Speediance Gym Monster 2 Review: All-in-One Workout Machine

I learned how to lift in college when I was running track, and I fell in love with the feeling of a heavy dead lift, squat, and clean. I’ve been lifting for the last decade, but it’s never been the same since I lost access to my elite college weight room. I mostly work out at home with adjustable dumbbells and kettlebells, but I’ve reached a point where I need something heavier. I need my barbell and plates back.

So I was stoked to review the Speediance Gym Monster 2, a magnetic-resistance cable machine that looks a lot like a normal weight-lifting rack but can fit in my home. I’ve been using it for a month now, and I’ve totally integrated it into my workout routine. I really enjoy using it (I didn’t love the past magnetic-resistance machine I tried), and it’s allowed me to step up my big lifts, like dead lifts, squats, and bench presses.

Tricked Out

The Gym Monster 2 is a magnetic-resistance cable machine with a rack, screen, foldable platform (with a removable squishy pad), and so. Many. Accessories. The standard package comes with a bench, adjustable barbell, barbell hooks, barbell pad, tricep rope, cable handles, extender belt, ankle straps, and a Bluetooth ring and clip (more on what that does later). This is the second version (duh) and is more compact and lighter then the first iteration, and has one higher level for the cables on the rack pillars.

It was really easy to set up—no assembly required. It has a small footprint. When folded, it’s 14.6 inches long by 27.2 wide by 72.8 tall; unfolded, it’s 48.0 inches long. With a total resistance of 220 pounds, it can’t help you with your heaviest lifting, but the smart features and easy-to-use system make it a really cool home workout machine.

Price-wise, it’s a little less than the Tonal 2 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), and you also don’t need to subscribe to a membership to access most of the workouts.

There’s a lot to love about the Gym Monster 2. It feels much more like a traditional weight-lifting rack than other magnetic-resistance cable machines I’ve used in the past, thanks to the two tall pillars that can hold the cables. Similar machines, like the Vitruvian Trainer+ that I’ve tried, have cables that attach only to the platform, which makes certain lifts and positioning quite challenging.

The Gym Monster also takes up very little floor space when you’re not using it, since you can fold up the platform. The 21.5-inch touchscreen and menu is easy to navigate, and it tilts so you can follow along with workouts even from the bench.

A digitally controlled resistance machine like this has some perks that you can’t get with a standard weight-lifting rack and plates, or even dumbbells. You can set the resistance to “in-between” weights, like 16 or 27 pounds, which could help you progress faster in your lifts. If you strength train, you may be familiar with the frustration of being too strong for the 25-pound weights but not quite strong enough to maintain proper form or finish your set with the 30-pound weights. With digital weight training, you can set your weights to a level that will challenge you just enough. Even if you have adjustable dumbbells, you have even more customization options with this machine.

You also have the option to lift in different “modes,” as you do with most magnetic-resistance machines. This means you can set the resistance to standard (feels like a cable machine) or eccentric mode, which increases the weight during the lengthening or lowering part of the exercise, when it usually feels a little easier but you can handle more. The Gym Monster also has chain mode, which means the weight increases as you raise the cables or stand up in a squat, and gets easier during the eccentric phase. There’s also fixed-speed mode, which keeps the resistance consistent throughout the movement, so the weight increases as you lift to maintain your speed.

The screen tracks your range of motion so you can see if your form starts slipping during a set, and you can compare your ROM over the course of your workout. You can also turn on assist mode, which acts as a spot. If you can’t quite finish that last rep, it’ll reduce the weight a little to help you finish the exercise safely, just like a gym buddy would. I was pumped about this feature, because it means I can still tackle really heavy lifts when I’m working out at home by myself.

Put a Ring on It

One feature I really liked was the Bluetooth ring that you can wear on your finger or clip to the barbell. This tiny device allows you to turn the weight on and off with the push of a button. This means you can get into your lifting position with the weight off and turn on the resistance once you’re ready, without messing with the screen (much safer!). You can also use the button to adjust the weight remotely when it’s off.

I was really impressed by the wide range of exercises, too. Because you can place the cables below, above, and to the side of you, you have countless movement options. If you swap out the barbell for the cable handles, you can simulate a hex bar dead lift. You can add a squat belt to your package so you can squat while attached to the floor, as opposed to holding a barbell on your back. You can position the cables at the highest levels on the pillars and use the machine as a SkiErg. And if you get the package with the rower attachment, the Gym Monster can be turned into a rowing machine.

I didn’t get the rower, but I tried out the SkiErg function, and while it didn’t feel exactly the same—I couldn’t get much speed going because even the lightest resistance was too heavy for me, and the cable snap-back was a little aggressive—it’s really cool that this is even an option.

As far as programming goes, there are over 370 workouts and tutorials, including sport-specific routines that promise to help you build strength that’ll be applicable to, say, tennis. You can also row in scenic destinations. The workouts are easy to follow, and they offload the weight for you automatically at the end of your sets, although I found them to be a little meh. (I find most exercise machine workouts to be boring, though.)

You can build your own workouts as well, picking from their suite of exercises. Throughout sessions, you can also utilize a feature called velocity-based training, which tracks how quickly you can lift a certain amount of weight, and uses AI to calculate your one-rep max for that exercise. It then offers suggestions for how much weight you should use in future workouts to help you progress. I do wish there were more easily accessible setup tutorials. I didn’t necessarily want to have to click into a workout to find out the best way to set up for certain exercises, but that’s often what I did.

The Gym Monster programming utilizes AI to track your performance and provide workout suggestions to continue to challenge you. It offers a training service called Wellness+, too, which gives you an AI health assessment, body status monitoring, personalized workout plans and strength training sessions, and goal management. Right now, Wellness+ is available to all Gym Monster users, but it will become a subscription offering in June. Luckily, users who don’t want the subscription will still have access to the current free content (370-plus workouts).

I did a few of the machine’s workouts, but I mostly used it in free-lift mode, since I follow my own training plan. With the Vitruvian, lifting in free mode was a huge pain—everything had to be controlled from an app, and you had to select your exercise, set your reps, and adjust the weight between every set. Getting into positions and then having to mess with my phone was frustrating. (I tested the Vitruvian a few years ago, and the product may have been updated since.)

With the Gym Monster, I felt like I was using a regular squat rack, but instead of hauling plates around, I could just tweak what I needed to on the screen, and then use the Bluetooth ring from there. It was much easier and more intuitive. The real pain point for me is not being able to practice Olympic lifts, like cleans, jerks, and snatches. The cables are smooth, but they’re just not capable of adjusting quick enough for those kinds of moves to feel safe.

The machine automatically turns on music every time you start to work out, which is annoying. You can connect your own Apple Music account to the machine (I use another service, so I didn’t do that), but even then, music randomly blasting out of the speakers isn’t fun. The translations in the workouts can sometimes be a little off (Speediance is a Chinese company), though not enough to be confusing. I also found that during my workouts, my reps and sets were tracked perfectly, but in summaries, the stats were off. None of this was a big deal to me, because I follow my own program and wasn’t relying on the machine to track my metrics, but it’s a bug worth mentioning.

I also wish the machine could provide more than 220 pounds of resistance. For many lifters, 220 will be too light for a lot of lifts. (The Tonal can lift up to 250 pounds, and the Vitruvian 440.) I also wish the cables felt a little lighter when the weight was off—even then, they could feel a bit heavy to maneuver into lifting positions, and they’re actively pulling back on you, so there’s no slack. As much as I loved the Bluetooth ring, I also sometimes accidentally hit the button and turned on the weight before I was ready. Luckily, that never hurt me, but it was definitely scary! It takes a little getting used to to make sure you don’t ever bump it.

But overall, the Speediance has been a major asset to my lifting routine. Of course, magnetic-resistance machines never feel exactly the same as standard barbells and plates. I missed that feeling when I was lifting, but to me, it’s worth giving up in order to be able to lift heavier than my adjustable dumbbells allow at home, without having to devote my garage to a massive squat rack.

It’s fun to use, meets most of my needs, and doesn’t take up much space. You can access most of the programming for free, unlike with Tonal and Vitruvian, and it allows you to safely try so many different lifts. It even includes cardio workouts like skiing and rowing. If you don’t lift super heavy, or only have a little space for lifting and cardio, it’s definitely worth the investment.