What to Wear
Toning Major Muscle GroupsTotal Gym
If
Chuck Norris uses it, it must be good
If you’re here it’s probably because you’ve seen the infomercials with Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley, or maybe you’ve just heard good things about the Total Gym. Surprisingly, for an infomercial fitness product, reviewers seem to have positive feelings about this machine.
What is the Total Gym?
If you were to see the Total Gym without knowing what it was you might be deceived into thinking it was nothing more than a sloped workout bench. The machine consists of a padded “glideboard” on a metal frame. One end of the frame rests on the floor while the other can be adjusted higher or lower on a metal ladder so that the glideboard is either flat on the ground or on an incline. Two pulleys that move up and down the ladder can be used with a variety of attachments including ankle straps and bars.
How does it work?
Basically you sit, kneel or lay on the glideboard and use your arms and legs to push and pull yourself back and forth on the metal frame. You can either pull the cables, which in turn pull the glideboard, or push against the various hand and foot attachments. The number of different exercises you can do with the total gym is easily in the hundreds and includes strength training, cardio, stretching and Pilates.
How much does it cost?
There are several models of the Total Gym, with the most basic starting at $400 and the most advanced topping $4000. Extra attachments often cost up to several hundred dollars each.
Why you should consider the Total Gym
- Full range of motion - You can move back to front, side to side and rotate while using this home gym. It lets you go through a complete range of motion, which means it can mimic real-life movements.
- Easy exercise transition - When you switch between exercises it often takes no more than shifting your position on the glideboard, switching the incline or hooking on a different attachment.
- Quick workouts - Exercises that work more than one muscle group simultaneously not only help you build more muscle and burn more calories, they do it in less time.
- Varied resistance levels - Resistance on the Total Gym is measured in percentage of the user’s body weight. Depending on the model you can work at between 3 percent and 70 percent of your body weight. If that’s still not enough you can add weight plates.