Rogues FM single stack functional trainer is exactly what you'd expect from them overbuilt American Quality featuring an insane level of engineering and polish and most importantly it's incredibly versatile my rogue rack now has a functional trainer integrated into it I can do lap pull Downs or any number of high pull exercises as well as low rows or whatever I want there's not a whole lot I can't do with it Rogues FM is fantastic even if the name is a bit lacking it's their answer to rep Athena and Aries so we'll make some comparisons there but there's also a few very important things I'd look out for if you're thinking of getting one because there are a ton of ways to build this thing and reasons why you may or may not want certain options for example while I've used both the selectorized and plat loaded versions I got the plate loaded one not only to save some money but also because Rogue will be offering a version of the Rhino belt squat that can fit into this we'll be reviewing that and we've already purchased Pur an FM twin stack for a review so subscribe for that upcoming content or just subscribe because I bought this and those other items myself and it'll make me feel better about spending thousands of dollars on videos that will lose money nobody said I was a good business man but you can prolong my YouTube career by using my affiliate links which are in the description that is literally how I funded all these videos making you the reason I'm still able to do this so thank you the FM single stack can be configured a lot of different ways it's not just limited to a six post like I've got there's more compact half rack setups if you don't have Rogues monster rack like this one that's their 3in X 3in rack with 1-in holes in Hardware you can get a nearly identical setup on the less expensive monster light rack Rogues 3x3 rack with 5A holes in Hardware you can choose from a plate loaded version or throw a 250 or 300 lb stack on there's different rack height and depth options to choose from and Rogue has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to finish options you can even save yourself $300 and not get the shrouds and if I could do it all again I'd probably save the money they do give it a much cleaner look and will help keep your kids hands away from moving parts and I love that they provide extra storage but something like bells of Steel's utility hooks on the inside of your uprights is a lot cheaper even if not as refined a solution they also bump out about 3 and 1/2 in so with the included spacers that robs your weight horns of some real estate luckily it's not a problem for me because the comments tell me I don't lift and I'm still able to get four deep Boys on here but with thinner plates I could store more weight with this starting at just under $2,000 shipped for the plat loaded FML which is an acronym Rogue probably should have thought through better feel free to Google that one if you don't get it but in this case the F stands for the functional trainer add-on M for monster and L for light the FM goes up to about three grand for a fully decked out six post configuration which is priced alarmingly close to rep's Aries which is impressive when you think about the fact that Rogue is made in the US and Reps imported actually this configuration right here is a good amount cheaper with that free Rogue shipping that's not an accident on rogue's part they're taking a shot at rep here and I'm all for it with them battl it out we as consumers are the real winners now you could argue the Aries in this aren identical machines and you'd be right the single stack has one weight Source the Aries to but functionally they're pretty much doing the same things the Aries does have true unilateral capabilities on the low row and lap pull down with the two pull points on each controlling separate Stacks but I found a pretty clever solution to that on the single stack I hands and I actually prefer the single attachment point of this versus fiddling with the banana connector on the Aries listen there's always tradeoffs and you have to decide what's right for your space and style of training if dual weight Stacks are important to you our Rogue twin stack review will be coming out soon and if you want us to do a big in-depth comparison video between Rogues and Reps options then just let us know the first thing you'd notice on the f m is it has Rogue written all over it I don't mean literally well actually it does have Rogue cut into all the shrouds but what I mean is this is the build quality we talk about when we mention over-the-top made in America Quality this is the epitome of it the attention to detail and touches on the FM are incredible it may very well be the nicest thing I've ever seen from Rogue let's make a few comparisons and we'll start with the trolleys because they really set the tone for this entire thing these are what I'd expect to see on a commercial quality unit not in my home gym look at this we've got dual stainless steel handles the try moves on a set of four rollers that make it slide smoothly up and down the uprights even the pulley bracket is covered in uhmw so nothing can scratch it Rogue is using aluminum pulley with high quality bearings throughout so the pull on this from any point is very smooth up against reps Adonis Athena or Aries doesn't really matter they're all basically using the same thing you'll see the obvious size difference proving that in America we don't only super siize our food but it's the finer points that really stick out like Rogue using rollers versus rep sliding on a plastic liner the downside of that size is it raises is the lowest pull point a little bit higher off the ground which affects things like weighted dips as you'll have to Mount Your dip station up higher outside of that I haven't found many issues and I did spend a while searching now those high-end touches don't just stop with the trolleys check out the shrouds on the top and bottom that cover the cables so they're not exposed while still allowing for space for things like my Darko barbell anchor or for banded work it's a polished design that doesn't sacrifice functionality but all those things are just scratching the surface of what roges done to this the attachments Rogue is including are exceptional and they've got a big advantage over the competition there too as an example let's look at Rogues and Reps lap pull down bars at first glance they look similar and they are because they're both about 48 in long and fully knurled but Rogues is built from stainless steel versus rep being steal with a hard grr finish that means Rogues is much more expensive to manufacture and it results in their bar having a cleaner grip and being more resistant to corrosion it's honestly better than what I've used in commercial gyms with the D handles it's a similar story I've been recommending Rogues handles for years because I've owned at least a dozen different handles and these are what I always go back to they rotate smoothly the nylon strap doesn't dig into your arms and they're machined to the same quality standards as Rogues bars and then finished in a black cerakote yeah I'd like it if they offered a thicker grip option because at 25 mm some people may find them a little bit thin but regardless they're still my favorite and let's not forget the grip triangle that thing is a tank but these aren't attachments we often recommend because when bought separately they're very hard to justify at almost 4 $400 shipped included with the FM though they're phenomenal that build quality and attention to detail extends to the packaging and assembly as well look at how they packed the hardware in the most rogue way possible all organized on a single 3x3 upright they also use a series of numbered and colored stickers to show you how to route the cables I didn't even read the directions on how to put the cables in now I should have don't be like me I messed up a lot but that's not on Rogue they've made an assembly video and their written instructions are good too my best talent is just that I'm an idiot that being said Rogue just set the standard on assembly with the FM series as they've done everything they can to make it as smooth and as painless as possible now it is still an involved build and took us about five hours but they made it much more straightforward than other builds I've done like this now none of the things we've talked about so far matter if it doesn't still work well as a rack while integrating in the functional trainer LP pull down in low row so let's break all those down and I'll show you where you may run into some issues the FM single stack is actually a really clever design on rogue's part because you've got a single weight Source controlling all these pull points there are pros and cons to that though for a plate loaded device loading this up is simple and quick because I've only got two weight horns to manage imagine you tried that same thing on rep's plate loaded Athena with their plate loaded lat low okay yeah it's a bit of a silly idea but I have seen it done of course opting for a selectorized version of this makes adjusting the increments even easier than you're just moving a single pin so how does Rogue manage all these pull points off one weight stack let me explain the FM is using a one:1 pulley ratio on the lap pull down in low row but kind of a hybrid 2 to1 system on the functional trainer since Rogue isn't doing it an all-in-one cable system like everyone else does let's cover the onetoone systems first the high and low pull points are one to one meaning for every inch you pull that stack moves an inch if you put 200 lb on that stack you're pulling all 200 of it technically the plate loaded Rhino trolley weigh weighs 25 lb so the starting weight of this version on the lat and low row is 25 lb but you get the idea the selectorized stack starts at 20 lb and has 10 lb weight increments for the Latin low row it also has two sets of stickers so you always know what increment you've picked for the lap pull down and low row versus the functional trainer so if you hate plate math that one might be the better choice the lap pull down works great on this at 6t tall I've got plenty of cable travel I hold myself down using dual leg rollers but Rogue does have the multi-use roller for both their monster and monster light rcks I can pull straight down I'm not cramped up against anything and I have plenty of space to move and adjust which means I can cheat like no one's watching the low row is very good as well it's smooth and since it's using the same one toone pulley system you can really load it up heavy and actually there's no weight capacity on this that's not missing information on rogue's part it's them telling us we won't Max it out I tried and looked like an absolute idiot trying to get it to move with over 1,000 lbs and room to spare on the 16in weight horns these things are huge they're the weight horns she tells you not to worry about the selectorized version comes in both a 250 lb or 300 lb stack variation and there's some important things we have to talk about concerning those Stacks but we'll cover that when we get to the functional trainer let's get back to the low row the built-in handle makes the big beefy foot plate easy to adjust and I found it works comfortably whether you're sitting on the ground or even when on a decline bench which again shows how much cable you have to work with on the onetoone systems and I don't think cable travel will be an issue with any version of the FM at least with the one to one pull point where the cables may be an issue is with the functional trainer depending on which version of the single stack you get here's what I mean this works off what I'd call a hybrid 2:1 pulley ratio meaning if you pull one side you're lifting half the weight but have twice the cable to work with I'm probably not even on screen anymore now that's important in a functional trainer where you want a low starting weight with the plate loaded model the trolley weighs 25 lb so cut that in half and you've got a 12 12 PB starting weight and can literally load any weight increment you want because they're your plates so micro load to your heart's content the selectorized version starts at 10 lb and has 5 lb increments but what about when you use both hands at once with a single weight Source it's now back to a one:1 ratio and it actually works much better than I'd have thought so I've loaded this with t on each side so 45 lb total this arm feels 222 lb and this arm feels 222 lb and together they both pull smoothly and I feel equal resistance in each arm and have 45 lbs of total resistance off the one stack I can even do unilateral movements without issue the only issues I foresee on this are one with a single weight Source you can't have two people using this at once because they'd be pulling the same weight stack and two when using both sides and it being a one: one pulley ratio you have half the cable to work with I've got a 90in tall rack and haven't had issues I can do cable rear delt flies or any number of exercises that use a lot of cable and although I sometimes need to be careful with how I position myself I haven't maxed it out with a weight stack though you might and that's because the stack is taller than the plate loaded trolley so you'll have less space to work with resulting in about a foot less cable travel with the 250 lb stack and 17 in less with the 300 lb this isn't something rogue's hiding they've got tables in their listings that show you all the specs differences between versions and cable lengths depending on your configuration from my testing on fring's Dane rack with its one:1 pulley ratios we maxed out the cables on certain exercises and I foresee that being an issue with rog's weight stack as well but if you've got the ceiling height for a 100 in tall rack you'll gain 10 in of cable to work with and when we tested rogue's 100 in rack with the 300lb stack at home jimc con we didn't run into any issues another thing you may need to look out for is the footprint much like your favorite YouTube review Channel this has a fairly large backside since Rogues designed it to work with the Rhino belt squat the dropin Rhino integrates into the plate loaded FM and attaches to the back of the rack so you need about 30 in to make room for the Rhino and so you can comfortably load 45s if you opt for a weight stack it's about 5 in shorter but no longer works with the Rhino if the footprint and cable travel are a big concern of yours the twin stack solves both of those and it's built similarly but there's obviously quite a few differences and reasons you may want one over the other so let me know if you want to see a single and twin stack comparison video because if the twin is anything like this it'll end up being another exceptional piece from Rogue if this fits what you're trying to do with your space I think it's a great purchase you know what just feed the algorithm and spam the comments with every possible comparison video you can come up with and I'll do my best to make them happen because there are quite a few options out there thank you for using our links so we can keep this channel going and let me know what I missed thanks to our patreons and thanks for watching