Total Gym 1800 Club

Update 1/1/2013 - still using and loving it!After several years of cajoling, my husband finally got me the Total Gym for Christmas. Having used a similar machine at the gym, I knew the basics of what to expect. However, I wasn't expecting the home version to be so sturdy and well-constructed. Yes, I'm only 5'2" and 120ish lbs, but my husband also gave it a whirl with no problems. I also thought I was going to have to buy the abs pads separately, and was very pleasantly surprised to find that all the extra add-ons were included. Although an avid exerciser for several decades, I do not foresee outgrowing this machine's benefits as I feared before I started using it. I find it's easy to switch out exercises and levels, and I can easily fold and store it under the bed. Perhaps the novelty will wear off someday, but right now I love working out on it. Some days I do a certain number of reps and sets; other days I work on a time basis. The book has a lot of great exercises that are easy to follow. I've not gotten bored at all and already can see and feel the positive results. And kudos to wonderful Amazon for its free shipping and speedy delivery!

Like some of the people who have reviewed and purchased this item, I started out initially looking at the 1100 series Total Gym solution. The concern I shared with the rest of the viewers was there wasnt too much information about the 1800 here on Amazon, or on Youtube to compare it with say 12/1300 series. The manufacturer virtually has no information on it either. I took a chance and decided to test it out myself. I must say I dont have any regrets purchasing it. I've had this item for a few days and I know I am enjoying every bit of it. Since my legs are already pretty well built, my focus is upper body and abs, which this solution does very well.Pros:Excellent upper body workout. several dozen different types of workouts can be performed on this gym. Its a good choice for beginners. It comes with a handy manual demonstrating the different exercises that can be performed. The manual will filter the exercises according to level of intensity, targeted muscles, and gender. Easy to slide around carpet. Relatively inexpensive compared to other complete gym solutions. Received it in two days with amazon prime ;)Cons:DVD included is low grade quality to say the least. Fortunately, you can YouTube some exercise routines for the Total Gym solution provided by users like you. Grip will probably come torn out of the box, and will most certainly tear some more with minimal use. Changing pins to add/remove accessories for different workout setups is annoying, and its a workout itself. You will probably get over this annoyance after a couple of days of a full workout. The gym is not easy to unfold and fold for storage purposes. The initial assembly will probably take you an hour and a half (half of that is understanding the instructions).

I used to weight train fairly seriously in college but haven't been able to get back into it for the last 15 years and have let myself go. I have a weight bench with good weights, but I as I suspect with most weight benches in people's basements, it never gets used due to lack of spotters and the hassle of changing weights. I was actually on Amazon looking at rowing machines for fitness/muscle toning when I ran into this product. At first glance, I remembered seeing Chuck Norris in a commercial for the same type of item sometime in the past. I had to balance my cynicism of infomercials with the character of Chuck, and came up neutral on whether the product was good or not. After reading other reviews, I took the plunge.I anxiously awaited the arrival of the product, thinking it would take a few weeks with the super saving shipping feature, I think it was 'delivered' (more on that later) 5 or less days later.By 'delivered' i mean the UPS driver left it on the porch of someone 10-15 houses down the street, who were nice enough to call and alert me. The box was badly damaged in shipping, but most of the stuff inside came out realatively unscathed. I was mostly irritated that I had to drive down the street, load this very heavy object in the truck, bring it home, and unload it to get it to the point it should have been delivered to (its very heavy).The setup was pretty easy, taking me about 1/2 hour. Once I got it together, I looked at it and wondered 'what do I do with it now'? It came with 2 DVDs and an exercise book, but I'm more of the type to just dive right in. After playing withit for about 10 minutes I watched oen fo the DVDs (8 minute workout I think), and found that there were a lot of things that can be done with this machine that aren't immediately obvious. I started trying the excercises in the video and was really impressed with how hard it worked multiple muscle groups. The upper body and abdominal exercises are incredible, but I haven't found an exercise that really challenges my leg muscles much yet.Is it fun to use? You bet. When I'm working out, the kids want to try it too. Best of all, I really don't have to change any weights/settings for them to jump on and wear themselves out.