Scholastic 45 Degree Back Raise

Name: Scholastic 45 Degree Back Raise
Brand: EliteFTS
Rating: 4.0 (3 reviews)

The elitefts Scholastic 45 Degree Back Raise is the entry tier in elitefts’s 45-degree back raise lineup, sitting below the Professional and G3 models. Built from an 11-gauge, 2x2 fully welded steel frame, it targets the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings with a fixed 45-degree hyperextension angle. An adjustable thigh pad and a painted checker foot plate with 8 in-and-out positions (2” increments) let lifters dial in hip position for different heights and exercise variations. The frame and pad are available in a range of standard colors, with custom colors, attachments, and logos available through elitefts’s strength equipment specialists. Independent hands-on coverage of this specific tier is thin – most published reviews and community discussion of elitefts’s 45-degree back raises reference the pricier Professional model rather than the Scholastic.

Buying guide

Best GHD for a Home Gym — July 2026

Frame	11 gauge 2x2 solid welded steel
Model	Scholastic 45 Degree Back Raise
Footprint	24"W x 52"L
Thigh pad	Adjustable
Foot plate	Painted checker design
Adjustments	8 in-and-out positions, 2" increments
Manufacturer	elitefts
Customization	Custom colors, designs, attachments, pads, and logos available
Frame color options	Black, Red, White, Blue, Green, Orange, Platinum, Purple, Yellow

What is a Machine?

What a strength machine is

A strength machine guides the resistance along a fixed path so you can train a movement safely, often without a spotter. The main types: selectorized (pick weight with a pin), plate-loaded (add your own plates for a heavier ceiling and better feel), and functional trainers / cable machines (adjustable pulleys for dozens of exercises).

Machines vs. free weights

Machines shine for isolation, safety, and high-rep hypertrophy, and for training hard alone. Free weights build more stabilizer strength and carry over better to sport. Most well-rounded home gyms use a rack and barbell as the core and add one machine — often a cable/functional trainer or a lat-pulldown/row — to fill the gaps.

The sub-types worth knowing

“Machines” covers several categories that barely compete with each other: GHDs for hamstring and posterior-chain work, belt squats for loading the legs without the bar on your back, leg press / hack squat combos for heavy quad volume, reverse hypers for posterior-chain work and lower-back decompression, cable towers and functional trainers for pulling movements, and row machines. Pick the one that fills a gap in what your rack and barbell already do. Almost nobody needs two.

Space and standalone vs. rack-mounted

Most of these come in a standalone version and a cheaper rack-attachment version. The attachment saves floor space and money, but often gives up stability or range of motion — a tradeoff worth checking on the specific product rather than assuming, since it varies a lot between designs.

A note on ratings

Machine listings frequently show a manufacturer’s own on-site rating, which runs high (4.7–5.0 is typical) and sometimes pools reviews across a whole product family rather than the exact configuration you’re buying. Where we have independent hands-on coverage, our summaries anchor to that instead, and say so on the product page.

How it compares

	Scholastic 45 Degree Back Raise	Compact Leg Press & Hack Squat	Plate-Loaded Fly Machine	Hammer Strength Plate-Loaded Pullover
GymRadar rating	4.0/5	4.0/5	4.0/5	4.0/5
Price	$947.00	$999.00	$539.97	$4,907.00
Frame	11 gauge 2x2 solid welded steel
Model	Scholastic 45 Degree Back Raise
Footprint	24"W x 52"L
Thigh pad	Adjustable
Foot plate	Painted checker design
Adjustments	8 in-and-out positions, 2" increments
Manufacturer	elitefts		Titan Fitness
Customization	Custom colors, designs, attachments, pads, and logos available
Frame color options	Black, Red, White, Blue, Green, Orange, Platinum, Purple, Yellow

4.0/5 · 3 GymRadar reviews

Reviews by source

Expert

4.0/5

3 reviews

EliteFTS’s entry point into the 45-degree back raise, built from the brand’s usual 11-gauge welded steel and priced below its own Professional and G3 tiers. Build quality reads well on paper, but independent coverage is thin: Garage Gym Reviews lists it without a hands-on verdict, and the community discussion we found about EliteFTS 45-degree back raises centers on the pricier Professional model rather than this SKU. Versatility and durability are the weak spots — fewer adjustment positions than the higher tiers, and no published long-term wear data for this specific model.

+Build quality: 11-gauge, fully welded 2x2 steel frame — EliteFTS's standard heavy-duty construction (manufacturer)
+Functionality: adjustable thigh pad plus 8 in/out footplate positions in 2" increments for dialing in hip position (manufacturer)
+Value: undercuts EliteFTS's own Professional and G3 45-degree back raises while keeping the same frame material (manufacturer)

−Functionality: no independent hands-on review located — Garage Gym Reviews lists it with manufacturer specs only, no verdict or score (Garage Gym Reviews)
−Versatility: fewer adjustment positions and a simpler footplate than EliteFTS's Professional/G3 tiers (manufacturer)
−Durability: no independent long-term durability reports found for this specific SKU (knowledge base search)

$947.00

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