Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat home gym and great customer service
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2018
My husband wrote this review. We both love the machine and the customer service.
Galena Pro Strength Training System, manufactured by Bodycraft
Intended use
My wife and I use the Galena Pro for slow burn exercises. (search Amazon for term) supplemented by the vacuum exercise (general web search for term). Slow burn involves moderate weights, slow motion, and a weight machine. The weight machine is essential for safety, as slow burn can cause temporary muscle failure. We ordered the short weight stack for Galena Pro. One of us has been using slow burn for about five years with excellent results, and we have recently moved to an area with no gymnasium.
Quality
Design
Galena Pro design is impressively good. The rigging system requires only one weight stack and works smoothly. Pullies have sealed bearings. Frame thickness is somewhat less than that of commercial equipment, but its service life should be several decades given the intermittent use of a home gymnasium. Tolerances are tight enough to prevent wobbling of moving parts, and do not bind. Seat fabric is good for home gymnasium equipment.
Galena Pro is apparently intended be installed in the corner of a room, with the two support frames (the ?feet? on which the Galena Pro rests) parallel to the two walls that form the corner. This works well, but note that the Galena Pro feet will have to be about a yard (a meter) from the walls to allow movement of Galena Pro components.
Be aware that the Galena Pro, one assembled, is not intended to be moved. Movement through a standard doorway will require disassembling the Galena Pro, which is just about as time consuming as its original assembly. The Galena Pro cannot be skidded over most flooring. Build it where you want it, and plan to leave it there.
Each weight plate in the Galena Pro weighs ten (10) pounds, which is the minimum adjustment to exercise force. Amazon sells ?Weigh Stack Adapter Plates 2.5 Lb. and 5 Lb.? that fit the Galena Pro and reduce weight stack increments to 2.5 pounds (mass).
Manufacture
Galena Pro manufacture is surprisingly good. Parts fit together without difficulty. Bolts fit holes, sockets for bolts are threaded correctly, the cabling does not chafe. Parts work smoothly. Appears to support all exercises that we will need, although some exercises (such as leg adduction) must be performed one leg at a time.
Maintenance
Only inspection and lubrication are required. Inspection is eased by use of self-locking nuts in almost all cases. The nuts have a nylon washer inside; the washer inhibits loosening. Use of a removable thread locking compound for setscrews and non-locking nuts might be advisable. Lubrication provided for the weight stack is a high viscosity silicone liquid, which apparently has a long lifetime. Other lubricants are approved by Bodycraft. Silicone liquid is safer: take care not to inhale aerosol lubricants in an enclosed exercise room.
Documentation
We could only play the DVD under Microsoft Media Player for Windows 7. Once played, the DVD was well organized and useful.
A poster of exercises comes with the Galena pro. It shows some exercises that are not obvious and are not on the DVD.
An instruction manual is included. It is adequate if customer support is called, but could use revision. See assembly section of this report for details.
Actual use
Actual use is comparable to professional gymnasium equipment. Action is smooth. I am just under 6 feet tall, and my wife is about 5 feet. The machine fits both of us. The single stack imposes movement limits, but so far the limits have not prevented any muscle from being exercised properly.
Consumer support
Consumer support is very good. Missing pieces (we had two) are supplied within a week. Support staff is used to dealing with assembly difficulties and is supportive and understanding rather than hostile or indifferent. Support wants you to successfully assemble your gym.
Assembling the gym
Preparation
Base
We cut and painted a plywood sheet to serve as a base for the Galena Pro, in order to protect our rug and increase unit stability.
Tools needed
The Galena could be assembled using sockets or adjustable wrenches. Box wrenches with built in ratchets are recommended to reduce labor.
All tool heads (bolts and set-screws) are metric, even though bolt lengths are given in inches.
We bought the following tools, which proved sufficient. We did not use all tools bought.
Metric box wrench, fixed, 22 mm to 8mm
Metric wrench set w/ ratchet 18mm to 8mm
10? Adjustable wrench
6? Adjustable wrench
Metric Key Set, 10 mm to 1.5 mm
Used 2.5 lb. stack adapter weight as hammer to insert plastic end caps.
Dymo label maker
Labeling
The first part of a project is checking parts against parts list. We combined that with labeling. We applied a Dymo label to each large part, and each bag of small parts. The Dymo label included both part number and part name. The parts were laid out on a table in numerical order. This greatly reduced assembly labor. My wife handed me each part by number; all I had to do was assemble them. Searching for each part as needed would have been considerably more work.
However, some changes to Galena pro have been made since the manual was compiled. Some parts are now pre-assembled. Some pre-assemblies are now parts. As a direct result, we were unable to compile a valid shortage list. However, the kit was only short two parts, so project labor was increased only a bit, and completion delayed by only two weeks.
Assembly
We followed instructions pretty much line for line. One person managed parts and tools, the other installed the parts and used the tools. This generally worked well, with the following tips:
* General: It helps to add END PLUG parts as you assemble. In no case is it necessary to install parts inside volumes blocked by END PLUG parts.
* Step 2:
Add: wipe down bottom half of guide rods using provided silicone fluid.
If you ordered a short stack? (10 of the ?WEIGHT PLATE? (part #7) plates rather than the 19 in the parts list), be sure to ask customer service for short stack adapters. Short stack adapters should be put on weight rods at this point.
* Step 3:
Add 50mm END PLUG (part #32) before installing LAT BAR HOLDER (part #28).
* Step 6:
Final sentence (?Attach Pully T6 . . .?) should be in line 7 of text, between text ?UPRIGHT(3). ? and ?Run Cable?.
See picture of Galena Pro in Amazon advertisement (this advertisement) to determine the position of Pully T6 in Insert T6. Hint: T6 is a few inches under Pully T4, see also drawing in Step 12, pg. 17.
* Step 12:
Rigging may be short at first, even with all cable adjustors at full extension. If so, rigging can be stretched by suspending part of the weight stack so that only cable supports the weight stack. The suspension continues for several days. Suspension can be done by fastening snap link end of LOWER CABLE (45a) to ball end of AB CABLE (94a) using one CLIP (43) and LINK (44) so as to support about half the total installed from rigging. 8 of the WEIGHT PLATE (7) and the single BASE PLATE (8) were suspended.
Summary
Excellent weight center, construction is well worth the work.
