GMWD Leverage Gym Review

The GMWD leverage gym is tons of fun.

I can do calisthenics, use it as a plate loaded cable machine, and add weights to the lever arms for a ton of exercises.

As far as bang for your buck goes, a lever gym goes a long way.

It’s like having several machines in one station and it doesn’t take a ton of garage gym space either.

Let’s check it out!

Unboxing

The GWMD leverage gym came in two boxes.

They arrived a little bit banged up but all the contents came intact.

Here’s what all the parts look like once I took them out of both boxes.

I like that they also included 4 cable machine accessories to use with the high and low pulley.

And this is what the beast looks like once I put it together.

I’m gonna show you everything there is to know about it so you can see how much can be done in one of these stations.

Specs

• Dimensions: 60” W x 55” D x 81” H

• Material: 14 gauge steel

• Total weight capacity: 2055 lbs

• Accessories: Lat pulldown bar, short straight bar, triceps rope, ankle straps

• Storage hooks: 4

• Cable pulley machine: High and low pulley

What Is a Leverage Gym?

Leverage gyms (aka lever gyms) are plate loaded machines that simulate free weights using lever arms and cable pulley systems.

What I really like about lever gyms is that they have safety stops (starting/ending points).

This lets me train heavy without a spotter or worrying about dropping weights.

I can push myself and if I fail, I just set the weight down at the safety spot.

Depending on the lever arm setting I pick, I can also do calisthenics on them.

The GMWD leverage gym also has a plate loaded cable pulley system in the back.

This connects to a high and low pulley so I can do a ton of cable machine exercises (I’ll show you some later on).

If I was starting a home gym from scratch, a leverage gym would be at the top of my list because of how versatile they are.

Calculating Actual Weight Lifted

Since the lever arms are attached to a fulcrum, there is a weight reduction of about 20% of the weight added.

But each lever arm weighs about 10 lbs (20 lbs when used together) so you have to take that into account when tracking weight.

If I added 100 lbs of weight to the lever arms, I would add the 20 lbs from the arms (120 lbs) then multiply by 0.20 (20% reduction).

So 120 lbs would really be 96 lbs.

The lever arm in the back that’s connected to the pulley system creates a reduction of about 50% of the weight added.

So if throw on 100 lbs, I’m really lifting 50 lbs on either the high or low pulley.

Just a little more math to do than normal if you keep track of your numbers.

Features

Adjustable Lever Arms

The lever arms have 11 adjustment points and can be used in several ways.

I can use them without weights for calisthenics (pull ups, dips, inverted rows, push ups) or I can throw weight plates on them.

I adjust the position of the lever arms with the lever arm position pin.

This pin goes through the frame of the leverage gym and sits below the lever arms so they can’t go below that point.

A second pin (Iso Arm Lock Pin) goes through the lever arms.

This pin lets me use both lever arms at the same time as a single unit (when it’s going through both arms).

Or I can pull it out and use each lever arm individually.

Here’s what the pins look like from the front.

The pin closest to you is the lever arm position pin.

And in the back you see the Iso Arm lock pin going through the lever arms.

Lever Arm Position Pin

Here’s a shot of the 11 holes where I can insert the arm position pin to change the height of the arms.

Right now I have the pin going through the top hole so the arms are all the way up.

When I move the pin lower, the lever arms are now in a horizontal position.

I still have the Iso Arm lock pin going through both arms so they’re both moving simultaneously.

Here’s what that looks like.

From here I can use the lever arms with weight plates for shoulder press or I can use them for dips.

They can move up but can’t go below the position of the pin.

This is what makes the GMWD leverage gym safe, I can push heavy weight without the need of a spotter.

So if I wanted to go really heavy on shoulder press, I could go as heavy as possible without having a spotter.

If I fail, I can let go of the weight and the lever arms will stay at the height I selected.

Iso Arm Lock Pin

In the pic above, I took out the Iso Arm lock pin so now I’m able to move each lever arm individually.

The position pin is still there so the arms can’t go below that point.

This way I can work each side of my body individually and let my weaker side handle its own weight.

Here’s what that looks like from the front.

Safety Pins

The GMWD lever arms come with 3 small safety pins to keep the two big pins from sliding side to side.

I don’t use these since the weight keeps the bigger pins from moving but they’re included.

Two safety pins go through the Lever Arm Position pin.

And the other safety pin goes through the end of the Iso Arm Lock Pin.

Handles

The handles give me the option to use a neutral grip or pronated grip.

They have a rubber grip on them that feels comfortable and at the same time gives me a good grip on the handles.

At the end of each handle there’s a hole where I can attach the squat bar accessory.

I’ll show you how that works when I get to the accessories section of this post.

Weight Horn

Each lever arm has a chrome weight horn that’s compatible with Olympic sized weight plates.

These weight horns have a weight capacity of 250 lbs each.

Cable Machine

Rear Lever Arm & Pulley

The back of the GMWD leverage gym has a third lever arm in the back with a pulley attached to it.

It’s connected to both the high and low pulley.

Weight capacity on the rear lever arm and pulley system is 280 lbs.

High Pulley

The cable pulley system is straight forward.

For the high pulley all I need to do is clip any cable attachment to the carabiner.

Here’s the lat pulldown bar that comes included with the leverage gym.

I like to do a lot of neutral grip pulldowns so I could easily add my Kensui Swissies to this bar.

Or I can attach a D handle bar like the Mini D.

Sometimes I’ll attach my Angles 90 grips for face pulls.

And if I want a wider grip with both neutral and pronated/supinated handles, then I can always use my Ironmaster Ultimate Row Handle.

Just showing different attachments you can use so you can see there’s plenty of options with a cable pulley system.

Low Pulley

And the low pulley works the same way.

Both work with the plate loaded lever arm in the rear.

Storage Hooks

There’s 4 storage hooks on the red frame of the lever gym.

Each one is covered with rubber to protect the attachments from rubbing metal on metal

These are perfect to hang all the cable machine attachments that GMWD included.

Leg Support Pads

Right below the storage hooks there’s a pair of rollers.

They’re folded down and out of the way until I need to use them.

I can change the position of the pads to 5 different settings with a pin.

Here’s what the leg support pads look sticking straight out.

I mainly use the leg support pads to hold me down when doing lat pulldowns.

But I could also use them for Bulgarian split squats and lower back hyperextensions.

Foot Plate

Right below the lower pulley there’s a diamond plated foot plate.

Besides using it for seated cable rows, I also use it for lower back hyperextensions.

I wear a 9.5 sized shoe and here’s what my feet look like on the plate.

Weight Plate Storage

On the side of the red frame there’s a pair of storage weight horns.

Just like the weight horns on the handles, these are chrome plated.

And these are compatible with Olympic sized bumper plates or iron weight plates.

These have a weight capacity of 165 lbs each.

Band Pegs

Right on the outside of the legs there’s 3 band pages.

I like that GMWD included these to add accommodating resistance to exercises.

I can attach resistance bands from the band pegs to the weight horn on the lever arms.

This makes exercises harder at the top of movements as the bands are stretched out.

So I can force my muscles to work hard through the full range of motion without having to add extra weight plates.

Accessories Included With GMWD Leverage Gym

The GMWD leverage gym comes with 5 free accessories.

A squat bar, lat pulldown bar, short straight bar, triceps rope, and a pair of ankle straps (not shown above).

There’s also a chain to extend the length of the cables if needed.

Lat Pulldown Bar

Earlier I showed you the lat pulldown bar on the high pulley.

Here it is on the low pulley.

It has rubber grip in 4 parts of the bar (2 for wide grip and 2 for narrow grip).

Squat Bar

When I first got the GMWD leverage gym I wasn’t expecting to have a squat bar but I like having the option to do legs on this.

The squat bar swivels freely around two pins and the middle has a thick foam pad which feels very comfortable.

Earlier on I showed you the holes at the end of the handles and this is where the squat bar attaches.

At each end of the squat bar there’s a knob which a retractable pin.

The fits right into the handle holes.

I pull the knob to retract the pin.

Then lock it or loosen it by rotating the knob.

Here’s a close up of how the squat bar fits on the lever arm handle.

Here’s the whole bar connected at both ends.

Triceps Rope

I can use the triceps rope for all types of exercises like tricep pushdowns, face pulls, cable bicep curls, etc.

Short Bar

The short straight bar is probably not needed since I can do the same exercises with the lat pulldown bar.

But it can make things easier if I have one bar clipped to the high pulley and the one on the low pulley for supersets.

Ankle Straps

The last accessory the GMWD leverage gym comes with is a pair of ankle straps.

I gotta admit they look kinda cheap but they get the job done when attaching them to my ankles or wrists.

Anytime I do any cable attached leg exercises, I usually reach for my OmniStrap since it’s built solidly.

Now that I’ve shown you all the accessories, it’s time to show you some exercises.

Leverage Gym Exercises

Calisthenics

I can set the lever arms at any and use my own bodyweight as resistance.

Here I set the lever arms at full horizontal for dips.

For inverted rows, I brought them down a little bit.

And raised them all the way to the highest setting for pull ups.

High Pulley Exercises

When using the high pulley for lat pulldowns I set the lap support rollers straight out and slide my thighs right under them.

I pulled up my GetRxd weight bench to support my rear end.

For triceps push downs I’m using the triceps rope but they can be done with any attachment.

Low Pulley Exercises

The low pulley set up is perfect for seated cable rows.

I usually do these on a weight bench but the AbMat medicine ball is solid and easier to move then a bench so I use it as a seat often.

Here I’m doing cable bicep curls with the lat pulldown bar.

If I wanted to do neutral grip bicep curls then I can just use the triceps rope.

Here I’m using the OmniStrap ankle strap to do a standing leg curl.

I use the squat bar to support my thigh.

Lever Arms Exercises (Upper Body)

Shoulder presses are one of my favorite upper body exercises to do on the lever arms.

I alternate between neutral grip and pronated grip.

And here I’m doing shoulder shrugs.

I like doing incline bench press on the lever gym because all I have to worry about it pressing.

If I happen to get stuck, I can let go of the weight and I’m safe.

Lever Arms Exercises (Lower Body)

The arching motion of the lever arms is perfect for pendulum squats.

Only issue is that the foot plate can’t be angled in that same plane of motion.

So what I do is insert my adjustable squat wedges under the foot plate to get the right angle.

I also like doing reverse squat lunges on the leverage gym because I don’t have to worry about losing my balance.

Previously I was doing them with my Titan safety squat bar since the bar self balances but the leverage gym feels more safe.

If I get stuff at the bottom, I can let the weight go and scoot right under the lever arms.

And of course I can do what the squat bar was meant for, squats.

I can use this same set up for calf raises as well.

Using spotter arms as calf blocks gives me a good stretch at the bottom.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Versatile: I can do a TON of exercises using one piece of equipment (cable machine, weights, and calisthenics)

• Safe: Safety spots keep the lever arms from moving past a certain point so I can go heavy and fail without getting hurt

• Compact: Replaces a bunch of exercise equipment in one single workout station

• Accommodating resistance: I can use the band pegs to add more resistance to the lever arms without adding more weight plates

• Accessories: Includes triceps rope, lat pulldown bar, short straight bar, and ankle straps

• Lever arms: I can use the lever arms together as one unit or individually

• Economical: For everything that can be done with one machine, you can’t beat the price

Cons

• Height: For really tall people, the high pulley and maximal height of the lever arms might be too short

Where To Buy

The GMWD leverage gym currently sells here on Amazon.

Check it out and make sure you click on the $50 coupon box below the price.

That’ll give you a $50 discount plus they ship it to your for free.

GMWD Leverage Gym Review

The more I use the leverage gym, the more I like it.

I like how versatile it is and how quickly I can move from one exercise to the next (I love doing supersets).

Having the options to use a cable machine, weights, and calisthenics makes this extremely useful for most home gym owners.

For the amount of machines it replaces in one station, this is a winner!

Check Out The GMWD Leverage Gym