Hi everyone. I'm getting myself too stressed out trying to make a decision on what home gym would be most appropriate for my family. We currently have an inexpensive cable driven gym but are considering upgrading to a unit with better ergonomics/features. It has a pec deck, bench press, lat pulldown and dip stations. Most of the stations are less than ideal and (to me) are somewhat uncomfortable. I have found newer gyms to be more solid and comfortable. Within sanity, my primary focus is on getting the right unit that will be sufficient for our family for the next 10 years or so. Our family consists of:

- my wife and I (both 40). We are looking mainly to become more in shape versus maxing on strength or muscle mass. When in college, I used only free weights and hated machines. I'm now more willing to consider machines as I am concerned free weights are not appropriate for the family.
- 12 year old son who is very athletic and plays all sports.
- 10 and 5 yr old daughters who are into dance, gymnastics and cheerleading.

Our room for exercise equipment is not huge, it is 13' x 13.5' and I would like to get a treadmill and elliptical machine to also fit. If necessary, i'll dump my old Sears treadmill.

I have looked at the following:
- Precor 3.23 functional trainer. This unit has none of the "traditional" stations that I am used to seeing. It replicates dumbell motions but necessitates that the user make adjustments to the location of the pulleys for each exercise.
- Body Craft Xpress pro. This is a more traditional home gym that is reasonably priced, has a cable station with adjustable arms (not as flexible as the Precor, though) and can be expanded to included a leg press.
- BodyCraft Jones machine or similiar "smith" machine by many manufacturers. this would need to be supplemented with a set of dumbells and necessitates the use of olympic plates for many exercises
- Prospot P500. this is a large unit that would definitely force me to dump the treadmill. It has a neat electronic cable that takes the place of a spotter. Similiar to the Smith machines, a set of dumbells and olympic weights would be required
- Hoist PTS system. this seems like the cadillac of home gyms but seems to offer everything.

I'm so frustrated with this decision that i'm considering punting and just using our current machine for a few more years till my son is older and we see if he wants/needs the free weight experience.

Any help/suggestions would be very appreciated.

Bodybuilding.com - Powertec Strength Power Rack System (USA Orders Only) - Durable And Built To Last! On sale now!

A much better option than a lever action machine or selectorized plate machine.

Kozinator - No links please.

If people want to see the products they can google them.

Its really nice that you want to stay fit and buy a home gym. I would like to recommend, instead of spending on those bulky machines, you can get resistance bands. Just search for workout bands" in Google. They work really well and are safe considering that you have 3 kids. My family has been using these for years and the results have been great.

I picked up what you see below for $300 bucks locally. It has a a smith in the middle(which I don't use) but Free weight pins and safeties on the front of the rack, pull up bar, 6 cable pulley stations adjustable bench and 300lbs of Olympic weights with an extra 45lb bar. The whole family can use this, and does regularily I might add.

Oh..my wife and I are 39 my kids are 11 and 9.