 Excellent value for a home gym at a fraction of the cost of a gym membership |
| Review Date: October 17, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Eagle Vision, Southeastern United States |
I have tried numerous home gyms: Free weights, Nordicflex Gold, Soloflex, Bowflex, and Powerblock dumbells, and I have worked out on the Nautilus, Hammerstrength, Cable machines, Free Weights and the Cybex machines. Through my experience of weight training for 10 years for fitness, a variety of exercises are necessary to keep interest going.
As a complement to free weights (Powerblock Rexan Pro), this gym completes what I need: variety for exercises to keep muscles growing. Cable exercises give constant tension when going through the entire range of motion. This machine replicates that feeling and simulates exercises similar to handstand pushups, pullups and every exercise for the body that you can think of (ie Bench, Rows, Curls, extensions, incline situps). The limitation comes to exercises for legs. Although 100 pounds can be added and an exercise similar to leg curls is available, you will need to look for other exercises to 'overload' the muscles.
Instructions, a video, workout cards with prescribed routines are provided. The machine is 95% assembled except for the foot rest.
As for the machine, setup took less than 10 minutes. Motion is smooth with the ball bearing setup. Only certain exercises make you notice the notch in the middle of the track where there is a noticeable click (majority of exercises do not precipitate the clicking noise). The chrome finish and leather like vinyl cover with 2 inches of padding is nice. Action is smooth and the accessories included tops the higher end gyms such as the Infomercial Total Gym and Bowflex (ie straight bar, leg attachment, pull up and incline bar, deluxe oversized platform for leg exercises). The option to add weights is another advantage over conventional machines of this genre. One limitation is that ropes instead of cables were used; however, there is a lifetime replacement on the pulleys, cables and rollers (this is more than I can say for competitors). The foot rest could be designed to be sturdier (it does tend to sway slightly).
As for safety, two pins lock the incline in place (one metal, one plastic).
This machine is excellent for beginners, intermediate and advanced bodybuilders and athletes. Although not the end all for the advanced bodybuilders, this machine helps augment free weights and is excellent for a supplement to routines. For pilates enthusiasts, a pilates machine is available.
For my first workout, I did the following sequence:
Rows, Seated Bench press, Pull ups, Supine bench press (x3 sets)
Military presses, biceps curls, triceps extensions, squats and leg curls (x 3 sets)
The transition between exercises were pretty simple and circuit training can easily be implemented. Pulley position has to be changed when doing "advanced exercises" such as upright rows, supine bench presses, kneeling curls, etc.
Workouts are 'fun' and I look forward to exercising regularly. Due to its flexibility and ease of changing resistance, two training partners of different levels can workout together without much trouble.
Item has a 1 year warranty on the remainder of the parts.
Highly recommend Bayou Fitness and the DLX III!
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5 years later and I still use this machine. The chrome is as good as when I received it and surprisingly, the nylon cords are holding their own. For durability, versatility and ease of use, there is no other gym that can do the job in the limited amount of space it takes up. |
Excellent product
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| Review Date: September 7, 2008 |
| Reviewer: M. Kucharski, NYC, USA |
| I looked for exercising machine to buy for my house but I didn't want anything big that would take a lot of space. So I looked into 4 or 5 different companies that make equipment similar to the DLX III and all of them were pricier. I thought that the quality would suffer but I read other reviews and decided to buy it. And turned out that other reviewers were correct. This machine i quite heavy and quality made (shipped in one box and weighed slightly over 100 lbs.). Booklet covers a range of exercises but if you are creative you can come up with more. I'm 5'11 and it fits me well but I think anyone over 6'3 might feel uncomfortable. I've been using it for a month now, spend on average 25 mins about 5 times a week and am happy with results so far. |
Exellent Product
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| Review Date: August 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: M. Stevens, |
I did not buy this from amazon but directly from the manufacturer, Bayou Fitness.(same price)
After watching the Total Gym on QVC for a little less than $300 I checked it out because I like the idea of this type of machine.
After checking that specific model on QVC only held 250lbs (I am 375) I looked at Total Gym's site. For a model that handles 350lbs it is well over $1000 and made in China too boot.(manufacturer gets the savings but still slams the end user with high prices)
I then checked out amazon and up popped the Total Trainer (love the play on the name LOL) and I started to research. The model I was interested in was the DLXIII because of all the add on features for only $70 more then the DLXII (basically same unit but with less features)
I spoke with customer service at Bayou Fitness who was great. I asked why should I buy your product versus the Total Gym. She said only because of price because the Total trainer is High quality and she cannot speak for the Total Gym's quality but only the pricing for a comparable product. I thought that was a great answer and honest.
So I took the leap and bought the DLXIII. Came yesterday and while Fedex did a number on the box, the contents were just fine. When I opened the box and took the unit out (no assembly needed except attaching the extra attachments). I immediately checked the welds on this unit and was pleasantly surprised of their quality (no messy welds)and as well happy that it was made in Taiwan versus China for reasons too numerous to go into with this review.
I got the machine setup in 10 minutes and after reading the excellent manual as well as all the excellent training cards (8x11 with a gloss finish)I have not checked out the DVD yet but I will get around to it. I did my first workout and WOW is all I can say. Super smooth. Super Heavy duty. With 375 of my lbs, that machine does not flinch!!!! (this unit can hold 400lb person. (plus an additional 100lbs of weights)
What a great product and I will agree with Bayou Fitness. Get it because of the price over the Total Gym Brand. Why spend $1000 plus when for half the price you get a unit with more features and better specifications.
Looking forward to a slimmer and more fit me in the future!!! |
More fun than I expected!
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| Review Date: August 24, 2009 |
| Reviewer: R. Engel, Ridgewood, NJ |
I used to go to a gym and just do regular workouts to stay in shape, but I was never a gym rat with bulging muscles. I just stayed in shape as best I could. Then I got married and two kids later I was 30 pounds overweight. It was very hard to find time between work and two small kids to get back to the gym so I floundered. I researched the Total Gym (the Chuck Norris / Christy Brinkley machine) and a few others before I cam across the Total Trainer by Bayou Fitness. All the reviews I read seemed to say you get everything the other gyms offer (and more) for less money and the same (or better) quality. So I took a chance on the DLX III since they had a full money back guarantee. It's been the best $400 or so bucks I've spent in a LONG time! Here are some of the key features that have made me extremely glad I bough this gym:
1. It folds up EASILY in seconds (literally) and can be rolled just as easily out of sight.
2. It unfolds even more quickly than it folds up.
3. The attachments that it comes with (pull up bar/leg press pad, etc) attach and come off very easily so switching exercises is super quick.
4. The quality of the machine feels great! It glides smoothly and nothing feels cheap on this thing.
5. The intro and Workout DVD that come with it are a great way (at least for me) to get started with a complete workout on the machine rather than trying to plan what I was going to do next. The DVD is cool because it pairs exercises to show you how to combine two different exercises into a continuous set.
6. IT'S FUN TO USE!!! This is the most important thing about any exercise equipment especially if you are a normal person who just wants to stay more fit but would really rather be doing something else!
On a separate but related note, my wife really appreciates the machine because it takes up almost no space when it is folded up, so it's not an eyesore to her.
There may be better deals out there on this machine, like at the Bayou Fitness site where I got mine, so shop around.
Wherever you buy it though, I really think you'll have enough fun on it to use it at least a couple of times a week. And let's be honest, if you are doing no exercise now, then two times a week is a big step forward! So be realistic and reasonable with yourself and have fun! |
Sorry Chuck....
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| Review Date: March 18, 2010 |
| Reviewer: TBlack, Blossburg USA |
| My first impression of the Bayou Fitness Total Trainer DLXIII is very good. It is built heavy duty and operates smooth as silk; I'm 6 foot even with no troubles. It does fold up and transport easily, with just a bit of practice. I would have been crazy to go for the total gym over this one (although watching Chuck Norris videos give me many workout ideas, and he sold me on the "Total" style machine to begin with). A good TG is over $1,000; and this was for $461 with shipping. Bayou Fitness even volunteered up with a 5% coupon without even asking for it. And their live chat support is second to none, you don't even have to login, you just type in a question and they answer it live during normal business hours. This machine is fun to use and I look forward to using it, can't say that with any previous machine. Between the included dvd's, workout cards and booklet, website and youtube videos, you can acquire a lot of exercise moves and regimens for this machine. Just for reference, I'm a Respiratory Therapist and former ACE Certified Personal Trainer. Now for the few CONS: I am too tall for the two aerobic exercises, they just feel awkward, but that's not why I bought the machine. Some of the pulleys and tightening knobs are different from the pictures, so it was a little confusing when changing configurations (instead of open pulleys, my model has a pivotal plastic cover) again, very different from the booklet pictures. The various attachments are cool, but I'm not sure I will use them much, except for the curl/press bar. I opted for this unit instead of the lesser models because I wanted the roller bearings for smoothness and I thought I wanted the attachments. Hope all of this helps! |
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US $489.00
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