Comments on: Total Gym XLS Review

By: James

James — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 03:56:20 +0000

I just bought the Total Gym XLS this month, and yes it is long and you need enough room to swing your arms, but for a fitness machine (not bodybuilding) I think it is worth the sale price. The payment plan also makes it easier to handle. I can understand others feelings on working out in the afternoon, after work, as I feel the same way, So I workout in the AM before work. I feel that exercise is a commitment to ones health, and one should be sure they want to make the commitment before spending money on exercise equipment. It is rough in the beginning, but when you get into a routine, It gets easier and I look forward to my exercising now. It beats ending up in the doctors office because of lack of exercise.

By: Angela

Angela — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:06:01 +0000

My workout equipment gets USED. ;) I am extremely frugal and if I spend money on something, I do the math and try to get every last cent out of it. lol

I just got the Total gym XLS for review on my blog and I’m loving it. My husband (who HATES exercise) has been sneaking out to use it every night. Someone needs to tell him that muscles need to rest, but I’m not going to jinx his new love of exercise.

I’d recommend you come up with a 2 day plan for the total gym. Write down which muscle groups you want to hit (triceps, shoulders, back, core, legs…etc.) then take out the cards that came with the machine and pick out your two faves for each muscle set. Then take one of each muscle group and make a routine. Do 12 reps of each, rest a minute or two, then repeat two more times.

I’m not a fan of doing legs on the Total gym, so I’d do some lunges or squats at the end of each set. But you can certainly do them on the gym.

I’d take the other 3 workdays and make them your cardio days. Walk for 30-45 minutes while you read your mail or watch t.v.

Or put in a fun exercise video – if you’ve never tried some of the kickboxing videos, you need to! They are awesome and fun! Or swim or ride bike or whatever you have time/energy for.

Good luck finding a routine.

By: roni

roni — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:38:06 +0000

Alison – When I bump it up to a higher level with works great. You are, however, only using your own body weight so I just upped the amount of reps.

If you are worried about the room I don’t think this is a better option then the bowflex. I’d say it’s even bigger. I was actually surprised how long it was.

By: Alison

Alison — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:11:31 +0000

Roni, How did you feel it did on lower body? The reviews and comparisons I’m reading say very limited lower body.

I have a bowflex which I love and use 3 times a week, but it takes up a ton of room, making aerobics etc hard, so if this is good i might give it a shot to get rid of the bowflex and free up some space (yes, I know the original bowflex folds up small, but i have the lat tower, the leg and squat attachments and now its HUGE!)

I do find having something at home works well for me, I do it more consistently because it’s there and so is the shower etc, just less time overall. The time to workout is not my problem but add in time to drive to the gym wait for equipment to become available and I’m done.

By: JavaChick

JavaChick — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:26:14 +0000

I have a treadmill, weights, stability ball and mats and I use them regularly. I’d have a hard time convincing myself to leave the house and go to a gym, but walking down to the basement is easy.

By: Chantal

Chantal — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:13:53 +0000

We have a home gym that includes treadmill, bike on a home trainer, spinner bike and a big equipment with bench press and a lot of free weights. Except for the equipment and the free weights I use everything else and so does my husband and HE uses the machine and the weights regulary.

We have a room dedicated for the gym in our basement. But I must had that my husband does triathlons and Ironman ;-)

Off course I don’t use it much in the summer because I run outside but in the winter it’s great, because we do get a lot of snow and it get’s very cold here (Ottawa, Ontario – Canada).

I also have a gym membership that I use for spinning classes and for the treadmill in the winter at lunch time (it’s in front of my office).

By: Carla

Carla — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:02:35 +0000

Ah, if only I had the space… I had an exercise bike for a while, and though I did use it fairly consistently the first few months I had it, I would much rather go to the gym (even if it takes more time), because people watching motivates me, or even better, go outside.

By: McLauren84

McLauren84 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:23:57 +0000

Workout DVDs truly work best for me, and my boyfriend often points out. I have a gym membership and go to a class with a friend once a week, but other than that I pretty much stick to my DVDs. I’ve always wants an elliptical, but they’re so pricey, and it seems ridiculous to buy one when I pay for a gym that has 30 of them.

By: Scott Tousignant

Scott Tousignant — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:53:19 +0000

The sale price is pretty good for a home gym, but I couldn’t imagine paying the full price.

My wife and I have been doing 10 minute home office workouts and cardio sessions for a while now. It only requires your body weight, a stability ball and a few dumbbells.

Because we are both busy work at home moms and dads who love to spend loads of time with our children we didn’t want to spend hours in the gym and we don’t have a lot of room for equipment.

Time should never be an excuse to not workout. There’s always time. Health should be your #1 priority because without it, nothing else matters.

Scott Tousignant

By: Carla

Carla — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:58:28 +0000

I finally realized that I cannot workout inside my home. My couch calls out to me to lay down! All my DVDs collect dust. I sold my treadmill. When I did own weight equipment at home I never used it. But I love going to the gym, running on the track or on the street.

Keeping those two things seperate has helped me to workout on a regular basis. :-)