u/Old_Gym_Unc

There aren't many reviews online about this function trainer so here's to hoping some people find it useful.

Premise: I have a small basement gym in a small basement; my ceiling height is a little over 7 feet so that's really limited the equipment setups that I could actually fit in there. I wanted the most compact functional trainer with articulating arms. I've tried using pulleys on my half-rack but it didn't work out great b/c they had limited range of motion due to how low the pulleys were hanging.

Initial Search: I was originally browsing through traditional weight stack functional trainers but the footprint was just too wide. I did find a select few that met my height limit but if I put it in my basement, I'd have little room for anything else. I did look at some of the portable cables (e.g. Voltra) but my only option was to attach it to my rack and I'd end up running into range of motion issues again. Plus, my rack is already overcrowded with stuff on it, so I didn't have room for the cables.

Digital Resistance Trainers: my search eventually took me to equipment like Tonal; small footprint, articulating arms and low ceiling height friendly. My biggest issue was that Tonal needed to be attached to a wall (semi permanent) and a lot of devices were attached to subscriptions. I'm an old school lifter so I didn't need some online trainer to show me how to lift; I just needed something basic that was as close to a gym function trainer as possible. By pure chance, I saw the FitTransformer Titan.

Considerations: The Titan had a lot of things that met my criteria and I could move it around if I wanted to. The biggest hurdles for my purchase were 1. I've never used a digital resistance type machine for normal workouts, so I wasn't sure I'd like it. 2. Who the heck is FitTransformer. The company has little to no reviews online and a very small social media presence. I'm all for trying things but flushing $2500 down the drain on a functional trainer that I may or may not like was a huge dice roll.

Call it free will or adult money but just loaded it in my cart and hit purchase. I was obviously nervous about what I did but I was hoping for the best. A few days later, I got a call to setup a drop off for the unit. The shipment was in 2 boxes and looked to be coming from China. A few days after that, a large box truck shows up at my house and unloads the Titan in a huge box on small pallet. The digital resistance unit itself was in it's own box.

Setup: I think the unit itself weighs around 260lbs. There's not much that's actually needed to setup the unit; just bolting the tower into the base and attaching the cross bar to both. I recruited a friend to help me lug it into my basement afterwards.

The Titan: the gas can looking box at the base of the unit is the digital resistance mechanism. FitTransformer claims it goes up to 264lbs of resistance. I can't say I've used that much but I have gone up to 120lbs per cable arm. The unit installs into the Titan in less than a minute but it also must be plugged into wall power. The entire unit is run by small control box where you can dial in the weigh resistance. The control box also has a workout timer, rep counter and a gauge readout to show you the approximate amount of force being exerted for each rep.

The Feel: digital resistance definitely doesn't feel like a traditional weight stack. There's no momentum advantage when lifting so the translation is that the weight feels heavier than you're equivalent weight stack weight. In my opinion, this is perfect for controlled reps. You can't just jerk the weight on initial pull and have momentum work for you. I've been working out at home and in traditional gyms for over 2 decades now and using the Titan feels good to me. My workouts feel the same on it as if I were using a commercial gym.

Pros:

1. Offers a lot of digital resistance. Caveat: I don't go anywhere near the max (I don't deadlift or bench press on it).
2. Compact and the arms offer many levels of articulation. You can angle them vertically from almost straight up to straight down. You can move the physical pivot point from around 3ft high to 5ft high. And the arms can pivot horizontally.
3. It folds up. I added a picture to show how it can fold up. It's still sizeable but at least you have the option to do it. The unit also has wheels under the base so you can easily move it around. To situate it in your desired spot, you just lower the base and it has adjustable feet with very wide pads on the bottom.

Cons:

1. Right now, you can only adjust the weight increments by 10lbs. This can get annoying if you're not ready to make a 10lb leap in your lift or if you doing a movement that doesn't require a lot of weight. However, there is a workout mode where the unit can detect you're struggling and it'll automatically reduce the weight.
2. It's a little loud. The digital resistance unit has a very loud fan on it. You can still hold a conversation when near it, but not at normal levels. It's not so loud that you're yelling though.
3. Time limit. The instructions say to use the unit for a max of 30 minutes when in strength mode. I'm assuming it's so that the digital resistance device doesn't overheat. I can personally say that I've gone over this 30 minute limit many times and nothing happened and the machine's performance was unaffected.

Considerations:

1. You have to stand on the unit when lifting. This probably isn't a deal breaker for many but it leverages the user's weight to stabilize the machine.
2. No monthly fees/subscriptions. If you just want to lift, this right here is it. If you want training or coaching, this definitely isn't it.
3. Because the company and unit is so new to the market, I can't comment on it's longevity. the cables in the machine look like reinforced braided nylon instead of the braided steel in commercial gyms. Maybe it'll wear out, maybe it won't.
4. There's no way to replicate heavy, lateral pull downs. This is the same as any other function trainer at commercial gyms. There's no apparatus to keep you grounded. Also don't expect to try to do pullups on the articulating arms.

Closing Thoughts: I'm very satisfied and happy with the purchase. I was like a kid in a candy store when I first powered the whole thing on and started lifting. I felt that there are little to no sacrifices made between using the Titan vs a commercial gym function trainer. I was annoyed that it didn't come with a solution for all the attachments; so I added my own magnetic hooks. The unit itself comes with these oddly small carabiners but you can just throw on normal sized ones. The company also markets this as a ski-erg; I'll be honest and say that I have no desire in my life to use one so I will never be able to comment on its ability to...ski...erg.

TLDR: FitTransformer Titan is an expensive but versatile unit. It delivers as advertised. If you have a premium on space with budget to spare, strongly consider this. If you're looking for guided workouts, this is NOT the trainer for you. If you want a "basic" trainer with no monthly fees that let's you do full body workouts, this IS for you.