Gym Equipment Design Awards Highlight the Industry’s Top Machines

Independent reviewers evaluated strength equipment across 10 training categories, recognizing brands like Prime, Gymleco, Technogym and SportsArt

The 2026 Gym Equipment Design Awards revealed the top-performing machines that not only reflected quality, but also innovation and accessibility.

The independent council of reviewers evaluated how well products performed when used across 10 categories: horizontal press, horizontal pull, vertical pull, glenohumeral abduction, knee extension, knee flexion, hip extension, lower body pin-loaded press, lower body plate-loaded press and lower body plate-loaded squat.

Each category revealed the top three machines, scored according to four criteria: usability, which includes build quality, feel, ergonomics, footprint and user interaction; adjustability, how well can the equipment adapt to different users and use cases; profile, or how well the resistance profile matches the strength profile of the person performing the intended movement; and finally innovation, how novel the concept is and if it leverages a unique engineering technique.

Here’s which brands came out on top.

Horizontal Press

In the top spot was Gymleco’s Seated Chest Press, which evaluators described as “an exceptional path of motion driven by a clever pair of leverage systems,” with “the right amount of adjustability” to match as well.

Prime’s Hybrid Chest Press also stood out, whose “thick handles reduce pressure on the palms under heavy resistance,” alongside its smooth-feeling subtle upward arc. Nautilus also made the top three with its Leverage Seated Chest Press and its lever engineering singled out as a “standout feature.”

Vertical Pull

In this category, Prime appeared yet again with its Plate Loaded Lat Pulldown. The council noted its “multiple range-limiting options allow precise tailoring of the resistance profile portion being trained,” while “trailing arm handles support variation in arm path across different pulling angles.”

Citadel Strength also took a top three spot in this category with its Lat Pulldown machine, distinguishing itself with its “slightly adducting path of motion that closely follows the natural arc of the shoulder.”

Hoist Fitness followed with its Roc-it Plateloaded Pulldown, providing multiple handle options and a large seat for adaptable positioning while “the plate-loaded design enables opposing unilateral work without inertial effects.”

Glenohumeral Abduction

Machines in this category are meant to work abduction of the shoulder joint, also known as lateral raises.

Gymleco once again stood out, this time with its Shoulder Rotation machine, featuring “essential adjustability needed to accommodate varying torso heights” and a strong resistance profile, the council noted.

Gym80’s Standing Shoulder Lateral Raise was also featured in the top three. Its machine is made with a dual-axis system, “extremely precise height adjustability” and design that allows for precise shoulder-targeting.

Technogym’s Selection 900 Delts also made the category, with the “most user-friendly range-limiting system on the market.” Its “uniquely excellent” elements noted by the council included seat adjustability, ergonomic padding and smooth, stable movement under resistance.

Knee Extension

The council singled out the Freemotion Epic Selectorized Leg Extension for its strong adjustability, wide range of motion and intuitive user experience.

Prime yet again made the cut, this time with its Hybrid Leg Extension, with its “almost perfectly matched resistance profile.” 

NewTech also made the top three for its OnHim Leg Extension, which held up against competitors thanks to its comfort and strong range adjustability that allows for movement with a more extended hip joint.

Knee Flexion

Prime proved to be a top presence across the board— this time for its Hybrid Seated Leg Curl machine which was featured in the top three for knee flexion, notable for “extremely comfortable support” and “adjustability in all the places it should be.”

Keiser’s Seated Leg Curl was also recognized with strong usability scores, effective pneumatic resistance and simple load management buttons. 

Life Fitness / Hammer Strength earned recognition as well for its Select Leg Curl, called “one of the original pieces to set the standard in this category.” The machine’s adjustability levers “have been widely copied since — never as effectively,” the council pointed out.

Hip Extension

Precor’s exclusive partner, GluteBuilder, earned a spot in the top three for its Dual 45 Hip Extension, known for adjustability that accounts for a wide breadth of heights and limb lengths alongside a flexed knee position option and a guided, plate-loaded path that drops in resistance.

The BootyBuilder V8 also made the top three, achieving what the reviewers called “the rare feat of being first to market in this category while still leading it over a decade later” with its comfort and easy adjustability.

Gym80 is once again made an appearance, thanks to its Pure Kraft Booty Booster Special 4386, which applies resistance at the femur to remove knee muscle involvement as it trains hip extensors, scoring high in user comfort and intuitiveness.

Lower Body Pin-Loaded Press

Top pick, The Matrix Versa MD Leg Press MD-S70, allows for microprogression and various banding options alongside isometric stoppers, as the council noted “very few machines of any kind have this degree of resistance manipulation.”

SportsArt joins Matrix in the top three for this category, thanks to its Horizontal Leg Press with “exceptional adjustability,” a notably smooth track system and easy to use machine.

Atlantis stood out with its Horizontal Leg Press C403, running on concave high-density nylon wheels and stainless steel rails for “an exceptionally smooth track.” Its score was boosted from its adjustable positioning and shoulder pad support.

Lower Body Plate-Loaded Press

Vision Fitness makes its first appearance among the top machines, as its Keystone Plate-Loaded Leg Press VST-700-PL70 marries a classic design with an extra-wide foot plate and resistance adjustment for users with limited range of motion, thanks to the addition of banding pegs.

Citadel Strength was back with the 2n1 Hip Press, offering variation in secondary hip joint positions and adjustable range of motion and a strong resistance profile.

SportsArt’s Angled Leg Press A982 meanwhile distinguished itself with footplate adjustability and a smooth, solid track and comfortable backrest. The council called this “a piece that proves how far the fundamentals can go when they’re executed properly.”

Lower Body Plate-Loaded Squat

This category had some unique standouts, starting with Rogers Power Squat Pro and its patented mechanism that adjusts to the user’s trunk position. The council noted its unique ability to accommodate different squatting patterns and body structures.

Watson’s Animal Adjustable Hack Squat stood out with range-limiting engineering for safety, an adjustable sled angle and a footplate that considers dorsiflexion limitations.

Arsenal Strength joins the top three as well, as its Reloaded Pendulum machine offers adjustability at the footplate and the counterbalance. The council noted its ability to move through a smooth arc that matches the natural tendency of the hips to travel posteriorly during a squat.”

It’s a competitive market for equipment makers nowadays, as both legacy brands and newcomers compete to keep up with one another through new innovation. At this year’s HFA Show, brands like EGYM and Life Fitness / Hammer Strength showed off new tech-forward products that lean into connectivity and streamlined user experience, while the industry awaits Skelcore’s much-anticipated strength line upgrades.