The Body Solid EXM1500S Home Gym: One Compact and Mighty Little Unit

Packed with features, the Body Solid EXM1500S Home Gym gets a number of Best Buy kudos from gym review sites as well as Consumer Guide, and for good reason. It’s compact in size but still offers a wide array of exercises. For overall quality and functionality, it is one of the few selectorized stack gyms you’ll find for under $1000.

The Gym

The Body Solid EXM1500S Home Gym features the best of the basics: a 160-lb weight stack, a comfortable oversized and adjustable seat, high pulley lat bar, chest press, an ab strap for crunches, leg curls/extensions, and a multi-purpose low pulley for rows, curls, shrugs and more, about 30 exercises in all.

• 160-lb Weight Stack
• Guided-Motion Chest Press
• Ab Crunch / Mid Pulley Station
• Low Pulley
• High Pulley
• Leg Extension / Curl
• Dimensions – 49"L x 36"W x 83"H
• Lifetime Warranty: Pads, Pulley, Cables, Everything. Forever
• Accessories: Lat Bar, Low Row Bar, Utility Strap, Ab/triceps strap, and Workout Poster

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The Buzz

Body Solid home gyms are known for their smooth, quiet operation, as well the use of the best materials in the frames, cables, and pulleys. Fitness trainers point out the one unique feature is that the Low Pulley Station on the EXM1500S is mounted on the side of the frame, which makes it easily accessible for doing rows, cable curls, shrugs, leg abduction, and leg adduction. The only drawback is that you’ll have to sit on the floor (or mat) to do upright rows (there’s a footplate included).

Home gym reviews often make note of the comfortable ergonomic feel found on all of the Body Solid gyms. That’s true for the EXM1500S too, although the compact footprint may be too small for some very large men. While competitors’ models in the same price range (such as a Bowflex or a Weider) may have more stations, the striking difference in a Body Solid is in its outstanding quality. Though the EXM1500S home gym is not rated as “Commercial Quality” by Body Solid -- a designation given to almost all models in their Home Products Line -- this beginner’s machine compares favorably to other multi-function gyms that sell for under $1000.

Our Take

Listed at an MSRP of $1,195, the EXM 1500S can often be found on sale online for around $999. That’s a fair price for a Body Solid home gym that comes with an all-inclusive lifetime warranty covering everything for the original owner. In addition, the company is well known for providing very attentive customer service. For an entry-level gym that holds its re-sell value, and offers a selectorized weight stack instead of resistance bands, the Body Solid EXM1500S Home Gym rates as a Good Buy.

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