 Total Gym Totally Rocks! |
| Review Date: December 14, 2005 |
| Reviewer: L. G. Barnes, Fort Worth, Texas |
| My husband and I bought the total gym 1700 model for ourselves as an early Christmas present. We were in the market for a home workout machine and had tested the Bowflex and Weider machines but found the cost to be too high for the Bowflex and the quality to be too "iffy" for the Weider. The Total Gym comes fully assembled and it is so much fun to use. I find myself looking forward to our workout nights all day long while I am at work (and I am usually a couch junkie, not a fitness buff). I told my husband it is like a Six Flags ride that you have to work hard for. You get a great workout, can do most any exercise you could do at the gym, the video that comes with it is excellent, plus you can use it for a great Pilates workout as well. For the money, I believe that it is the best machine you can buy. It does have one very easily correctable negative though, the cable pulley attaches under the seat with a karabiner that is small, sharp and downright ornery to get on and off. Just buy yourself a little larger karabiner (or use one that you got as a prize for excelling at skee ball) and in a few weeks, you too can look like Chuck Norris or Christie Brinkley (the folks from the infomercial)! |
Great all-around workout machine
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| Review Date: June 5, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Selivesti Child, Allen, TX USA |
I exercise when I have time, I didn't want to pay a fortune, I don't like going to gyms, and my goal is simply to be fit (enough to feel good and be able to haul that couch up the stairs when my friends ask me to help them move). Thus I wanted something efficient, versatile, and of good quality but not too massive--this machine has all these traits. For someone like me, it's great.
Efficient: The idea of using your own body weight to exercise against appeals to me since you don't have to lug around anything more than yourself. I felt that I was getting good workouts after just a few days of using it.
Versatile: There are a lot of interesting exercises you can do to work on any muscle group. A booklet shows you each one in detail and an snap-on flip chart can sit on top of the unit for quick reference. Generally I suggest you follow the recommended exercise programs. They seemed ordered so you don't have to spend much time changing things on the Total Gym between each one. When you do, the transformation is a good way to spend that one minute break they recommend between each exercise--not that it takes anywhere near that to make the changes. One thing I like about this unit is most of the time I only have to pull a knob and raise the back and maybe unhook the sled. (Hint: changing the height also changes the length so don't step hard on the feet of the machine or you'll just end up fighting yourself)
Quality: The construction is of good quality and there are a number of useful attachments that come with this model to allow almost any exercise you can dream up but for the most part you just use the pulleys. My only gripes are: 1) the wing attachment seem a bit loose and so the rail pads slide around causing the wing to bite into the rails. 2) Where the sled hooks to the pulleys is rather cramped and is sometimes difficult to remove.
Not Too Massive: The Total Gym is 8 feet long and 4 feet tall unfolded. It does not fold up very pretty and forget about storing it under a typical bed but it will rest unobtrusively in a corner if you are short on space and can manage to lift the thing. It's not unbearably heavy so much as it is cumbersome to lift and move around. A little dolly will solve this problem nicely. Ideally, though, you don't want to have to unfold it for each workout so find a permanent home for it if you can.
The Total Gym seems best used for light to moderate workouts. You can't achieve REALLY heavy resistance on this thing. You get a maximum of 44% of the sum of your body weight and 75 lbs. For example if you weigh 170 lbs, you are looking at a maximum of about 108 lbs if you supplement it with the free-weight attachment which is included, although you must supply the free weights--75 lbs is the stated limit. I find this is sufficient for a good all-around workout but if that is not enough, you can always add some free weights to your routine.
In summary it's an all around workout machine exercising as many muscles as possible. It's not for body-building. Great for those who just want something to hop on for twenty minutes to an hour a day and feel great afterwards. |
Very Pleased
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| Review Date: September 24, 2007 |
| Reviewer: R. Houk, Joplin, Mo. United States |
I had researched "small-footprint" excercise machines for upper body toning and had settled on the Total Gym 1500 as a good unit for me. One reviewer suggested upgrading the the 1700 Club and I'm glad I did. I am very impressed with the additonal quality of the 1700 and my wife is using the Pilates bar (an extra purchase with the 1500). It is the lowest priced Home Gym capable of handling additional weights - although the base unit provides plenty of exercise for me.
We all know that most of these machines end up in garage sales, but I really like the 1700 Club and it does have the extra weight capability if you really need to max out those muscles.
But, it is hardly "small footprint". Totally unfolded it easily takes up an eight foot by two foot space. You will need at least twelve to utilize the Pilate capabilty and some space on each side for arm pulls. I've got it in a spare bedroom and it takes up an entire wall. Also, it weighs a ton, so it would be a pain to fold it up after every session. Not to say it can't be done, but it would be a good part of the workout. Once folded it can slip under a high bed, or in a closet. But out of sight is out of mind (and one step closer to the garage sale).
I bought it for upper-body excercises but was quite surprised at the number of Ab and lower-body exercises that it it capable of. Its easy to do a full body set, and then work on a specific area.
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Best on the market for the price
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| Review Date: June 1, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Darth Wader, Aylett, VA |
| Ok, so here's the deal. You can look all over the internet trying to find something cheaper or you can look all over town for the best deal on a gym membership...or you can just stop wasting your time and buy this product! For under four hundred dollars you can have a complete home gym that builds muscle while giving you a good cardio workout at the same time. Plus, the Total Gym does not take up a lot of space like many home gyms, but at the same time offers dozens of quality exercises for every muscle group. In addition, I was able to assemble it in about 10 or 15 minutes as it is mostly already assembled. I am a 24 year old male and have been using it for about 3 months and have lost at least 12 pounds of fat while gaining noticable muscle mass. I use about 3 days a week and my abs are showing (even though I haven't done a sit-up or an ab exercise yet - though I am going to start soon) because most of the exercises will work out your abs and core section of your body. All of the exercises are easy to learn and the Total Gym comes with both an instructional DVD and two sets of books with diagrams of exercises designed for specific muscles groups (chest, shoulder, biceps, triceps, legs, back, and biceps). After 3 months, my Total Gym is showing no signs of wear and tear, so I figure that even if I can only use this for a few years, it is definitely money well spent because that is less than a gym membership - plus you don't have to drive to a gym, wait around for other people, and I look forward to coming home and doing my workout while blasting music. The Total Gym is fun, safe, economical, and best of all, it works! If you don't believe Chuck Norris or Christie Brinkley, then you can trust me - the Total Gym is for real! I was really skeptical at first, but now I am a true believer. |
Fantastic home gym
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| Review Date: January 10, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Danika Rockett, Baltimore |
| When I was an undergrad, I worked out several days a week at my university gym. Now I'm a post-grad student, and I don't have as much time for the gym, which is why I took a chance on the Total Gym 1700. I absolutely love it. It does all of the exercises that I was doing at the gym and then some. And I love the levels of exercises that you can do. You start out on a lower level and keep moving up as you get stronger. Then, you can add the weights on--up to 75 pounds, which is plenty if you just want to build some muscle and get lots of tone! I added this routine to my treadmill routine--who needs a gym membership? It's great and well worth $350!! |
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US $17.95
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