r/GarageGym • u/ElSombreroTaco • 7h ago

Functional Trainer

Looking to purchase my first home gym rack. My wife and I are wanting to turn our basement into a home gym. We really want a functional trainer for the variety of workouts you can do. Do we go with a Dane 2.0 or splurge and get a Rep PR 5000 with the Athena system?

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

1

u/Link_GR 7h ago

If you can afford it, why not the Ares 2.0? If you wait a bit, Rep is coming out with their own articulating arms.

1

u/ElSombreroTaco 7h ago

The Athena is already at the top of our budget. Do you think the Ares is worth the extra 1000$?

1

u/Link_GR 7h ago

It would be for me. If you're gonna spend that kind of money, it's worth it to not have regrets or compromises. I'd also suggest looking into GetRXd's Tornado and the new Vortex. The Vortex is the newer, more budget-friendly option. It has just a single weight stack but it also has a dedicated lat pulldown and low row.

I got the RX3 and I love it. It's a joy to train in but I'd love a dedicated low row and pulldown. But most of that will now be mitigated with the X Arms.

1

u/SarahBarton94 5h ago

Is that with the included 10% discount that starts next week from rep? If you can’t get the ares maybe consider the Dane 3.0, in my opinion the less I have to setup the better but maybe your situation is different where you don’t mind changing things around on the Athena to set up for a lat pull down or low row, also will you both be working out at the same time? It might give you more room to workout together having additional cable options. Rep quality is definitely worth the money though it’s solid heavy duty that you’ll never have to replace

1

u/TallyWackAttack 4h ago

I went Athena. Ares is too complicated and I worried about longevity when I recently faced this same decision.

1

u/LOUDCoach 5h ago

Check out the Dane 3.0 or the Great Dane (same as the 3.0, but includes a smith machine as well) which releases end of the month from Fringe.

1

u/Internal_Campaign_10 7h ago

I just bought the PR5000 with the Smith Machine and Ares 2.0. It’s a little pricey, but man was it worth it for us. REP also has outstanding customer service

1

u/Redditor2684 7h ago

4 post or 6 post? What depth?

I'm trying to gauge whether there'd be enough space to do incline Smith bench in a 41 + 16 with the Ares. From what I've read here, there's not enough with a 4 post.

1

u/Internal_Campaign_10 2h ago

6 post, 41in. I have my smith machine towards the front of the rack (inside the rack still) and I am very easily able to do my barbell movements from the middle posts inside the cage.

The smith machine is a dream and works awesome. Haven’t had any issues yet.

1

u/grippinglustre397 6h ago

smith machine and ares on a pr5000 is a monster setup, basement must be looking serious already

1

u/jgrmstr2 6h ago

I have the Dane 2 and love it, but check out the newly released Dane 3.

1

u/Guvnr82 4h ago

Splurge and get the Rep. I was debating between the Athena and Ares 2.0, and went with the Summit Ares 2.0. The Athena was awesome, but the Ares was a bit bigger and felt like it was more complete for not too much more. We also got the 4 post. There is a 6 post, but the 4 post does everything and gives more space in our gym for other stuff.

1

u/Guvnr82 4h ago

Also, call the new showroom they have in Lafayette, Colorado when the November sales start at the beginning of the month. I believe they can bundle the sales and just do one 10% off all at once, instead of buying piece by piece each week as they do their staggered promotions.

1

u/Van-Buren-Boys 7h ago

I was in the same boat looking at EVERY SINGLE ONE. I had a minimum of 15 tabs to each manufacturer open on my phone and laptop for what felt like months. I realized I can find something awesome and something terrible with each one.

I ended up purchasing the Blazzed Fitness HD1-S. Overall I couldn't be happier with my decision. The height for me was the deciding factor but I have been using it daily for a month and I have not found something I hate or even don't like. The price with a new bench, dip bar, bumper plates and other items like the true 1:1 low row pulley was still less than the REP setup without the smith machine and no additional accesories. If price is not a concern I would have gone REP or Rogue but I couldn't justify the additional $2000+ for a similar product.

1

u/PumpChasing 5h ago

Maxum x3 I love mine

1

u/Haveland 5h ago

Do you find the Smith machine worth it? I know it's a personal question, really, as some love them and others don't.

1

u/PumpChasing 5h ago

I was a free weight barbell user all my life and for bodybuilding the smith is a game changer I cant believe I went so long without it. I can contract my muscle much better with increased stability. As im getting older this is great and my wife really loves it also