Does anyone have an opinion of the Total Gym? I vaguely remember using one for assisted pull-ups in physical thereapy, so it works for that, but at $800 how does it work vs. what it claims? Anyone?
Thanks
My 84 year old Mother has one and she got bored with it. I would be concerned about boredom and then having a piece of equipment that does nothing but take up space. That price tag gets you 3 or 4 years at a gym.
I have a series of vids recommending home gym, etc:
http://www.youtube.com/user/willbrink?feature=mhee#g/c/8B37845A91FD9817
TRX, a few sandbags, a bench, a few dumbells, etc = an effective workout in minimal space.
More room and $$$, a power rack and barbell with assorted weights and your GTG all the way.
I think you can actually do better for less than a Total Gym.
Call your local gyms to see if they are upgrading and offer to buy their old equipment. Get yourself som dumbells, an olympic bar, weights, and a bench and your set. Go to a local weldshop and have them weld a sturdy pull-up bar and your GTG. Working out doesn’t have to and shouldn’t be expensive
Some of my favorite work out sessions are with serious lifters in a garage with not much more than a stack of 45s, a thick barbell and a power rack.
Maybe it is the reduction of estrogen introduced by treadmills, thigh machines and mirrors :dance3:
Thanks guys, I appreciate it, and will save the $800. I’ll be confined to a hotel for a few months and thus was considering it. I can get a good workout with just me, a couple of chairs and two gallons of water if necessary.
I’ve been living in a hotel while travelling for almost a year now. It does have a small wieght room with some treadmills though. I end up doing all my strength workouts in the room with my own resistance bands though.
Look into resistance bands. I’m amazed at what you can do with a couple of them. The best part is they take up hardly any space.
David
Me, I take a TRX trainer with door attachment. Considering the room it takes up, etc, a legit workout can be had. Bands don’t generally offer me enough resistance, but better then nothing to be sure.
That’s a good point Will. I have been considering a TRX setup for that reason though. At the moment most of what I do I can get enough with bands or simple body weight exercises like squats, dips and pushups.
David
All,
I was in the hotel room for a couple of months. Did the Insanity tapes, got through week 5 before being sent off for a week. Lost 10 lbs in five weeks, gained some muscle up top. Didn’t do the diet and only worked out 4-5 days a week as opposed to six days. I couldn’t do all of the exercises due to accumulated damage from past injuries, but this is definitely worth the money. Like the man says, all you need is enough room to jump around and something to mop up the sweat with.
If you’re in good enough shape to begin a program, I highly recommend it!
I made my own TRX system with some climbing webbing, a carabiner, jumprope handles, and a tie-down strap, like what you’d use to secure a load in a pickup.
If you want a total gym, craigslist is your friend. With equipment like that you can usually find them on CL for next to nothing. You might find someone moving whose just looking to have someone take it off his hands for free.
Total gym? eehhh, theres a lot of options out there for working out at home. I’ve never seen any gain mass or get cut off of it. I think it would be great for people who need to strengthen joints etc, but I remember using one for a few weeks and I just didn’t really feel it after awhile. I felt like I plateaued on it very quickly.
Personally, I got a bench w/bbell and 300lbs worth of weights all for about $300. I can literally do 70% of the workouts I’d do at a gym (with a little creativity). Can do shoulder presses, deltoid front/lateral raises, deadlifts, all the different types of benches etc. I mix it in with some Insanity workouts and it works out very well, and for less than a Total Gym.
I guess it all depends on what your end goals are.
Home gym having a clear growth so we will be observe any issue for well resources and always demand a well outcome for well direction and resources so be happy and remind all issues or well demand.
I have a #35 kettlebell
i focus on :
Swings,snatches,squats and the dreaded Turkish Get-UP!
and I will do push ups ,crunches, flutter kicks and even curls.
My $80.00 investment is amazing.
Its hard to travel with it, so for traveling I have some bands, and an ab roller.
Cross fit:shout: Level 1 certified in 2009
Amazing video mate.
Videos like this are really beneficial for performing workouts in a proper way at home gym.
Just running (not jogging) doing pushups ands pullups is all you really need.
How about a trap bar for parallel grip deadlifts (more a squat than a deadlift). Add a flat bar, some weights, adjustable (power blocks) dumbells, incline bench, pull up/dip station, and belt/harness to add weight and you are good to go for a while. As above, power rack is ideal, but the trap bar lets you get the full body push motion without the rack, and is safe(r) for many trainees than DL or squat.