Dumpers Part IV, Segment F

Dumpers
Part IV
Segment F

By
Ken Hutchins, Josh Trentine, Gus Diamantopoulos,
Drew Baye & Al Coleman

X-Force

The highly heralded X-Force machines arrived at Gainesville Health & Fitness in Gainesville, Florida on January 19, 2012. We visited GHFC on February 12th, only 24 days later. In Gainesville, these machines are placed on the workout floor with no restrictions to access. The following are our experiences:

First Impressions

The machines appeared to be copied almost exactly from Nautilus Nitro, except the chest fly, which looked more like the chest fly on the old Nautilus Double Chest, and the triceps machine, which, had movement arms like the Nautilus Compound Position Triceps, although independent. As for copying the Nautilus Nitro line, compare the current iteration of those machines (now called “Evo”) displayed at:

http://www.nautiluscommercial.com/products/nautilus-strength/nautilus-evo

… to the X-Force machines at:

http://www.x-force.se/index.php/products

The cams all looked nearly round and the compound row and leg extension machines provide extremely too much load at full shoulder and full knee extension respectively. Probably due to this, Drew Baye injured his right knee on the X-Force leg extension to the degree that it hurt to walk up stairs for about two months afterwards. This knee was completely without previous injury.

Of the 14 machines, at least three were out of order (The leg press, abdominal, and biceps had the upholstery removed to prevent use.), and the pulldown weight stack was also not working, but the upholstery was still attached. Two had broken seat adjustments (chest fly, pullover). The seats are raised and lowered with a pneumatic cylinder, but the adjustment levers were non-responsive on the broken ones and the seats were stuck in the top position. We are told that some of the machines are often in need of repair.

Generalities:

Instructor-Unfriendly

• All of the X-Force machines are instructor-unfriendly. The seat adjustment is between the seat and the side frame housing the weight stack.
• Weight increments are minimally 10 kilograms (22 lbs). Gapping the weight stacks for range-of-motion limitations is impossible.

Handles

• They are too wide for most subjects on some machines.
• They are actually okay on the Overhead Press although they converge too tightly at the top.
• The handles on the pulling exercises like compound row and pulldown are too thick—although not as bad as on the Nautilus One.

Seat Belts

• The only two machines with seat belts are the Leg Extension and the Pullover.
• Because of sans seatbelts, subjects often slide around in the Lateral Raise and the Overhead Press.

Signage

• There is a sign on each machine that says to watch for the weight stack to move during the hold at the endpoint (upper turnaround). This is dangerous due to the requirement to violate neutral head and neck position and also due to the necessity to take action to brace/prepare for hyperloading, without which there is a risk of injury.
• The weight stacks are all positioned to the user’s right. If you turn your head, you risk neck injury. If you don’t turn your head so you can see the weight stack, there is no way to know exactly when it is going to tilt and for you to prepare. And you risk injury due to being abruptly hyperloaded. You can’t win. You’re damned either way.
• There is another sign on each machine stating that a 3/5 cadence with a one-second pause at the endpoint is necessary for the machine to function properly. This demonstrates that the X-Force company is aware that the weight stacks may fail to function as intended if a different speed is used. We saw a man using the compound row very rapidly, and the weight stack did not appear to be tilting at all during use. He was defeating the machine’s cues.

Weight Stacks:

An X-Force weight stack takes several seconds to start. The subject must press a button, wait for a light to blink, adjust the weight, then wait for the light to go solid before starting the set.

Set Up—takes up to one minute

1. Sleep mode
2. Push button
3. Weight stack goes vertical
4. Button blinks—only time to change weight selection
5. Push button again—once satisfied with the weight selection
6. Weight stack goes sloped and the light goes solid
7. Start exercise (with the light solid)

The machine goes back into sleep mode after 2-3 minutes of disuse.

Assumably, the weight stack switches from the basic load (positive/sloped travel) to the hyperload (negative/vertical travel) once the upper turnaround is attained and the motion briefly pauses. However, the feel is not consistent between machines. On the chest fly, if held motionless at the endpoint, the weights do not switch until starting to ease out of the endpoint.

On other exercises used without a definite end stop, it is difficult to determine if it switched, stopped, or if there was a slight reversal of direction. This created a situation where if stopped or off/oned, the weight stack unintentionally switched on the subject at that point. By off-oning it is possible to make the weight stacks repeatedly switch back and forth—between their vertical and sloped positions. This is extremely dangerous if a person needs to stop and unload due to suspicion of injury, exercise-induced headache (EIH), etc.

It is impossible to perform a proper lower turnaround. When stopping downward movement, sudden (0.5 sec) downloading occurs (Weight stack becomes sloped.).

If maintaining a consistent effort when approaching the start point, quick positive acceleration occurs when downloaded.

If reducing effort in anticipation of being downloaded, too-quick acceleration occurs downwards, making the turnaround even more abrupt and uncontrollable.

Despite our best efforts we were unable to perform a correct lower turnaround on any of the machines. It was frustrating.

Weight-stack Switching Inconsistencies on Both Upper and Lower Turnarounds

• All of the mechanics in the X-Force that tilt (“switch”) the weight stack are problematic.
• Lower-turnaround weight-stack switching on some of the X-Force—like the biceps—causes the subject to miss the lower five inches of stroke.
• Upper-turnaround weight-stack switching on some of the X-Force occurs before the subject comes to a pause. Upper-turnaround weight-stack switching on some others does not occur even though the subject has paused.
• On some, the subject must begin the negative before upper-turnaround weight-stack switching occurs.
• Meaningful and/or efficient inroad is avoided due to unloads.

Friction:

• Wheel(s) under the weight stacks during positive/slope sometime(s) stick(s).

 

Machine Specifics (common name then X-Force product name in parenthesis):

Prone Leg Curl (Horizontal Leg Curl)

• The movement-arm axis does not align with the knee.
• The movement-arm roller pads—despite multiple adjustments—nearly fall off the subject’s heels unless the subject is very tall.
• The machine is difficult to enter/exit of without risk of hyperextending the knees.
• The handles could be positioned better.
• The resistance is too difficult in the finished position (virtually no decrease).
• There is no way to limit the range of motion and there is no hard end stop.

Leg Extension (Leg Quadriceps)

• No one actually completely extends on the leg extension because the resistance curve fails to decrease adequately. This harsh loading toward extension prevents complete quadriceps “setting” as is supposedly desirable in knee rehabilitation and functional knee maintenance. It also threatens knee integrity. What’s more, as the subject is excessively loaded at extension, the weight stack switches to hammer the knee joint with 40% more!
• The handles are way too low and are beyond the reach of most subjects.
• The movement-arm padding utilizes a large roller pad. We learned two decades ago that a roller pad against the shin is unacceptable. Such provides inadequate distribution of force onto the shins or ankles and risks severe bruising. This bruising has, in some cases, developed into sympathetic reflex dystrophy that threatened to require amputation of the lower legs! Only flat pads (not convex like a cylindrical roller pad) utilizing memory foam with extra firm resistance is required here.
• The knee does not align with the movement-arm axis.
• The movement-arm enter/exit is difficult because the pass is between the seat and the weight-stack side frame.
• No goniometer is provided.
• There is no way to delimit range of motion.
• It is difficult for the instructor to set up this machine.

Leg Press

• The excursion possesses a very short stroke.
• No shoulder pads are provided—just like with the Nautilus One and the Nautilus Nitro leg presses.
• The machine provides six different seatback angles. Many of them are excessive and most are unusable.
• The subject is required to use his hands and grip to hold himself down into the seat—thus counteracting reactionary force. Depending on the seatback angle the leg press becomes tantamount to a hack squat exercise.
• It is a formidable struggle for many subjects to enter/exit—just as in the Nautilus One and Nautilus Nitro leg presses.
• There is no way to record seat positioning. Each time the subject uses the machine, the instructor is forced to just ballpark the appropriate settings. Standardization is fleeting.
• All subject’s buttocks lift up off the seat! There are no shoulder constraints thus requiring handles to hold the subject down into the seat, but these handles are in a disadvantageous position. In a properly designed leg press, gripping is to be avoided to prevent unnecessary blood pressure elevation.
• The foot plate swivels making the movement unstable and difficult to control.
• The resistance is too heavy at bottomout.
• Almost no one fits in this machine properly.
• The weight stack switches abruptly on the upper turnaround, making it impossible to maintain smooth control.
• This is a dangerous device even when used properly—if proper use is even possible.

Pullover (Lat Back Circular)

• This pullover has lost one of the most reliable of all of Arthur Jones’ Ten Requirement of Full Range Exercise—direct resistance. (Most of the other ten requirements are invalid.) Since the subject is required to grip due to the omission of elbow pads, indirect resistance has returned. The weak link of the hands and forearms now filters the resistance before the larger torso muscle can be meaningfully loaded.
• With a requirement now to grip the handle, the handle is too thick to securely grip .
• The resistance curve is too difficult in the finished position of the positive.
• The loading foot pedal is too close to the seat.
• The stack switches in the upper turnaround whether the movement arm is stopped or not.
• There is no way to adjust for the depth of the subject’s body.

Compound Row (Lat Back Row)

• The chest pad is poorly constructed. It inappropriately swivels, and it is too small.
• The resistance doesn’t adequately decrease in the finished position of the positive.
• Its swivel handles allow inappropriate tracking and encourage instability.
• It is made for subjects with long legs as most subject’s legs don’t reach the foot rest. Of course, the legs should not be in this location during this exercise in the first place.
• The handles are excessively large, thus making the weak link of the grip yet weaker.

Pulldown (Lat Back Pull)

• The handles are excessively large, thus making the weak link of the grip yet weaker.
• The handle width does not accommodate different sizes of people.
• The lower-body restraint is poor. It is not adequately adjustable.
• There is no way to record seat position. The seat adjusts up and down.

Chest Fly (Pec Arm Cross)

• It provides no foot pedal, although it requires assistance to enter/exit safely.
• There is no seat belt—a requirement in this exercise.
• The resistance is too difficult in the finished position of the positive.
• The movement arm does not track joint function.
• The distance between axes is too wide for most subjects.
• The handles and pads do not adjust to accommodate different sizes of people.
• There is no back-pad adjustment.

Vertical Chest Press (Pec Seated Press)

• No seat belt is provided.
• No foot pedal is provided, and this machine is dangerous to exit/enter without one.
• The movement arm does not go through the correct path.
• The handles are too thick and angled incorrectly.
• There is no range of motion delimiter.
• The vertical handles are too close for some subjects.
• The weight stack switches abruptly, loading the subject hard in the upper turnaround.
• The resistance is too difficult in the upper turnaround and too easy in the lower turnaround.

Lateral Raise (Deltoid Lift)

• The arm pads are round. This movement requires flat, not convex pads!
• It provides independent movement arms—a big source of motor control issues in this exercise.
• The resistance is too difficult in the upper turnaround encouraging momentum to complete the positive.
• No seat belt is provided.
• No range of motion delimiter is provided.

Overhead Press (Deltoid Press)

• No seat belt is provided—a requirement in this exercise to couple-lock the torso.
• The vertical handles converge too closely, arriving 6-7 inches apart at the upper turnaround.
• The horizontal handles are too far apart for most subjects.
• Neither handle pair is ergonomically designed or situated.
• The machine’s rear movement-arm articulation encourages excessive trunk extension during axial loading. This is a common and threatening situation found in many overhead press machines.

Incline Press (Pec Angled Press)

• No seat belt is provided—a requirement in this exercise to couple-lock the torso.
• The horizontal handles are too far apart for most subjects.
• Neither handle pair is ergonomically designed or situated.
• The machine’s rear movement-arm articulation encourages excessive trunk extension during axial loading.

Biceps Curl

• Almost no one fits properly in this machine as it is built for very tall people—seven feet tall or more.
• The seat-back angle is poor and encourages subjects to lean forward or lift their elbows off of the pad. Usually both occur!
• It provides independent movement arms that ensure motor control difficulties.
• The handles are angled incorrectly.
• The resistance curve is excessively difficult in the bottomout and becomes excessively easy from the halfway point to the upper turnaround.
• It is impossible to align the elbows with the movement-arm axes.

Compound Position Triceps (Triceps Press)

• This is, perhaps, the worst of the X-Force.
• No seat belt is provided.
• It provides independent movement arms that ensure motor control difficulties.
• The handles are too thick.

• The resistance is excessively difficult in the upper turnaround while there is almost no resistance provided from the starting position of the positive through 90% of the positive.
• Almost no one fits properly in this machine as it is built for very tall people—seven-feet-tall or more.
• It is impossible to align the elbows with the movement-arm axes.

Abdominal (Abdominal Crunch)

• This machine is patterned after the original Nautilus Abdominal machine.
• The resistance is excessively difficult in the lower turnaround, making it the most probable X-Force machine to cause injury.
• It is akin to lying face up (supine) on a roman chair and sitting up with a 45-lb plate on your chest, then going down to parallel to the floor and back up… only with a partner in front of you pushing you over backwards.
• The leg pads are not adjustable and do not fit most people.
• The elbow-pad arm rests are too close to the handles.
• The handles are positioned the wrong way for most people to properly fit them.
• The stack switches abruptly without a pause in the finished position making upper turnarounds hard to control.
• Small, short people fit best into this machine, just the opposite of most of the other X-Force machines.

Again we note that the X-Force equipment is:

• Dangerous for expeditious transition from one exercise to the next. For example, on the leg extension machine, the seat adjustment is on the subject’s right between the seat and the weight-stack side frame. This is difficult for the instructor to manage. Additionally, the movement-arm roller-pad adjustment is on the subject’s left. This permits the legs only to enter/exit to the right in the cramped space between the seat and the weight-stack side frame. This is awkward and threatening to knee stability as the subject must squirm and twist the knees to climb out. Similar obstacles are found in many of the other machines: The pullover foot pedal is too close to the subject.
• Not workable for either the instructor or the subject. It is instructor-unfriendly.

We hear rumors that X-Force is in the development of a neck machine as well as a lumbar or trunk extension machine—Yikes! It is bad enough that these machines are designed poorly. Moreover, they are made and promoted to be used in a way that represents defective thinking about strength training. Moreover again, now this defective thinking and defective design is going to be applied to the most vulnerable areas of the body. We shudder to imagine the outcomes: Defective thinking integrated with defective machines applied to produce defective bodies!?

Following are more video links, each immediately followed by our annotated criticism:

In this video an X-Force representative at an ISRHA conference explains why the design is devoid of elbow pads as in the Nautilus Pullover. With this he demonstrates the proper elevation/depression of the shoulders during the exercise and also properly—but crudely—explains why this action is problematic to instruct and control by the typical subject. While correct in his criticism, his criticism is not complete. He does not delve into the subject’s confusion caused by the necessity to flex the trunk and pelvis (hip extension). Nor does he explain proper coupling effect for the lower body, although he performs this—probably unaware of the action or the need to explain it. All of this skirts the fact that removing the elbow pads—and thus, direct resistance—does not make the exercise more usable for the typical man and woman.

Note that the off-camera viewer comments that the switch to negative hyperload and to switch back to positive load is “smooth.” It is not.

Also note that proper interpersonal transfer—as when an instructor transfers a load to a subject—requires a non-moving and gradual release from the instructor to the subject as the subject increases effort. This technique requires several seconds to properly and safely accomplish and requires verbal cues. It is absolutely impossible to perform in the time—one second—that X-Force requires to rampup or rampdown, tantamount to a transfer though in violation of transfer technique!

Note also that there are intrapersonal transfers whereby the subject loads himself. For example, the vintage Nautilus Pullover utilizes a transfer bar that is pushed with the feet to then load the movement arm from the subject’s feet to the subject’s arms. The same principles mentioned with regard to the interpersonal transfer apply to the intrapersonal transfer.

With the X-Force, the transfer is between the machine and the subject. Neither the subject or a bystanding instructor control the rate of transfer or cueing of the completed handoff. At least with the Exerbotics machines (mentioned earlier), the subject hears (if he can hear) the revving up of the machine’s motor just prelude to being slammed with the load.

The speed of motion, while not obviously violent, is too fast to teach and instruct. Nor is it slow enough to have good standardization for progression, record keeping, proper cam profiling, etc.

Note the hamming by the representative and the lack of head and neck control it engenders. All this smacks of the typical jock syndrome and poor education that is ubiquitous throughout the industry.

X-FORCE 101 – Gainesville Health & Fitness

This video is a how-to from the Gainesville Health & Fitness Center in Gainesville, Florida. The fitness director says X-Force is “not better than MedX. It is a different way to work out.” He also states that anyone working out on MedX equipment needs a day of rest between workouts, but if using the X-Force, one needs a full week of rest. Why the dichotomy? Recovery needs might differ between subjects, but not as a function of which equipment line is used.

Note that the setup process is inefficient and reduces the efficiency of the workout.

The instructor tells the subject to put her “head back”—almost always the incorrect position for the head in this exercise as it puts the head and neck into an extended position and promotes pushing on the backpad with the head, thus encouraging neck issues and headache.

It appears that the subject sets the weight down and completely unloads at the lower turnaround. This is probably necessary to avoid sudden positive acceleration. It shows the designers do not appreciate the need for continuous loading. And, of course, after about one repetition consisting of an approximate 3-second positive, she resorts to positives of, at best, one second with the use of tremendous heaving, largely relying on momentum to move the weight.

Summary of the X-Force

Since the Nautilus heyday, we have made vast improvements in protocol, in our ability to discuss the particulars of exercise philosophy, and in the tangible design of exercise equipment. X-Force is a degeneration of these improvements. It is an expectation that those of the general fitness community operate with an explosion of creativity but without the necessary critical thinking for problem solution. It is disappointing that some of the leaders of the Nautilus old guard do not know better than to succumb to what is falsely and proudly displayed as superior technology.

Earlier, we mentioned defective thinking in conjunction with defective design. For clarity this deserves expansion.

Defective thinking about exercise—particularly regarding strength training—certainly fosters the poor reasoning for negative hyperloading. But this defective thinking with regard to exercise has nothing to do with most of the faulty details—specified above—inherent in the dumpers equipment, especially the X-Force. The same can be said for the Nautilus Nitro and the Nautilus One equipment lines from which the X-Force machine frames and movement formats were derived.

As Arthur Jones mentioned regarding an automobile: It doesn’t serve much of a purpose to design an automobile that has no doors and windows, no matter how perfect the rest.

IF negative hyperloading is a valid objective in strength training, the X-Force equipment is a poor and dangerous mechanism for its implementation.

This concludes our opinions regarding the X-Force.

Tagged as: Exercise Equipment, High Intensity Exercise, High Intensity Training, Ken Hutchins, Renaissance Exercise, RenEx