IGX

And it was worth the wait! This thing is awesome. I stand by my previous assessment of the NYBB GHR, it's a good piece of equipment for someone who doesn't want to drop almost a grand to do a glute ham raise. If you are under 240 or so and you will only be using it once or twice a week the NYBB model is fine (unless of course you want to spend the cash, then get the Elite). This thing is huge and solid as all hell.

The Pros:
-heavy duty as hell
-angled pad makes a difference (not as big as some would make you believe, but it does make a difference, I feel the lift more at the top whereas on the NYBB some slid down a little on the pad - not enough to disrupt the lift though)
-this was the GHR (not the deluxe, pro or collegiate model) and wasn't supposed to have band hooks, but apparently they are putting them on now, a SWEET feature
-holes drilled on ends of support legs in case you want to bolt it down, nice option especially for SHW's
-huge foot plate is easy to push into (most GHR's have a toe plate the width of a 2x4)
-ships freight on a pallet and is totally assembled, you just have to bolt down the handles
-EFS equipment is not hyped, this stuff is heavy duty

The Cons:
-expensive for a supplementary piece of equipment (but it is justifiable if you have the cash and are serious about your training)
-took about a month to get, this is disappointing because EFS's equipment is manufactured by Williams Strength which is located in SC, very close to ATL; I am planning on opening up two more strength training facilities (one very soon) and will be purchasing enough EFS gear to outfit a small S&C facility by Summer - it sucks knowing that it takes 4-8 weeks, and equipment other than black and white may take longer, this stuff is worth the wait though.

All in all I am very pleased with the GHR. It's freakin' awesome. For the volume of athletes and clients I train this gear is way better than the NYBB stuff. For someone just looking for a home gym to workout themselves and wants to save a few bucks the NYBB stuff is fine. If you're going to have some big mofo's and a lot of people on your equipment spend the extra cash and go with EFS or Williams Strength brand.

Next up will be a rack and reverse hyper from EFS.

Oh yeah, here's a link so J@ck's panties don't wind up in a knot like they did over the headstrap fit for hercules:
http://www.flexcart.com/members/eliteft ... =167&pid=7

JMO,
Scott

OK, if you are so close to Williams, why didn't you just contact them directly?

I'm all for supporting EliteFTS, but you need to make strategic decisions as well.

-waiting time
-shipping costs
-potential pick ups vs shipping

These all add up, right?

On the other hand, I need me an EliteFTS GHR, the one I had made locally isn't very awesome, though it's heavy duty.

Scott Shetler wrote: -took about a month to get, this is disappointing because EFS's equipment is manufactured by Williams Strength which is located in SC, very close to ATL; I am planning on opening up two more strength training facilities (one very soon) and will be purchasing enough EFS gear to outfit a small S&C facility by Summer - it sucks knowing that it takes 4-8 weeks
JMO,
Scott

If you're going to be doing 2 more places, can't you work a deal with them in advance so that they'll put on some extra hustle for you? Don't know about S&C dealers, but in the science biz big purchases mean that sales reps bend over back'ards, bring you donuts, rub your feet, speed up delivery, etc.

GDG!

Shaf,

Good point, however there are suttle differences in their equipment and WIlliams. EFS stuff is custom made for EFS - if you look at the GHR's closely you can see it, the main difference is the hyped up pad angle. Williams' GHR's do not have the angle, but Elites do. The pad angle does make a difference in that you do feel more tension at the top of the lift, again, I think it is a little over-dramatized, but when you're dropping this kind of $$$ on the equipment, might as well get the best. As far as the racks I think the 1" hole spacing is exclusive to the WSB and EFS rack, it looks like all the Williams racks I saw in their onliine catalog were standard 2" hole spacings. Again, minor details but considering the equipment is all about the same $$$ you might as well get all the bells and whistles. I don't think Williams sells the EFS stuff, I think you order through EFS then Williams ships it, not sure though. I am going to request a hard copy catalog from Williams as they do not provide pictures for the bulk of their equipment on their website.

Scott

GoDogGo! wrote:

Scott Shetler wrote: -took about a month to get, this is disappointing because EFS's equipment is manufactured by Williams Strength which is located in SC, very close to ATL; I am planning on opening up two more strength training facilities (one very soon) and will be purchasing enough EFS gear to outfit a small S&C facility by Summer - it sucks knowing that it takes 4-8 weeks
JMO,
Scott

If you're going to be doing 2 more places, can't you work a deal with them in advance so that they'll put on some extra hustle for you? Don't know about S&C dealers, but in the science biz big purchases mean that sales reps bend over back'ards, bring you donuts, rub your feet, speed up delivery, etc.

GDG!

GDG,

The future orders will be by phone, I ordered the GHR over the internet. I will not be outfitting 2 locations simultaneously and will not be purchasing every single piece all at once. I am not going to finance, but rather pay out of pocket for the equipment. The first location I am opening I will have one trainer working for me, it's a small baseball player development center down here run by a former pro ball player turned agent, with 600 sq ft of space for equipment. We will start with a rack, plat, bench, plyo boxes, sled, weight, DBs, boxes, and some basic strongman stuff (most of this stuff we have already, it's not EFS equip but the rest we get for it will be) then build it up to that plus 2 more racks and plats a GHR and reverse hyper. I anticipate this happening over a period of 4-6 months. Point is, with it being a small space and only one coach working for me we don't need all the equip right away and I want to avoid leasing it. I can afford all the equip, I just need to break it out over a few months, cause of other unnecessary bills I have like car payments, mortgage, etc! The 2nd location will be a bigger location I am working on with a colleague, should be a combo sports training facility/martial arts training facility. This one we are looking at opening within a years time or so and will be a larger scale project, most likely with investors and all the other nonsense that is giving me a headache just thinking about.

Scott

It sounds like your business is working well for you. Keep up the good work.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get more free time to resume working out. The job I took in KC has been kicking my ass, but in a year, I hope that it will be all worth it.

Jim Webb

Jim,

Great to hear from you! Hope things workout well for you in KC and the hard work now pays off. Shoot me an email sometime at: [email protected]. Business is going well, getting alot of referrals for the pro-scout combines at GA Tech this spring as well as some of the high school Nike combines for my underclassmen. We'll see how it goes. Hope you and your wife are doing well! Talk to you later.

-Scott

Thanks for the review and I am going to pick one up right away!

M Mahler wrote:Thanks for the review and I am going to pick one up right away!

Awesome Mike, you'll love it. Be sure to post your thoughts on it.

Jack wrote:

M Mahler wrote:Thanks for the review and I am going to pick one up right away!

No shit, teaching KB's must pay pretty fucking well.


Oh and Scott, thanks for the link, bitch.

No problem, if you only knew the trouble I went through to copy and paste...

Scott,

Congrates on the Gyms!
The 2nd one is along the lines of what a couple of usj have been looking into.
Good for you and much continued success!

Hunter S. Thompson Gun wrote:Scott,

Congrates on the Gyms!
The 2nd one is along the lines of what a couple of usj have been looking into.
Good for you and much continued success!

Thanks! Unfortunately the 2nd one will be a more later than sooner deal, but will be very cool when it's up an running. Good luck with your business ventures!