Soloflex is great, but...
Angie,
I agree, first, that you should get into see a doctor to get some advice on your injury. It sounds serious.
I got my Soloflex for about $400 on eBay (online auction) and I love it. I do mix up my workouts, doing some free-weights (barbell & dumbell) on one day, Soloflex the next. I think I have made great strength gains with it and I progress with heavier and heavier weights every time.
I think that Soloflex is very "safe" because it uses rubber weight straps for resistance instead of heavy plates. But I have to admit, I started using it while at my peak strength baseline, thanks to Cathe's Pure Strength series. I think that lifting the barbell arm (13 lbs, awkward shape) to change positions is fairly strenous and putting the leg extension piece on or the butterfly attachment is time-consuming and VERY strenous.
In other words, you could hurt yourself using a Soloflex if you're not careful just as you can with any other piece of exercise equipment.
I have friends ask me about it, and I actually discourage them from purchasing new exercise equipment for the purpose of motivating themselves or to protect themselves from injury. You have to go into this type of major purchase with strong exercise habits and goals or you just won't use it. You have to learn proper form with any type of equipment to avoid injury.
So I think it's better to start out with free weights and a good set of video tapes that focuses on proper form first -- I told my best friend to come try out my Soloflex and hold off buying one until she had completed 4 months of strength training at least 3-4 days a week before taking the next step. She still can't get a regular routine going and agrees now that the last thing she wants is a "giant doorstop" Soloflex to make her feel guilty about spending the money but not devoting the time right now.
Having said that, I have to agree, though, I have done a similar workout - the PowerFlex video by York Barbell and I think that some of the moves are too fast to do them safely with heavy weights, so I lighten up or use a slower pace. Somehow these workouts seem to cause twinges for me, too. I think I'm lifting too heavy. I also wonder how effective this type of workout is if you end up using lighter weights and few reps.
You could check out the website
www.videofitness.com for reviews of exercise tapes that match your interests and your fitness level. Take the time to build your strength. Try out someone else's Soloflex or Bowflex in their home, and ask someone who uses it regularly to give you a demo.
Don't settle for the sales-person pitch at a sporting goods store. Go home, think about it some more, write up an exercise rotation that will build the strength you think you need to really maximize that piece of equipment. Then set your sights on a date 4 months in the future as your future purchase day .. "Soloflex or Bowflex or Parabody D-Day".
Let me know how you do!
Dawn P.
