthy monster mash or something.
Sell them?
not worth taking the loss on
Buy titan instead! JK
lol
I like ur tall and muscular frame... Definitely would fit in well with my bois 😘😘😘
lol
Hot take, but a good one. I have found myself using the short arms inside the rack a bit, but they're still definitely low on the priority list IMO.
For someone who's so into fitness, I'm so lazy. Convenience is king!
Well I’m sold, I’ll take 3 pairs
Just sell a pair of shorts and you'll still have some left over for a drink spotter.
I’m new to the home gym scene… like everyone I spent a large part of my life in gyms and being used to having access to a ton of accessory machines. I bought the Rogue 50 cal 2.0 in hopes of mimicking all the Hammer Strength chest and back plate loaded machines. It does a few things ok like chest presses and shoulder presses at various angles. It saves a lot of future time if you document the bench and arm settings when you find a configuration that works. For back pulls and what not they are virtually worthless unless you use spotter arms to move the weight and have an extra 20mins to deal with setup. I think being inside the rack and having flip down safeties to rest the arms on makes them a lot more versatile than outside the rack unless you plan on doing explosive movements where the longer arms would work better. I think most home gym owners buy them for accessories, if that is the case they are much better inside with flip down safeties. With that said I still don’t think they are worth the money. If I had a redo I would not buy them and spent that money on some specialty bars.
Again thanks for all your help!
Thanks for the detailed feedback!
To be honest this video made me want to use my iso arms even more after seeing how they can be set up for a low row :) Offsetting and being able to change the weight distribution according to my needs with those safety spotter arms is just a ridiculously good idea in my opinion (higher resistance at the bottom of the movement and lower at the top where the muscle is at its weakest point). This is kind of how all those Atlantis machines work. They have 2 loadable weight pins and you can change the weight distribution just by messing with the amount of weights you put on each of those. Thank you for the great content, as always.
Haha right on!
i was in the market for a new hexbar but i see that i can do shoulder shrugs with the iso arms as well as other workouts
Man, it’s a shame I still don’t know if I should buy a transformer bar yet.
:)
When I bought my lever arms I wasn't impressed. So hoping to improve upon them, I fabricated my own articulating handles for them and for added versatility, the handles spin inside the shackles too. In doing so, I thought it would change everything about how I train. Lol! They're now just collecting dust in the corner.
Haha damn, at least you tried, I gave up way before trying to fix em!
As someone who bodybuilds the jammer arms fit me perfect
I can do leg press belt squats machine rows and press
Are they a pain in the butt and get in the way yes but the options given for the size taken is worth it
Depends on training style
agreed
Agreed I class myself as a bodybuilder/powerlifter but find I use my Jammer arms a lot more for similar movements like you mention i.e belt squats, rows shoulder press, unilateral leg press etc. I also don't have as much space in my garage to have multiple machines so this helps to fill in a lot of gaps.
Setup is a pain in the ass but try to do during rest periods
@@274halo Normal Jammer Arms are way worse to set up b/c you always have to unscrew/pull out/adjust them. I just switched to the Rogue ones and love them.
Totally agree. I bought these and only use them as a monolift-ish function while benching. They’re such a pain to set up for any movements
I tried to do that but didn't like how they swung independently. I thought about mounting a brace to keep them in line but was just more work.
This is what I mostly want them for--roller monolift. But now someone is making that, and I have a T3 rack, but the arms Titan sells are 2x2, so putting on spotter arms or j-cups won't really work. I think I'd probably rig up a hammy curl or knee extension to do as an accessory once or twice a week if I had them.
Dude, I made the mistake in getting the longer set versus the shorter set. It’s a pain to get them ready for a workout and the added length makes them that much more annoying if anything else. For a while I was using them religiously with tons of leg press setups/movements, bench variations, and so forth. The hand grip is also a terrible design and hate the non-standard weight horn diameter. After dropping about $1k on them, the design should have been better. I will however start using them as a belt squat now that I got the belt for it
@@Fatpotato44 …..I bought the longer ones as well. I ended up taking a band saw to mine to shorten them to the length I wanted.
@@Fatpotato44 i honestly wish i'd bought the long arms, short arms i find are even more limited to use. Longer arms, i'd use for rows, and deadlift variations for sure
I 100% agree. I am selling mine. I got the long arms and wanted to switch to the shorter version- I have version 1.0 which Rogue no longer makes. 2.0 arms are not backwards compatible, so I have decided to just wash my hands of whole thing. I got them originally for other family members to use, to make working out more fun, but the arms are so heavy to move up and down they never get used.
I think the long ones would make sense on the 100 or 108 inch racks, but too much for a 90 inch one.
I should have just bought yours instead of new ones from Rogue haha
My heart sunk when I started watching this cos I had massive buyers remorse for something I’ve lusted after for so long, but I think youve touched on an important point is that people like to get creative with them and that’s something I enjoy doing, plus in a tiny space that I have, I can hopefully get creative and mimic some machines and movements that I don’t have access to otherwise. Either way, it’s only money 😂. Now I’m determined to use them a heap so my mrs doesn’t give me shit haha. I also think Rogue have dropped the ball a fair bit as they had huge plans for attachments for these originally and almost none have come to fruition.
If you dream it, you can do it.
Yep….my 30 min unplanned (whenever the kids are all synchronized) workouts would be ruined with all this setup time required etc.😆😆
Plus with your Alibaba rack you can do whatever you need anyways!
@@BasementBrandon 👍👌💪
One thing to mention is if you load those handles up a lot make sure you have weight on the rear of the rack..... I almost learned this the hard way.
Haha good point
For a while I've been grateful that Rep rarely had theirs in stock, which saved me from another regrettable purchase. As you've stated, lots of promise, but also lots of work to utilize.
Well said!
LOL, regrettable purchase--story of my materialism life!
I just ordered my rep iso arms on Monday 🤣🤣😫..... I do hope I use them a few times a week
@@samsnetsdynasty5496 If anything, they allow you to have to sets of J-Cups back to back, at the exact same heigh, which is nice.
@@twistedbarbell3950 I honestly got them to do different hammerstrength exercises, but it's a very versatile piece of equipment.
setup is very important even change the bar during the training seems annoying let alone Jammer Arms set up
agreed
I wish you would have made this a year ago. Mine have been just sitting there since I got them
I always tell people when they ask!
Yeah I feel you man. I got a cheaper (less adjustable) alternative so I don't regret it that much but I'd be kicking myself if I spent what the Rogue ones go for.
There's one exercise on them that I still do and would recommend though: Bulgarian split squats. Since you're tethered to your rack you don't have to worry about balance as much so you can really focus on the movement and even go heavier. I'm a lot less winded after doing them compared to free weights as well.
Right on, hadn't tried that one.
You can also do them with a landmine and save the money
Brandon is probably too nice in this review if that's possible. I own the latest version of the Rogue Monster Trolley arms with the articulating handles. This is honestly the most disappointing gym purchase I've ever made. I can't recommend them to anyone. I hate them so much that I can't even bring myself to sell them because I'd hate for anyone else to be this disappointed. Jammer arms make the Reverse Hyper look like the best home gym investment of all time.
😂 the final stab at the end
Damn
Just trying to share my view, which I know isn't always the same. I do have friends who love theirs even though I told them not to buy.
brooo you couldve told me this a year ago and stopped me but its too late :(
I did :)
I like using mine weekly for chest press and chest supported rows, but for most people I agree, not worth it, especially if they train like you. Next time I feel Pendergraphy I have some ideas for a belt squat for it.
Haha I'm just a lazy lifter I suppose!
They can be a bit cumbersome. To make things a little easier I use a set of 1 inch dumbbell handles rather than the handles that come with it. Much easier to take off and get out of the way. Also makes it a lot lighter when moving them up and down the rack.
Thanks for the info!
Awesome review mate. I have a verve set in Australia which mimic the rep ones. When I got them I thought I was going to become a king of lever arm movements. Target every angle and have a thousand exercises I do with it. But alas.. just lock them up and use them for chins where u can fully hang off the ground and sometimes for bench with the poor man’s monolift.. I believe I have fallen into the category to have them just to say I have them..
Happens to the best of us!
Watched this video a while back, didn't heed the advice and now regretting a lever arm purchase. I'm sure some people get great use out of lever arms and love them. But I'm too lazy to set them up. Just want to work out when I go to my basement gym. And space has become an issue in my gym. Shame on me!
Tried to warn ya! 😅
Thank you for the honest review. I'm sure you've saved a lot of people $$. As you've mentioned, I don't imagine people using this type of attachment for their primary lifts, and so by the time you've transitioned to doing your accessory workout using this, you've already cooled down and potentially risk injury!
It's one of those things that it's love/hate for some. So just hard to justify based off the price.
Get what you need. Don't waist money on gym equipment that you don't need. Still waiting for rep fitness deliver to Hawaii and Alaska.
I usually buy stuff I feel like I'd use. Some stuff unfortunately I've had to buy to figure that out.
I use mine almost more than anything else in my gym, I love them! But as you said it doesn’t fit your workout scheme, it fits perfectly with my regimen. Main thing I don’t like about them is the price but hey it is what it is.
Right on!
They are the older design. Rogue have upgraded the design to make them easier to fit and to adjust them on the uprights. The newer design is an improvement
Also the articulated handles are a MUST. They are so much more functional than the standard handles.
The newer design still has a lot of flaws and I would not recommend personally.
trolley arms are too much for me. my functional trainer does the same movements and 1000x easier to set up for the angles. lol
Right on
My lever arms came incomplete, only the lever arms. They were on sale, non returnable. Customer service told me to be careful what I order.
I'm assuming from the garage sale?
For all the versatility and ease of storage, these things get a very serious amount of hate. Feels like they satisfy a lot of important garage gym requirements.
You'd think, but in actuality they're more annoying than useful.
Any lever arm movement can be replicated with either dumbbells or cables. Lever arms are also limited in motion unless you get additional add ons like the side to side Kaizen pin. For the price lever arms aren't worth it. The only ones which I would consider are the Griffin adjustable lever arms that have full unrestricted articulating movement and locking mechanism at a relatively affordable price ($900 vs $1600 for Rogue).
Cables maybe but I don't think you can do the same with DBs with some of this stuff b/c of the fixed plane of motion. But do agree, not a good investment regardless for most.
@@BasementBrandon certainly a perfect replication isn't possible with dumbbells for all fixed plane of motion exercises. I actually found a fairly good way around that, at an affordable price, with extra functionality. If you get a TRX setup and anchor it to your rack, you can perfectly replicate any fixed plane of motion exercises using dumbbells, and it is much faster to load. If you ever get the opportunity you should try this with an exercise like an incline chest press and share your thoughts with the rest of the home gym community.
I've had these bad boys in my cart for months waiting for this review. I haven't been able to make myself pull the trigger and I keep thinking they're gonna be coming out with something that allows for some lateral articulation, possibly at a price point that would include free shipping. I would anticipate a nastygram and/or court summons from Matt Pendergraph. Every time I think I might not use these, I watch some of his videos and feel like I should probably have them on every upright.
He does come up with some wild stuff!
I think your video's title should have been, "Do not buy - if you dont have patience or an imagination". I just took some time to experiment with angles and found numerous movements that rival my commercial gyms equipment. I wrote down all the configurations and now it takes a few seconds to move to the next exercise.
I still don't think people should buy them even if they have patience and/or an imagination though :)
@@BasementBrandon I think if someone showed you how to configure the arms with flip down safeties you might change your mind. I've been able to do every angle of pressing and rowing, deadlifts, shrugs, calf raise, vertical leg press, front/side/rear raises, biceps curls, triceps extensions. I'm sure i've missed a couple but i think you get the point. I've been able to replace most machines from a typical commercial gym by just configuring my bench/safeties/trolley arms in different ways.
@@dustinhamilton see I don’t think so. I’m well aware of what they can do. I’d rather use a barbell.
@@BasementBrandon take this into consideration. I stopped barbell pressing due to shoulder issues for a few months and replaced it with the trolley arms. When went back to the barbell, my 3 rep max went up 35lbs. I know barbell is king in a lot of peoples minds but i truly believe the trolley arms can have a very useful role in any gym.
“Hard to get it up and down which I have problems with outside of the gym as well” lmao
;)
AGREE! sold mine for a couple hundred less and felt like I still won.
Lol I think I'll keep them just b/c they're more of a talking point now.
💯% agree! Best of luck this weekend.
Thanks Scott!
I have jammer arms and used them mostly for my shoulder recovery. What are those small upright attachments on either side of the inside of your rack?? Great video, keep it up!
They are to offset j cups so someone can take a wide grip on squats or bench.
@@BasementBrandon Ah I see awesome
Years later you still respond to all comments. Love you bro.
Least I can do!
I'll buy them for $100
Sure thing, there is just the matter of the $1500 convenience fee.
@@BasementBrandon sob
Dixon!!!! He dope
Got to show my RI people support.
hey Brandon, just been thinking about something for a while and wanted to get your input on it. I'm really not sure and kind of afraid to ask though. The answer has been eluding me for years. Based on your experience and all the custom equipment you have, does the bar lie? I am just so unsure. Thanks in advance and Regards, Morgan.
The bar does not lie, however it is not to be trusted.
@@BasementBrandon There are two twin barbells, one of them always lies and the other always tells the truth. you are allowed to ask a single question to figure out which barbell don't lie. What question should you ask?
@@Morgan_ If I were to ask the other bar which bar lies, what would it say?
@@BasementBrandon The second barbell would say that the first barbell is the liar! PS: I'm going to believe from now on you got the slogan from Labryinth th-cam.com/video/tLhKLfEyDQ0/w-d-xo.html
TBH it's one of my favorite movies. RIP Goblin King
But if you use them with nurled handles and the longer arms, shouldnt those be the ideal way to train for a Viking press?
Doesn't seem like a good investment for just one movement
@@BasementBrandon Well as far as i know any Viking press apparatus will set you back at least the same amount of money and will take up more space right?
@@importantstuff1130 I'd assume just getting one of the barbell attachments and rigging it up across the rack to rest on the safeties might be a cheap way to get it done, but I never do them, so what do I know 🤪
Making chains bougie is next level.
The little things that count.
great honest review!!! thank you
I'm sure it's not really helpful to most, but hopefully it saves some people some money!
In the 3 years that I've owned my jammer arms, I've also only used them a few times. I keep telling people that they aren't worth it unless you have a very specific purpose for them.
Preach!
How u doing g brotha?brother?? Its been a while. Hey do u still recomend the functional trainner over the leverage arms? I sold my prx rack and Valor lat pull down machine and some other equipment so iam looking for stuff to buy...I was looking at the rhino belt squat plus rack and it looks like I can do tons of exercises with it besides belt squats I can even add a slinger to do lat pull downs too. Anyways even thinking everyday what to buy..ether the rhino belt squat plus rack or rep fitness with ares or one of thoes all in one functio al trainners like brute force and it comes with leverage arms, weight stack, smith machine, cable system. etc...etc..they are all close to same price about $4000.
I know it's my decision but if you were in my shoes what would you prefer. I habe 2 lower buldging disk in my lower back so belt squats will be cool I guess. I know rep has a belt squat attachment too. Anyways iam looking for the one that is more versatile
So it really depends on what you're trying to do. I don't think the lever arms make sense for hardly anyone. A functional trainer would be good for those looking to do a lot of cable accessories but the caveat is they're usually expensive, you can't go heavy on them, and they take up a lot of space. For my style of training, I think a lat pull down/low row would be most ideal.
Lever arms never seem to speak to me at least for my training
INB4 you buy some :)
In summary:
After finally slipping what you thought you wanted through an elusive crack, you now have
1) Difficulty getting your big equipment up and down
2) Problems with insertion, in and out
3) Possibility of occasional decent movement - requiring endless creativity, ongoing investment, yet still variable results.
4) An overall pain in the ass
5) Just settling for a sandwich is a lot easier all around.
I know the feeling.
Story of my life.
I have always been curious about these but never tempted. They are versatile, but I do not feel like I would overly enjoy any movement I used them for.
Yeah I think in a limited set up they might be able to show some versatility more as you can do anything with them. I'm just too lazy and they're not as appealing to motivate me.
I wish I would have know this before I bought mine…I agree, I rarely use them. Maybe once a month. For the price this is something that should be used regularly. Now I just have to decide whether to sell them or not. They are my dedicated J-Cup holder. Have you thought about selling yours?
I think they're unique enough (and were expensive enough) where I'll just end up keeping them.
Exactly the reason why I don't want jammer arm. They take too much time to setup, and I can do the same exercises with barbell. Just focus on the big compound lift and spend the money on functional trainer. With kids I can only do circuits or superset in my training already and I have zero time to set this up and move them around all the time.
Right on!
100% agree I couldn’t wait until I sold them. Horrible equipment not for the garage gym user but has more functional use in a commercial gym or sports training facility.
Yeah I think if someone has limited space these might be more handy in the absence of other equipment.
Are you still planning to get a rhino ??
I was thinking about it but when you changed your mind before, I decided to wait.
You think the rhino is better then the squatmaxMD?
So from what I've heard, the majority of people who have done both think the squatmax feels better. However, I see the Rhino as being more versatile potentially. Currently neither in my plans due to footprint /cost and the fact I think I can get by with other barbell movements
Vendetta strength and athletics has a bracket that has holes every 15 degrees. May be the answer to your problem of keeping it up…well the lever arms that is. Lol
hey now!
with such a small basement I've been looking at these for some time and think the hustle would be worth it to do certain exercises, Ill take them off your hands for you.
lol
I-bolts run through the lowest hole? Have a chain hanging down from the rafters to keep them suspended when not in use. Maybe??
Prob could get something set up, but again, another annoyance.
Part of having your own place to work out is getting your work outs fast and conveniently easy
This attachment takes too much space in your rack for what it has to offer and it’s also pricey
agreed! too much of an inconvenience with not as much return.
Great video. I had these as future considerations because they look so cool, but I had a hard time getting motivated for them because they’re very expensive and don’t add any practical functionality for me. Everything I’d use them for can be performed with a barbell, which I’d rather use. Their fate is officially sealed.
Sorry to burst the bubble!
I love mines
Right on!
Great review?? Haha. Totally agree completely useless honestly! You should sell them to me 😉🤔🙃
Lol
Does the new vendetta strength bracket allowing it to lock at different angles change your mind about them at all?
No but at least now I can put them up and out of the way easier 😝
I do agree that for most home gyms where most people tend to power lift they are not ideal. However, I think they have a ton of value when it comes to athletic sports performance training with fast explosive movements.which is why you see them in many collegiate are professional strength and conditioning facilities. one home use i do like is the belt squat with the Sorinex attachment. love you page .
Could very well be the case!
how hard is it to take them off? like say you wanted to put on a different leg like the inside?
it's not hard, but it's a pain in the ass.
@@BasementBrandon man I was consider getting these but now I think they aren’t even worth it. Plus the iso arm pushes probably don’t even do that much right? The marketing behind these make it look like a essential item to get
@@quincy189 In my experience more people who buy them are dissatisfied than happy. However there are a few people who really love em.
@@BasementBrandon thank you!