Most people walk into the gym and head straight for the squat rack, the treadmill or the dumbbell area. Meanwhile some of the most effective equipment on the floor sits half-empty. These five underrated gym machines at Hammer’s Gym in Nunawading deliver outsized benefits for strength, conditioning, posture and joint health, and once you know what they can do you will wonder why you ever walked past them.
1. Precor Adaptive Motion Trainer (AMT)
If you have written the AMT off as just another cardio machine, look again. Unlike an elliptical or a stepper, the Adaptive Motion Trainer lets you change your movement freely as you go: short choppy steps, long strides, tall vertical stepping or a run-like motion, all without pressing a button. It follows you rather than the other way around.
Why it is underrated: it trains several movement patterns on one machine, is extremely low impact, engages more muscle than most cardio equipment, and works equally well for HIIT, steady-state sessions or warming up your hips and glutes before heavy lifting.
Who it suits: anyone wanting joint-friendly cardio, athletes who need movement variety, lifters warming up, and anyone bored of the treadmill. It sits alongside the SkiErg and air bike as our favourite overlooked conditioning tools.
2. Hyper back extension (Roman chair)
Often tucked in a corner, the Roman chair is one of the most powerful tools in the gym for building a strong, resilient posterior chain, yet most members walk past it for something with pins and cables.
Why it is underrated: it strengthens the lower back, glutes and hamstrings in a safe, aligned position; builds the spinal stabilisers that protect against lower-back pain; teaches proper hip-hinge mechanics with excellent carryover to deadlifts; and scales easily from bodyweight to holding a plate, dumbbell or band.
Best uses: back extensions for lower-back endurance (3 sets of 12–15), glute-focused hinges with a rounded upper back, side bends and rotational holds for the obliques, and slow controlled reps for posture. If you want a back that supports your lifting and your daily life, this machine is non-negotiable.
3. Cable rack and Smith machine combo
This dual-function station is one of the most efficient pieces of equipment we own and one of the most under-used, simply because members do not realise how much it can do.
Why it is underrated: it is two machines in one, a full cable station and a Smith machine, so you can superset without moving (cable rows into Smith squats, presses into core work). That makes it perfect for time-poor lifters who want a complete session in one spot. The cables allow almost any movement pattern (push, pull, hinge, rotate), while the Smith bar gives beginners stability and experienced lifters a controlled path for isolation work.
Best uses: cable chest flyes, face pulls, lat pulldowns and rope triceps work; Smith machine squats, presses, lunges and Romanian deadlifts; and fast full-body strength circuits. See our full guide to cable machine exercises.
4. Seated row machine (multiple handles)
The plate-loaded seated row gives you pure back work without the stability demands of a barbell row, and the range of handles lets you change the target with a simple grip switch.
Why it is underrated: a clean, consistent pulling angle builds a strong mind-muscle connection; adjustable grips let you bias the lats, rhomboids or mid-back; it is one of the best exercises for posture and upper-back strength; and it is ideal for beginners and anyone coming back from injury. It is also the number one antidote to a day at a desk, which is why it made our list of the best compound exercises for busy people.
5. Pec deck and rear delt machine
Often dismissed as a bodybuilder-only machine, this is one of the most valuable tools in the gym for shoulder health and upper-body balance.
Why it deserves more use: rear-delt flyes strengthen the muscles that stabilise the shoulder blade, reducing shoulder injuries and improving your pressing; the pec deck isolates the chest without loading the wrists or stressing the shoulder joint; it is a superb finisher for any upper-body day; and it corrects the imbalances created by too much pressing or too many hours hunched over a keyboard. Aim for two rear-delt sets for every one chest set if posture is a concern.
How to work these into your program
- Warm-up: 5 minutes on the AMT, then a light set of Roman chair extensions and rear-delt flyes.
- Main lifts: your usual compound work on the racks and platforms.
- Accessories: seated rows, cable flyes or pulldowns, and Smith machine lunges or RDLs.
- Finisher: pec deck and rear delts, or a 10-minute AMT interval block.
Rotating in one or two of these each session adds variety and fixes the weak links that hold your big lifts back. Our guide to structuring a balanced gym program shows where accessories fit in the week.
Give them a go on your next visit
All five machines are on the Hammer’s Gym floor in Nunawading and rarely have a queue. Not sure how to set one up? Ask any staff member for a quick demonstration, or book a session with one of our personal trainers to build them into your program. Not a member yet? Claim a free one-day trial and explore the floor. We are minutes from Mitcham, Blackburn, Box Hill and Doncaster.