Best Total Gym Home Gyms of 2021

Total Gym Home Gyms Buying Guide

Total Gyms are a fantastic option for those who want to get in a quick workout despite being short on time. There are many fantastic benefits to owning a total gym, and that’s why they’ve become one of the most popular options out on the market. Born in 1974, with a move into physical therapy units across the world by the late 1980s, the basic concept behind the Total Gym series remains the same. Unlike clunky barbells and dumbbells, these machines allow for smooth resistance by way of cables and a sliding bench. When used properly, they can target any muscle in the body with between 60 and 200 different exercises depending on the model selected.

These units can be found in over 5 million homes and are currently one of the industry’s biggest sellers. Their claim to fame is that ‘in just 10-20 minutes per day, one can reshape their body into the form they’ve always wanted.” By now, anyone familiar with the Total Gym knows that martial arts legend Chuck Norris and celebrity model Christie Brinkley serve as spokespeople and users themselves. With Norris now 81 and Brinkley 67 years old, one can see the value these machines present to fitness fans of any age or stage of development.

Some of the key benefits it offers include:

• Ability to get a full body workout in one machine. You don’t need any extra equipment with this one to get your entire workout in. This saves you the hassle of figuring out what else you need. It’s a done-for-you solution and perfect for beginners.
• The machine uses your bodyweight as a form of resistance. The lack of external weight means less stress on the joints and less risk of the machine actually breaking down.
• This gym allows you to easily transition from one exercise to the next, which makes it an ideal option for circuit training. Circuit training, especially when done in the form of HIIT, is one of the best methods to boost your overall metabolic rate and promote a higher rate of fat loss.
• There are no weights to add or remove between exercises. If you workout with your standard free weight scenario, you’ll typically have to take weight off or put it back on between exercises and sets. This is not an issue with the Total Gym.
• The Total Gym offers a 30 day trial offer on all products to help ensure that you are completely satisfied with your purchase. If it’s not right for you, you can simply return it and get your full payment back.

The design of the machine is simple enough. With something of an L-shaped frame, they feature an inclined bench on which to ride while using a cable system to pull oneself up, down, or even across. In this manner, users can perform lunges, chest flyes, and even calf raises, as well as any number of abdominal exercises. The machine is designed so the user’s bodyweight serves as the primary resistance instead of weight stacks. The biggest difference one sees between the various models of Total Gyms is the number of exercise variations afforded, as well as the maximum user weight.

And don’t think that one can’t get a great workout in using bodyweight as opposed to stacks of plates. The fact is, the body doesn’t know the difference between plates or iron or its own weight, the muscles simply work to meet the demands presented. A sample workout with any Total Gym might be:

• 2-Legged Squat for one minute as a warm-up
• Single Leg Squat for 30 seconds on each leg
• Plyometric Jumps for one minute
• Surfer Lat Pull for one minute
• Pullover Crunch for one minute

This circuit can be performed for as many sets as desired and can be completed in as few as five minutes, or expanded well past that. Purchase does come with an easy to follow exercise chart to help figure out which exercises should be added to the workout routine coupled with a training deck and DVD’s that illustrate how to perform over 80 different exercises using this equipment.

Questions & Answers

• Do Total Gym home gyms really work?
  Absolutely. One of the keys to success with the Total Gym is consistency. With between 60 and 200 individual exercises, users can perform a nearly infinite number of circuits and hit every body part.
• Would a Total Gym home gym be good for seniors?
  Actually, the Total Gym would be terrific for seniors. Low in impact and easy on the joints, users get the benefit of sufficient resistance to build muscle and burn fat without the danger presented by barbells. The Total Gym also comes in a convenient size, making it easy to store when not in use.
• Which Total Gym home gym is best?
  That really depends on the goals, but we’d say the GTS presents the most options with more than 200 different exercises. If that model seems a bit pricey, they can always scale down because frankly any of these products can be used to achieve fitness.
• How long should a Total Gym home gym last with proper care?
  We see reviews by users who are still using the model they purchased 10 years ago. If treated properly, we don’t see any reason these units won’t last longer yet as there aren’t that many parts to wear out.
• How many days a week should I use a Total Gym home gym?
  This largely depends on the workouts being performed. Most trainers would recommend two to three times per week. The reality is though that one could take a body-split approach and probably safely use the machine seven days a week without overtraining depending on the strategy.
• How much space does a Total Gym home gym require?
  Figure at least six by nine feet minimum.