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Introduction
Titan Fitness offers a lot of commercial-style machines and unique benches for the home gym space. They can also do it for fractions of the cost of most equipment suppliers. This is the story with the Titan Back Hyperextension-V2. The back hyperextension is a great movement to work your posterior chain, glutes, hamstrings, and even low back muscles. It can be preferred over something like a GHD because the movement is less stressful on the body and the piece takes up a smaller footprint. It’s no secret that some people have had issues with quality when it comes to some of the Titan Fitness equipment they have purchased, so how does this implement in particular measure up?
The Back Hyperextension
The back hyperextension is a unique movement that can stretch and strengthen your posterior chain or build strength in your hamstrings, glutes, erectors, and obliques. Crossfit and sport-specific gyms (including powerlifting gyms) seem to have made the GHD a popular piece of equipment. The back hyperextension is a piece that is easier to get in and out of. The movement can be more comfortable, and it comes with a smaller footprint. For those reasons, the back hyperextension can be a favored piece over a GHD for some lifters.
The Titan Back Hyperextension-v2
For this piece, it is essential to start with the cost. There are some issues, but those can be understood and reckoned with when you know how much you paid for it. This piece of equipment is shipped to your door right around $200. Comparably priced low back extensions will be cheap Amazon specials and mostly coming from unrecognizable equipment companies. Some notable equipment companies make 45-degree back extensions, but they are going for 2-6x the price of this Titan model.
Now that the price and comps have been stated, we can discuss the issues.
The Issues:
The steel. The steel used for this piece is 11 gauge tube steel. It feels much thinner and lighter than 11 gauge steel. Each piece feels lightweight and thin, but it is decently sturdy when bolted together as a single piece. The footplate used to hold yourself in place has an industrial steel pattern imprint that makes it look sturdier.
There have not been any significant issues during use, but there is a slight rocking when you generate a lot of force and start to extend your back on the way up. This has to do with how lightweight the item is. This isn’t necessarily a huge negative because the piece is easy to move around your gym, and there have not been any major incidents except a slight wobble.
The welds. Some of the welds are pretty poor. In particular, there were some unsettling welds where the padding connected to the adjustable piece of the equipment. This part is chrome plated, and it is poorly done. There is already rust in the first two months of having this piece indoors (in a basement gym). This is the most unstable part of the whole implement. Time will tell how they will end up playing out.
The padding. It is the same padding used in the Titan Preacher Curl Bench. The padding is not high quality. It is also very thin, and the backing seems thin as well.
The adjustable piece that the padding connects to is chrome, but the chrome is poorly done. Despite being in a dry basement gym for less than three months, it has started to chip and rust.
The handles. The handles are an excellent addition. They give some assistance when getting on and off of the piece, but they are set slightly out in front and prohibit some movement involving your arms. If you want to hug a plate or put your arms out to the side, the handles can get in the way.
What this piece does well?
If you don’t want to bring a large GHD into your space, or if you want to work a similar pattern while spending less money, the back hyperextension from Titan gives you that option.
Other back hyperextensions are either Amazon specials that look like they are lower quality than this one, or they are significantly more money. The closest comparison comes from Fray Fitness, whose commercial low back extension comes in just over $400 and looks like something to keep your eye on if it’s in your price range and you appreciate this movement.
Other options include a few models from Elite FTS, with the cheapest being around $800, Stray Dog’s heavy-duty model coming in at approximately $1,300, and Sorinex’s model at about $1,200.
The Verdict
The Titan Back Hyperextension-v2 is recommended to anyone wanting to get an inexpensive back hyperextension in their space with a smaller price tag. If you have the money to spend, the option from Fray Fitness is not going to break the bank and looks to be higher quality and a sturdier alternative. It is more than twice the price, though.
The more money you can spend on a single piece of equipment with most things typically gives you the better-built piece of equipment. The higher price tagged back extensions look amazing, but you have to ask yourself, “how much am I willing to spend on an item like this?”.
Conclusion
While it has its issues, the Titan Back Hyperextension v-2 is one of a famous fitness supplier’s most cost-effective back extensions. The padding quality and overall weight and steel strength are the most significant drawbacks you should be aware of, but overall, the piece gets the job done for a fair cost.
