I bought the Total Gym 1500 around 6 months ago now. I saw it advertised late one night on home shopping tv. I guess it was an impulse buy. But the fact of the matter was that I had a piece of exercise equipment all set up in my bedroom, and I may as well utilize it.

The first thing that attracted me to the Total Gym was the fact that since there were so many exercises that a person could do on it, there would be no way that I could get bored, so I started on the road to what I thought would be the nice toned body. My planned 20 minute workout soon turned into an hour, this continued for a few more days until I got sick of it and the workouts once again stopped!

I found that the Total Gym, while set up, does make a very good clothing rack! Now I am getting off the track!

The main features of the Total Gym that initially attracted me are:

*It has many different workouts to tone the whole body

*There are fancy "rowing machine" style handles attached to leads that looked exciting to use!

*The main part of the weight that you are lifting is your body weight, which means that you can get the same proportionate working no matter how heavy you are.

*Levels of weight can be further adjusted by simply removing a pin and sliding the angle either up or down. You can purchase a stand that goes under the main unit to further increase the weight, however a phone book or two is sufficient!

*Assembly and pack up is quite simple, although when packed up will not slide under the bed like on tv!

The Total Gym can be used to target different muscles through out the body. Simply doing an exercise sitting in a different position can target a totally different muscle, and you can really feel the muscles working. The exercises are all easy, there is no standing on your head, all the exercises can be completed by anyone.

The motion used while working out is very flowing, there is no sudden jerks which could cause you harm, as all weight is controlled by your body weight. The "board" object that you lay on while exercising is very comfortable, however for someone tall like I am (over 6ft) it does tend to be a little too short, of course you can purchase a larger board, but at incredibly expensive prices.

The stability of the Total Gym 1500 is excellent, with very solid tubing made out of metal it is unlikely that this thing will ever break! The cables are all weight tested which means they will hold the most heaviest person!

Lately I have started to use the Total Gym again and have found that in moderation this machine is one that you could work out on every day, I have found it very good for toning the stomach and upper arms, as these are the only muscles that I have really ever targeted.

I find that the cost of the actual unit is somewhat excessive for what in reality is only steel framing and some cables, but does do the job and all that it promises. However if you do plan on buying the Total Gym be sure that you do not wish to buy any further accessories for it, as these are incredibly expensive! It may be better to look at higher level systems, but these can be in excess of $1000!

I recommend the Total Gym 1500 to anyone that craves the full body workout and does not wish to have several machines around the house, however if you are not persistent then this could turn out to be an expensive version of the clothes line!

Recommended: Yes