total gym models

[mark12b]

what are the pros/cons of the different total gym models? looking at craigslist, i'm seeing these models: 1000, 1500, 2400, XL, XLS, Platinum, "no model number"...

 

[some call me...tim?]

Yo Mark, I've gotten a good amount of info from Blake on the models. If you want to send me some links of the models you're looking at, I can try to give some advice. Basically, model numbers 2000 and up are the good ones, as well as the XL and XLS. The main difference between them and the lower end models is that they're sturdier construction, more accessories, easier to adjust, and a bigger glide board.

 

[Blake_T1]

super high end ones that i don't know anything about:
10000, 11000, 14000, etc. these are all $1200+ new, used they tend to pop up anywhere from $200 to $1000+. these are the clinical grade models used for professional rehab. the suck part is that the accessories cost like 8-10x as much as they do for the consumer grade models, so unless it comes loaded with accessories you probably won't want to buy them.

high end models (in descending order):
XLS, XL, 3000, 2000. sturdy tower, easy to adjust incline, tons of accessories, squat plate capable, high build quality. these 4 models all use the same accessories.

mid-end models (in descending order):
1800 club, 1700 club, supra. narrow tower, lower build quality, tons of accessories, squat plate capable. the supra uses the same accessories as the XL/XLS/2000/3000. the 1700/1800 can use the same accessories.

low-end models (in no particular order):
1000, 1100, 1500, achiever, elite, ultra, pro, performer, etc. narrow tower, lower build quality, minimal accessories.

best ones:

XLS. new $1300, used $350-900. super wide glide board, new came with squat plate, pilates bar/kit, leg pulley, wing attachment.

XL. new $1200, used $200-400. super wide glide board, new came with squat plate, leg pulley, wing attachment. there was an informercial promo that included the pilates bar/kit or press up bars. the XL and XLS are nearly identical (the handles are the only real difference), so they are "worth" roughly the same amount imo.

3000. new $900, used $100-300. new came with squat plate, wing attachment. there was an informercial promo that included the leg pulley and press up bars. total gym logo on board is white/silver outlined in blue with no model number.

1800 club. new $350, used $200-300. new came with pilates bar, leg pulley, wing attachment, press up bars, dip bars, ab crunch boards, floor mat.

1700 club. new $350, used $150-250. new came with pilates bar, leg pulley, wing attachment, press up bars, dip bars, weight bar, floor mat.

2000. new $600, used $100-250. new came with no accessories. there was an informercial promo that included the press up bars, wing attachment, and squat plate. the handles on this model can't be changed.

the accessories for the XL/XLS/2000/3000 usually cost $20-35 each. the 1700/1800 came with pretty much everything and i don't think you can get the accessories separately without calling the manufacturer.

i would avoid the lower end models unless budget is your primary concern. in that case, you should be able to get one of them for under $60. all the standard exercises can be performed with any model. the 1500 is a solid one and probably the most common one floating around used. most low end models came with the wing attachment and leg pulley.

 

[mark12b]

awesome, blake, thanks for the writeup!

i'm keeping my eye on craigslist. cost isn't a super-big issue... mainly i want to avoid over-spending if this turns out to be something i can't stick with (somewhat likely, as i've never really been into exercising) -- but i also want to avoid under-spending and getting something i don't enjoy using, or that i *do* like but which isn't expandable enough.

there are a few XLS with "all accessories" listed for ~$500, which is tempting but a fair bit beyond a casual purchase for me. gotta figure out how dedicated i really think i can be.

 

[Blake_T1]

let me know if you want me to dig through your CL. i found tim's (and disc junkie's, but he's not in seattle). tim got a 3000 w/ a bunch of accessories for $150. you may have to be willing to drive. when i was searching the seattle one there was a 3000 in tacoma for $30 and an XL for $100 near olympia.


this one is actually a 2000 and not a 3000.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/for/1510980843.html

here's an XL for $150:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/hab/1514514500.html

a 2000 for $100:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/hsh/1515049011.html

a 1700 but i wouldn't pay more than $200-250 and that's if it included everything:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/hab/1513811420.html

this one looks like it's an 1800 club w/ a standard glide board... wouldn't go more than $200ish:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/spo/1518861967.html

this is a 3000 model w/ accessories:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/spo/1521742938.html

there's usually a ton of $50 or less ones up for sale... but not right now.

that guy w/ the XL up for $350 seems like a douche... he's had it at that since like august and keeps flipping the price between $400 and $350.

on those $500 XLS's you can always offer $350 and see what they do. used exercise equipment is supposed to sell for like $0.10-0.20 on the dollar new.

total gym also sells the ones that were returned for the 30-day trials on ebay at a discounted price but you can get used ones way cheaper:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Total-Gym-2000-These-are-our-lowest-prices-anywhere_W0QQitemZ380189576577QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5885108d81

 

[Blake_T1]

here's a link to the new 1800 clubs:
http://www.fitnessquest.com/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=fq/itemdetl.html?item=Total_Gym_1800

$350 w/ free shipping. those basically have everything but the squat plate and weight bar (and i don't think you can add either of them). the customer service person told me that the pilates bar wasn't weight bearing enough to do squats on it. you can do something that resembles squats using the leg attachment. these don't have nearly as high of build quality as like a 3000 or XL, but it's a good value if you want all the attachments. i got an XL for $150 and then spent another $150 on accessories.

 

[mark12b]

this is great, thanks... gives me a better idea of what to look for. once we get past christmas i'll see what's out there and let you know if i have any questions.

tim -- buff yet?

 

[some call me...tim?]

tim -- buff yet?

Hahaha, ummm, in a word, no. Just as I was getting comfortable in a routine, my friend came up to visit from CA, and I didn't feel like entertaining her with my Chuck Norris antics. Now I'm back east at my parents' place, burning approximately 1 calorie a day, and taking in significantly more. I'm just telling myself I'm giving that much more room for improvement once I get back to the routine.

I will say though, that before my recent lethargy, I was feeling some good results.

 

[mark12b]

alright, scored a 2000 for $150, came with the bundled infomercial-promo accessories described above.

 

[Blake_T1]

cool. how'sit working for ya so far?

i'm in the midst of re-working my workout routines.

after shedding 17 lbs of fat in the first 5 weeks i proceeded to put on 37 lbs of muscle over the following 7 weeks. wtf. everyone complains about being unable to bulk on total gyms but i only did exercises on inclines 2-4 (out of 6).

currently recouping from a sprained thumb and wrist. going to experiment a bit on level 1 with some really high rep counts (e.g. 40-50) to see if i can go for strength without the mass.

maybe my body just has a really messed up sense of what its equilibrium build should be.

 

[southpawFADE]

cool. how'sit working for ya so far?

i'm in the midst of re-working my workout routines.

after shedding 17 lbs of fat in the first 5 weeks i proceeded to put on 37 lbs of muscle over the following 7 weeks. wtf. everyone complains about being unable to bulk on total gyms but i only did exercises on inclines 2-4 (out of 6).

currently recouping from a sprained thumb and wrist. going to experiment a bit on level 1 with some really high rep counts (e.g. 40-50) to see if i can go for strength without the mass.

maybe my body just has a really messed up sense of what its equilibrium build should be.

37lbs. of muscle in 7 weeks is not possible (trust me, barry bonds would have been all over it in the 80s....or 90s). the total gym is solid, and i own one, but it will not magically turn you into a christie brinkley banging super pimp in that amount of time.

 

[Blake_T1]

i've been told that it's impossible time and time again, but this isn't the first time i've had this kind of rapid bulk up happen.

my goal with the total gym was to go from 220 to 190... and i ended up going from 220 to 203 to 240. that isn't something i wanted to have happen and it's usually only happened with free weights.

working under the assumption that this did in fact happen, can you make any positive contributions on workouts that will help deflate the mass?

 

[southpawFADE]

if you are looking to lean up, you have to start with the diet. i'm sure you know that more weight and less reps will supply bulk, while less weight and more reps will cut you up. what do you do for cardio? i recommend swimming, it is the only thing that has worked for me when i need to get leaned up quick.


i was recently at around 240lbs. as well, after shattering my 5th metacarpel, and breaking my 3rd and 4th, in my dominant hand, all at the same time. started back on my exercise routine which consist of walking my dogs +/- 10 miles per day, then playing up to 3 rounds of dg for fun, followed by a 30 minute total gym session in the evenings (usually down a can of tuna about an hour after, to feed the muscles). i also like to sneak in 100 push ups, and 100 sit ups each day (not all at once, typically break them in to 25 of each, 4 times a day). gotten back down to 190ish now, and feel great again.


if you want more clarity, hit me up, a good friend that i work out with is a nutritionist, and helps me with my diet.

 

[Blake_T1]

i spent 2 years cutting my protein intake and working on low weight high reps in order to deflate my pectorals. trimming is definitely my primary focus.

bodies respond differently to exercise and mine tends to do rapid bulking, especially if i'm working from an out of shape state.

my cardio right now is generally circuit training with my total gym. i'll have days where i'll perform the exercises aerobically at high reps/low weight and change muscle groups rather than resting between sets and working out that way for 40-70 minutes. that's the limit of my cardio right now, which i know isn't enough, but it's what i can consistently make time for.

i can't stand how quickly my body puts on muscle. it was nice when i was playing football but not something i want.

 

[rehder]

if you want to lose weight you absolutely have to focus on the diet. Find out on how many calories a day you gain, and reduce your intake. Dont cut your protein intake, but make sure you have a wellrounded diet that is low in calories. (Lots of greens and fish is really good as well.) No matter how you lift weights will change your bodyweight if you dont look at the diet. Especially if you gain easily.

 

[Blake_T1]

my last serious diet shift happened about 5 years ago and i cut my calorie intake to 1200-1600 daily (for a year) along with a severe protein downgrade. that coupled with a lot of exercising was the only way i was able to shed some muscle mass.

the problem is what i tend to gravitate towards. i don't consider 2000-2600 calories a day to be excessive if i'm working out 5-6 days a week.

also, my primary concern isn't to burn fat, it's more to avoid putting on tons of bulk. it happens naturally and it's something i struggle to avoid. when i'm getting a constant stream of exercise my body tends to gravitate towards a 235-245 lb equilibrium. any fat loss is replaced with muscle mass up to that point. this is where my body behaves freakishly. i can go from 200 to 240 in 2 months, but going from say, 240 to 260 would be next to impossible without a significant increase in my caloric intake.

my leg joints are pretty much shot and i'm trying to ease the stress there. i've only had 2 bouts in the past 12 years where i was able to get below 190, one time was the atkins diet (which f'd up my blood pressure) and the other was with the help of ephedrine/aspirin and lots of exercise (which also f'd up my blood pressure). based upon the rapid shift i had when i started my recent routine i thought i was on the right track towards that goal again. in the first 5 weeks i lost 3" around my waist and 2" around my chest... but the 7 weeks after that led to adding 7" around my chest and losing another 1/2" from my waist.

 

[JR]

All the doctors in Finland I've heard recognize that the Atkins diet works for short periods of time but they also say it's extremely unhealthy and should be avoided as the mass returns in almost every case anyway. People say that not eating doesn't make you leaner. False. But the same purpose defeating problems happen than with Atkins diet. Do yourself a favor and avoid these.

 

[JR]

if you want to lose weight you absolutely have to focus on the diet. Find out on how many calories a day you gain, and reduce your intake. Dont cut your protein intake, but make sure you have a wellrounded diet that is low in calories. (Lots of greens and fish is really good as well.) No matter how you lift weights will change your bodyweight if you dont look at the diet. Especially if you gain easily.

Depending on how much _animal_ proteins one gets cutting some of it may be a good thing along with the more important calorie intake. Americans eat a lot of meat and IIRC Blake has suffered from a disease that builds up uric acid in the toe so bad that the slightest movement of a bed sheet over the toe causes howling pain. Don't recall the name of the disease in English ATM. The diet is half the battle. You still need to consume energy so go out to do field practice if hours of swimming or 6 hours of walking 5 days a week doesn't sound palatable. Former competition swimmer you know... And I mean hours of swimming in one go and no slacking in between. Just gogogo no respite. Naturally the pace needs to be slow to keep the heart rate low in order to keep you in the majority of fat burning zone. Raising the heart rate too high will quickly burn the reserve fat which is only few per cents of the entire fat content so you could spend it in a day if you train hard enough and not lose a lot of weight after that. And that's fro the muscles but it'll also cost you in muscle power.

Considering Blake is in MN he could do what they've always done in the old country of his family name ilk and cross country ski for hours on end. I just don't know how his Asian genes and general US pussyfootedness (sorry guys come here in winter and I'll show you if you don't believe me) does for his heat generation. Lots of hot water into a large thermos drinking a couple of sips every 20 minutes helps a lot. Even if it means the attack of the yellow ice to the wee wee of the frozen guy. Yellow ice rising from the ground up to tender parts of the joy department.

 

[mark12b]

cool. how'sit working for ya so far?

just fine, thanks... had it less than a week and i've been taking it pretty slow -- getting a feel or the exercises, starting to figure out what combinations of reps and resistance will work for a baseline, that sort of thing. i'm in my mid-40s and in neither particularly bad nor particularly good shape, and don't have any weight to lose, so i'm mainly aiming for overall toning right now, for injury prevention. for disc golf the goal is stamina; my game tends to suffer toward the end of a round and especially if it's the second of the day. the other big goal is to build core strength and overall flexibility up to hopefully get rid of some mild but nagging lower back pain i've had for many years.

so, the current plan is to alternate between the beginner program with lower reps/higher resistance/slow pace, and the circuit program with lots of reps and a fast pace.

 

[Blake_T1]

Depending on how much _animal_ proteins one gets cutting some of it may be a good thing along with the more important calorie intake. Americans eat a lot of meat and IIRC Blake has suffered from a disease that builds up uric acid in the toe so bad that the slightest movement of a bed sheet over the toe causes howling pain. Don't recall the name of the disease in English ATM. The diet is half the battle. You still need to consume energy so go out to do field practice if hours of swimming or 6 hours of walking 5 days a week doesn't sound palatable. Former competition swimmer you know... And I mean hours of swimming in one go and no slacking in between. Just gogogo no respite. Naturally the pace needs to be slow to keep the heart rate low in order to keep you in the majority of fat burning zone. Raising the heart rate too high will quickly burn the reserve fat which is only few per cents of the entire fat content so you could spend it in a day if you train hard enough and not lose a lot of weight after that. And that's fro the muscles but it'll also cost you in muscle power.

the term for that in english is gout. i intake a lot of meat, but very little red meat. mostly chicken with red meat between 0-2 times per week. nothing i eat is really notoriously high in purines and i tend to mix up the types of animal proteins i intake. if it's fish it's mostly cod, halibut, and tuna. i take in turkey or pork ~1-2 times per month and shellfish maybe 1-3 times per year. i don't drink booze and i intake 1-2 gallons of water per day.

basically, it was blamed more on the injuries to the foot it happened in, which has only 20-30% of its ligaments intact and that big toe (where the gout flared up) has been sprained over 100 times. scar tissue, poor circulation due to scar tissue, bad luck, etc. was cited as the probable cause.

i agree that americans eat too much meat and i am also one of them but for me it's not an outrageous amount.

something i've come to believe is that people's inherent body chemistry and their base metabolism gives them a natural equilibrium amount of muscle mass. when coming from a point lower than that level, they will bulk up faster until they reach that level. attempting to push beyond that level is a much slower and more intensive process.

this may or may not be true, but it has been that way for me since i was 14-15 years old and i've known tons of people that completely struggle to push beyond a certain threshold without taking drastic measures (such as taking in 5000+ calories a day and hitting the weights hard). i've been able to put on 40 lbs of muscle mass in under 3 months half a dozen times in my life but it always brought me to the 235-245 lb range and then stopped abruptly even though my workouts would continue to get more intense. i never tried to go beyond that point (nor did i ever want to) but i'm trying to find a way to prevent that from happening and i'm not sure it's possible but i know my knees will probably feel better if i can reduce the weight even if it means sacrificing muscle.

the other big goal is to build core strength and overall flexibility up to hopefully get rid of some mild but nagging lower back pain i've had for many years.

so, the current plan is to alternate between the beginner program with lower reps/higher resistance/slow pace, and the circuit program with lots of reps and a fast pace.

cool. i would definitely look into doing the hip extensions (where you kneel on the bench at the bottom with your hands on the bars and pop your legs out sort of like during a squat thrust) as that's been the fastest exercise i've found for strengthening the pelvic floor and lower abs. it's that muscle area being weak that is usually one of the primary causes of back pain.