Customer Reviews

Bayou Fitness Total Trainer DLX Home Gym

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have tried numerous home gyms: Free weights, Nordicflex Gold, Soloflex, Bowflex, and Powerblock dumbells, and I have worked out on the Nautilus, Hammerstrength, Cable machines, Free Weights and the Cybex machines. Through my experience of weight training for 10 years for fitness, a variety of exercises are necessary to keep interest going.

As a complement to free weights (Powerblock Prorexan Pro), this gym completes what I need: variety for exercises to keep muscles growing. Cable exercises give constant tension when going through the entire range of motion. This machine replicates that feeling and simulates exercises similar to handstand pushups, pullups and every exercise for the body that you can think of (ie Bench, Rows, Curls, extensions, incline situps). The limitation comes to exercises for legs. Although 100 pounds can be added and an exercise similar to leg curls is available, you will need to look for other exercises to 'overload' the muscles.

Instructions, a video, workout cards with prescribed routines are provided. The machine is 95% assembled except for the foot rest.

As for the machine, setup took less than 10 minutes. Motion is smooth with the ball bearing setup. Only certain exercises make you notice the notch in the middle of the track where there is a noticeable click (majority of exercises do not precipitate the clicking noise). The chrome finish and leather like vinyl cover with 2 inches of padding is nice. Action is smooth and the accessories included tops the higher end gyms such as the Infomercial Total Gym and Bowflex (ie straight bar, leg attachment, pull up and incline bar, deluxe oversized platform for leg exercises). The option to add weights is another advantage over conventional machines of this genre. One limitation is that ropes instead of cables were used; however, there is a lifetime replacement on the pulleys, cables and rollers (this is more than I can say for competitors). The foot rest could be designed to be sturdier (it does tend to sway slightly).

As for safety, two pins lock the incline in place (one metal, one plastic).

This machine is excellent for beginners, intermediate and advanced bodybuilders and athletes. Although not the end all for the advanced bodybuilders, this machine helps augment free weights and is excellent for a supplement to routines. For pilates enthusiasts, a pilates machine is available.

For my first workout, I did the following sequence:
Rows, Seated Bench press, Pull ups, Supine bench press (x3 sets)
Military presses, biceps curls, triceps extensions, squats and leg curls (x 3 sets)

The transition between exercises were pretty simple and circuit training can easily be implemented. Pulley position has to be changed when doing "advanced exercises" such as upright rows, supine bench presses, kneeling curls, etc.

Workouts are 'fun' and I look forward to exercising regularly. Due to its flexibility and ease of changing resistance, two training partners of different levels can workout together without much trouble.

Item has a 1 year warranty on the remainder of the parts.

Highly recommend Bayou Fitness and the DLX III!

Update:
2 years since I bought this machine and it is still working well for me. I have found that the smooth operation along its tracks to be holding up well. The nylon cords are still holding up despite rigorous use. The only exercise equipment that I have ever owned that is not a rack for drying clothes :)

I purchased this product for my wifes birthday. the ad shows someone moving it around effortlessly, not so. It is very heavy and hard to store so we elected to leave it set up. It is a rugged piece of equipment so we are going to keep it. So before you buy this make sure you have room to keep it set up.

I've had this product for about a month. Total Trainer DLX Black No complaints so far. Easy to set up. Instructions and photos clear. Takes some time to try and select the exercises. I found a couple of exercises (curls and crunches) which I prefer to do with traditional free weights - which I have had for years. Someone not used to weight lifting would likely find the Trainer perfectly adequate for those exercise. One benefit is hard to explain since it is totally subjective. Thus far I find the apparatus to be sort of self motivating, i.e., it's kind of fun and therefor more likely to be used. Perhaps that will change as the novelty wears off. It appears to be suitable for almost anyone of any age or fitness level except a serious weight lifter or other super athlete.

I'm not sure that I've had it long enough for an adequate review, but have been using every other day for about a month now. The soreness is gone so I'm hoping the benefits have begun.

Pros: Heavily built and contrary to other reviews, I have found it easy to fold up and set up. The press bar and foot board that comes with sits in their holes fairly well but need a little coaxing to get out at the bottom. I think that time will help with this. I also find height adjustments far easier than I thought they would be - takes mere seconds so changing from one to another during a routine is not an issue as I thought it might.

Cons: Nothing really with the machine itself. Frankly though, even though there are allot of exercises listed, most are just slight variations of a very few basic ones. It's enough to get a decent workout without having to do the same thing, but the dozens listed is a bit of a stretch (no pun intended).

The only other thing is the attachements for leg workouts - it probably isn't a system most would use as it takes some finess to get it hooked to the ankle right, then to the system (which really can't stay all the time), then getting yourself set properly on the board. It works, but simply takes too much effort and you lose valuable time. Therefore, without it, you lose a few of the exercise options in the book. As a minor thing - one DVD gives a good workout routine and then says at the end "come back on Wednesday for the cardio workout" - which does not exist on the DVD.

Overall: I'm very happy with the purchase so far and have no regrets. This in combination with a reistance bike is a good all around workout. I asked my doctor if this would be an adequate system since I've lost allot of capacity of cardio due to a foot problem. He asked if it got me winded and could keep me winded? When I advised that it certainly does, he advised that it in turn, it is raising the heart rate and would also serve as an adequate cardio workout.

I LOVE this! My biggest problem with exercise has always been motivation and time. I can do this at home in front of TV or with music going and it is so much fun to do! If I'm rushed I can just do 10 minutes and still feel like I've done something good for myself. But ideally I'm doing about 30 minutes/day. I was surprised that I am getting good cardio with this equipment - that's an extra bonus I really didn't expect.
Not only am I enjoying it, but so are my 12 year old daughter and 15 year old son.
Because you are using your own body weight, you're not dealing with cumbersome weights. There's also nothing electronic to break down.
I love that it came assembled. My 12 year old daughter and I pulled it out of the box and had it set up in less than 5 minutes.

In order to make my workout plan smoother, I have photocopied the exercises that I like best, and glued them onto 5x8 index cards. Then I wrote on each card the level number that is best for me on that particular exercise. In that way, I can do all of the exercises at a certain level together before having to change the level (which by the way, is super easy). It just makes my exercise routine go smoother.

At any rate, I've been telling all my friends about this. I don't usually write reviews on Amazon, but this product is so good, I had to.

One word of warning though - I was so excited the first couple of days I overdid it and had to take a few days off.... pace yourself!

I am a 30 year old female that works out regularly at home. I did not want to buy a weight machine, but wanted to change my routine from just using light/medium dumbbells. I bought the DLX model, and I love it. I thoroughly enjoy working out, and have been using the program cards with minor tweaks as I go along. I am glad I purchased from Bayou, and not from Total Gym. The quality is great. One drawback, as noted by other reviewers - for the leg press and calf raise I needed to add weights right away. Like all exercise equipment, don't buy it if you won't regulary use it. Start by buying exercise videos or jogging, and if you faithfully exercise for several months, then buy permanant equipment.

I've had it for 5 months and still love using it! I'm a 4'9", 54 year old female and I can open and close it easily. I found that it was more a matter of technique than bodily strength to get that right. For variety's sake I use it in combination with free weights for chest, back, and shoulders: by using the bench for various inclines while sitting on the footrest. When training heavy I prefer to use the cables for safety reasons. I personally prefer barbell squats, but do use this feature as well on my TT-DLX, as I like the variety and the different angles I can get with the machine. It's easier and safer with the machine if I want to go heavy on squats. I use it as a leg press/ toe raise by sitting on the bench. I use the inclines for ab-work as well. I'm a personal trainer and this works as well as any series of machines in a gym while making it possible for a shorter person to make full use of it.

The DLX is the cheapest of the Total Trainer models at $350 shipped here on Amazon. It arrived at my door in around 7 days using the free shipping. The DLX sets up and folds down real quick. It's pretty much as easy to set up and fold as it looks in the bayou fitness videos. The machine feels solid, and can support up to 385 lbs. The weight bar design wasn't quite what I expected, but it still functions fine and according to the dvd included, it can support up to 100 lbs of plates.

So far my favorite exercises are Pull Overs, Chest Flys, and shoulder press using the pull up bar at the bottom position (where the leg press board normally goes).

I am little disapointed in the size of the Leg press board. It's not big enough for me to place my feet in the right position to do a leg press properly or safely. To have my feet planted on the board as they should be, it causes my knees to travel way past my toes, which is NOT good. I had really hoped to use the total trainer for single leg Leg press. With the the weight bar attatched, maxed out, and maybe holding a pair of dumbbells I figured I would be able to get a good leg workout. The small board squashes that plan. That said, the included leg cuffs and longer pulleys are great for some other leg excercises so that kinda even things out.

I haven't had the Total Trainer long, but I can already say pretty confidently that it was the right purchase. I am pairing this with a doorway pull up bar, a folding medical walker used for dips, and a pair of 90 lb adjustable dumbbells. The Total Trainer is a very versatile and well priced addition to my space saving gym.

Arrived almost a week before they said it would. WOW! My Total Gym is now on Craig's list. The workout from the Bayou Total Trainer is way more intense, and offers a much greater variety of leg exercises. Haven't hit max resistance on legs, but when I do, I can add free weights with the power bar. Look around, Bayou is offering a system with a power bar and a foot board at a fraction of what the competition is charging. Instead of cables, the Bayou uses nylon cord, making the system adjustable. I just opened the handles with a phillip's screw driver, shortened the draw cord, and screwed it back in seconds. Now, when I do upper body, the rollers don't hit the seam. I also like the way the draw cord just loops under the glide board, making it much easier to go from upper to lower body exercises. I've had Total Trainer since 11/2010, and it continues to impress! Quality machine, great price, way to go Bayou!"

Best home gym I ever bought! Can put and use it any where and will see improvement withing two weeks if used as recommended.