MAXPRO: Portable Smart Cable Gym

In short: Space Saver- you could get a weight machine, and you can probably do all the things Maxpro can do, but you dedicated the room to the machine. You have a home gym, but that's it. With Maxpro, I have a room I can use for weight training, yoga, sewing, Guitar Hero... Versatility- it can do everything a weight machine or a Bowflex type machine would do (but taking up a fraction of space). Dumbells- sure, I thought about getting hundreds of pounds of metal, but then, doing a lateral pull would be an issue. Maxpro provides training in any direction! I love doing those punching exercises, as well as squats, and lateral pulldowns. All in one small package. Amazing. Safety- I'm not worried about any weights dropping, or something snapping (whether it be a cable or my neck :O) Maxpro feels so safe. I'm a mechanical engineer, and I research stuff to death before I make a decision. Yes, one of those people. When I was searching for a home gym, since I got rid of my gym membership... I wanted something versatile. I'm also kind of person who want options, but I'm not a buff guy. I looked at big names like Bowflex and Nordictrack. I looked at their home gym setup, and also their nifty dumbell sets. They all had major issues. If you see the photo of my Maxpro setup, it doesn't really get in anything's way (other than the mat, which is 4'x8' for your reference). If I had spent the same money getting one of those conventional home gym setup, my tiny room would be full with the setup! I didn't want this gym towering over me in this multi-purpose room I use for hobbies, and many other things. Even the smallest setup would have taken something like 6'x4' PERMANENTLY. Maxpro does wonders in that area. It takes next to no space. You need space to workout, but except for that 10 minutes a week (:O), the space is yours! Build is great. It's substantial. It reminded me of Iron Man... It's all aluminum... not that Iron Man would have been built with Aluminum, but Maxpro feels great. It feels solid, quality made. You get what you pay for (in a good way!). I notice that some people think this is expensive. I mean, for the same price, you could get a towering hunks of metal that will sit in your room, taking up maybe 6'x6' or more permanently. Maxpro did everything home gym did in a small packaging. If you want more hunk of metal, why would one buy Mercedes when you can get a semi-truck for the same price? I also find some people don't like the whole concentric exercise, etc. There's very informational video on the Maxpro Facebook site, and it's not a sales pitch- they're just saying that different exercises serve different goals. I'm not a big guy, and I work out to stay healthy. I didn't notice anything less because of concentric exercise part. In fact, I'm much big of a fan of it now. One big reason is, it doesn't feel like the machine's going to explode. What I mean is, when you use a weight machine or Bowflex, there's this huge energy build-up. Even the cheap elastic bands are going to store energy when you're extending them twice the original length. Imagine bench pressing 200 lbs with a dumbell or a weight machine, and you can't drop it safely, or something snapping, and there's no one spotting you. That's going to come crashing down and do something- at the least make horrendous noise, or at the worst injure someone or your dog. With Maxpro, you put in the effort, but without feeling like something is going to break or explode. I love that. And there's this cool App. There are many exercises you can search (almost too many) for. It also has these "coached exercises." It feels just like a personal trainer, and the video eases you into using Maxpro seamlessly. I'm in the process of trying all of it to see which I like the best, and just to get used to using Maxpro. I say those coached exercieses should be the first thing you try if you get Maxpro. Maxpro connects to your phone's bluetooth, and it counts the reps for you, etc- pretty nifty. Overall, I'm a big fan. It's compact, versatile, easy to use. It feels solid built, unlike some questionable products. I wrote this lengthy review because I'm convinced that Maxpro made a great product, and they definitely deserve the attention!

For the amount of resistance, this is the most portable device out there. Over 300lbs. The main reason I got this was because it is so easy to adjust. You turn a dial and you have more weight loaded on. The downside is that the spring system makes the resistance uneven or jumpy. For those not used to it, its a bit jarring. The weights are also asymmetric so when pulling away from the device only do you get the resistance. But surprisingly this still works, especially compared to bands or rubber movements. Another downside is that the string will wear overtime and will need to be replaced. The wall attachment also needs to be attached to something solid or wont work well. Example hollow doors on modern construction. I also wish it came with the benchpress bench for the price. This is the only exercise that is difficult without it. Overall good product that provides an entire home weightlifting gym in such a small portable form factor. I think the price is a bit steep comparing to competitors but its not too bad for 300lbs of resistance in a portable device.

I ended up getting the MaxPro, the Wall Track, and the Bench. I'm happy with each, but here's how I'd rate each. MaxPro Device: It is great. I am still in the breaking-in phase of the cables. The lighter weights have smoothed, the heavier ones still have a little settling, but are pretty good already (only few weeks in). If they didn't improve, I'd be fine with it. I'm a neat freak and hate clutter so I really love that this device takes up no space to use or store. I have bowflex selectteck dumbells which don't take up too much space. But this is even easier to change weights and isn't 100 lbs making it hard for me or others to move out of the way. You can really workout anywhere. Regarding no eccentric force: there is just enough for the light weight resistance. And for the heavy weights, to be honest, I think I prefer the no eccentric. For instance, yanking a heavy dumbbell to my lap to do a bench press is just not appealing anymore like when I was in my 20's, I'd rather not risk pulling an odd muscle because I want to get a heavy bench press in. I'm not ruling out dumbbells forever, I'll likely switch things up, but I’m glad I gave this a shot. What is important is doing the work and whatever motivates you is the right program or equipment. Sometimes a new device can make it fun and gets you invested again. This will likely stay my primary device given it's flexibility and low footprint. And it is just so easy to get some sort of work out in (which is always better than nothing); it weakens the excuse factors. Give it a try. Wall Track: You can get by without it, but I highly recommend you get it. It just opens up the list/types of workouts you can do immensely. Sure there is the door mounts, but I think they should be considered for traveling. You could live with the door mounts if you didn't have to regularly remove them. My box came with two so you could keep one at low and high position and be okay. But if you are considering the wall mount at all, just do it. It's better looking than the door mount for one, and it will add any angle to your workout, switching position in seconds. In my opinion, you do want the two door mounts up at all time or the wall track. You can do plenty of workouts with the device alone, don’t be deterred, but including the mounts will replace a gym membership. Bench: The product itself is really nice. I got a black Friday sale so I am going to keep it. I've only just started using the MaxPro system so take this for what it's worth. I think the Wall Track is a must and the Bench is a nice to have. I feel like I can do pretty much everything I want to do with the Wall Track. The bench is there if I want to do more of a traditional-style Bench Press. I see the benefit for that. Don't get me wrong, the app has a ton of exercises to do with the Bench. This is just how I see the value for my workouts. It can easily be the opposite for you. In closing: I know this is expensive, but cancelling a membership for a year at most gyms already covers the cost of this equipment. It's worth that investment to have the options at home. I permanently cancelled my gym membership 5-6 years before covid, doing P90X / Beachbody stuff (which has a great streaming library – check it out too). I haven't missed the gym at all, in fact have been better off physically and financially. And now I'm adding this. I'm way ahead in the cost factor and can add thoughtful things in the future to my home if I wish. Think about the time you spend traveling to/from the gym, time spent in the building and locker room, or waiting for equipment. I'm a working parent and all those time factors became the bigger investment than the money. Cancel your gym. Look for a sale. I'm not saying to buy this, that this is the only option, I'm saying you will be happy with it. And given my suspicion of what the average person does at a gym, this will be just fine for better than 9 of 10 people. Also, if you’re unfamiliar with cable equipment at the gym, download the MAXPro app and look at the exercise library.

Just got another MAXPRO because my wife and I both love the convenience of using it. During the 2020 lockdown, I bought the MAXPRO base model when MAXPRO first launched but after buying the MAXPRO Smart Connect I now see why MAXPRO decided to transition to only selling the smart connect version. This version allows you to still use the device without being connected to the app to follow workouts, so I like how you have the option to choose both. I still have a Rogue squat rack for traditional conventional lifts in my small home gym but having a cable machine like the MAXPRO totally complements it. True I can max out the 300lbs for an exercise like the deadlift but I just do more reps to compensate. It's also nice to deadlift with the MAXPRO when I'm in a hurry and don't feel like setting up for a traditional deadlift with free weights. I have also used my Rogue monster shorty bands to increase the resistance when deadlifting. This also adds some eccentric resistance. When working out alone and out of an abundance of caution and safety, I prefer bench pressing on the MAXPRO rather than bench pressing with spotters on my Rogue rack. It gives me a piece of mind in case something unexpected happens while traditionally bench pressing like my bench malfunctioning even though it's rated at 1,000lbs. Another huge thing that has been beneficial to me is that when squatting on the MAXPRO I don't have any hip pain which has prevented me from enjoying a traditional back barbell squat. I'm guessing this might be that the MAXPRO is only concentric training because on a traditional back barbell squat I would feel pain in my hip on the way down on the eccentric part of the lift when trying to reach depth. This issue caused me to hate squatting! The MAXPRO allows me to squat at a deeper depth which I prefer but without any pain at all!!! You do have to start at the bottom of your lift with the MAXPRO if training alone. As a workaround and since I have a squat rack I utilize my j-cups to hold the bar, while I set the resistance on the MAXPRO so that I can start at the top for my squat. Regarding the MAXPRO app, upon writing I'm more old school and not inclined to use the app all the time, but it still was really cool to utilize the features and to see how this would be really useful across all fitness levels. Lastly, when I consider other "smart gym" options like a Tonal or Vitruvian, I personally like that the MAXPRO can be used without being connected to a power outlet, the lower price point for sure and that it's just so portable with such an overall lightweight for the MAXPRO. For me, the MAXPRO is a winner!

I had problems with my original maxpro. I contacted customer service (patricia and sabrina). At first, the response was “sorry we can’t help right now”?! Only after I replied and said this wasn’t good enough did they decide to help. It seems they are lazy and the first option is to send you away. Juan was very helpful later on, but Sabrina and Patricia were difficult to deal with. I tried reaching out to nezaar later on but no reply. They lost a repeat customer and the crazy thing is when I put this to them they didn’t even reply! Seems they were bothered at all. If another company releases a similar product (hopefully with less problems), I would certainly go to them without question.

The unit is portable for the form factor and how much can be done with it. I like the fact it offers heavy resistance so even heavy lifters can work up a sweat. But now let’s get to the meat and potatoes— the smartconnect version of this machine is a complete WASTE of money. I repeat: if you are buying the Smartconnect MaxPro after reading this review you are wasting your money!!! The app is utter foul trash that only contributes to elevating your heart rate by making your blood boil! Constant crashes, an inability to pause video workouts—the workout videos do not match your workout timing which defeats the point of the paying more for the “smart connected” features, it is neither connected, nor smart. The developers of the app are constantly apologising for their pathetic product, claiming to be fixing these issues but things have stayed the same, with Smartconnect users having made the same complaints for about a year to this point. The skeptic in me also noted that the difficulty in using of the app correlates (at least in my use case) with the app user’s increasingly stringent tracking and data theft security on their phones and this doesn’t give me any confidence that invasion of privacy and data “harvesting” isn’t a large part of their profitability plan. Call me skeptical, but when Shaquille O’neal of early Google investor fame (yes, THAT “what privacy and data security??” Google), sees an opportunity to run the money-winning play again, but this time with an extra layer *cough*guise*cough* of fitness, it leaves little room in my skeptic mind. More on the cash grab: Firstly, in order to maximise your use of this machine you need to purchase at least both the slim line wall track as well as the foldable steel bench—I did and it easily makes this a 4.5 star product, but ONLY for the base version—I give the “Smart and Connected” version a 3.5 with the downgrade for failed promises, negligence and incompetence. Also, you have to seriously break this thing in for the clutch resistance system to feel like you’d expect it to—depending on how heavy and how regularly you use the MaxPro it could be anywhere from weeks to years even: do with that what you will. NB: I have purchased the complete MaxPro system… and the Smartconnect version is a pure fermented methane burning dumpster fire.

I ordered the entire system from MaxPro, including the wall track, bench, backpack and jump trainer. It's just a better deal that way, as they give you 20% off. The MaxPro is very versatile, the exercises are endless. I've had my system for over a month or so, and jerkiness in the movement does work itself out when you break the system in. The bluetooth works but it doesn't always connect the first time. It seems to be that it times out after a while. I've found that the best thing to do is to plug it in when you want to connect, this seems to wake it up. In my opinion the wall track and the bench are a must. I also bought a set of cable machine accessories, including the v-bar, tricep rope, and v-handle, which works well with the MaxPro. After a month or so, I am seeing decent results with the MaxPro. I understand that the MaxPro only offers concentric resistance, so it is a bit of a compromise versus systems that offer b both concentric and eccentric training, however, this fits my space perfectly. You are also to do suspension exercise and get some eccentric training. I've used a Total Gym for years, but at a certain point body weight is not enough resistance, and I needed to add too much weight to the weight bar attachment. The unit and the weights took up too much space and the weights were a pain to put on and take off.

I wanted to wait to write the review till I got through the majority of possible work outs. So far I am very impressed. I have a gym set up at my house (free weights and a bowflex sport), and was looking to clear out the bowflex to make some room. Here are a few comments: - The resistance is legit. Its a little Jerky and takes a little getting used to, but once you break it in its solid. - Yes the resistance is only concentric. Which in my opinion isn't that big of a deal. Coming from someone who has been working out for a long time, you can absolutely get a great work out. - Not every work out is perfect, I still use my dumbbell free weights for certain exercises but very surprised by the versatility. - I am 6'2, wish the width for feet was a little wider but not terrible. Squats are just a little more narrow that I am used to. The App is ok, nothing special but seems like its getting better. it does have work out routines that you can follow which is super helpful. I would definitely recommend getting the Maxpro bench to make it that much better for bench press. I am using the door mount right now and its working fine for lat pull down and other pull options. Overall the work outs have been great, I am a month into using it and pretty happy with the purchase. If it was more expensive I would think twice about buying it. If I had unlimited space and money I would consider getting something like Tonal, but this is a really good option.

The tension on the lines are uneven and jerky. It's a really poorly manufactured or designed system. It's really too bad because the idea is great and the hardware seems like it's decent quality, but that uneven and sporadic tension in the bands is no good.

Der größte Pluspunkt ist natürlich der geringe Platzbedarf. Selbst nur mit der MaxPro alleine kann man alle Muskelgruppen trainieren. Mit einer Bank (es muss auch nicht zwingend die offizielle sein) und der Türhalterung (enthalten) hat man noch viel mehr Möglichkeiten. Im Gegensatz zu Widerstandsbändern kann man hier aber besser steigern (in kleineren Inkrementen) und es geht auch schnell. Zu beachten ist dass der Widerstand nur in der konzentrischen Phase entsteht. In der exzentrischen Phase hat man keinen. Finde ich persönlich aber auch nicht schlimm. Je nachdem was man für Ziele hat, ersetzt das natürlich kein vollwertiges Gym, aber wenn man keine großen Ziele hat bzw. für unterwegs ist das Ding perfekt. Der Preis ist allerdings übertrieben hoch. 500-1000 fände ich angemessener. Ich spiele mit dem Gedanken meine sonstigen Gewichte zu verkaufen, was mich aber abschreckt ist dass ich die Haltbarkeit nicht einschätzen kann. Selbst Ersatzteile wie die Seile sind nur umständlich zu bekommen (weil Versand fast nur aus bzw. in die USA möglich) und benötigen dann vermutlich auch das nötige handwerkliche Geschick.