ANCORE Pro – Still Worth It In 2026?
Last updated on January 5th, 2026 at 07:26 pm
Not much rounds out a gym like a good cable machine. Historically they have been fairly large, eating up precious real estate in your home gym. Add in that items like my Inspire FT2 cost well over $4k, and you start to question the validity of adding such a piece to your space. Fret no more, because the ANCORE PRO brings us a cable machine the size of a foot long subway sandwich, and at a quarter of the price of some of the competition.
The question is… Is the 65lb of resistance enough for most lifters? Or will this be a short stop on the way towards buying the real thing?
The ANCORE PRO has been added to the Review Pipeline.
Expected Launch Of This Review
Transparency Note
I messaged the ANCORE team a week before heading to HomeGymCon 2025 over on Instagram and told them I was going to stop bye their booth. We spent a good hour there, and ended the discussion with them sending me a free unit for sake of review.
They’ve also hooked me up with an affiliate link and discount code. If you use this link, I’ll get a small kick back and you’ll save some cash, helping me to manage this site and continue to do more reviews just like this.
Background
After finishing my 1 year review on the Beyond Power VOLTRA I’s, I got a lot of questions about how it compared to the ANCORE Pro. The VOLTRA is awesome, but the price tag is over $2000. It has a lot of cool features, but sometimes you just want to lift. And you need access to power at some point to charge, which can be a pain.
I also used the SHOGUN Flex units. They weren’t a great fit for our space, but they were super portable, had some unique features. If I was a little more of a normal human being, 45lbs of resistance, especially with two, could be enough for almost everything.
The ANCORE PRO clocks in at about 30% of the VOLTRAs, and the price of two FLEXs. It removes the battery constraints as there is NO power needed. And it has a max of 65lbs of resistance.
ANCORE Pro Overview
The ANCORE PRO is touted as a commercial grade cable machine for a fraction of the price and space. They hand assemble these in Boston in the US, and ship them out to a number of professional sports teams including every single NHL team, Basketball G League, and over 100 college sports programs.
The base unit is 5lbs of resistance, and comes with 5lb and 10lb plates to bring it up to 65lbs in 5lb increments. The plates attach and remove easily, set aside when not in use, and overall take up almost no space. Remember, there is no digital resistance, power requirement, or anything like that. So the system is fairly simple in concept and application.
The complete kit weights 9lbs, which means that you can take the 65lb kit with you anywhere with ease. Add in the travel case and strap, and you’ve got a fully portable cable machine for traveling to the park, going on vacation, or training people remotely. Or you know, just being able to store out of the way in your home gym.
ANCORE Pro Specs
- Brand: ANCORE
- Made In USA: No, but fully designed and assembled in the US
- Power Required: None
- Dimensions: 12 in x 4.75 in x 3 in (fully loaded)
- Total Weight Capacity: 65lbs w/ the Plus Upgrade
- Weight: 9lbs
- Cable Length: 8ft
- Warranty: Check here
- Return Window: 30 Days
- Frame Materials: Machined Metal
- Assembly: None
ANCORE Pro Shipping & Assembly
The ANCORE Pro comes in a nice clean black box, with premium black foam inserts. Everything is well packaged, and there is a VERY small likelihood that anything would end up damaged in delivery.
The ANCORE Pro also doesn’t require any assembly. Just take it out of the box, toss the materials, attach to your location of choice, and you are off!
ANCORE Pro Features
I got a chance to try the ANCORE Pro briefly at HomeGymCon. The cable can basically be dragged and pulled in any direction, which means you have the ability to perform anything from Curls and Rows to rotational work and single arm presses. If you snag two of these, you have a full fledged functional trainer with nearly zero space commitment.
With a limited 65lb of resistance, there are a few exercises that this won’t handle for bigger lifters. I row and do pulldowns in the 100+lb range. I often do triceps pushdowns somewhere close to 100lbs. And anything heavy leg related like RDLs or some creative belt squats or even leg curls or extensions are likely a no go.
But… My wife isn’t exceeding the 65lb range for anything except maybe pulldowns and low rows. And my daughter would be able to use it for everything, as well as her team that comes over for workouts on Sundays. Because it is portable, I could take this to the park for our Soccer Practices, or to the courts for Basketball Practice, and use it around a tree or basketball hoop.
ANCORE Pro Resistance – How Does It Work?
The ANCORE doesn’t use “weights”. Instead it uses these twist on pieces that add resistance to the cable. The base unit is 5lbs without ANY of the plates added. And it comes with several sets of 10s and a pair of 5s. This will let you jump in 5lb increments, as the plates do NOT need to be equal on each side.
Quick Note – the website says you can only get up to 65lbs of resistance, but I was shipped SIX of the 10s, TWO of the 5s, plus the 5lb base, which would add up to 75lbs. The team confirmed that 65lbs is the max, they simply provide an additional set of plates to get to the 65lbs easier.
Each plate has some twist grooves with a center knob that help align them and lock in place. It will take you a couple of uses before getting the hang of it without being concerned that you are going to break it. The plates have to store somewhere when not in use, so you do need to account for that.
Additional Accessories
The ANCORE PRO comes with this strap mount, which lets you attach to essentially anything. I currently have it wrapped around my power rack, but plan to attach to my Dumbbell Stand, maybe the Hyper Pro, and other odds and ends.
There are a few upgrade options and accessories available as well. You can upgrade from 55lbs to 65lbs, pick certain straps and mounts, grab a carrying case, and even build out your cable attachments collection.
I’m obviously going to use my own cable attachments, but I was sent a basic D-Handle along with my ANCORE PRO. Nothing wrong with it, nothing to write home about either.
What I’m Looking For In The ANCORE Pro
I’m a cable attachment junky. I do a LOT of my accessory work with a cable machine. And I can deadlift over 600lbs. So I’m really interested to see how the ANCORE Pro hangs in my workout. Will I find it to be “just like a cable machine”? Or is it going to be a noticeable difference? Will I struggle to use it for anything but a few small movements? Or will it surprise me?
I’ll make sure my wife and my daughter tinker with it too. And we typically have my daughters friends come over for workouts on Sundays, so it’ll get tossed in the mix.
We’ll compare it side by side to our traditional cable machines, the VOLTRAs, and even the Freak Athlete ATOM when it arrives.
So we’ll be able to compare this bad boy with a number of athletes, a number of other similar options, with a ton of different cable attachments.
My initial thoughts are that this needs to be really easy to use. So easy that some of the kiddos can use it without adult intervention. I need to be able to travel with it, use it at the park, and otherwise have no limitations other than the total resistance that keeps me from saying “THIS THING WORKS!”.
Other Options On The Market
You can check out my full write up on Cable Machines, as at the core of the ANCORE Pro is a cable machine. These will include a lot of bigger options, but still viable alternatives depending on your space and budget.
VOLTRA I
The VOLTRA I’s are one of the most valid comparisons to the ANCORE. At a whopping 200lbs of resistance, it also comes with a ton of training modules, eccentric overload, custom resistance curves, and a growing list of updates that keep getting cooler and cooler.
The VOLTRAs are way more expensive and require power though. And with so much going on, there is a learning curve and lack of simplicity missing compared to the ANCORE Pro.
Check out the full review here.
Shogun FLEX
The Shogun FLEX’s are cheaper, but require power and an App to use. They come with a bunch of attachments in a carrying case, which makes them even more affordable than the ANCORE. But they also are lower in total power output. And since they require power and an App, are likely less “kid” friendly.
Freak Athlete ATOM
The ATOM, previously called the MAIAK-GO, is currently in testing phases aimed at an end of year release. It is targeting a $1000 price point and 220lb of resistance. We shall see!
Sign Up For More
✅ I’ll have a full review on the ANCORE Pro here and over on my YouTube channel. If you have something specific you’d like answered, let me know.
Want to snag the ANCORE Pro? Use this link and Code: GML to save $60 on your order
Joe Gray
My name is Joe Gray - aka Gray Matter Lifting - and I've been lifting at home since 2013. In that time I've built a badass gym, deadlifted over 600lbs, helped grow r/Homegym to over 1 Million subscribers, created the Garage Gym Competition and written a ton of posts here on this site. I love the Garage Gym Community... If you do too, I hope you stick around.
