I’ve had the Exerfly Platform for several months and used the Exerfly Rack Mount and Portable within my training. They are one of the leading flywheel brands having battle-tested their equipment with New Zealand's strongest track & field athletes.
They broke many devices and straps with this testing resulting in the product they have now built to withstand as much abuse as you can give. I will provide you with my fully unbiased review of the Exerfly equipment, its pros, cons, and what they could do better, so you know exactly what you're getting.
Exerfly Platform Review
The Exerfly Platform is their staple flywheel device. In my opinion, it’s the best out of the three mainly because of its versatility to be an entire home gym and some very unique features I’ll cover below!
Build Quality
The Platform is made to withstand any abuse you can throw at it. It looks big and heavy but only weighs 40 kg (88 lbs). Yet, it’s sturdy and solid when performing a range of exercises. They use high-quality steel shafts, so no matter how much force you're putting through it, it's not going to bend or break.
Further, Exerfly is the only company to use hybrid ceramic bearings, which last longer than steel bearings and provide smoother movement. The straps are custom-designed shipping rope with clamps that make the attachments immovable. The clamps are designed to withstand 15000 N of force which is well over one tonne of weight.
And yes, I’ve tested this with maximal squats, pulls, and presses. There isn't a chance you'll break these. Regarding its size, it is 1300mm x 1050mm (51” x 43”), so it fits easily in a garage gym or even your living room if you live in a small apartment.
Features
The features of the Exerfly Platform are where this product shines. I LOVE their unique selling point of the eccentric motor. It is epic! Flywheel training is characterized by the flywheel only giving back during the eccentric the effort you produce during the concentric.
The eccentric motor boosts this phase by adding 10-80% extra force to overload the eccentric. As an example, you set the eccentric motor to a 10% boost. Any effort produced when pushing during the squat will be met with an extra 10% pull during the eccentric, making eccentric overload training safe and effective without spotters or other equipment.
Adding to this, you have multiple equipment options to add to the Platform, like benches and foot blocks to get a whole-body workout. Exerfly also has an app that you can use with all three Exerfly devices. It connects easily with Bluetooth to your Android or Apple.
It measures essential metrics for each rep, such as maximum force, power, and eccentric rate of force development, among other metrics if they take your fancy. Soon, they will be updating the app to provide individual profiles so you can track your progress from workout to workout.
One thing I wish the Exerfly Platform had is for the ropes to have some number markers to make it easier to adjust. It can be a pain when working with a training partner, adjusting the rope each set to different heights but not knowing where to since the rope isn't marked. However, this isn't as much of an issue if you are training solo. Call it a nice to have.
Exercise Versatility
When you buy a piece of equipment, you usually purchase it to solve a specific issue or for a particular movement. For example, a safety squat bar makes squatting easier on the shoulders, so you can still load the lower body heavy if you're carrying any injuries.
Specifically, with the Exerfly Platform, you benefit from flywheel training and the versatility of being able to train the entire body on one piece of equipment. Here’s a small list of some of the exercises you can perform with the Platform:
- Squat
- Bulgarian Split Squat
- Romanian Deadlift
- Split Squat
- Lateral Lunge
- Deadlift
- High Pull
- Calf Raise
- Bent-Over Row
- 1-Arm Row
- Bench Press
- Incline Bench Press
- Shoulder Press
- Bicep Curls
- Overhead Triceps Extension
- Trunk Rotations
This isn't even a comprehensive list as there is much more you can do. Further, there are multiple ways to do each exercise—for example, 2 legs up, 1 leg down squats. If you have the Exerfly Platform as your only home gym equipment, you can train every body part and movement that can translate into greater muscle mass, reduced body fat, and increased athletic performance.
Physical Development
Another area the Exerfly Platform shines is the area of physical development. Compared to traditional strength training, you'll see greater force and power outputs with barely any muscle soreness, which is a unique feature of the flywheel.
Most importantly, the eccentric overload emphasizes eccentric specific adaptations, which improve explosiveness at a lower metabolic cost compared to traditional strength training.
Portability
The Exerfly Platform isn’t built for traveling and being Portable. While it can easily be stored against your wall and moved with built-in wheels, it's not the easiest to transport by car. The Exerfly Portable model was built for that purpose instead.
The Exerfly Platform is better suited if you have a home gym and want to add extra equipment. Or anyone that lives in a small space like an apartment where you can get your full-body workout done in your living room.
Ease Of Use
From experience, it takes around 2-3 times to become fully accustomed to the Exerfly Platform from getting used to and setting up the exercises. It can be a little overwhelming the first time if you have never used a flywheel device.
However, once you get comfortable adjusting the clamps, locking in the bench, changing attachments, and getting used to the feel of the movements, you'll be on your way to smashing full-body workouts.
Price & Warranty
All Exerfly products come with a 2-year warranty and free shipping anywhere worldwide. That’s a bloody good deal. So, if anything goes wrong with your Exerfly Platform, you’ll be sent new parts for replacement. However, with the build quality, this is very unlikely to happen.
The price may seem steep. But when you compare it to an entire home gym setup, you're looking at a similar monetary value for equipment that allows you to do the same exercises in a smaller space.
It ranges from $7195 for the starter package to $12695 for the advanced package. I have the advanced package as it comes with the eccentric motor for maximum gains.
If the upfront cost is too much, they have a payment plan for approximately $350/month, which is very reasonable.
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Cons:
My Final Thoughts
More and more professional sporting teams in the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLS, NRL, Super Rugby, and many more are using flywheel devices like the Exerfly as part of their training. In my experience, I prefer having the Exerfly Platform alongside traditional strength training equipment like barbells, etc.
They compliment each other perfectly. For example, suppose you are a weekend warrior looking to add muscle mass. In that case, you can do barbell back squat for 5-10 reps, then get on the Exerfly and perform high rep belt squats to load the quads with blood to get a metabolite response.
I did something crazy recently and did 20sec/10sec x 4 with the belt squat on the Exerfly Platform. The pump was unreal. But I had no muscle soreness the following day. Doing this with a barbell would leave you crippled the next day.
Overall, I’ve found the Exerfly Platform an epic training tool perfect for any population. If you're not someone who enjoys traditional weight training, this is your next best option.
Exerfly Platform Flywheel Training Device
Exerfly Rack Mount Review
The Exerfly Rack Mount is perfect for anyone working out at home to replace a cable column. In fact, I would rate the Exerfly Rack Mount far better than a cable Platform for many reasons, which I will cover below.
Build Quality
Like the Exerfly Platform, the Rack Mount is made of high-grade steel, aluminum, and high-density plastic. This makes it sturdy and lightweight, weighing only 4 kg (9 lbs). It uses the same hybrid ceramic bearings for a super smooth workout.
It has the same robustness as the Exerfly Platform. It can handle the abuse from hard, explosive training sessions. It’s small and Portable with dimensions of 210mm x 430mm (8" x 17"), so you can leave it attached to your squat rack or take it with you on vacation.
Features
The Rack Mount includes all the bells and whistles needed to maximize your performance. Most notably is the inclusion of the eccentric motor. Crazy to think a powerful motor is inside this small device.
Like the Exerfly Platform eccentric motor, you can overload the eccentric by 10-80%. This makes rotational trunk exercise ten levels up from your traditional cable stack trunk work. This is highly beneficial for you if you are involved in any contact, collision, throwing, racket, or combat sport.
The other main feature is sliding the Rack Mount up and down your power rack. It works the same as a cable column where you pull the anchor and slide the device. So, you’re not stuck in purely horizontal movement.
You can perform woodchops from low to high or high to low. You can do any shoulder or lower body rehab exercises you need to do from different angles. You also have the phone app to track and measure force, power, and eccentric rate of force development.
Exercise Versatility
The Exerfly Rack Mount isn't as versatile exercise-wise as the Platform. However, it is much easier and better to do rotational movements with the Rack Mount than with the Platform. You need someone to stand on the Platform, so it doesn't move when doing rotations.
With the Rack Mount, you can go solo cranking out powerful reps. Here’s a short, non-exhaustive list of exercises you can perform with the Exerfly Rack Mount:
- Trunk Rotations (Woodchops)
- High To Low Trunk Rotations
- Low To High Trunk Rotations
- 1-Arm Chest Press
- 1-Arm Row
- Shoulder External Rotation
- Shoulder Internal Rotation
- Hip Abductions
- Hip Adductions
- Single-Leg Mountain Climbers
- Triceps Pushdowns
- Bicep Curls
This is not a comprehensive list, and your only limitation is your creativity. For example, you can perform neck work or crawl with a shoulder harness.
Physical Development
You’ll get the same benefits physically with the Rack Mount as with the Exerfly Platform, just with different exercises in different planes of movement. This is why having both models can be handy.
The eccentric motor means you can overload the eccentric for eccentric specific adaptations to transfer unreal strength and power to your sport.
Portability
You can only use the Exerfly Rack Mount on a squat rack or cable column. However, it is incredibly light and compact, making it easy to move around from gym to gym. So, if you are flying to another country knowing you'll be hitting the hotel gym, the Rack Mount can fit in your luggage to use in the hotel.
Unfortunately, you're limited in other areas because you can only use the Rack Mount on a squat rack or cable column. This is where you'd opt for an Exerfly Portable instead.
Ease Of Use
After the initial setup, the Exerfly Rack Mount is simple and easy to use. Easily add or remove flywheels to increase the resistance and alter the rope length and attachments with the rope clamp. After that, you don’t need anything new or fancy in your gym. Just some space in front of your rack.
Honestly, there’s not much more to explain. If you know how to use a regular cable column, you’ll be able to use the Exerfly Rack Mount with ease.
Price & Warranty
You'll have a 2-year warranty with free shipping worldwide. So, if any parts break or fail, you can get them replaced quickly. But I highly doubt you'll have any issues with how well these are built.
The price ranges from $1695 for the starter package to $6659 for the advanced package. The advanced package comes with the eccentric motor, which is well worth it in my experience. If the upfront cost is too much, they have great payment plan options of $47.08/month for the starter package to $184.97/month for the advanced package.
You can get started with the Rack Mount for under $200/month and make explosive gains.
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My Final Thoughts
For rotation-based sports like golf, tennis, hockey, and many more, the Exerfly Rack Mount is a no-brainer. I would opt for the Rack Mount before any other models if performance in these sports were the priority.
The rest of your training can be developed using traditional strength training. If you've got money to burn, I would pair this with the Exerfly Platform to accelerate lower body strength and power gains in conjunction with the Rack Mount.
Exerfly Rack Mount Flywheel Training Device
Exerfly Portable Review
The final Exerfly device is the Portable flywheel training system. This is designed for small spaces or anyone who travels a lot. If you spend much of the year in hotels, you can get full-body workouts with this one piece of equipment.
Build Quality
The Portable is made from different materials to the Rack Mount and Platform. It is built to be quickly taken apart, lightweight, and portable. Its primary material is a fiberglass composite keeping it light but strong.
When I first saw the Portable, I was worried it'd collapse under me. It turns out it supports 500 kg, so that wasn't a problem. It doesn't wobble or feel unstable, and you can apply maximum force to the flywheel without feeling unsafe.
It weighs 7.5 kg (16.5 lbs) with dimensions of 800mm x 540mm (31.5” x 21”) so it can fit in very small spaces. Essentially giving you a full-body session with this one piece of equipment.
Features
The Exerfly Portable cannot have an eccentric motor. But that's not the reason to own one, as it is the ultimate portable training device. Strength bands, mini bands, pilates, TRX, and any other travel equipment have nothing on this.
Sure, you can get a decent workout with the equipment I listed above. But you severely lack exercise variety and progressive overload. If you've ever done band squats, they aren't much more challenging than bodyweight squats. Just more uncomfortable.
Squatting on the Exerfly Portable challenges your legs, getting progressively stronger or bigger depending on your goals. This is what makes it so unique compared to other portable equipment.
Additionally, you can attach the Portable to a sturdy post or tree outdoors to perform rotational and horizontal movements. For this, you don't need the fiberglass stands and only the flywheel device itself.
Like the other devices, you also have the phone app to track force and power for each rep you take.
Exercise Versatility
Because you can attach the Portable to a post and use it with the fiberglass frame, you have endless training options at your disposal. Here's a non-exhaustive list of exercises you can perform with the Exerfly Portable:
- Squat
- Deadlift
- Romanian Deadlift
- Overhead Triceps Extension
- Bicep Curl
- Upright Row
- Shrugs
- Trunk Rotations
- 1-Arm Chest Press
- 1-Arm Row
- Bent-Over Row
Again, your creativity is your only limitation. One thing to be aware of is when using single-leg exercises. You need to stand much closer to the center, or you can tip the frame. Once you figure out the foot placement, you can do all the single leg work you like.
Physical Development
As you don't have access to an eccentric motor, you can do eccentric overload with different methods such as:
- Delayed braking action
- Impulse overload
- Concentric overload
- Movement assisted concentric overload
- 2 up, 1 down
I cover all of these in detail with video in my “flywheel training” article. Doing these allows you to get an eccentric overload to stimulate eccentric specific adaptations necessary for explosiveness.
Portability
This is where the Exerfly Portable shines. It was built for portability. It also doubles as a Rack Mount, so you don't need to buy that separately if you have this. Further, you can tie it to a tree, post, squat rack, or sturdy object to train horizontal movements.
Setting up the Exerfly Portable is as easy as putting the base pieces together, adding the flywheel device and flywheel disc, and you're ready to go. The most significant benefit is how easy it comes apart and back together, using it anywhere you travel.
Are you going on vacation? Pack it in the car for the holiday home.
Are you traveling overseas? Pack it in your luggage for the hotel room. Just limit the clothes and shoes your wife or husband can pack to make room for it.
You’ll never have an excuse again why you can’t train.
Ease Of Use
The Exerfly Portable is very easy to use. Once set up, you simply adjust the rope clamp to the intended length for the exercise. To use the app, connect to the Portable with Bluetooth, and you can measure and track each rep performed.
There’s not much else to say about using the Portable as it is very straightforward. The first 1-2 times might feel foreign, but you quickly become accustomed to training on the Portable.
Price & Warranty
The Portable starts at $2700 for the starter package to $4399 for the advanced package. The advanced package has more flywheel discs, more attachments, and the app integration where the other packages don't.
If these prices are too steep, they have monthly payments ranging from $75/month for the starter to $122.19/month for the advanced package. You also get the same 2 years warranty and free shipping worldwide.
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My Final Thoughts
If you travel often or have a small apartment, this is the model I would recommend. Because it easily disassembles, you can pack it away neatly, so it's not stuck in your living room when you're not training.
Bands and TRX have nothing on the Exerfly Portable for making gains. If I traveled from hotel to hotel for work, I would have this in my arsenal for strength training and use the hotel gym for cardio.
Exerfly Portable Flywheel Training Device
What Is Flywheel Training?
Flywheel training is known as iso-inertial training. It relies on inertia to provide resistance instead of weight. Essentially, the concentric phase transfers energy to the flywheel, which unwinds and then winds the strap leading into the eccentric phase where you must resist to slow the flywheel [1].
There are three significant benefits of using the flywheel:
- No dead spots during the range of motion
- Easily overload the eccentric phase
- You only get back on the eccentric the effort you put during the concentric.
Firstly, due to the length-tension relationship in muscle and joint biomechanics, certain areas of an exercise are easier than others during traditional strength training. For example, the bottom of the squat is much more challenging than the top half of the squat. So, the top half of the squat is never overloaded unless you're performing partial squats.
The flywheel provides constant inertia throughout the entire range of motion, so you don't have these "dead spots" of resistance. Secondly, eccentric overload is difficult to perform without using weight releasers or having multiple spotters.
Flywheels allow you to manipulate the concentric phase to provide overspeed or the eccentric phase to increase the eccentric rate of force development without the need for other equipment or spotters.
Finally, you only get back what you put in. This is coined variable resistance and attests to the efficacy and safety of flywheel training. When each rep is performed maximally, it's like performing a 1RM every rep, maximizing force and power outputs.
Summary
I highly recommend the Exerfly flywheel devices, regardless of your training goals. Their best application is for the home gym owner or the aspiring home gym owner to build out their garage. Even if you live in a small apartment, you can still have the benefits of a home gym with the Exerfly!
Use code "LBEB" and get 2% OFF with any Exerfly order.
References
1. Petré, H., Wernstål, F., & Mattsson, C. M. (2018). Effects of flywheel training on strength-related variables: A meta-analysis. Sports medicine-open, 4(1), 1-15.