There are a few pieces in my gym that kind of 'define' me as Gray Matter Lifting. One of those is without a doubt the MAG Grip Cable Attachments. Adorning the Wall Control board front and center, they are one of the first pieces people notice when they enter my gym. And when people recognize me online they say 'I bought those because of your review!'.
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I wasn't the first to like these by any means. Bodybuilders in hardcore gyms around the world have been loving these for over a decade, and some of my initial influences in the home gym community had some great things to say about the MAG Grips.
But take a look at a quick Google Search for MAG Grip Review, and you see my video pop up at the top. With over 60k views and counting, it has more visibility than the video on their own website!
After 5+ years, some things have changed, and some have not. I hope with this comprehensive guide I can continue to shine the light on the Maximum Advantage Grip, aka MAG Grip Cable Attachments, cover some comparisons in the market, some things I've learned along the way, and ultimately help people make a good decision for their own home gym.
If you haven't checked out my original write ups and reviews, here is your introduction. This will cover a big chunk of what the MAG Grip Cable Attachments are, what I like, don't like, and everything else.
MAG Wide Review ' Key note from him on the Wide is to pay attention to your bone structure. I think the Wide is great for bigger athletes, my wife NEVER uses it. Too wide!
This is a LONG video, but this dude has a LOT of the same realizations, experiences, and excitement for the MAGs that I did, and still do today. He mentions using the bars, retracting back, and feeling your back crack. I get this even today. My upper back feels fantastic, moves better, and is better built, thanks to the MAGs. Weirdly enough, this is this dudes most recent upload, all the way back in . Maybe after using the MAGs he gave up on searching for anything better in life?
I wrapped up this video at the tail end of comparing the MAG Grips vs the Primes vs the Knock Offs. This was a long overdue video, as I had been talking about some of that stuff in this article for awhile.
MAGs haven't changed much since I bought them originally in . BUT, in early I was lucky enough to get my hands on a new MAG Grip Cable Attachment, which falls between the Wide and the Mediums with a slightly pronated grip. They now officially call it the 3/4 Grip.
My mind basically says this is the smaller athlete approved Wide option, since the Wide is SO wide. Pre-release there were only a few people with this attachment. Myself, Dana Linn Bailey, and a few of their local supporters. I share my thoughts on this attachment in this video:
Behind the scenes I've been told that MAG is working on some triceps attachments and maybe a few other options. I'm EXTREMELY excited to see what they have in the works. And I'll update this as I get more information.
During COVID, MAG almost appeared to be out of business. Their attachments were removed from EliteFTS, and their website was completely down for months. I know they aren't going under, but they are such a small company they have historically struggled to maintain their production times. Talk to many people out there and they'll tell you that emails have gone unanswered, there's no way to call anyone, and their social media presence was non existent.
At the early part of they hired a new person and things have changed here.
Their Instagram used to be one post per picture per cable attachment. That is it. Now they have a bustling social media presence across multiple platforms. Their main page is frequently maintained, and they answer DMs.
They are still a small shop, and small shops come with the potential of delays in delivery of products, but they are making BIG strides towards improving all aspects of the business side of things.
I've been asked, do they ever go on sale? No. I've never seen a sale, everyone I've asked has said the same thing. Other sites that sold them, they were the same price. And for now, they do not have discount codes either.
So, buy them at any point in the year and you will be good. No discount codes, no sales, no worries. They DID offer a bulk deal at one point if you bought all of the attachments at one time. I'm not sure if this is still an option or not, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it anyway.
However, if you use Wall Control, this is going to make your attachments store weird. Instead, I'd grab these swivel rings. I have the swivel rings on my Prime Attachments and they are fantastic.
Prime Fitness launched the 4N1 and 3N1 options shortly after I bought my MAG Grip Cable Attachments. There is a LOT to unpack in these as 3 different handles means 10 different options. As of end of , I now own the Prime handles, so I can shed some light from my hands-on-experience.
If you aren't up to speed on the Prime handles, they are essentially a MAG Grip where the grips themselves can rotate. So, you take the close grip and the handles can be placed in the pronated, supinated, or neutral positions. Same for the medium, and then the wide adds an extra parallel grip to bring it to 4 options.
The comparisons on sizes are a little difficult to line up 1 to 1, but let's try and get close.
The close MAG Grip is listed at 5' with the close grip Prime at 6'. So these line up pretty close.
The widest Prime handle, the 4N1, is listed at 20' wide, with the MAG Mediums clocking in at 22'.
The Medium Prime 3N1 is listed at 14', which fits right between the medium and close grip of the MAGs.
The 14' is a weird size for the Prime. I find the MAG Mediums to be PERFECT, so making it slightly smaller is going in the wrong direction. Even for my wife, the medium MAGs are the go to handles. So I'm not giving Prime any huge win for their in-between size here. And their cable selection leaves out the wide ranges entirely.
So the Close Grip handles from MAG and Prime are comparable, the Wide Prime's are really more comparable to the Medium MAGs, and the Wide MAG and the Medium Prime have no real comparison. Try to keep this in mind as we go.
The Prime 4N1 adds up to the EXACT price of buying the three MAG Mediums. You technically get one extra angle, but the prices align.
The Prime Close 3n1 are about $15 cheaper than the 3 MAGs. Where the price saving concept falls apart, is when you start to look at what angles you are actually going to use. Very few people seem to like the close grip neutral or pronated MAG attachments, as noted above. After using the Prime 3n1 close grip, I can totally see why. They don't light up the right places on my back, and feel TOO close.
With that thinking, if you buy the Prime Fitness Close 3N1, you are now getting one GOOD angle, and two you might not use. That isn't a very good deal in my opinion.
I won't compare the Medium Prime to anything, since it doesn't have a comparison.
The Primes definitely win from a space saving perspective. I can fit the entire Prime lineup in the space just half of the MAG handles I recommend take up. More free space means more room for OTHER toys. In that same regard, if you plan to travel with them to a commercial gym, that is a clear win.
The Primes, in use, do offer a LITTLE more ROM due to how the handles work. But we are talking a half inch or so. I'm not the biggest fan of the adjustment for the angles though. My wife straight up skips these because it is an extra step.
Another thing to note is that for the PRIMEs to function the way that they do, the paddle handles have to simply flip/rotate from pronate, to neutral, to supinated. You can see in the pictures above that the angles of the handles on the MAGs and the Primes differ pretty greatly.
Take a look at the MAGs below, and you'll instantly see that they aren't just flipped.
See how between the pronate and supinate, the handles change pretty drastically? They aren't just a mirror image of each other. That is what makes the MAGs very unique in their function, and why you can't simply flip one around and get a second handle.
Each handle is purposefully built for that exact single movement. Not a jack of all trades, master of none approach.
I'll wrap up my final thoughts at the end on the Prime vs MAG and how it impacts what I think you should buy.
There is a common recommendation from people to simply buy the 'knock off' MAG Grips, because they are basically the same thing and way cheaper. As someone who has owned the MAG Grip Cable Attachments and studied their differences for years, the above recommendation honestly frustrates me.
Take a look at the Knock-offs. You have a Wide, two mediums, and two close grip. The Wide and two Mediums are essentially all neutral grips. And the close grips are both pronated (kind of?). So they managed to remake the least effective Close Grip handles, make two of the exact same handles in the mediums, and then a neutral wide which would make a Wide Grip feel even wider.
This is what happens when someone who doesn't understand the nuances of a piece of equipment, copies it and resells it. Read through online reviews and you'll frequently see that the hooks tear off of the rubber. Multiple users have complained about the smell. And overall they are just, not the same thing.
I ordered a set at the end of and my experiences were bad. I didn't have a bad smell, but one of my handles was BENT out of the package. I'm pretty sure I could run over my MAG Grips with my truck and not bend them. The o-rings on the handles are already falling off, and the rubber adhesive is horribly applied. I could pick it off right now if I wanted to.
I get trying to save some money (more on that in a second), but I just can not recommend the knock-offs any less. You are getting 3 handles for the $120, which is only slightly better than the price you'd pay for a couple of MAG Grips. Are they better than nothing? Sure. Are they better than a traditional lat bar? Maybe. But do yourself a favor and don't go down this route. These don't even deserve the name 'Knock Off MAGs'.
I've yet to find anyone who has owned both, trains with a bodybuilder mindset, and prefers the Knock-Offs.
MAG Grip Cable Attachments are American Made from a Small Family Shop. Buy the real deal.
Since originally posting this, a new company has launched some cable attachments on Amazon that look a LOT closer to the original MAG Grips (from what I can see). The entire set varies in price but has sat around $150 for awhile. If you absolutely have to buy the knock-offs, at least go this route. I can still see a few variances, like the mediums don't seem to be the same 3 different angles. But this is at least getting CLOSER to being a legit substitute. still think you are making a better decision by buying the real thing, but I get it.
The Back Widow and Kleva Built Atlas are cool pieces. The Back Widow does a LOT in one package which can be a sweet piece for the dude traveling to a commercial gym. You'll have a ton of options for cable work, landmine work, and more. And the Kleva Built Atlas is absolutely beautiful, like everything Kleva makes, and again slaps onto the landmine easily.
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Where both of these go wrong in my opinion, is related to a comment I dropped on Adam at Garage Gym Lab when he discussed the Atlas.
For me, cable attachments are one of the items in a garage gym we likely don't have to sacrifice due to space constraints. I can't have the best of the best of every machine. I have to make compromises in various knickknacks here and there to accomplish some accessories for the sake of space.
But cable attachments? I can 100% have the BEST of the best in terms of fit and function and own a huge assortment of pieces with a solid storage option. Kleva's Atlas attachment looks beautiful. The quality might be up there with the likes of Black Iron and other premium manufacturers. But a big bulky piece that at the end of the day gives me 3 neutral row/pulldown options is just' meh.
And considering we have multiple options to take the best cable attachments and use them with a landmine, I'm also just not too stoked on this one. Again, gorgeous piece, everything they make is just phenomenal in the design. But I'm buying a round of MAG Grips before this every single time.
So' if for some reason you could only own one cable attachment, then sure, grab one of these. But otherwise? The Atlas and the Back Widow each cost $300! If you bought all 5 of the MAG Grips I recommend, you'd only be out ~$330. I just honestly don't see a world where these make sense for the home gym athlete.
Take a scroll through my MAG Grip Cable Attachments Review video comments and you'll see a laundry list of comments like these:
If you are this far and still with me, you probably don't need to be convinced that you should own some MAG Grip attachments. The final piece is simply, which ones?
If you currently own any of the MAG Grips or Prime attachments, don't run out and sell them. I don't think there is SUCH a huge difference that I'd go to that extreme. Basically, both are good sets of attachments and you'll be happy with them. I'll even say that if you have the knock-offs already, unless if you can sell them and recoup your money, I'd just sit with those. The MAG Grips are better in every way, but after already spending your money, that is a hard one to recommend.
If you prefer one brand over the other, find one used locally, or one is more difficult to get than the other, buy the ones you want. You'll be happy no matter what. But here goes my recommendations.
The NUMBER ONE question I get asked is what MAG Grip Cable Attachments to buy. I'm going to try and lay out a bunch of situations and my recommendations so hopefully you know which ones to buy in your own situation.
Medium Supinate. It is the most used attachment in my gym by a long shot. Big enough for the big boys, small enough for smaller athletes. The supinated grip is FIRE for the lats and gives a fantastic contraction, and since most people need more lats in their life, that is a good thing. It works great for pulldowns and seated rows. It could be rotated around and used as a pronate option in a pinch for a little landmine work and other experiments.
If you need to travel to and from a commercial gym, you could go with the Prime 4n1. The Prime 4n1 isn't my FAVORITE cable attachment, but it does the job well enough. And you get 4 options built into one attachment. The MAG Medium Supinate is the superior cable attachment, but I can give a little for the sake of portability for the traveling gym goer.
If you want to do pulldowns, low rows, and T-Bar style landmine rows, I'd go with the Medium Supinate and Medium Pronate. Pronate is BOMB for the T-Bar work, and solid for pulldowns.
If you don't plan to do T-Bar work, I'd snag the Close Grip Supinate and the Medium Supinate. The close grip is a very unique pulldown attachment. It almost feels like a DB pullover. Just a really gnarly and unique stretch and contraction for the lats. The medium again is the king in my opinion. So for PURE cable work, those are my two go-tos.
I would lean towards the Close Grip Supinate, the Medium Supinate, and either the Three Quarter Grip or the Wide. If you want to do T-Bar Rows, you need to drop the Wide or Three Quarter for the Medium Pronate. But otherwise, those are the three I'm taking.
If you are starting from scratch and aiming to build a full collection without any overlap, or another way to say it, if I was doing it all over' This is what I would do. I will clarify, this recommendation has changed over the years based on what I actually use, but as of right now, this is my recommendation.
The Close Grip Supinate is the most commonly recommended attachment of the three close attachments. I see VERY few people recommend the close pronate or neutral. I have no experience with them, but the typical notes are that they are TOO close for most athletes, your ROM is reduced, and is all around just not the MAG experience you want.
The mediums are all awesome. I'd snag the Medium Supinate, Medium Pronate, and Medium Neutral too.
The Wide is a unique feel. For smaller athletes I think it's objectively TOO wide. Which is exactly why they made their newest offering, which is smack dab in the middle of the mediums and the wide. It has a slightly pronated grip. If you are smaller, take the new attachment. If you are larger, take the full wide. If you have multiple athletes in your gym, or just want to play it safe, grab both.
If you absolutely need to leave no stone left unturned, go with this:
The Prime Medium TECHNICALLY fits right between the Close and Medium MAGs, so I think that would give you just an absurd array of offerings. This is going to be an insanely comprehensive assortment of back attachments. You will be able to hit every angle, width, and option for rows, pull-downs, landmine work, pull-ups, and whatever else you come up with and probably be able to rotate options weekly. Keep in mind that I don't even have this. Well, I kind of do. Since I have ALL the Primes and MOST of the MAGs. But you get the idea.
A LOT to dig into here. But to be fair, I did say this was the Comprehensive Guide for the MAG Grip Cable Attachments. I hope you learned more than you needed to and can make an informed decision on your next cable attachment purchase.
Did I miss anything? Is there a review or product I should include? Anything you'd like to know, drop a line in the comments and I'll update the guide.
In the meantime, make sure to check out the rest of my Comprehensive Guides and if you are looking for some other cable attachments, check out my write up here.
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When it comes to lat pulldowns, it can be confusing to know which handle to use and for what. You've got bars, D-handles, triangles, ropes, straps, handles, and many more. It almost feels like there should be a Dr. Seuss poem listing them and their functions.
The different cable attachments are each designed to serve a specific purpose and activate specific muscles. There are also many different grip options for lat pulldowns (from neutral to wide to underhand).
But if your goal is to have a thick back and build strong pillars of muscle alongside your spine like a protective turtle shell, close-grip cable lat pulldowns are going to be one of the most effective tools in your tool bag.
Here's a look at the benefits of close-grip cable lat pulldowns and why you should incorporate them into your strength-training workout.
It is not a competition between close-grip and wide-grip cable pulldowns. Neither is the villain, but instead, they are both heroes that serve different purposes.
Both variations of cable pulldowns are helpful in their own right. The difference between the two types of lat pulldowns is simple but important to understand so you can tailor them to best serve your goals.
In one quick hit, think of it like this: Wide grip makes your upper back wider, and close grip makes your upper back thicker.
If you want to develop an inverted pyramid with wide lats or 'wings,' wide grip is your jam. If you want to develop columns of muscle on either side of your spine and strengthen your ability to control weight nearer your center of mass, close grip is the move.
A healthy and strong body is about balance, so incorporating both is helpful in building a fully comprehensive back. But fair warning: Your shirts will fit a bit tighter, and you'll feel like a sexy Ninja Turtle.
Close-grip lat pulldowns are great for developing your back muscles, specifically your lats and rhomboids, along with your biceps and forearms. These muscles help with posture. They diminish slouching, pulling your shoulders back, and they protect your spine like armor.
Additionally, they make your back thicker and stronger, help sculpt your biceps, and can assist with more difficult exercises like pull-ups.
Having a strong back makes a world of difference in more than just aesthetics. It makes everyday performances easier and lessens the risk of injury doing manual tasks.
Let's get lifting! Here's how to do lat pulldowns:
In addition to close-grip cable pulldowns themselves, here are a few exercises that work similarly or lend themselves to the same muscular development.
There have long been debates about which is better between seated rows and lat pulldowns, but the truth is the same as wide-grip vs. close-grip: They work together toward the same goals.
Rows, like pulldowns, work your lats, biceps, and forearms, though pulldowns lend themselves a bit more toward your biceps. And rows engage a bit more of your lower back, along with your lats and rhomboids.
REP offers a variety of options for lat pulldown machines:
Want more help? Check out this article about how to choose a cable machine.
Ultimately, adding close-grip cable lat pulldowns into your routine will help strengthen and grow your upper back, creating a solid V-taper of muscle. They also build the might of your biceps and develop greater grip strength. They are a valuable asset to a well-rounded back workout.
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