Cormax Ballistic Fitness Equipment is the world leader in ballistic training equipment. With Cormax BFE, athletes can perform the CORE ballistic actions of weightlifting (snatch, clean and jerk, press etc.) with MAXIMUM intensity, hence the name CORMAX was chosen.

Cormax began in the early 80’s in the workshop of a family farm on the outskirts of Moorhead, MN. Dave Karlstrom, founder and president, began developing, manufacturing and selling traditional free-weight equipment to college and high schools. Following his passion to deliver high-quality, effective training to all athletes and fitness enthusiasts, Dave worked on inventing a new type of hydraulic cylinder. This innovative cylinder created resistance in only one direction, therefore allowing athletes to propel weight against the full force of gravity, while safely controlling the rate-of-fall back down.

In the early 90’s, Dave was joined by his brother, Kent, to officially form CORMAX and further develop their equipment using this newfound technology. After years of rigorous testing and countless prototypes, the Karlstrom brothers were finally awarded a patent for their CORMAX Training Control Cylinder™.

Due to the success of the CORMAX Training Control Cylinder™, the Karlstrom brothers shifted their focus from running the large family farm to opening a local training center, where they could test their equipment on a variety of clientele. The brothers used this new facility to develop training programs designed to maximize the effectiveness of the CORMAX equipment.

Later on, as the company grew, the CORMAX name was changed to Cormax Ballistic Fitness Equipment (BFE for short) in order set us apart from other products with the Cormax name. Our team thought it was necessary to have a unique name for a truly unique product. Today, you can find Cormax BFE in gyms and training centers all across the globe, ranging from local, independent gyms and high schools to professional training centers such as the Indianapolis Colts and the US Olympic Training Center.