Hammer Strength: History, Signature Machines & Why Lifters Love It

Where Hammer Strength came from

Gary Jones grew up around strength machines. His father, Arthur Jones, founded Nautilus, the company that put cam-driven machines into gyms across the world in the 1970s. In 1989 Gary started his own company with a different idea: instead of a fixed path, build machines whose movement matches how the human body actually moves.

He developed the first Hammer Strength machines with input from the Cincinnati Bengals and other elite athletes. That is why the brand was a fixture in American football weight rooms long before it became the default in bodybuilding gyms. Coaches wanted machines their players could load heavily, train hard and not break.

Life Fitness bought Hammer Strength in the 1990s and kept the name. Today it is the Life Fitness strength brand, and its plate-loaded machines sit in commercial gyms, university weight rooms and professional training centres worldwide.

Why lifters love it: the Iso-Lateral idea

The defining feature is Iso-Lateral movement. On a Hammer Strength chest press, each handle sits on its own arm. You can press both together, alternate, or work one side at a time. Your stronger side cannot quietly do the work for your weaker side, which is why so many people use these machines to fix imbalances.

The arms also move in arcs. Pressing movements converge as you push, the way your hands come together on a dumbbell press. Pulling movements diverge. The result feels closer to free weights than a typical machine, while keeping the stability that lets you push close to failure safely.

Plate-loaded, built for heavy loads

Most of the famous machines are plate-loaded. You add weight plates rather than moving a pin, so the load is only limited by how many plates fit on the horns. The frames are heavy steel and the feel is smooth and solid, with none of the cable stretch you get on cheaper selectorised machines.

Not just plate-loaded

Hammer Strength also makes the Select line of selectorised (pin-loaded) machines, the MTS line, and racks and platforms under the HD Elite and HD Athletic names. It runs an official Training Center programme for facilities with 20 or more pieces, so a gym that advertises itself as a Hammer Strength Training Center will have a substantial collection.

How to get the most out of Hammer Strength machines

• Set the seat first. The arc only works as designed if the handles line up with the right joint. On presses, the handles should start roughly level with mid-chest.
• Use the single-arm option. Start sets with your weaker side, and match the reps on the stronger side.
• Control the stretch. The arcs give a long range of motion at the bottom. Slow down there rather than bouncing out of it.
• Count the plates per side. Starting resistance differs between machines and models, so a number on one machine will not match another. Track each machine separately.

If you only train on machines for a while, during an injury or a busy travel period, see our guide to hack squat alternatives for leg options when a gym lacks the machine you want.