Ok, my Fluidity bar arrived yesterday. Dragging the box up the stairs and into the house was a workout in itself (as was disassembling the massive box) but then I finally got it set up to try.
I definately like it. It's not a sweating and panting kind of work out and it won't leave you sore for hours afterwards, so if you need that to feel like you've done something, this isn't for you. It is a lot of gentle movements and stretching, but wow can you really feel the muscles working. I was able to do all of the exercises except the one where you sit with you back against the board and lift both legs at the same time. Not happening here. Not yet anyway.
I couldn't believe how quickly the time flew by and afterwards I actually repeated some of the moves on my own without the video because it was so much fun.
Before I bought it I read a few complaints on line, of course. People complained the exercises were impossible. I think that if you are incredibly unflexible and utterly out of shape, these would be rather difficult. But part of it is building flexibility and there are modified versions of many exercises, especially for those who cannot get their leg onto the hip-high bar. I remember another complain about someone who said there was no way to store the bar under the bed. I thought this too - then I noticed that you can pull the straps tighter than they were when they shipped and - voila - Fluidity is under the bed as we speak.
A lot of people were complaining about the weight. You know what? Yeah, this sucker's heavy. But I have decided to think of dragging the 55 pounds of it out for setup as part of the work out
Besides, I have no desire to have from a 10-pound apparatus.
Overall, I am loving it so far. It's fun, and that's a big deal to me as far as motivation to keep going. With the treadmill I'm sweating and it feels like I'm really doing something, but I have to continuously talk myself into 2 more mintes.
As far as losing inches and toning, I'll be in touch after a few more sessions. The muscles have to work their way through some, uh, other layers before they'll start to show themselves.
One side note: My boyfriend complained that it smelled. It has an evident odor from lubricant or something, but I remember (and reminded him) that our Gazelle smelled that way at first, too, and it's just fine now.