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Gold Gym XR 10.9 Power Tower
Equipment Type: Power Tower
Includes: Pull-Up Bar, Dip Bars, Push-Up Handles, Calf Raise Platforms, Leg Lift Station
Gold’s Gym is renowned for its fitness centers, but a large portion of their profits come from the sales of equipment. The Gold Gym Power Tower boasts several components that allow it to serve as an “all in one” workout unit: pullups, dips, calf raises, and more are all possible with this power tower.
But with so many other power towers on the market, does this one stand out in any significant way?
The short answer? Eh, not really, but it’s not bad. Read on for the long answer!
Features:
- Vertical Knee Raise Station: A back cushion and two arm cushions to support your weight as you work your abs.
- Multi-Grip Pullup Station: An extended bar so you can do wide-grip pullups and other pullup variations.
- Pushup Handles: To add a little variety to your pushups.
- Dip Bars: Raised high enough to perfom full dips.
Pros:
- Pullup Bar is on its own side of the unit: This is absolutely the best thing about the Gold’s Gym Power Tower, and I can’t stress enough how frustrating it is that so many other PT’s have the pullup bar on the same side as the dip bars/knee raise station! The fact that the pullup bar gets its own separate side entirely make it possible to do a HUGE variety of pullup variations, including my beloved Neutral Pullups, which require a bit more space! Also, with other power towers my knees knock against the knee raise station’s back cushion. Taller folks don’t have to worry about bumping their heads when preparing for knee raises or when doing dips. Why aren’t other power towers set up like this? It makes no sense!
- Rubber grips and cushions are durable: Many power towers have cheaply made grips and cushions that start to fray or deteriorate after just a year or so, but this power tower has them very well-made so that they last for many years.
- Customer service is helpful: Gold’s Gym has a reliable and helpful customer service line, so if there is anything wrong with your product you can call and they may even send you a replacement part if needed.
- Decent price for newcomers to calisthenics: For those dipping their toes in the calisthenics game who aren’t ready to really commit to a high-end power tower, this one is serviceable for the most part. An important note is that this item has indeed gone up in price recently.
- Good for tall people: At about 7 feet tall (with the pullup bar), this power tower is a solid choice for people who are well over 6 ft. tall.
Cons:
- Notoriously wobbly and flimsy: This is a very common complaint (and one that I have myself) for this power tower. It is way too light at just 88lbs. Want to do explosive dips? Explosive pullups? Unless you want to risk your safety, this is a bad idea unless you have a partner holding down the other end. And you can forget about muscle ups!
- You CAN fill the lower pipes with sand, but…: Then you’d want to super-glue the rubber caps at either end of each pipe. Filling them with sand could help way the power tower down for the explosive moves described above, but it would take some work and cause a possible mess.
- Potential lopsidedness: This is a less common complaint, but it is still more prevalent than it should be. My unit is absolutely lopsided, so the dip bars are uneven and the pullup bar is slanted downward. Others have the same issue, and it is a doozy. Unevenness in a power tower equates to unevenness in your left/right arm workouts. There are workarounds (ie, turning around halfway through a set to switch).
- Pullup bar grip gets slippery: It is best to wrap a towel around the pullup bar, because your sweaty palms will easily slip right off of it. It’s great that the rubber grip is durable, and this complaint is obviously pretty minor compared to the others since it has such an easy fix.
Is it worth the price?
Well, considering it used to barely cost more than $100, this is definitely debatable. But, the Gold Gym Power Tower is a decent option for anyone who is ready to take their calisthenics game to the next level, but not SO ready that they want to fork over $200+ for a similar item. It really, REALLY sucks that this power tower is so flimsy, and buyers are taking a risk because their unit may very well stand unevenly on their floor. But, it serves its purpose well enough overall, and again I want to commend the designers on putting the pullup bar on its own side.
If you want my preference, I recommend the Weider Power Tower. It is less expensive and I’ve found it to be more stable. Click here for my Weider Power Tower Review. Do you have the Gold’s Gym Power Tower? What do you think about it? Leave a comment below with your experiences.
My score: 3 out of 5
