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More on the Total Gym
by Scott Bird | May 31, 2006
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If you’ve somehow managed to avoid the Total Gym infomercials featuring the well-known faces of Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley, the photo at left should give you an idea of the basic arrangement. It’s essentially an inclined bench (with a sliding pad), and a cable at each side to lift/lower the user along the bench. A very simple setup.
The company was founded in 1974 by Tom Campanaro, Larry Westfall, and Dale Mc Murray - with the product changing little since then. As the height of the incline was soon changeable (with 6 heights available on the 1000 model I’m currently using), adjusting the resistance of various bodyweight exercises became a simple matter and the Total Gym products were taken up largely for rehab use. In that respect they’re still ideal.
In the mid-90s the Total Gym was brought to a home-user market, with an advertising campaign featuring the Norris/Brinkley combination in 1996 and a website (totalgym.com) the same year. Several advertising campaigns later, the Total Gym range still boasts large numbers of both home and medical centre users.
I am still surprised at how effective the setup (at least on the 1000) feels; whilst I’m not expecting to build large slabs of muscle with it, I’m experiencing far more muscle soreness than following typical bodyweight workouts. All of the exercises I’ve tried so far (and there are far more than you might imagine - it’s a very versatile setup) have been using the steepest incline, which averages out at around 44% of bodyweight. That may sound quite light, but keep in mind that everything on the Total Gym is a compound exercise, and there’s more balance and control involved than in many bodyweight movements.
In addition to its common rehab uses, the Total Gym is also a good intermediate point for a few of the more difficult bodyweight+free-weight exercises; such as chin-ups and handstand push-ups. Neither of these are easy, but using 44% of bodyweight brings them a little closer to attainability.
Overall, think of the Total Gym as another tool that can be used. It certainly isn’t better (or worse) than any other form of resistance exercise, but very good at what it does. The only point I’d make on the range available is that many of the optional extras seem quite pointless to me; such as the extra hooks, cables, pins and plates (yes, you can add weight plates to them - but if you really want to lift weights, why start with a Total Gym?). Grab one of the simpler models (usually the lower numbers - which are changing all the time). You’ll be surprised.
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Comments
I suspect people buy the plates and other accessories because they start with the total gym and then wonder how they can move up.
Interesting shot of you on the TotalGym.
Posted by: Bud Gibson | May 31, 2006 11:42 AM
Yep, but they’d be much better off just keeping it simple. Most of the accessories are expensive for what they are, and you can turn a $100 machine into a $2,500 one without too much trouble. Without them, it’s a great little thing.
That shot is of me just getting into a front press, which is really just a handstand push-up done at an angle. A few high-rep sets at 44% of bodyweight certainly get the blood pumping :)
Posted by: Scott | May 31, 2006 11:56 AM