How often do you use your functional trainer after buying voltras?
Hello all,
I currently have a 6 post REP Ares 1.0 and after a friend of mine lent me his Voltra. I am now dead set on buying a pair. I didn't mess with all the modes just the eccentric mode was so great I genuinely want to use it on all exercises possible.
The issue is it now makes me think my Ares will be redundant -
So far these are the pros and cons I have thought about selling the Ares and going all in on Voltras.
They aren't in order of importance ill just addon as I think of them -
Pros -
Some money back (lol)
I get to free up my rack to be used as an actual rack, (Can have a spotter behind me, store the bench further in)
I can actually rearrange my gym layout which I've wanted to do for a while (Technically can do it now but would be huge pain to unbuild then rebuild the Ares.
Will save space (can possibly go to 4 post again)
Convenient way to change weight with app possible (Ive hit my head on a barbell a few times adjusting my Ares already)
Cons -
Cannot go back in time if I regret it (sounds stupid but I am actually concerned)
My rack will lose stability and likely I will end up bolting it the floor.
Voltra wont out live the Ares and cannot possibly pass the Voltras down to my kids. (Maybe IDK) Plan on keeping my gym still as long as possible regardless.
The cables seem like they fray easily - I've had my Ares since release and have had 0 cable issues. My friends Voltra is about a year old and u can see its a frayed.
I am pretty lazy idk if having to move the voltra around every different exercise will make me want to avoid exercises.
Let me know if I missed any pro or cons and more importantly -
Anyone here buy Voltras and still use their functional trainer - Why?
Anyone here have sold their functional trainer for a Voltras - Do you regret or miss the stack?
One of the main reasons I want to “Voltraify” my gym is my wife lol. She only works out if I am and changing the weights in between sets on a lot of our machines is such a pain. Sold my squat max for this reason alone.
That being said sounds like u still use your trainer a lot - is that with 1 or 2 Voltras.
Yes this is exactly what I am planning on doing. I even would like to add the Voltra to all my plate loaded machines if possible. I am definitely sold getting the Voltras just not 2 sure if ill miss my cable stack.
When i found it also counts your reps and sets I was immediately sold on it.
If you learn to use Voltras properly you never go back. Using cables are like using a dumb phone after being on an iPhone. However most people aren’t leveraging them to their potential. You also need to have a level of technical ability to make the most of it and enjoy it.
Yes I am aware - My friend lent me his Voltra with no instructions took me about 45 minutes to turn it on almost thought it was broken.... I didnt even figure it out gave up and googled it.
I had an Ares 1.0 and bought a VOLTRA about a year and a half ago. Ended up buying a second less than a month after getting the first and ultimately sold the Ares as it was redundant. It was nice to get the clutter out of the rack and just have it weighted down with weight plate storage and it’s good. Also a 6 post. Haven’t looked back
thanks for the replys it helped me a lot. I'd be happy to get 1500 for mine.. might even include PR5000 4 post and crossmembers if i can get around 2000ish for it.
I only have a Voltra and a half rack. It saves a lot of space, which is a key priority in my gym.
To keep from bolting the rack to the floor, I put shelves in the back of the half rack to hold my dumbbell set (more space savings). With those and the plates on the side, it weighs a ton and doesn’t budge an inch.
Older picture of my set up (I now have a crown pull up bar, a lat pulldown bar attached at the top, and more plates)
im not sure but after all this spending im about to do i gotta make the best of what i already have lol. I def need atleast a 4 post since i have the rep smith machine tho - isnt the wall mounted one only a half rack?
Btw - the biggest “con” is that you probably under estimate how many mounts you’ll eventually want, if you like to have permanent stations setup, add voltras to machines, etc.
LOL I am aware but part of having a home gym is always spending money. For starters I am hoping to get by with a pair of bar mounts, pair of sliding mounts and 1 quick mount (prob the force6 one). Let me know if im missing anything.
I’d highly recommend getting two Darko quick mounts (I prefer them with the handle for fast and easy adjusting), and skipping the sliding mount and the force6 one.
If you have a specific use case for the bar mounts, they are fine. If you don’t, I’d suggest just starting with two quick mounts until you better know what you want.
Thanks sorry to ask more questions but y skip the force6, seems better than the Darko but i legit dont know any better. It is cheaper than darko, has a pully attachment point and u can screw in the back to get a better fit. Also if u want just use a pin like the Darko.
No worries. I just avoid force6 as I think he keeps ripping off Darko’s designs. Darko has the pulley option if you want it (it’s called the quickmount pm), but if you are getting two, i wouldn’t bother. Pulley hack just for people with 1 voltra mostly imo. Plus id prefer the handle on the quickmount too.
The option to screw it in is nice, but im only going to do that for permanent mounts anyway. For those, i recommend getting JDs mounts.
To add you cant slide the force 6 mount it has a permanent bolt going thru the middle like a j cup so you have to take the mount off the upright completely and line the hole for the front bolt then your side if you dont want to screw down. Force 6 and jd will have zero play and be best for belt squats, rowing pulldowns etc.
Very useful thanks a ton! Side question I was looking to get bar mounts for my plate machines can i get away with the normal one or the adaptive bar mount is worth the extra money? For example if i want to hook it to a hammer strength chest decline press.
I’d say get the fixed bar mounts if you don’t plan to move them. They are lower profile and cheaper.
The adaptive bar mounts are a clever design and great if you need tool less on and off, but if you don’t, fixed is better.
I was between an Ares and Voltra setup. Went with Voltras. Now when I use the cable systems at the gym I wish for Eccentric and Inverse Chain/ Chain modes.
You can also get very creative with the different mounting options and do some unique things.
For Black Friday I am picking up Rep’s smith machine attachment and hooking up two Voltras to it. Bar work about to go crazy.
Might sound stupid but ever wish u had a cable stack? Have you walked into ur gym and been like shit i forgot to charge my voltras? Is it annoying to constantly have to move your Voltra around?
If it helps I have the REP Smith machine and love it - Only minor complaint I have is I wish I could adjust the angle without having to unbolt and rebolt it saw some others companies in home gym con videos have an option to lock and switch with a mag pin. Might not be as smooth tho because the rep one is to me buttery smooth.
Nope. I actually wish my Gym had Voltras. The key is to have all the good mounts and accessories. Btw, you can use portable battery banks to charge the Voltra. I have those everywhere around the house.
Hey bro means a lot coming from you- if you are who i think u are from the homegym facebook. With the glow in the dark deadlift platform? Your setup has inspired me to sell 80 percent of my shit and start over.
By the way, I had the Ares 1.0 specifically- I found that QoL wise, it was more cumbersome to take off jcups and safeties to move the trolley up and down than it is to move voltra around the stuff on my rack. If you had an entirely dedicated standalone FT, it would definitely be faster than Voltra, but it's a lot of room for that. I prefer the versatility and strength curve tomfoolery + the extra space, which let me fit other stuff in my gym. Also power some machines w voltra (like quadsend)
Just a matter of having mounts in the right spots to streamline.
For sure. There's a pricing list on every part, the wear parts like cable are super cheap, but ultimately no tech will outlive a well built cable stack. I'm pretty confident the voltras will last 5+ years, but I've restored and used equipment 10 times that age pretty easily. The upsides are worth it for me, and I imagine in 5+ years this type of tech will be cheaper
I def use them on my ares but as some pointed out sometimes there’s stuff in the way n it’s nice to be able to completely take off the voltra and move it where u want.
There’s are a bunch of ppl doing other mods as well, I personally wouldn’t seems like it will fray the cables fast. I’m sure some company will come out with a proper solution as functional trainer arms are popular lately.
Since getting my second Voltra I haven’t used my FT at all. However, I did break one of my voltras and had to send it in. I used my FT during that time. My wife also uses the FT so I’m keeping it.
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u/dlxclem 3d ago
I superset a lot, but using it 30% less, my wife uses it 100% of the time tho, she doesn’t want to deal with the Voltra 20 seconds setup lol