Toorx smith machines

Why choose Toorx smith machines?

Toorx approaches this category differently than you might expect: of the eight versions we carry, only two are a pure smith machine. The rest place the rails in a frame that doubles as a power rack, or they are racks from that same frame programme which you extend with a smith option, right up to a 3-in-1 version. That is exactly why people end up with this brand. One frame gives you the guided bar for safe heavy work and the hooks for free weights, instead of two machines each claiming their own corner.

The second thing that sets this brand apart here is the difference in class. Toorx splits its strength frames into a Fitness line aimed at home use and a Professional line for the gym, the studio and the physiotherapy practice: compact and manageable on one side, heavier steel with a higher load rating and more adjustment positions on the other. So you are not only picking a type but also a class, which keeps you from ending up with a machine that turns out too light or is needlessly heavy for what you do. Also take a look at the other fitness equipment from Toorx to see how both lines run through the whole programme.

One point deserves honesty. Because the rails do the balancing for you, a smith machine asks less of your stabilising muscles than a free barbell does. Dosing your load is safer and more precise, but moving freely is what makes you more functional. Most people solve that by doing both, and a frame that combines rails and rack is exactly what makes that practical.

The Toorx smith machine range

Eight versions, spread across two lines and three frame types.

• Pure smith machine, Fitness line: just the rails with safety hooks, in a compact frame for the home. The most straightforward way to squat and bench press heavy under guidance.
• Pure smith machine, Professional line: the same principle in heavier steel, with a higher load rating and more adjustment positions for the hooks. Built to be used all day long.
• Counterbalanced smith machine: a Professional version in which the weight of the bar is cancelled out. You start at zero instead of at the roughly twenty kilos of the bar itself.
• Smith machine with power rack: the rails and a full rack in one frame, with hooks and safety arms so you can work with your own barbell in the same machine.
• 3-in-1 smith machine rack: the most complete version in the Professional line, bringing the rails, a full rack and further add-on options together in the same frame.
• Power racks and half rack full option: frames from the same programme, as a Fitness and as a Professional version, plus a half rack with full equipment, for anyone who starts with free work and wants the guided bar later.

Which Toorx smith machine suits you?

Five common situations, each with the version that fits in practice.

You already own a rack and only want the rails: go for a pure smith machine. The Fitness line if you train on it alone, the Professional line if several people use it. That way you add exactly one function without two frames doing the same job.

You have room for one machine: choose the version that combines rails and power rack. Guided and free work then sit on the same floor area, with the trade-off that only one person can use it at a time.

You start light, are older or are recovering from an injury: take the counterbalanced version. On a standard smith machine you always lift that twenty kilo bar along with the plates; here you genuinely start at zero and build up with small plates.

You are fitting out a gym or a practice: stay within the Professional line, which is built for daily use by changing users. The 3-in-1 rack covers several exercises in a single corner. If you want cable work as well, compare these frames with the strength stations.

You mainly train free and want a backstop: start with a power rack or the half rack from the same frame programme. The safety arms are then already in place and you keep the door open to extend later. Compare the power racks and dip stations for that.

What to look out for when buying a Toorx smith machine?

Free height and placement

A smith machine is tall: the rails run well above your shoulders and the top beam sits above that again. Measure your free height before you order, and take the ceiling light and the garage door rail into account. Then check whether the frame may stand free or has to be anchored to the floor or wall, because that decides whether you can ever move it. A heavy mat under the feet protects your floor and dampens the noise of the plates.

Counterbalanced or standard

This is the difference most people overlook when buying and notice most afterwards. On a standard version the lowest weight you can train with is the weight of the bar, often around twenty kilos. In the counterbalanced Professional that is cancelled out, so your first set can genuinely be light. If you train heavy yourself but beginners or people in rehab use the machine too, that version is worth serious consideration.

Straight or angled rails

Rails that lean back slightly follow the natural path of a bench press or a squat more closely, so the movement feels less forced. Straight rails are simpler, more compact and easier to judge. Check how the rails run on the version you have in mind and set that against what you do most: plenty of bench pressing argues for an angled path, while squats and overhead presses work perfectly well on straight rails.

Rails only or a frame with a rack

A frame that does both saves space and money compared with two separate machines, but there are two sides to it. Only one person can work on it at a time, which is a drawback in a gym where people queue. The rails also take up part of the rack's inner space, so you move slightly less freely inside the frame than in an empty rack. At home the space saving almost always wins; in a gym with many simultaneous users it often does not.

What you need alongside it

The guided bar is part of the machine and fixed in the rails, so you do not need a separate barbell for that work. What you do need are weight plates and collars, and for bench pressing a fitness bench that fits under the rails. With that bench, watch the height of the back pad, because it determines where the bar meets your chest and therefore whether you can set the hooks at the right height.

Our advice: start from your ceiling and your floor area, because those two alone rule out half the options. If that leaves room for exactly one machine, take the version with the power rack included; if you already have a rack, the pure smith machine is the cleanest addition. And as soon as someone needs to start light, let the counterbalanced version weigh heavily in your decision.

Who are Toorx smith machines suitable for?

• Home trainers without a training partner: the largest group. You squat and bench press heavy without anyone having to catch your bar.
• Anyone short on space: a frame with rails and rack does the work of two machines on the floor area of one, and that is often the difference between fitting and not fitting.
• Beginners and athletes in rehab: the counterbalanced version lets you start at zero and build up in small steps.
• Gyms, studios and physiotherapy practices: the Professional line is built for changing users and long days, and the half rack full option and the 3-in-1 rack cover many exercises in few square metres.
• Anyone who wants to combine guided and free work: you do your heavy basics in the rails and your technique work with a free bar in the same frame.

Less suitable if you mainly want to train functionally for a sport in which you have to keep your own body in balance. The rails take that work off your hands, so your stabilising muscles get less to do than with a free barbell. And if you want several people squatting at the same time in a busy gym, a combination frame is not the smartest choice: separate racks side by side give you more training spots.

Need help choosing?

Would you like to buy a Toorx smith machine but are you not quite sure which version, which rails or which rack combination suits you? We are happy to help. You can reach our fitness specialists by phone on +31 85 773 00 57, send an email or visit our fitness store in Volkel, the Netherlands.

Frequently asked questions about Toorx smith machines

Can you squat heavy on a Toorx smith machine without a spotter?

Yes, and that is what the machine is for. The bar is fixed in two rails and can only move up and down, so it cannot tip over or drift forward. If you cannot come back up, you turn the bar a quarter turn and it hangs in the safety hooks. Set those hooks before your set at the height where you can still step out of the movement safely, and you always have a way out.

What does counterbalanced mean on a Toorx smith machine?

It means the weight of the bar itself is cancelled out, so the machine starts at zero. On a standard version you always lift the bar, often around twenty kilos, which is therefore the lowest weight available. In the counterbalanced Professional version you can train with nothing more than a couple of small plates. That makes it usable for anyone starting light, older or recovering from an injury, while you can still load it just as heavily as the other versions later on.

Do you need a separate barbell with a Toorx smith machine?

Not for the guided work: that bar belongs to the machine and is fixed in the rails. You do need weight plates and collars, and a bench if you want to bench press. If you choose a version that is also a power rack, the free work in that rack does call for your own barbell, because the two bars are not interchangeable.

What is the difference between the Fitness and the Professional line?

The Fitness line is meant for the home: more compact, lighter and reckoned on one user. The Professional line uses heavier steel, carries more and offers more adjustment positions, built for daily use by changing users. The counterbalanced version, the 3-in-1 rack and the half rack full option all sit in the Professional line. If you train alone at home and stay under your own ceiling in weight, the Fitness line is plenty.

Is a frame with rails and a rack better than two separate machines?

At home usually yes, in a busy gym often not. One frame costs less than two machines, takes up only one patch of floor and puts guided and free work side by side. But only one person can work on it at a time and the rails take up part of the rack's inner space. If people are queuing all day, a separate rack and a separate smith machine are more practical.