Publication Reviews

  • Fabio Comana, Director, Continuing Education, NASM : June 2012
    "With its dynamically rocking technology, the HOIST ROC-IT™ line reveals numerous biomechanical and physiological advantages missing with traditional exercise machines. This includes a dynamically-adjusted user position to optimally align and maintain joint position throughout motion, reducing shear-stress forces within joints by creating multiple segment movement, providing small, yet appropriate proprioceptive challenges to the lumbopelvic hip complex (LPHC) to improve stability and providing greater muscle pre-stretch or loading to overload muscles."
  • FitnessProfessorReview.com : January 2012
    "Innovation and strength equipment are typically not synonymous - unless the discussion is about HOIST. For over three decades, HOIST Fitness has combined creative designs with industry leading quality earning them an unrivaled reputation."
    The following HOIST Fitness products have won the FIT PROF Head of the Class choice award:
    - PTS (Personal Training Systems) - CAGE SYSTEM
    - V CORE - HOME GYM
    - HF 4664 Adjustable Ab - Back Bench - AB & BACK
    - HF-4170 Olympic Combo Bench - BENCH W/UPRIGHTS
  • FitnessProfessorReview.com : April 2010
    "When it comes to strength equipment, new and innovative products are few and far between. It has been decades since a product line has furthered the evolution of how people lift weights. With their patented ROX (Ride Oriented Xercise) technology coupled with their world-class commercial quality, HOIST rockets strength training into the future. Available in both plate loaded and selectorized versions, Hoist’s ROC-IT units offer an unparalleled, natural feel thanks to its unique user moving design. By moving the user’s body along with the lifting motion, a biomechanically superior movement is created. Add in an increased level of core activation, and ROC-IT takes you for an effective and fun ride! Along with their full free-weight, multi-stack and KL youth fitness lines plus over 30 years of manufacturing experience, HOIST is the new leader in strength equipment and the FIT-PROF Head of the Class Winner for Best Commercial Strength Line!"
  • Shape You, Home of the Gear Awards : October 2008
    “We’re proud to announce the V Select Series from HOIST is the winner of the 2008 Gear Awards ‘Top Gear of the Year Award’ and the V6 Personal Pulley Gym is the winner of the ‘Great Gear of the Year Award.’ Both products are outstanding in their design, features and results.”
  • ION® Network : April 23, 2007
    ION® Network announces that HOIST's HF-4664 Ab/Back Roman Hyper is the ION® winner of the 2007 ION® Abdominals Product of the Year and a finalist for the 2007 ION® Sports Product of the Year.
  • FITNESS Magazine : November 2006
    Splurge:The HOIST V5 allows you to do more than 50 exercises. And it's small (four by six feet); you can tuck it into a corner so your living room doesn't look like a gym.
  • LA Times : March 6 2006
    "HOISTs Fitness Tree (HF4962) offers a club quality machine with instant incline sit-up board."
    Likes: A unique, dual-purpose pad that can be used as a back support in the conventional knee-raise position, then removed and used as slant board for incline sit-ups. Includes push-up bars. As stable as a club machine.
    Dislikes: None
  • Health Magazine : January/February 2006
    The BEST of FITNESS 2006 AWARDS - "Equipment Weight System Over $1000 - HOIST V2 Multi Gym - This compact system offers a 155-pound weight stack with a full-length shield to protect fingers from pinching. The back pad can be positioned five different ways for comfort (the seat's adjustable, too). And the pulleys allow a wide variety of upper-and lower-body exercises."
  • Men's Journal : November 2005
    EDITOR's PICK HOIST V5 Multi Gym - "Simply put: the best single-stack home gym available. The units seated leg curl is smooth and comfortable and will let you - finally - get serious hamstring workout with a home unit. The V5 also scores points with its press arms. On most machines, both home and commercial, you push or pull the handles along a fixed track and as a result you never work the smaller stabilizer muscles in the shoulder. But the smart design of the V5's arms gives it a free-floating feel - much like a dumbbell workout - forcing you to use and strengthen those important stabilizers."
  • Men's Health : October 2005
    "Some Home Gyms Were Meant to Hold Laundry. This one will make you a better man. The Hoist Fitness Half Cage Ensemble (HF-985 ENS) is our pick for home gym of the year, thanks to its slick, easy-lock barbell spotting system; thick, heavy-gauge steel construction; and unparalleled versatility."
  • Outside Magazine : January 2005
    “The Cadillac of all-in-one weight-lifting machines is HOIST’s V5, which incorporates every feature you expect in a multi-station home gym – chest press, lat Pulldown, leg curl, and leg press – plus one you don’t: a chest-high cable that allows for a myriad core-conditioning drills.”
  • Kiplinger's Personal Finance : January 2005
    HOIST H-2200 Multi-Stack Gym - “This machine lets you work out as if you were at a health club, and it adjusts to suit any body type, its sturdy construction and well-upholstered seats and pads ensure a stable, comfortable workout.”
  • Men's Health Magazine : October 2004
    HOIST V2 Home Gym - “It’s not the size of the home gym that counts; it’s whether you’ll ever use the damn thing. This one won’t end up as a laundry rack anytime soon. The sturdiest, most versatile home gym we found for under $2,000, it takes up less floor space than a sheet of plywood.”
  • Liz Neporent - American Council on Exercise : July 2004
    “The handle and cable changes are quick and easy; and the cable movement is smooth.”
  • Smart Money : March 2004
    HOIST V5 Home Gym - “One of the HOIST’s advantages is its small footprint, the amount of space that the machine takes up. You can easily fit it into smaller spaces. And this model offers a freer range of motion for upper-body press exercise, which worked more muscles.”
  • Men's Journal : February 2004
    Top Value – “At half the price of some very similar machines, the V4 offers the best value around. The wide range of settings for its seat, back, and press ensures that you’ll be safe whether you’re 5’5” or 6’5”. The sturdy V4 is “light commercial – graded,” which means its warranty covers it in such high-usage facilities as fire and police stations.”
  • Los Angeles Times : January 2004
    “Weight machines with a sense of style. These machines, which allow users to do everything from chest presses to leg curls, are a hybrid of commercial and consumer machines, making them more rugged than previous home models.”
  • The American Council on Exercise : July 2003
    At last, by taking the time to study kids and exercise, a manufacturer has combined innovation and technology to create a fun and exciting line of strength training equipment for kids. One that kids are sure to use to experience the many benefits of strength training while simultaneously forming important lifelong exercise habits.
  • Men's Fitness : November 2001
    This one-seat unit (H-100) is a rarity in two ways. Its 11-gauge steel tubing and interlocking weight stack provide a smoother, firmer health-club feel than many home gyms on the market.
  • Bottom Line : September 2001
    HOIST® Fitness Systems Prime 8. Compact home gym exercises the eight major muscle groups--quadriceps, hamstrings, abdominals, pectorals, laterals, deltoids, biceps and triceps.
  • Health and Fitness Business Annual Show : August 2001
    CEO, Jeff Partrick, accepted an award for "Retail Product of the Year" at the recent Health and Fitness Business trade show in Denver, Colorado. Since its introduction, the H100 has been our most popular home gym. Equipped with our patented articulating pressing arms, the H100 has become one of the most successful home gyms in the industry. "It is a great honor to receive this particular award because it is voted on by our dealers"
  • Exercise for Men Only : April 2001
    With its low profile and small footprint, the Prime 8 can fit just about anywhere, and yet packed into its small frame is the potential for an uncompromising workout.
  • Consumer Reports : March 2001
    In their March 2001 issue, Consumer Reports Magazine tested 12 home gym systems and rated the HOIST® H210 Multi-Gym "Best Overall". In comparisons with Body Solid and Parabody, among others, the HOIST® H210 is an "exceptionally well-designed machine that can provide users of all sizes and fitness levels with a challenging and effective range of exercises." All machines were rated for ergonomics (complete whole-body workout), circuit training (easy to set up for different exercises), smoothness (low resistance or friction), and adjustability (for proper alignment and positioning to minimize injury risk). The H210 scored "excellent" on all counts, and was the only machine to do so.
  • National Fitness Trade Journal : Winter 2000
    "We are pleased to announce our alliance with HOIST® Fitness Systems as strength supplier to the American council on Exercise (ACE). In utilizing HOIST® Fitness Systems new CL line of strength equipment for our in-house practical training, we feel that we are providing our certified professionals with the best tools possible."
  • Health & Fitness Business : August 2000
    "Lifetime Achievement" award was presented to Randy Webber, Vice President and Head of R& D for HOIST® Fitness Systems. Twenty-three years ago, Randy Webber and his partner owned a gym but were disappointed in the commercial exercise equipment available at the time. They returned to school, learned the manufacturing process and were designing and creating strength training machines that quickly became a symbol of their commitment to durability and technical innovation. Through the years Randy Webber has lead his engineering team to create and modify equipment by being profoundly influenced by what people love in exercise equipment, the principles of body movement, and what provides better results. Behind the scenes, Randy has been a key innovator in the industry, introducing into the retail market what is now an industry standard, the vertical bench, designed to allow a smaller footprint. Today, his many patents point to his leadership in changing the way people exercise. The list is long: the multi-function roller pad, the range of motion feature on the bench press, self-aligning ankle roller pads, the swing roller assemblies on the 2001, 2200, and the 4600, the 3-dimensional and 4-dimensional articulating arms, exercise forward design™, Easy-Glide inserts™, the Radial-Loc™ weight stack system. Gyms can be easily adjusted. Exercises may be performed easily and correctly, all on machinery with the smallest footprints available. During the last twenty-three years he has built four retail stores of his own, a retail division serving several hundred nationwide dealers, and a thriving commercial division.
  • Snap.com Home Shopping : June 2000
    "HOIST® has built a reputation for high-quality construction with attention to every detail, and it shows in the HF-980*. You're out of luck if you lie heavy clanking sounds because this is a smooth, quiet operator. It's extremely stable and should accommodate most users very comfortably even though it's compact."
  • Annual Industry Best Awards : January 2000
    The HOIST® H210 was rated their "Quality Pick" by Yahoo!'s Online Shopping Guide, Productopia. "It may be small, but it delivers some muscle-bound results. With the H210 Multi Gym, HOIST® proves that a home gym doesn't have to be huge and multi-station to provide a first-class workout." "Best Features. . . compact, built to last, easy to operate."
  • Women's Sports & Fitness : June 1999
    "It may be small but it delivers some muscle-bound results. . .This one combines rugged steel construction, high-quality components and smooth, easy operation."
  • Health & Fitness Business : October 1998
    "The Customer Service award was presented to Hoist, as dealers cited dramatic improvements in response times for product deliveries and service calls."
  • San Diego Metropolitan Magazine : October 1998
    "HOIST® Fitness Systems: Twenty years of heavy lifting pays off for local entrepreneurs."
  • Home Health & Fitness : Summer 1998
    "HOIST® is known for rock-solid construction and more traditional features. The H500 is a health-club-quality gym, with the features that club machines so durable, such as pillow-block bearings and high-gauge steel. The H500 is easily adjustable; the pec fly station and leg extension roller pads quickly adapt to limbs of any length."
  • Men's Fitness : January 1998
    "HOIST® H-300 - Its small size is great, but we really loved the Hoist's independent press arms, which simulate the feel of dumbbells. From the seat you can do chest, incline, decline and shoulder presses just by angling the bar differently. This feels much more like handling free weights, because you, not the machine, determine the arc and angle of movement."
  • Men's Fitness : January 1998
    "HOIST® H-200 - It's tiny at 3 x 4 3/4 feet - and fortunately its size doesn't demand sacrifices in stability. You can feel secure as you do 28 basic exercises, all from the front of the machine."
  • Men's Health : December 1997
    "HOIST® H-400 - Let's you do all the classic strength-training moves for both upper and lower body, with little adjustment between exercises. It felt much sturdier than most of the other home models." "Smooth, even resistance"
  • San Diego Union Tribune : April 1996
    "Better Gyms? No sweat. HOIST® Fitness Systems owners found unmet need and filled it"
  • Tom Cirucci - Marriott Hotels : April 1996
    "They're constantly coming up with innovative ideas. They're the best-kept secret in the industry. They build a tremendous, tremendous product."
  • Money Magazine : January 1996
    "No sweat guide to the best home exercise machines - HOIST® HR1 (recumbent stationary bike) and HOIST® 440 (home gym)."
  • Home Gym & Fitness : December 1995
    "The HOIST® 4500 Multi-Station Gym, which was selected because it's both space friendly and offers a wide range of exercises. Its four weight stacks allow more than one family member to work out at the same time."
  • Runner's World : December 1995
    "HOIST® 880 - the simpler the better is the main theme of this machine. The other is saving space: it requires only 13.5 square feet of floor space, yet offers 15 exercises that work all major muscle groups. All seated exercises are possible without cable changes from just one position - a plus for exercisers in a hurry".
  • Home Gym & Fitness : December 1995
    "HOIST® F160 - At a minimum, you want a bench to be sturdy and easy to adjust. This flat/incline bench adds an angle indicator for the back rest, a seat section that is also adjustable, and wheels and a handle for moving the unit. You could park cars on it".
  • Home Gym & Fitness : December 1995
    "Hoist's 880 Multi-Station Gym has earned accolades for a few years now for its sturdiness and excellent craftsmanship. Now the San Diego based company has upped the stakes by incorporating a three dimensional 'articulating joint' in its press arm".
  • San Diego Daily Transcript : November 1995
    "Featured Patent of the Month: Patent No. 5,401,227, Constant Tension Exercise Device, by HOIST® Fitness Systems."
  • Home Gym & Fitness : June 1995
    "Selected as the center piece a HOIST® 4600 Multi-Station Gym gets good grades for bio-mechanical correctness and versatility."
  • Home Gym & Fitness : June 1995
    "Model Carol Alt and her husband hockey star Ron Greschner workout together on the HOIST® 5000 Multi-Station Gym in their Greenwich, Conn. Home".
  • The New York Times : March 1995
    "The HOIST® 880 Multi-Function Gym is designed to conserve floor space".
  • Robb Report : March 1995
    "One of the best multi-station home gyms available today is the top-of-the-line model 4600 from HOIST® Fitness Systems. Designed to withstand the most rugged use, the 4600 features a sufficient number of smooth-operating exercise stations to work every major muscle group, including abdominals."
  • Idea Personal Trainer : October 1994
    "The HOIST® 880 Multi-Gym is perfect for home exercise. It's quick and easy, highly effective and takes up only 3 x 4.5 feet of floor space. The Exercise ForwardÔ design means that all the exercises are performed from the front of the machine and can be done without changing seats".
  • Muscle Media 2000 : August 1994
    "The closest thing we found to an ideal system was the HOIST® 880 Multi-Function Gym. The machine is built well; it allows you to work every body part with minimal adjustments and it takes up an extremely small area of floor space: 3' x 4 1/2'".
  • Women's Sport & Fitness : November 1991
    "HOIST® 1000 -- BEST BUY".
  • Business Week : November 1991
    "For those who want a serious all-body workout, there's still no substitute for home gyms. Among the best: HOIST® Fitness Systems' classy 1000SE".
  • Longevity : September 1991
    "Look for a unit like the HOIST® 1000E".
  • Sportstyle : June 1991
    "HOIST® -- Cadillac of home gyms".
  • Best Buy Consumer Guide : Annual 1990
    "HOIST® Fitness Systems' 1000+ is a versatile, well-constructed home gym"