A look at a revolutionary total conditioning unit

n the ’70s some of the most popular types of equipment were called “jungle gyms,” multistation units that looked like…well, a jungle. A typical unit might combine a leg press with a military press with a bench press with a chin-up bar and dip handles. For its time, the jungle gym was an innovative piece of equipment. That was then. This is now. Today physical education instructors and strength coaches prefer a wider variety of exercises. We’re talking barbells, kettlebells, cable exercises, and equipment for performing boxing, plyometrics and medicine ball exercises.

And we’ve got just the multistation unit to do the job: the Crossfire Octagon. Designed by Ron Rhodes, who has over 20 years in the industry, the Crossfire Octagon combines the following: s Half Rack Olympic lifting station with bumper plate and barbell holders s Heavy bag or 100-pound cable column with 18 ft. cable s Adjustable gymnastics ring tower s Adjustable push-up and pull-up station s Medicine ball storage rack with medicine ball target s Kettle bell station with storage rack Is Plyo and Step-up station The frame is constructed primarily of 2" x 3"

rectangular 11-gauge steel tubing with 1-inch solid steel chrome guide rods; pulleys, cables and straps are all of the highest-quality materials. The center of the Octagon is covered with a high-quality, 8.5' x 7.5' x 2'-thick mixed martial arts mat for floor exercise. There are also storage pegs for heavy bag gloves and jump ropes. “The number of functional exercises possible with the Crossfire Octagon is limited only by the imagination, and can be randomly shuffled or grouped each today to create a daily Crossfire Octagon challenge,” says Rhodes. “The constantly varying combination of exercises continually forces users to adapt physically and thereby avoid plateauing.”

The Crossfire Octagon is exactly the type of training unit that today’s athletes need to achieve the highest levels of physical conditioning quickly. The jungle gym was good in its day, but the Crossfire Octagon is the future.

From BFS Magazine — July/August 2010. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).