Customer Reviews

Altus Athletic Back and Chest Expander

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Sure, that was my first thought, too. "This thing's a gimmick." I can assure you that, as a personal trainer, there is plenty of challenge to be had with this remake of the classic chest expander. Back in the day, plenty of strongmen used a chest expander to work the inner chest area and muscles surrounding the shoulder capsule.

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The advancement of rubber products has made the modern chest expander safe and truly effective for multi-angle chest, shoulder and upper back strengthening. At under $20, it really is a steal.

I'd recommend starting with 2 or 3 of the tubes engaged, then work your way to all 5 tubes. Slowly and carefully move through the full range of motion with proper breathing technique (exhale on the concentric movement) to maximize benefits.

The build quality is extremely sturdy. The tubes lock in tightly to each handle and the safety sheath is made of a fairly dense foam material that protects you from inadvertent snap-back.

Highly recommended for beginners and for those who are interested in a simple way to work stabilizing muscles in your shoulders, upper back and chest. There is plenty of strength to be gained by this simple, yet classic device.

For the first month or so that I had this product, I was very impressed. The exercise felt good and productive. I had the old spring version in the 80's, and I liked that I wasn't getting rust on my shirt when I used this product. A week ago, I would have given this product a great review.

An hour or so ago, an end clip let go, and I've spent the past hour or so trying to get the thing fixed. I've ended up with something that might work for a little while, but I'm not happy with the result.

If you are well off enough to buy several of these products and dispose of bad bands as they break, you should be happy with this product. If you're looking for one product that will give you reliable service for a long time, you should look elsewhere.

I bought this product as a lower impact regimine to add to my chest routine. First, the website touted to provide routines listed only 1 exercise for the chest... a bench press type exercise. I was disappointed, but moved forward. In the first set, 2 endcaps popped off and the resulting snap of the elastic tubing placed 2 large welts on my ribcage. In both cases the skin was broken and the swelling in the intercostal spaces made breathing deep uncomfortable for about a week. I will never use this poorly made product again. The chance of injury is too great for what promises to be a very minimal gain. My advice: Look elsewhere.

I use my Altus Athletic Back and Check Expander to maintain muscle tone and build
strength. I adjust tension quickly and easily by disconnecting bands. Since it is
light and portable, I take the Expander with me on trips. After four weeks of
regular use, I've added strength and improved my muscle tone. I use my Expander
while watching television or playing on the internet.

As a 73 year old man what I wanted was something to tone up that was easy to use and not clumsy or dangerous. At the same time I needed something that I could manage without strain. This chest expander fits the bill and so far all my expectations have been met. With the ease of changing cables I am able to excercise at whatever level feels comfortable for me at the time. I recommend this expander to anyone (especially senior citizens) to tone up and do stretching excercises for limbering up. You will be surprised how good you feel after a workout.

Not sure how others had good luck... file this in the category "you get what you pay for." I took the advice of others here and bought one of these for $15 to do some simple exercising at my desk. As the trainer's review suggested I started with 3 bands... "POP" first time using it one of the bands popped out of the cheap, poorly engineered plastic end. Replaced that band with one of the two others only to have them also pop out after my 3rd or 4th time using. Called the company for replacement bands. Was told to try to push them back in -- which is impossible. Told me I had to send back to Amazon for replacement. That's what I'm trying to fugure out how to do now. Save yourself the headache. Find something that's worth the money.

I purchased this product as I had an earlier version for about 5 years before it finally broke. I had this one for less than 4 weeks and the tube pulled out of the end that clips into the handle. Looking at the Altus warranty, it was well within their warranty period. However, they require you pay for postage back and send it in the original carton plus pay for the return postage if they decide to replace it. This just isn't cost effective for the consumer. Customer service is very important for repeat business. They just lost me as a customer, sadly as I was very happy with the earlier product. But given the poor service and inadequate quality control I do not recommend this product.

I would have gladly paid more for a better product. One of the rubber things popped out/broke off, it cannot be repaired. It was like my 10th time using it. It just sucks that it could break so easily. If anyone knows of a better product out there, I will gladly pay for it. Buying this is a waste of money as I would have to keep re-buying it forever.

Broke the fist time I used it.

The band snapped off at the handle during the first few reps.

I have used this product for only a few days and have concluded that it is unsafe. The system that is used to secure the bands to the handles have failed three times, causing the bands to snap back violently. The only good thing I can say about this product is that the rubber guard surrounding the bands at least prevented me from losing an eye.
Don't waste your money.