Anyone ever tried this... Sounds good in theory but probably crap in reality
I've got some free space in my home gym since my smith machine died so I've been thinking of adding this instead of another smith machine. It moves both vertically and horizontally..
Here's a link to a video: http://www.bodycraft.com/jones_mov.tpl
IN reality, that is great for many things. We did have one of those in Gold's Gym Helsinki, made by Finns gym equipment label Kraftwerk. That machine is great for squat, bench press, incline press, shrugs, you name it. Try to imagine; it helps you to keep weight's in balance, but it doesn't force you to adopt the path of rails of the machine. Instead of that, you have just about similar convenient path of movement like you would have in free weights, but you have better balance, which means that you can concentrate more easily for lifting, and you benefit more for your workout. This was one of the best equipment in that gym with that "attitude press" made by same label. That was one high quality press, if there is one; it has control wheel for adjusting leg- and back rest, frame which weight is half a ton, so it is very firm, and sledge which weight is 280kg/560lb without any plates. There is 2 bar for plates on each side, and one on top of the sledge, so you can load two tons of plates on it, and it doesn't even squeal. Not for children's or amateurs; best amount of steel what I saw on that machine was 1600lb + sledge, but I heard that someone has beat that. There was WSM competitors like Riku Kiri and Jouko Ahola training there, and just about all of the serious BB:ers in this silly country.