00:00what's up everyone welcome to another
00:02video in this video I will assemble and
00:04review this PL loaded bicep tricep
00:07machine manufactured by
00:09gmw I will tell you right now that I
00:11received this for free to test and
00:13review but this is not a commercial like
00:15all of my other videos this is an honest
00:17review to begin let's open the box and
00:22inside inside the box everything is in
00:24plastic protective bags and packaged
00:26well now let's unpack everything and see
00:30we have a few steel components two pads
00:33instructions and some Hardware
00:35everything is present and looks good
00:38damage before we start assembling it
00:40comes with some minimalistic tools the
00:42instructions say additional tools are
00:44required and assembly will be more
00:46convenient with a socket set or wrenches
00:49so here are the specified required tools
00:51and I have a 17 mm socket and wrench for
00:54all of the M10 nuts and bolts it's
00:56technically possible with the included
00:58tools but I wouldn't recommend it if you
01:00have sockets or wrenches it'll make it
01:02so much easier assembly was pretty easy
01:04and straightforward there are not many
01:06parts and the instructions are clear and
01:08well written the instructions do
01:10recommend two people but I did it by
01:12myself with no problem at all and I
01:14think a second person would just be in
01:15the way and it took me 33 minutes and 12
01:18seconds to assemble it by myself and
01:21here's a quick little walk around of the
01:22assembled machine it went together great
01:25and it's a goodlooking solid piece of
01:27equipment during assembly it in included
01:30these Allen wrenches all of the bolts
01:32used a 17 mm socket except one bolt
01:35which needed a 13 mm socket but I used
01:38this instead of walking out to the
01:40garage to get another socket I did use
01:42the Mallet I did not use the
01:44screwdrivers there was no grease
01:45specified and I did have to use my own 6
01:48mm allen wrench for this one screw the
01:51overall fit and finish of the parts was
01:53very good everything fit together and
01:56went together with no issues the welds
01:58are nice and the black coding is nice
02:00quality with no defects so far this is a
02:03nice quality machine as a mechanical
02:05engineer who designs complex machines
02:07for a living one thing I want to point
02:09out is this bolt first let's disconnect
02:12this member to get access to the other
02:14side and here's the other end of the
02:16bolt it's just threaded through this
02:17thin plate that's only about two threads
02:20of Engagement which is not enough it
02:21shouldn't be a problem but it's not good
02:23practice and there should be a nut
02:25welded to the back of the bracket now
02:27let's work our way through all of the
02:28functions and mechanisms starting with
02:30the adjustable seat the seat has seven
02:33different height positions indicated by
02:35the holes in the side of the
02:37tube it's adjusted by loosening the knob
02:40pulling the plunger pin adjusting the
02:42seat then inserting the plunger pin and
02:45tightening the knob with the seat
02:47removed for visuals the body of the
02:49selector pin can be threaded into the
02:51tube which would interfere with the seat
02:53tube this is intentional it specifies it
02:55on the knob if the seat just sits on the
02:58pin it's wobbly tightening the knob into
03:00the seat secures it on the other side
03:04there is a bolt that's permanently
03:06installed it locates in the slot on the
03:08seat which prevents the seat from being
03:11pulled all the way out and keeps the
03:13seat with the machine moving along next
03:16is the weight plate shaft it currently
03:18has the 2-in diameter adapter sleeve
03:20installed for olympic plates and the
03:23sleeve can be removed to provide a 1in
03:25diameter shaft for standard
03:27plates I would like to see a rubber or
03:30plastic washer here currently the plates
03:32slide all the way on and contact the
03:35tube I've already noticed some wear in
03:37the coating just from testing but a
03:40rubber washer is easy to add and I would
03:42also like to see a smaller washer
03:44holding the sleeve onto the shaft
03:46currently it's designed to be the same
03:48size Line to Line but I've experienced
03:50plates getting hung up on it it doesn't
03:53need to be that big in diameter but
03:55these are not things that would stop me
03:56from purchasing this it can certainly be
03:58used as is but if desired adding a
04:01rubber washer or swapping in a smaller
04:05easy now let's move on to the stop pin
04:08it has a rubber cover to protect it from
04:10contact with the weight plate tube the
04:12stop pin is secured with a Lynch pin on
04:14the back side remove the Lynch pin then
04:17remove the stop pin the stop pin goes
04:19behind the weight plate tube for bicep
04:21curls and it goes in front of the weight
04:23plate tube for tricep extensions and
04:25let's continue up to the rotating
04:27mechanism this is the heart of of the
04:29machine where all of the loads are
04:31supported in rotation it has roller
04:33bearings and it is quiet and smooth all
04:37here next is the handle arm adjustment
04:40there is a spring return pull pin that
04:42can be inserted into the desired
04:45position pull the pin place the handle
04:48arm where you want it then release the
04:52place and last is the handles they have
04:55a rubber coating which provides a
04:57non-slip grip and comfort and there is a
05:00slot in the handle tube with a retaining
05:02screw this limits handle rotation to
05:05improve stability of the handle so it's
05:07in the correct orientation and ready to
05:09use not rotating all over the place out
05:11of control so that covers the details
05:14and the mechanisms now let's use it I'm
05:17on the tall side at 6'1 so I drop the
05:19seat all the way down rest your arms on
05:21the pad with your elbows in line with
05:23the pivot and bring your chest against
05:25the pad then let it rip it's time to
05:30the handle offers three different hand
05:32positions a neutral grip for hammer
05:38grip and a supinated
05:42grip now let's change it over for tricep
05:45extensions move the handle up to the top
05:48remove the safety Lynch pin then remove
05:50the stop pin and move the weight plate
05:52tube to the other side then reinstall
05:54the stop pin and the Lynch pin it's fast
05:57and easy although there are three
05:59different hand grip positions the
06:01neutral Hammer position is the most
06:03comfortable for me personally but by all
06:05means utilize the other positions as
06:07well if you want to if you're pushing
06:10any serious weight for tricep extensions
06:12it would be nice to have a hold down pad
06:14for your legs like a lat pull down
06:16machine when pushing down with the
06:17handles the reaction force wants to lift
06:20your arms off of the
06:22pad tricep extensions work well for
06:24lightweight but heavier weight is a
06:26challenge to stay seated circling back
06:29to bicep curls this is where the machine
06:31shines when you lift with the handles it
06:34drives your elbows into the pad so there
06:38issues compared to dumbbell curls there
06:41is virtually no resistance down here in
06:43this range there is maximum resistance
06:45here when your arm is parallel to the
06:46ground and the resistance decreases
06:49again up here at the
06:50squeeze if you set up the preacher curl
06:53right there is pretty much maximum
06:55resistance through the whole range
06:56including the squeeze it feels great
07:00and the Machine is light enough to move
07:02and pretty compact it's easy to move out
07:04of the way for storage and it doesn't
07:06take up much space and that gets us
07:08through it I know I pointed out a few
07:10shortcomings but I designed complex
07:12machines for a living as a mechanical
07:13engineer so I'm picky this is a
07:15well-built simpl to use machine and if
07:18you're interested in a preacher curl
07:19machine I recommend it I'm looking
07:21forward to using it so that wraps this
07:24up I hope you found it helpful have a
07:26great day and I'll see you in the next
