I like working out at home, so joining a Gym is not an option at the moment. What kind of gadget is really the best out there for TOTAL FITNESS? Would it be a Bowflex (either the $900 or $2000), a regular Weider Home Gym, that thing Chuck Norris endorses? What? Anybody knows? Cathe, what do you have at home?
What if Fitness Videos aren't enough anymore?
- Thread starter Katerchen
- Start date
Cathe Friedrich
Administrator
Hi! I don't have a total fitness system at home. I just have the "old fashioned" system. A wide range of dumbbells, a couple of barbells w/a weighted tree rack, a mat, a step, a bench with some exercise option attachments, jump rope, and a pair of lifting gloves.
I'm with Cathe on this one. We actually have this huge $2,000 home gym in our second bedroom. It has all kinds of stations and uses real weights and everything, but I never use it. I also bought this great barbell set at a warehouse fitness place for about $50 that included a 10 pound bar and 150 pounds of plate weights. Then I bought a few sets of dumbells, which are usually about 50 cents per pound, and those are what I always use.
The Total Gym, from having tried my uncle's, was ok but just not challenging enough for legs. I've never tried a Bowflex but they aren't cheap.
If you do still want to joina club, do you have a YMCA around you? I know that in Chicago and LA (where I have lived) they had decent facilities, were really cheap and were pretty nice too. Just a thought.
Have you been using barbells and dumbells already at home? Or were you just doing cardio with video tapes?
The Total Gym, from having tried my uncle's, was ok but just not challenging enough for legs. I've never tried a Bowflex but they aren't cheap.
If you do still want to joina club, do you have a YMCA around you? I know that in Chicago and LA (where I have lived) they had decent facilities, were really cheap and were pretty nice too. Just a thought.
Have you been using barbells and dumbells already at home? Or were you just doing cardio with video tapes?
competition bound
Cathlete
Hi! I have a Total Gym and I like it. I don't use it that much because it's over at my brothers house. My sis-in-law and I both workout and because they have a basement and I don't, we transformed their basement into a workout/rec room. While it is hard to find exercises that challenge the lower body on this machine, if you put your head at the lower end and pull your body up with your legs, it works them good!! It is better for upper body, very challenging. I haven't used it since this summer because that's when I found Cathe and I've been working out with her ever since. I bought dumbells and a bar bell and a bodybar and honestly, I've gotten better results with Cathe than I have any machine. Still, they're nice for a change of pace. Ok, I'm babbling. Hope this helps!!
Aimee
Aimee
dpendleton
Active Member
Comments on Soloflex & Bowflex... get a squat rack/weight bench instead!
Hello,
I compared Soloflex & Bowflex and bought a Soloflex (for about $400) and used it for a year. Back then there was no squat attachment for the Bowflex and Soloflex was much cheaper.
I outgrew it pretty quickly. The rubber-band resistance just isn't the same as free weights and you max out due to the design of the machine -- you just can't lift very heavy. I've heard this is true of the Bowflex as well.
So, I sold it on e-Bay for more than what I paid for it and bought a free weight incline/flat/decline adjustable bench with a squat rack, lat pulley and leg extension/curl attachment for (get this) a LOT cheaper -- $120 from netmarket.com. It's a ProForm 640, with a 40" wide squat rack/bench press so my 5ft barbell fits pretty nicely on it. It takes a little more room than my Soloflex, but not a lot (considering I had to have space for storing the Soloflex leg and butterfly attachment). It did cost like $40 to ship it, but still...
And I've been making big gains and increasing my lifting strength every day. I can now squat with twice as much weight as before (and it's safer with the squat rack). And I can bench press, do shoulder presses, leg curls & extensions, calf raises, lat pulldowns, all the major exercises. And I still use a barbell and dumbbells for additional free-weight exercises (biceps, triceps, shoulders).
I do have to say that I still like doing Cathe's PS and CTX series in between heavy lifting weeks, and the changes in routine helps me with endurance and increasing my weights. I guess you could say, you NEVER outgrow Cathe!
Good luck,
Dawn P.
Hello,
I compared Soloflex & Bowflex and bought a Soloflex (for about $400) and used it for a year. Back then there was no squat attachment for the Bowflex and Soloflex was much cheaper.
I outgrew it pretty quickly. The rubber-band resistance just isn't the same as free weights and you max out due to the design of the machine -- you just can't lift very heavy. I've heard this is true of the Bowflex as well.
So, I sold it on e-Bay for more than what I paid for it and bought a free weight incline/flat/decline adjustable bench with a squat rack, lat pulley and leg extension/curl attachment for (get this) a LOT cheaper -- $120 from netmarket.com. It's a ProForm 640, with a 40" wide squat rack/bench press so my 5ft barbell fits pretty nicely on it. It takes a little more room than my Soloflex, but not a lot (considering I had to have space for storing the Soloflex leg and butterfly attachment). It did cost like $40 to ship it, but still...
And I've been making big gains and increasing my lifting strength every day. I can now squat with twice as much weight as before (and it's safer with the squat rack). And I can bench press, do shoulder presses, leg curls & extensions, calf raises, lat pulldowns, all the major exercises. And I still use a barbell and dumbbells for additional free-weight exercises (biceps, triceps, shoulders).
I do have to say that I still like doing Cathe's PS and CTX series in between heavy lifting weeks, and the changes in routine helps me with endurance and increasing my weights. I guess you could say, you NEVER outgrow Cathe!
Good luck,
Dawn P.
Thanks for all the responses. I am currently using barbell and dumbbells at home (Cathe's PS Series and The Firm) but watching the commercials make me believe there is something better out there. But I guess not. Gyms are pretty scarce here in - ugh - Southern Mississippi but we will relocate to Columbia, SC soon.
I started Shotokan Karate 6 years ago. Now at home my husband and I have set up a mini training room. It is great exercise to kick, punch and strike the heavy bag. It gives your body an all over cardio and muscle work out. I never get bored, because if I get sick of bagwork, I do weights, aerobics, or pop in a tape. Variety is the spice of all workouts!
I can't stand being tied to a machine or running-to repetitive.
I can't stand being tied to a machine or running-to repetitive.
Rec centers
Rec centers are a good way to add variety. The weight room memberships here in Denver are $50 a year (I think). I usually go once a week because I like to do my back work there (assisted pull-up machine and a cable cage) and ride the bike a bit.
I like the little neighborhood rec center because it's everyday people--definitely not a Bally's commercial. It also makes me feel smug and smart for having learned all my form pointers and safety tips from Cathe and from reading. :-gloat I always watch in horror at the guy benching 180 without a spotter and others desperately trying to hurt their shoulders by throwing around too much weight.
It's not fancy, but it works! All of Denver's surrounding suburbs have much nicer facilities, by the way. There's something to be said for having a parks & rec budget separate from the city's general operating budget.
Gretchen
Rec centers are a good way to add variety. The weight room memberships here in Denver are $50 a year (I think). I usually go once a week because I like to do my back work there (assisted pull-up machine and a cable cage) and ride the bike a bit.
I like the little neighborhood rec center because it's everyday people--definitely not a Bally's commercial. It also makes me feel smug and smart for having learned all my form pointers and safety tips from Cathe and from reading. :-gloat I always watch in horror at the guy benching 180 without a spotter and others desperately trying to hurt their shoulders by throwing around too much weight.
It's not fancy, but it works! All of Denver's surrounding suburbs have much nicer facilities, by the way. There's something to be said for having a parks & rec budget separate from the city's general operating budget.
Gretchen