The Total Gym?
 

I don't belong to a gym...I workout in my basement with light free weights. I know, your supposed to lift "heavy" but I think that buying heavier weights (I own 5, 8, 10) would be more expensive and take up so much space...
So, I am thinking about buying either the Total Gym or the Weider 500 which seems to be the non-brand name version of it.
I was wondering if anyone has had any experiences with either of these machines and could offer opinions on it.
Would it be as good as buying heavier weights or joining a gym?
Is it easy to use?
Did you have any problems with it?
Would there be a better piece of equipment?
I am trying to buy equipment instead of a gym membership as a $35 a month gym membership would be over $300 for one year wheras I could buy that Weider machine for only $150...
I am intending on using the machine for strength and then supplementing the strength with cardio like walking/jogging, riding my bike ect.

Welll....in fairness, I do not have experience with either of these products. While I do like to use some types of cable like equipment at the gym, I still rely more upon free weights for strength training.

If you plan to go the home gym route consider purchasing 15lb and 20lb dumb bells for now and visit www.exrx.net. for beginning ideas. As your budget allows, you may think about adding a TRX suspension trainer. This takes up much less space than the Total Gym. These things are great for most levels of conditioning and will also help you build core strength as well. Most trainers would agree that it is much better to do compound exercises where you standing or on your feet (closed chain exercise) than where you are seated as would be the case with some of the home gym cable machines. The exception to this would be if you are rehabilitating a particular body part and should be standing or need to isolate a specific muscle group. This is a link to the TRX trainer just get a look at what you could do with it.
http://www.trxtraining.com/


You can also find many exercises for the TRX on youtube for ideas too.

In the meantime, you can purchase a physio ball to help build some beginning core strength, and it can also serve as a bench while your are doing chest presses with those new 20lb dumb bells.

Another item I would suggest for your cardio is a jump rope...A yoga mat might me nice too if you are familiar with different asanas (poses)

Just a few thoughts...:chin:

But overall, I would be very cautious about purchasing a large piece of equipment that might not be as versatile as your fitness needs progress.

I have a Total Gym-knock off that I used for about a year. I liked it, got out of the habit of using it, and now it's too much trouble for me to get to it, so I don't use it.

A TRX type suspension trainer is also a good choice like Lydia suggested. There are other brands out there now that aren't as expensive (lifeline jungle gym is one--google suspension trainers. or you can make your own).

You could also try resistance bands instead of getting heavier dumbbells.

I don't think you 'have' to lift heavy. I don't.

Thanks. I do have some bands but I got bored of them....I kind of go a while using my band dvd, then I use my kettlebell dvd for a month and then switch back to dumbbells so I am not doing the same workout for my strength days.

I was looking for a machine because I don't want things attached to my doors or my ceilings...:/

The machine that I have came with a dvd, so you could do a follow along workout. I did enjoy it and I did lose some weight (with a good diet of course) when I used it. I tend to get tendonitis in my elbows and it seemed to aggravate that though.
One thing that I did really like about it is that you can do squats whilst lying on your back. You can get your knees in that perfect 90 degree angle.
Also if you can't do real pull ups, you can do partials on the machine. My machine is called the Ultra Glide by Stamina Products. It is similar to the Total Gym. Not sure if they make it anymore. I got it after my daughter was born and she's 12 now.