Hammer strength accessories

Why choose Hammer strength accessories?

Behind this line sits the Autark idea: a machine is not a finished product but a frame you add functions to. The accessories in this category are those functions. A curl desk turns your weight bench into a biceps station where your upper arms rest on a pad, a leg curl and leg extension attachment adds leg work you would otherwise skip, and on a Smith machine you mount a multi lat seat, a multi leg press or dip bars. You are not buying a loose gadget here, you are buying an exercise your frame could not do before.

This pays off most when space is tight. A second machine costs floor area you simply do not have in a garage, an attic or a bedroom, while a station on the same frame takes up no extra square metres at all. You also build at your own pace: the machine first, leg work later, dip bars after that, without having to buy a complete new unit at every step. The Smith machine is the clearest example, because after three upgrades a single rack suddenly covers back, legs and triceps.

To be honest about the flip side: this is a focused range of ten items tied to one machine family, not a broad accessory catalogue. If you do not own a frame from this brand, only the four universal handles are relevant to you. If you do own an Autark machine or a Smith machine from this brand, that limited size actually works in your favour, because there is one upgrade per function rather than a long row of variants to get lost in. Also take a look at the other fitness equipment from Hammer.

The Hammer strength accessories range

Ten items across three clear groups. These are the building blocks you choose from.

• Autark weight bench upgrades: a curl desk that supports your upper arms during curls, so you isolate your biceps instead of swinging with your torso. Alongside it a leg curl and leg extension attachment, which lets you train hamstrings and quadriceps on the same frame.
• Smith machine upgrades: a multi lat seat for seated lat pulldowns and rows, and a multi leg press that adds leg pressing along the guided bar. Together they turn a squat rack into a station for several muscle groups.
• Dip bars: two parallel grip bars that mount to the Smith machine frame for dips and knee raises. This is the cheapest way to add heavy triceps work using your own body weight.
• Performance rowing handles: a wide and a narrow version. The wide one sets your hands further apart and shifts the work to your upper back, the narrow one lets you pull closer to your torso and gives a longer range of motion.
• Lat pulley handle and ergo training handle: the lat pulley handle hangs from the high pulley for pulldowns, while the ergonomic training handle is a single grip with a shaped palm for one arm work on the low or high cable. Both use a standard attachment.
• 20 kg weight set: extra plates for the 5.0 and 7.0 series that raise the machine's weight stack. This one is explicitly model specific and fits those series only.

Which Hammer strength accessories suit you?

What you need depends on the machine you own and on the exercise you are currently missing.

You own an Autark machine and your arms lag behind: the curl desk is the logical first step. With your upper arms on the angled pad you can no longer help with your back, so the same set immediately feels heavier in your biceps.

You keep skipping leg day: go for the leg curl and leg extension attachment. Leg work often disappears from a home routine simply because the machine is not set up for it, and with this upgrade you do not have to move or rebuild anything.

You own a Smith machine and want back work too: the multi lat seat adds seated pulldowns and rows to the rack you already have. That turns a pressing and squatting rack into a machine that covers pulling as well, which is exactly where most home setups stall.

You want heavy leg work without a separate machine: the multi leg press is the upgrade you are after. You press along the guided bar instead of with a loose barbell, so you can work close to your maximum without a spotter standing by.

You already train hard with your own body weight: mount dip bars on the frame. Dips load your triceps and lower chest harder than most cable exercises, and once you manage twelve reps you start adding weight at your waist.

Your machine is from another brand: then the Performance handles and the ergo training handle are what remain. They clip onto the cable with a snap hook and therefore work on any common strength station, cable crossover or lat pulley.

What to look out for when buying Hammer strength accessories

Look up your machine model first

The six upgrades and the weight set are designed for a specific frame and will not fit a random machine, even one that looks very similar. So find the series and model of your Autark machine or Smith machine first, usually on a sticker on the frame or in your manual. With that detail in hand the choice takes two minutes. If you are unsure, ask before you order rather than guess, because returning a bolt on attachment is always more trouble than one phone call.

Model specific or universal

This is the distinction that costs the most money if you get it wrong. Everything that bolts to the frame is brand and model specific: the curl desk, the leg curl and leg extension attachment, the multi lat seat, the multi leg press, the dip bars and the weight set. The four cable handles are the opposite, because an eyelet or snap hook fits any common cable system. Never mix up the two groups, since you can buy the handles without knowing your machine brand and the upgrades absolutely not.

How much room the upgrade needs in use

A bolt on station takes no extra floor area at rest, but it does need movement space while you use it. A multi leg press extends forwards, dip bars need clearance beside and behind you, and a multi lat seat needs height above the pulley. So measure more than the footprint of your machine, measure the clear path around it too. In a tight corner it can be smarter to pick the station that works upwards rather than forwards.

What the weight set does and does not do

The 20 kg set raises the stack weight of the 5.0 and 7.0 machines and is meant for the moment your top plate becomes too light. These are not loose weight plates you can use elsewhere; they belong in that machine's stack and nowhere else. So check whether your machine really comes from that series before you order. Also weigh up whether you need it at all, because on a weight stack a slower tempo and more reps will get you forward too.

Build in the order of your weakest link

Because this is a modular system, the temptation is to buy everything at once. That is rarely the best route. Look at the routine you actually run and add the station for the muscle group that comes off worst, usually legs or pulling. Only after three months will you know whether the next station is really going to get used.

Our advice: order nothing until you have the series and model of your machine in writing, because for six of the ten items that is the whole story. Then start with one upgrade for the exercise you miss most right now, rather than a complete build in one go. The four cable handles are a different matter and you can add them freely, since they fit anyway and a wide rowing handle plus a lat pulley handle expand your exercise list immediately, even if your frame carries another name.

Who are Hammer strength accessories suitable for?

• Owners of an Autark machine: the frame is already there and you want to add exercises instead of installing a second machine. This range was designed for exactly that.
• Anyone expanding a Smith machine: your rack now handles squats and presses, and with a lat seat, leg press or dip bars it suddenly covers back, legs and triceps as well.
• Home trainers with limited space: a garage or attic room will not take a second machine, but a station on the same frame fits. That is the real selling point here.
• Buyers who invest step by step: you do not want a full gym in one purchase but a new function every six months, and a modular frame allows that without making earlier purchases redundant.
• Buyers who only need handles: your machine brand is irrelevant, you want a wide or narrow rowing handle, a lat pulley handle or an ergonomic grip. Those work on any cable system.
• Small studios and practice rooms: several users with different goals on the same machine, where an extra station is far cheaper than an extra machine.

Less suitable if you are looking for a broad set of loose training accessories. For a dip belt that hangs weight at your waist during dips and pull ups, a weightlifting belt that supports your torso during heavy squats and deadlifts, a tricep rope, ankle straps or foam grips in various diameters, look further in the broader category, because this range does not carry them. Anyone without a frame from this brand who still wants an upgrade will not get far here either, since those parts are model specific and will not fit a machine from another manufacturer.

Need help choosing?

Would you like to buy Hammer strength accessories but are you not quite sure which handle, which attachment or which upgrade fits your machine? 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 Hammer strength accessories

Do these upgrades fit a machine from another brand?

No. The curl desk, the leg curl and leg extension attachment, the multi lat seat, the multi leg press, the dip bars and the weight set are designed for this brand's own frames and bolt or clip onto fixed mounting points. On a frame from another manufacturer those points do not line up, even if the construction looks similar. The four cable handles are the reverse case: they clip onto the cable with a snap hook and fit any common cable system, whatever brand your machine carries.

Which upgrade should I add first?

Look at the muscle group that gets the least attention in your current routine. For most home trainers that is leg work or pulling, which makes the leg curl and leg extension attachment or the multi lat seat the most useful first step. If you mainly want to work on your arms, the curl desk pays off straight away because supported upper arms make swinging impossible. Only add a second station after that, since a few months of use tells you far more than a shopping list does.

What is the difference between the wide and narrow rowing handle?

The wide handle sets your hands further apart, which shifts the work towards your upper back and rear shoulders. The narrow handle lets you pull closer to your torso, gives a longer range of motion and brings your biceps in more. Both are used for rows on the low pulley, often alternating from one training block to the next. If you only need one, pick the version that matches your current goal: width in your back or size in your arms.

Do I need a dip belt or a weightlifting belt with the dip bars?

Not for the dip bars themselves, which you first use with your own body weight. Once you comfortably manage more than ten to twelve reps, a dip belt becomes the next step, because it hangs loose plates at your waist during dips and pull ups. Do not confuse that with a weightlifting belt, which does something quite different and supports your torso during heavy squats and deadlifts. Neither belongs to this range and you will find both in the broader strength accessories category.

Can I increase the weight on my machine?

On the 5.0 and 7.0 series you can, and that is what the 20 kg weight set is for. Those plates belong in the stack of those machines and are not interchangeable with loose weight plates or with blocks from another series. So check the series marking on your frame first. If you own a different model, more stack weight is not possible through this range and you move forward by slowing your tempo or running more reps instead.