Ride the Glide to Better Fitness-- For the Right Price
Written: May 24 '03 (Updated Oct 22 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cheaper than equivalent Total Gym model, more features, easy storage, easy to use, durable
Cons: Ride could be smoother, maximum workout weight limited, leg cuff awkward
The Bottom Line: Good workout for the average person, but probably not enough for die-hard iron pumpers. Maybe worthwhile to go up a few models if you have the cash.
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| tesseract's Full Review: Bayou Fitness Total-Trainer DLX TTDLX |
For me, the journey is as important as the destination. If you just want to know how the Total Trainer itself stacks up, skip down to the In-Home Test section. However, I want other shoppers to benefit from my exhaustive pre-purchase research and my decision to buy the Total Trainer, so I’ve included several sections that aren’t technically a review of the Total Trainer, but instead summarize the results of my shopping process.
Why Buy This Type Of Equipment At All?
Assuming you want to quit driving to the gym and opt for a total workout solution right in your home, why get this as opposed to, say, a Soloflex, a Bowflex, or a regular home gym with lots of bars and weight stacks? For me, one of the central concerns was space. I live in an apartment, and we don’t have a lot of extra square feet. A regular home gym setup basically needs its own room, and a Bowflex still seems like it takes up a lot of space. The Soloflex is compact, but many of the exercises looked awkward, and I worried that it would lack utility. The Total Trainer and similar products appeared to combine the best of both worlds with regard to space, storage, and ease of use. All of the Total Trainer-type gliding machines described below need a good seven feet or more of length when set up and at least a wingspan’s worth of width, so if you’re planning to leave it set up all the time as a motivational tool, you’ll still need a lot of space. However, they do all fold and roll for easy storage.
Another concern for me personally is my height—or lack of it. I’m only 4'11", and many of the home gym setups were too big—I couldn’t reach the lat bar, the butterfly pads were too wide, etc. All of the lower body machines at our apartment complex gym are also too big for me. Simpler equipment like the Total Trainer or Soloflex seemed to be a better answer for a short person. If on the other hand, you’re particularly tall, you might find a Total Trainer-type machine too confining. The higher end of some of the brands below are designed to accommodate increased height and weight, but you’ll have to pay for it.
Finally, price. Sure, we’d all love to have a full-size, full-service home gym machine, but who can afford it? The all-in-one solutions always seem to cost a lot of money—sometimes almost as much as the real thing. Have you SEEN what they want for a fully loaded Bowflex? I’m sure you have. The fully loaded Soloflex is just as bad; fortunately, there are a number of lower priced alternatives out there. (Note, the Total Gym you’ve seen on TV isn’t one of them.) I vowed not to spend more than $500, and set out internet shopping.
Note: Keep in mind that all of these gliding machines have an inherent limit on how much weight you can lift that is significantly lower than using free weights or traditional full-size stack equipment. Because the glide board is set at an angle, you can lift, at most, 60-80% of your body weight, depending on how steep the particular brand will let you set the incline and how you have the pulleys set up. Some brands let you further increase the weight by adding either free weights or resistance bands. However, if you add 100 pounds of free weights, and you can lift 50% of the weight on the glide board, your maximum weight setting will be 50% of your body weight plus 50 pounds, NOT 100 pounds. The higher end Bayou Fitness models will allow you to double the free weights to 200 pounds. If that’s not enough weight for your workout, you may want to rethink this type of machine altogether. This weight limitation has been the primary complaint I’ve seen from other users, but I think these machines can still be very useful for just about everyone below the serious bodybuilder. For the average Joe or Jane looking to lose some fat, tone up, build endurance, build moderate muscle mass, and generally get into shape, I don’t see it being a problem.
The Field
Here are the different models and prices I found for this type of machine:
Total Gym 1000- discontinued, but can possibly still be found on Ebay
Total Gym 1500- $250
Total Gym 2000- $200 on sale at wonderfulbuys.com
Total Gym 3000- $400 on sale at wonderfulbuys.com
Total Gym XL- version being hawked by Christie & Chuck for beaucoup $$$
The Total Gym company also directly markets models with numbers like 11000 and 24000, and they tend to be quite expensive. You can go to totalgym.com for comparison charts of some (but not all) of the models.
Bayou Fitness Total Trainer DLX- $300 at jlhwholesalers.com
Bayou Fitness Total Trainer Advanced DLX- $330 at jlhwholesalers.com
Bayou Fitness Total Trainer DLX-II- $400 at jlhwholesalers.com
Bayou Fitness Total Trainer DLX-III- $480 at jlhwholesalers.com (Also comes in a leather version “L”)
Bayou Fitness Total Trainer PowerPro- $500
You can go to bayoufitness.com for a comparison chart of all their models, but you can’t buy direct from them. The cool thing about JLH Wholesalers is that at least right now, they’re offering free shipping, so it’s the equivalent of knocking $50 off the price.
Infiniti Total Trainer 2000- ???
Infiniti Total Trainer 2500- $300 at homegymcentral.com
Weider Total Body Works 5000 - $125 at Walmart
Maxxus Home Gym Total Body Trainer- selling on EBay for ~ $200
The interesting thing about the Weider and the Maxxus is that instead of adding free weights, they come with resistance bands you can use to increase your workout. You basically rubber band the glide board to the foot stand so it’s harder to move it upwards. The Weider’s specs claim you can add 50 pounds of resistance, while the Maxxus claims you can add 50% of your body weight. The Maxxus looked pretty cool to me, but I was reluctant to buy it cold without any information other than the blurb on the Ebay listing.
The Purchase Decision
I looked primarily at Total Gym and the Bayou Fitness Total Trainer, since they had the most information available. Some of the key differences are that every BF Total Trainer has a Power Weight Bar that allows you to add at least 100 pounds of free weights if your own weight isn’t enough. On the Total Gym, only the XL has that feature. The BF series has 10-12 incline settings compared to six on the TG for more fine-tuning. The BF Total Trainer also appears to go a little higher on the incline, allowing you to lift up to 69% of your body weight as opposed to 60% with the Total Gym (80% with the Maxxus). But see below...
After surveying the field, I checked the size of my income tax refund, revised my spending limit down to $300, and bought the Bayou Fitness Total Trainer DLX-- the bottom of the line model from Bayou Fitness. It includes features found only on the top level Total Gym, like the ability to add weights and extra accessories like a lat bar, leg cuff, and pull up bar. However, if you’re not concerned about adding weights, one of the older model Total Gyms may still be a good buy for you, particularly if you can get a great deal like $200 for a Total Gym 2000. I almost bought that, but the weight bar, the extra incline settings, and the free shipping at JLH Wholesalers changed my mind in favor of the BF Total Trainer.
The In-Home Test
As soon as I got my machine home and read the manual, I realized the number they put on their ads regarding how much weight you can lift is actually misleading. The 69% number for this model is accurate when you don't have any pulleys engaged; ie, when you are doing squats or pull-ups. When you engage the pulleys, the maximum number drops to 38%, because of course the pulleys make it easier to lift the weight. So the maximum weight you could actually bench press if you load the bar with 100 pounds would be 38% of your body weight plus 38 pounds. It's plenty for me, but consider this carefully if you want to pump a lot of iron. (The same is probably true for the other brands as well.)
The Total Trainer’s frame appears to be well made, with thick bars and sturdy welds. I have it set up on a carpeted floor and it doesn’t seem to be wobbly even at the highest incline setting. The cushion of the glide board is quite thick, and the vinyl covering seems fairly sturdy, although the staples could pull out. My cats have been trying to claw it since it came into the house, and after about a week, they did manage to put a small puncture in it, but it hasn't shown any signs of tearing since then. The pull cables are simply braided nylon rope, and I don’t see a strength rating in the manual. Unclear how well they will hold up over time. They could fray or snap after a lot of use. Most of the hand grips are made of good high-density foam rubber that minimizes hand fatigue without being too squishy, but oddly, the handles of the pull-up bar are plain hard plastic. Go figure. I did note that a bit of the powder coating underneath was already damaged and flaked on my hand. I hope it’s only cosmetic. The pulleys are made of hard plastic with metal hardware, and they seem pretty sturdy. The foot board is quite thick and heavy, and feels like it will hold up well.
The Total Trainer comes with several included accessories— a foot strap at the top end for incline crunches, a leg cuff and rope with a special pulley that goes in the top end for leg exercises (note, there’s only one cuff, so you have to alternate legs), a long bar for lat pull-downs and such, a pull-up/press bar that can be easily installed at either end of the machine, and a removable foot board for squat-type exercises.
It also comes with a video that demonstrates every exercise and shows you how to fold and unfold the machine as well as how to get on and off— a trickier procedure than you might think. Included are re-usable workout cards with suggested workouts, incline levels and space for you to make notes.
The foot rest for the incline crunches is not adjustable and is a bit too far back for someone with very small feet, like me. It will still get the job done, but it’s not as comfortable as it ought to be. This was the only problem area for me as a short person.
The machine is heavy, but it’s fairly easy to fold and unfold in a matter of seconds. It has wheels of a sort, but it can be a bit difficult to roll it over carpet. You do have to remove all the accessories before folding it up, but this isn’t a big problem. I found the best way to store it is to stand it in a corner and simply fold it out when you want to use it. This makes it very easy to open it up for your workout, and get it out of the way when you’re done. If you slide it under a bed or roll it into a closet, it’s too easy to “forget” about it, so I suggest leaving it out where it’s visible but out of the way. If you store it standing up, I estimate it takes up less than two square feet of floor space, and stands about 4 feet tall.
One thing I noted right away is that the weight bar, which is also used as a hand grip for some of the leg exercises, is a real hassle when getting on and off the machine. I picked up several bruises in the first few minutes while I tried to learn how to get on and off, as the glide board slid down and the bar whacked my calf. Ouch! I strongly suggest removing the weight bar whenever it’s not in use, as you don’t really need the hand grips.
On this low-end model, the rollers underneath the glide board are just hard plastic, and they don’t give as smooth a ride as you might get on some of the higher end models with ball bearings. It’s a bit like working on a weight stack machine where the weights stick a little on the guide bar. I was somewhat disappointed with the feel of it and wondered if I should have coughed up an extra $100 for the DLX-II.
The exercises are easy to do. You have to stabilize the ropes as you lift, so it gives more of the feel of using free weights than a stack-based machine, but with no spotter needed. At the lower inclines, my weight wasn’t enough to bring the glide board back down quickly, so I had trouble getting good negative resistance on many of the exercises. At higher inclines or for heavier people, this shouldn’t be a problem.
They claim you can do 50 exercises on this machine, but it’s really closer to an infinite number of exercises, depending on how you vary the angle of your arms and/or legs. Switching from one exercise to the next is mostly just a matter of changing how you sit or lie on the glide board, and possibly getting off and raising or lowering the incline, so you can get through your workout pretty quickly if you want. Changing the incline is almost as easy as changing the weight on a stack machine. You just pull out a pin and lift or lower. The Total Trainer allows you to reconfigure the pulleys to allow advanced versions of certain exercises that feel more like the real thing in a gym. However, you can work just about every muscle group without moving the pulleys.
I’ve only had this machine for a few days, so the novelty hasn’t worn off and it’s still “fun” to use. A lot of people want to know, “Will product X keep me motivated to work out?” The answer is, motivation comes from you, not the machine. If you are determined to skip workouts, no piece of equipment can help you, no matter how convenient or easy to use. But I do think this machine makes it about as easy as possible.
Update
After using this machine for about six weeks, my additional comments are:
(1) The hooks that clip the rope to the handgrips bump my wrists uncomfortably as I do the reps, and it's a distraction.
(2) For the reasons described above, I predict it's going to be very easy to hit the maximum weight ceiling on the leg press, even for someone as wimpy as me. I'm already doing them on the maximum incline, although I haven't tried adding weights yet.
(3) I just recently starting trying out the leg cuff, since I was coming of an ankle surgery when I bought this, and the cuff is VERY uncomfortable and awkward, I found it unusable. That cuts out about four exercises. :-(
(4) If you are just speeding through your reps and not taking rest periods in between, you can complete your workout VERY quickly-- it's just that easy to move from one exercise to the next, particularly if you set up your workout to minimize reconfigurations of the machine.
(5) There is a pair of metal studs that stick out from the sides of the board and act as anchoring points for the pulleys for the alternate pulley setup. These are covered by little rubber caps when not in use. Unsurprisingly, one of the caps went missing after the machine had been in my house for less than 2 weeks. However, we fired off an e-mail to Bayou Fitness and they promptly sent us a new set of caps at no charge.
(6) I can also confirm that if you're just not motivated to exercise, as I am not, the Total Trainer is certainly no magic bullet that is suddenly going to make it fun. Even with it standing right there in the corner, and even as easy to use as it is, I still get the feeling that it's "too much trouble" to take five seconds to unfold it and start working out. I promise you, it's not the machine that's giving me that feeling; it's the pure act of exercising, which I hate. But hey, there is no magic bullet-- you just have to buckle down and do it no matter how much you hate it, right?
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tesseract
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Member: Tesseract
Location: The Fourth Dimension
Reviews written: 71
Trusted by: 19 members
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