Fit to Print Volume 24 Issue 1 March 2015 | Page 7

New Stuff

By TJ Lynch with Paul Smith

Getting to Know You...
Meet the Medx Avenger Pulldown
The Avenger
Series
The Medx Avenger
series was
manufactured for a
very limited time with
a very limited
production run,
roughly 2003 through
2005. Medx
completely overbuilt
these machines using
stainless steel
adjustments, heavy
steel and the best
quality materials
Avenger Dis-assembled
available. The result
was that so much cash was dumped into
production of the plate-loaded avenger
line that the company lost a ton of money
and decided to stop producing the
Avengers and focused instead on the
Selectorized Medx machines. The majority
of the Avenger units went to professional
sports teams like those in the NFL, top
Division One college athletic programs,
and to some really high-end home gyms
and private facilities. There were about
75 of these Avenger Pulldowns produced in
total.
Once we acquired our Avenger Pulldown,
the restoration process began. Our
Pulldown is completely overhauled and
refurbished. It needed about 8 hours to
dis-assemble (I originally thought I might
need just 1 hour) then soon learned that
these units are simply not easy to get
apart! There are all kinds of molded
plastics, small and large bearings and
rolling bearing adjustments inside the
tubing. Once apart it went to the
sandblaster, then the power-coater…the
pads were reupholstered, and finally the
parts were collected back and reassembled. Fresh new decals and new
plastic protectors brought the machine
back to show-room condition. The parts
are difficult—in some cases impossible—to
get. This machine has as many originals
parts as I could salvage but some had to
be fabricated.
We had some customization done to finish
it off. We sent the handles to the
legendary Tom Kinney, creator of TK Star
Exercise Equipment, who first installed a
double layered smooth grip , and then a
softer heated grip for a better feel. He
also made some custom, heavy-duty
stainless steel end-nobs. Mint. Thank You
TK!!

Incidentally, Tom also made us some of
the best cable handles we have at the
gym.

The Avenger Pulldown
Our Avenger Pulldown is a fantastic
machine because of its versatility,
which begins with four different
varieties of grips to choose from.
There's the supination, the pronation,
the neutral, and my favorite—the
reverse grip. I like this one in particular
because there is no strain on the
shoulders, you get the best stretch and
it hits deep into the lats.
The handle options allow me to target
the muscles of the back from a variety
of different angles. I use a pronated
grip with a mid-range, continuous nonstop action movement and also a
reverse grip, pausing at the bottom of
the movement so as to create a better
stretch and contraction.

DO...

Any time you are able to adjust the
handles and your grip, you are placing
greater tension on different areas of
your back.
With the versatility of this Pulldown you
are going to be able to work your lats in
a safe & effective way using the several
different grip adjustment options.
You can even face into the machine and
use it standing up as another option. As

Spring 2015 FIT to Print

good as the previous machine, the
Hammer Strength Pulldown, was—and it
remains one of the best pieces Hammer
Strength makes—this Avenger Pulldown is
far superior. The variety of handle options
make the Avenger a better option than the
Hammer Strength machine in that they
also move out and in with you rather than
being in a fixed position. This is important
because it impedes the tendency of the
forearms to take over the
movement…obviously not desirable when
the target muscle groups are in the back,
but surprisingly common with machines
that are limited by fixed positions.
In replacing the Hammer Strength we lose
its iso-lateral arms, but with the Avenger
Pulldown's fused movement arm you can
generate more power and control with
each repetition.
I like to seek out the rare Avenger
equipment—and this Pulldown is an
excellent example—because not only is it
built amazingly well, but it also hits the
targeted muscle properly. The designers
understood training and how to create the
proper strength-curve on the machines.
On most pulldown machines, the tension
in the muscle is consistent throughout the
range of motion when there should be a
slight reduction in tension at the bottom
of the motion, as there is with the
Avenger. This reduction contributes to the
delivery of a better contraction.
It's all about the 'feel' with the Avenger
equipment, including this pulldown

DON’T!

machine. If you know how to position
yourself correctly, and you know how to
properly train your back, you're going to
get one of the best workouts possible with
this pulldown movement.
Pull-ups are one of the best exercises you

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