John Stone's Titan Photo Journal

[Bluestreak]

Originally Posted by John Stone

Consider that my last set of behind the neck lat pull-downs. It sounds like pull-downs to the front are ok, so maybe I'll try that as an alternative to weighted pull-ups.

Your therapist didn't avail you of that little nugget of wisdom? Mine basically made it sound like my days of putting my arms over my head were over. Especially ones like behind-the-neck pulldowns, as they cause a great deal of stress on the rear portion of the rotator cuff. As time has gone on, I've reintroduced things like dumbbell military press and forward lat pulldowns into my workouts to no ill effects. I just have to do remember to go slow and use light weights up front, going heavier only after weeks, sometimes months at a time of lifting the same, lighter weights. The muscles, and the my lousy rotator cuff, have slowly come back around to being able to lift weight in that direction without swelling up like a balloon. It's hard to remember... go slow... and it's frustrating, since I'm military pressing about 1/3 of what the muscle is actually capable of. It felt really funny to start overhead pressing with 15-lb. dumbbells all those months ago, but ya gotta start somewhere... although you have a beefier frame than I do - your joints may adapt to the stresses better than this delicate body 'o mine.

-R

[JoeSchmo]

Originally Posted by John Stone

Stecman & williamso, Thanks for the heads-up and the great articles! Consider that my last set of behind the neck lat pull-downs. It sounds like pull-downs to the front are ok, so maybe I'll try that as an alternative to weighted pull-ups.

Don't know if you do them, but behind the neck military press = bad too.

[karatetricker]

Originally Posted by John Stone

Stecman & williamso, Thanks for the heads-up and the great articles! Consider that my last set of behind the neck lat pull-downs. It sounds like pull-downs to the front are ok, so maybe I'll try that as an alternative to weighted pull-ups.

Just wanted to chime in and say I've read/heard the same thing numerous times about how bad behind the neck pull-downs are. Similarly, behind the neck military press is supposed to be equally bad for your shoulders. However, doing normal lat-pulldowns to the front (and military presses) are quite safe.


Just wanted to add that the Titan looks incredible. If/when I get my own home gym one day, that bad boy is certainly number one of the list.

[Stecman]

Ya, I do presses/pulldowns to the frount as well.

Originally Posted by John Stone

Stecman & williamso, Thanks for the heads-up and the great articles! Consider that my last set of behind the neck lat pull-downs. It sounds like pull-downs to the front are ok, so maybe I'll try that as an alternative to weighted pull-ups.

I just want to add that your attitude is so awesome, John. First, it shows that you are on a constant quest to improve your workout and learn, second you're not too prideful to listen.

I hope I never come to the point after I have been lifting for years where I close my ears to any new opinions or insights.

[John Stone]

Another excellent workout. I felt strong and had lots of energy. My new CDs got me fired up!

Here's what I did today:

PECS: Barbell Bench Press, Smith Machine Incline Press, Smith Machine Decline Press, Cable Cross Over
TRICEPS: Seated Triceps Extension, Standing French Curls, Standing Dumbbell Tricep Extensions
DELTS: Did not directly work delts today


COMMENTS

Barbell Bench Press: The safety spotters on the Titan are very adjustable: I can bring the bar all the way down so that it just kisses my chest in the arched position, but if I need to drop the weight I can do it without risk of injury. The safety spotters can be adjusted in a matter of seconds. Excellent design.

Smith Machine Incline Press: I'm very impressed with the feel of the Titan's Smith Machine. It's very smooth and very solid. Like all exercises that use the Smith Machine, the counter-balance system can be engaged if you need to lighten the load. The angle of the bench is easy to adjust, and you can set the amount of incline/decline in small increments from a very slight all the way up to the full upright position. The sliding bench design makes it very easy to get the bench position "just so". Unlike traditional benches, you don't have to get under the weight, realize you are not positioned correctly, get up, move the bench and try again. With the Titan you just lie on the bench, reach down and twist the locking handle. With the bench unlocked you simply glide it to the desired position using your feet. Once you have the bench exactly where you want it another quick twist of the handle locks it in place. Another nice feature of the bench is that it is always perfectly centered, so there's never any need for side-to-side adjustments.

Smith Decline Incline Press: The Titan's bench is every bit as adjustable for decline work as it is for incline use. The only difference is you add the decline attachment (included at no charge for JSF members) and lay on the bench in the opposite direction. The decline attachment is also excellent for abdominal work.

Cable Cross Over: It's so awesome to finally be able to do cable cross over exercises! I love doing cable crossovers as a finishing exercise. The Titan's crossover system uses the Smith Carriage, so the counter-balance is available if you need it. The movement is so smooth and solid you'll think you are working out on high-end commercial equipment. It's really that good. There's never any jerking or unevenness - just a nice solid piece of equipment that will allow you to do every kind of cable crossover exercise you can imagine (and some you can't!) The cable cross over system consists of Option "A" (high) and Option "A1" (low). I highly recommend both options.

Seated Tricep Extensions: This exercise uses the Lat Pulldown cable and the Smith Carriage. Again, the counter-balance is available if you need it. I really like this exercise - the triceps burn is incredible. Here's a picture I took last week of me doing this exercise:




Standing French Curls/Standing Dumbbell Extensions: Of course these two exercises are not performed on the Titan, but I love doing them.

No BS, the Titan flat-out rocks. Best money I've ever spent.

[PetriJR]

John, I'm thinking of getting a two short bars for dumbbells, these.

The reason for getting these is that I could then use the same 50mm plates for them that I can use with Conan (that I'm going to order soon) and I would also save a lot of cash when compared to fixed weight dumbbells.

What do you think, would those fit on the dumbbell spotters on Titan/Conan? If not, then I guess there's no point in getting the spotters for the Conan.

The bars are 53cm (20,87 inch) long.

- Pete

[Nate]

I think I'm going to buy a Titan, buy an 18-Wheeler, and start a mobile training business.

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by PetriJR

John, I'm thinking of getting a two short bars for dumbbells, these.

The reason for getting these is that I could then use the same 50mm plates for them that I can use with Conan (that I'm going to order soon) and I would also save a lot of cash when compared to fixed weight dumbbells.

What do you think, would those fit on the dumbbell spotters on Titan/Conan? If not, then I guess there's no point in getting the spotters for the Conan.

Tough to say. The biggest weakness with the Titan DB spotters, IMO, is that they don't adjust horizontally. For example, my hex dumbbells do work with the Titan DB spotters, but they kind of ride on top of the spotters instead of settling down where they should be. The dumbbells are kind of unstable like that, and it makes me nervous having all that unstable weight above my head. So I've stopped using the Titan DB spotters and gone back to my trusty power hooks.

A think a picture would help make my point. I've attached it to this post.

This is a design issue I need to talk to Brian about. Perhaps there will be a change at some point, but right now I can't really recommend the DB spotter option.

[PetriJR]

Ok, looking at the picture, it seems to boil down to the width of the gap between the weights on the db that determines whether the db will sit properly on the spotters.

Hmm... It also seems to me that the bottom plates (where the db's should rest) do not probably suit very well to round plates that I'm going to use with the db-bars. Perhaps the smaller plates (<5kg) would fit, but the 5kg plates have such a diameter that I'm not sure if they would fit on to the spotters at all.

It seems that your hex db's would need about 1/2-1" of more width on the gap on the middle and they would fit ok to the spotters.

- Pete

[club661095]

Originally Posted by Peter_France

Hi,

I will try to give you detailed answer:

A - about 1 m ( it's enough space to make low row or squats on machine )
B - about 50 cm
C - about 50 cm
D- about 70 cm

Peter

Peter,
That 1 m is to the base, right? I previously got a 72" dimension from John that was from the end of the squat safety bars to the end of the cable bracket (up high) in front... How long are the squat safety brackets?
Thanks,

[shogungun]

Hi all! This is my very first post on John Stone's website. The Titan has led me here. Accordingly, i have a question about it. Does the Titan have chin-up and Dip exercise capabilities? Fitcore's website is down/under construction so i couldn't check with them. Thanks if anyone can help.

[shogungun]

I forgot one other thing. John, you said you are using Olympic weights on your Titan T1, right?

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by shogungun

Hi all! This is my very first post on John Stone's website. The Titan has led me here. Accordingly, i have a question about it. Does the Titan have chin-up and Dip exercise capabilities? Fitcore's website is down/under construction so i couldn't check with them. Thanks if anyone can help.

Absolutely. You can do chin-ups, pull-ups and wide-grip pull-ups using the special handle attachments specifically designed for those exercises, or, alternatively, you can use the rear upper gun rack hooks to mount a barbell and use the barbell to perform those exercises. The barbell in the rear high position can also be used for stuff like hanging ab straps.

One of the Titan's coolest features is the ability to do true assisted pull-ups and chin-ups. Using a special attachment and the Titan's counter-balance system, people who can't pull/chin their own body weight can offset a portion (or even all) of their weight so that those exercises can still be performed. My wife loves this feature, and it's not something you'd expect to see outside a commercial gym.

For dips, you can do standard chest or tricep dips using the dip handle attachments. I do lots of dips, and the Titan's dip station is rock solid. For those who can't dip their own body weight, the Titan has an assisted dips exercise! This is another feature I've never seen on other home gym equipment.

I forgot one other thing. John, you said you are using Olympic weights on your Titan T1, right?

Yes, that's correct.

[John Stone]

I got the HPB option yesterday, and today I picked up an Everlast heavy bag, some weighted gloves and some hand-wraps.

Installation was a breeze. In less than 5 minutes I was punching and kicking the snot out of the bag. I was looking forward to this option, as I thought it would would be an enjoyable way to get some aggression out. As it turns out, it's even more fun than I imagined!

Obviously the Titan is more than heavy enough to support the bag. No matter how hard I kicked it or hit, the Titan didn't move an inch.

Here are a few pictures. Later I'll see if Lisa can get some pictures of me with the gloves on beating the crap out of it.

[Bluestreak]

Originally Posted by John Stone

I got the HPB option yesterday, and today I picked up an Everlast heavy bag, some weighted gloves and some hand-wraps.

Can I tape a picture of a co-worker's face to it? Two minutes with that sucker and I'd be sucking wind, grinning ear to ear, and sighing with some relief.

-R

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by Bluestreak

Can I tape a picture of a co-worker's face to it? Two minutes with that sucker and I'd be sucking wind, grinning ear to ear, and sighing with some relief.

Let me guess, does this co-worker's name start with an "S" and end with a "hecky"? I'm pretty sure I'll need a new bag by the time you finish with him.

Dude, you gotta post a picture of that guy.

[1FastGTX]

I'm waiting for the pictures of you punching that thing! Very cool addition to your machine John.

And Roger - yes, please post a pic of that guy!!!!! Just do it in the VIP section.

[Bluestreak]

Originally Posted by 1FastGTX

And Roger - yes, please post a pic of that guy!!!!! Just do it in the VIP section.

Originally Posted by John Stone

Dude, you gotta post a picture of that guy.

Dude... I would SO like to bust him out like that. I couldn't put his horrific mug up here. I choose to slather mine here... ol' Shecky doesn't. I really wish I could... there aren't even any pictures on the company website, or I'd give you the URL (I wouldn't have minded that... 'cause they're public domain on the 'Net!).

-R

[Monkey0ne]

Originally Posted by John Stone

I got the HPB option yesterday, and today I picked up an Everlast heavy bag, some weighted gloves and some hand-wraps.

Installation was a breeze. In less than 5 minutes I was punching and kicking the snot out of the bag. I was looking forward to this option, as I thought it would would be an enjoyable way to get some aggression out. As it turns out, it's even more fun than I imagined!

Obviously the Titan is more than heavy enough to support the bag. No matter how hard I kicked it or hit, the Titan didn't move an inch.

Here are a few pictures. Later I'll see if Lisa can get some pictures of me with the gloves on beating the crap out of it.

SWEET!
Hey John, is the HPB option going to be standard on the FULLY LOADED option when ordering a TITAN? And do you know if they have any plans on releasing a speed-bag option as well?

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by Lawrence Sioxson

SWEET!
Hey John, is the HPB option going to be standard on the FULLY LOADED option when ordering a TITAN? And do you know if they have any plans on releasing a speed-bag option as well?

Excellent questions!

As for the fully loaded question, I will check that out and let you know.

With regards to the speed bag, I asked Lee and Brian the same thing. Of course they were already working on the design. So, yes - a speedbag option is coming!