Customer Reviews

Bodylastics 13 pcs *MAX TENSION (134 lbs.) Quick-Clip Resistance Bands System with 5 D.G.S.anti-snap exercise tubes and Heavy Duty components

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just got the bands in and started my p90x routine today.... within 5 minutes I snapped a band... Uh oh... I decided to email bodylastics regarding this to see what they would do... I instantly got a reply stating that they figured I was using it with p90x when this happened... ding ding ding..

They offered to send out a replacement part tomorrow with my shipping address and offered this information below regarding using the bodylastics bands with p90x..

overall great product when used properly, and can't beat customer service that replaces a product and replies that fast --

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I am sorry to hear about your experience with the bands. That is very unusual for a Bodylastics band. I will have a new one sent to you, if you respond to this email with your ship to address. I can help but guess that you could be following the P90x routine. If I am wrong, please let me know but...

Here is the must have tip for that workout routine. There are a few exercises that will be less than perfect the way they suggests you do them with the bands. The exercises are the heavy pants, the lawnmower, and the back flies. The tip is simple. The Bodylastics handles can be removed from the bands. Lets do that. Take off the handles and literally grab on to the band underneath the clip system. This will ensure you have no slack at the start of the exercise (the P90X video suggests that you need to start those exercises with a certain amount of slack in the bands because you need a certain amount of elastic to complete the exercise motion). Using this tip will make sure you have enough band length to complete the exercise motion also.

Keep in mind that you may come across an exercise that works a muscle or muscle group and the way the exercise is being performed is not comfortable for you. When this happens, remember that you have a Bodylastics book with a list of exercises that should be used to substitute any exercise used in any given program.

We discovered the tips while reviewing the program with the Bodylastics system. I am sure these will make the difference for you. Although I would again recommend watching the [...]. I hope this helps. Please feel free to respond if you have further question.

Here are the links to the videos of the tips for the P90x program:

all exercises
[...]
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I was and still am a free weight kind of guy ever since highschool. I moved into an apartment with my girlfriend and found myself in the terrible predicament of having to sacrifice my weight bench and various other equipment in exchange for living space. In so doing I needed to find an alternate workout solution. I came across bodylastics on accident. I am a skeptic by nature but read the reviews and decided why not?
Having owned these bands for the better part of a year I have been able to achieve the same results as those of my weight bench. Not only am I satisfied with the quality of the product I am impressed with how challenging these bands really are! After using these bands I found that I was excersizing muscles that I never could with the weight bench! Don't get me wrong the weight bench has it's place. But not for my goals. For my goals these bands, a stability ball and a Iron Gym Extreme workout bar is really all I need to get the results I want. I also mountain bike for cardio. Being a busy person and usually finding it tough to spend much time working out these bands have proven a great fast solution to saving me time. Their construction is superb and truly do make other resistance bands look weak and frail. I will say you should probably use flat shoes or shoes without a lot of tread. This will prolong the life of your bands. There are books out there that provide info on the excersizes and workout schedules on how to use these bands as well. I am going to be trying the P90X workout here soon. Or at least portions of it.

I have been reading reviews on bodylastics but have not seen any good comparisons to Lifeline USA products. So here is my take on both products. I tried the Lifeline USA TNT bands and they are far cleaner design. My main problem with them is that the weight advertised is 40lbs a band and with all 3 bands it should be 120lb, but that is not true at all. With all three bands it felt more like 30lbs. The design is very easy to do all band exercises and comfortable to use. I like them but the cost of additional bands to make more resistance is too expensive.The bands are top notch, i can even say they are higher quality than the bodylastics.

I am not saying bodylastics bands are bad either. They are just very clunky design, the vinyl strap that holds the clip and band gets in the way of almost every exercise and is very uncomfortable to use. You have you have to adjust your form to make them not scratch you. The handles compared to the hard handles of Lifeline don't feel like great while doing exercises. The praise for bodylastics comes from the bands, they are labeled and do feel like the weight labeled. The Black band which is 23lbs feels like 23lbs on each side and all the bands together do feel like 60ish lbs since they are actually difficult to curl. For the resistance/cost, it does beat Lifeline.

I would like for bodylastics to develop a hard handle like Lifeline since it may improve use of the cables. The Accessories seem kinda dinky, with loose strings all over the place. I can forgive that since it comes with so many bands.

Overall its a decent product but the quality seems to be beat by Lifeline, I will most likely want to use both products since they both each have their own benefits.

Bodylastics
pros: Band resistance is very close to rating, lots of accessories, lots of bands to make different weights, decent price

Cons: Clunky design, materials could be better

Lifeline USA
Pros: clean design, easy to do exercises, material quality is very high such as the handles and the bands, its cheaper but less resistance

Cons: band resistance rating is not accurate, additional bands cost more, only 3 bands at a time.

Well those are my 2 cents on these two products.

This is really a great product for people who doesn't have time to go to the gym or want an alternative to it.
The product comes with a bag, so you can carry it when on travel. Also comes with 2 handles, 2 ankle straps, a door clip and a book with set of exercises.

Pros: portable, cand do exercises for all your body, you can use the book as a guide for specific exercises. It also comes with complete routines to loose weight and gain muscle. So far, looks very durable. Very high quality product.

Cons: the clip system decreases the range of motion for some exercises, specially if you are short and are doing exercises that requires you to stand on the tube and bend over. Still, that's a minor issue since you can find equivalent exercises in the book.

Conclusion: Overall, it's well designed and a great quality product. I use it when I don't have time to go to the gym or when I'm travelling. I really recommend it.

Note: This is the original review I did for the Bodylastics Max Tension Sets. I have also used this review as the main text for reviews of the Super Strong Man and Family Edition sets as well as I've since purchased the Super Strong man and the combined Max tension/Super Strong man is the same as the Family edition (formely called the Muscle and Fitness Strength Band set) plus a few additional attachments.

I've been using elastic tubing for over 20 years.

I bought the first Body Shaper band back when multiple Ms. Olympia winner Cory Everson introduced them. I wanted to use it for traveling when a gym wouldn't be available since missing a workout wasn't an option for me!

Things have come a long long way since then and Bodylastics is a great example of the highest level of evolution of this modality!

As a certified personal trainer I do In-Home training exclusively and the primary form of resistance training I use with my clients is elastic resistance. I use it not only due to the portability of the equipment but because I also feel it is a superior training modality on many levels.

I use a wide variety of elastics in my training, from Slastix covered tubing, uncovered (aka "Naked") tubing for other applications, and mini-bands which are generally placed above the knees for a variety of hip work.

My clients get a great workout with this equipment, and since we do a lot of work from a standing, "ground based" position they build tremendous integrated strength from their feet upwards!

I also use uncovered elastic resistance for my Boot Camp classes along with the mini-bands and I've seen my boot campers get considerably stronger using this training modality plus they love it!

Bottom line, elastic resistance training works!

For my own personal workouts I also do the majority of my training at home also using elastic resistance. Prior to ordering the Bodylastics set I already had several types of equipment from a Powerbase unit, as well as a collection of Lifeline products (both the TNT system as well as some single handles) with a wide variety of their 5 foot tubing, I also had various single bands from various companies.

Lifeline makes extremely high quality products and the TNT handles allow you to vary the resistance by combining up to 3 resistance cables at one time. The only thing is that with the heavier cables it can be extremely difficult to exchange resistance cables so I tend to just leave the very heavy cables on the handles so I don't have to mess around with that. Still, the Lifeline products are extremely high quality and I can't say enough good things about them!

After purchasing and enjoying working with those two very high quality resistance cable systems I didn't think I would have considered adding more elastic tubing based products.

However after seeing more and more about Bodylastics on the web, my curiosity finally got the best of me and after much research, including reading countless positive reviews, I recently purchased the Bodylastics Max Tension System

I have to definitely say that the Bodylastics system has really lived up to my expectations. The elastic tubing is made of extremely high quality materials and are very smooth through the range of motion. The metal Carabiner Clips make it easy to add and subtract tubing from the various handles for quick changes of resistance.

The attachments are very well made and are quite substantial. In fact the ankle straps are light years better compared to those that came with my powerbase unit.
In fact they are "gym quality"!

The door anchor is the best I've seen (in fact that is one area of weakness for lifeline, the door anchors are very small and I won't use them) and I love that the max tension set comes with two anchors so you can have one high and one low at the same time for faster transitions.

This set also provides plenty of resistance and is more than enough for my purposes. I primarily prefer to work in a standing, "ground based" position because I like engaging my entire kinetic chain when I train.

One particularly interesting and common concern I've seen folks make regarding elastic tubing based resistance systems is that they can't load as much for horizontal pushing movements (such as chest presses). This is based on the fact that they can't go beyond a certain level of tension or else they get pulled back towards the door. However to me, this is a positive rather than a negative.

You get a higher degree of functional benefit from having to stabilize from your feet upwards rather than lying on a bench. This means that your entire core is engaged (and by core I mean from the hips up to the shoulders, front, back and sides).

In fact this is called "Stabilization Limited Training" (SLT) because one can only use as much loading as one can stabilize compared to having an external support. This is a clear embodiment of the idea of "being only as strong as your weakest link".

In day to day life or even high level athletics, there are rarely situations where you will need to move a substantial load while lying on your back. Life is lived on our feet from a standing position, so it makes the most sense to train in a way that enhances the way we actually function.

Now certainly if one is a bodybuilder or a football lineman who needs to focus on maximum hypertrophy in their upper body then of course they will be limited trying to push maximal loads from a standing position and will most definitely need to spend a lot of time doing more traditional bench pressing.

Likewise if one wants maximal loading for their legs they will most likely need to use heavy squats, leg presses and the like using free weights and various machines.

Ideally I would recommend that even those folks use both types of modalities. The Bodylastics system would be a great option for performing SLT type of training in order to work their body in a more integrated fashion. This will also help them, as J.C. Santana says "Put some hustle behind the muscle".

This would be especially important for a Football player who can do explosive combination movements such as explosive forward lunging (or stepping) while pressing with high intensity. Also since the elastic resistance is "reactive", it provides an intense deceleration/eccentric component which must be able to control from a standing, integrated position. This mimics the actual sport specific activity much more than lying on a bench and will help one learn to take the strength they got from the heavy bench pressing and apply it in a manner more functional to their sport.

However, for people whose primary goal is to get super fit, build a high level of functional, useable strength, as well as the development of lean body tissue, SLT training using the Bodylastics system can be used almost exclusively.

While I personally also enjoy going to the gym several times a month and doing more externally supported training, I use that type of training to supplement by band work rather than the other way around. If I had to choose one over the other from a pure integrated fitness perspective the bands would win hands down!

Comparing the various elastic equipment I have available, I would definitely have to say that if I was forced to choose between my Powerbase, Lifeline or Bodylastics equipment I would definitely choose the Bodylastics because of its versatility in terms of ease of use and equal quality.

In fact, I love this Bodylastics Max-Tension set so much I just ordered the same set for one of my brothers who is now involved in a regular fitness regime so he can have a set to use at his home and/or office.

I just wanted to mention one important point regarding using elastic resistance safely and effectively.

If you are using any form of elastic resistance you want to start the movement just about where you have some tension in the band or perhaps a bit further. But you don't want to overstretch the band at the start of the movement.

If you need more tension it is very important to either use a heavier band or add more bands into the equation (as you can w/ a system like Bodylastics).

Not only does starting in an overstretched position put the band's integrity at risk but you also change the way the resistance of the band will create torque during the movement which will be less than optimal and may create a loading situation that can put unfavorable stresses on your body.

I purchased these bands to use with the P90X program. I hadn't worked out in a while and I wanted to start with something less intimidating than the dumbbells and pull up bar. I decided to pass on the cheaper bands because I didn't want to worry about them breaking after reading reviews. These bands are great. I am 6'4" and I am able to use them with no problem. Using the looping technique helps with some of the excercises, and being able to add multiple bands to each handle has helped tremendously. Being able to increase tension by using multiple bands has helped make workouts much more effective.

I only have two minor issues with the bands that almost keep me from giving them 5 stars. First, the handle opening seems to be a bit on the small side compared to the bands that I see on the P90X video. I have fairly large hands, so this might not be an issue for all. The smaller openings lead to the cable and/or handle rubbing on my hands which can be annoying during some excercises. Second, the hook and binding (carabiner) sometimes get in the way of modifying excercises. I find that on excercises like the seated back fly I need to grab below the handle to get the correct tension, and the carabiner makes it a little awkward. The awkwardness is a fair trade off for the ability to add multiple bands to the handles though. I'm not reducing my rating for these issues because I don't believe that the quality of the bands are the problem, I think that any similar bands would have the same issues.

I would recommend these bands to anybody in the market for good resistance bands or anyone who wants to start light and work their way up without purchasing an entire set of dumbbells or embarrasing themselves trying to do a pull-up. Also, the bands take up much less space!

After reading all the reviews, I recently bought the Bodylastics Resistance Bands Max Tension Edition. Overall I'm happy with my purchase - the set is nicer in person than any resistance bands I've seen or owned previously, it looks great when you're opening it, and the handles and hardware are very good quality. The door anchors anchor well, and the DVD and manual are the best I've seen when it comes to explaining the functions of each part, safety and exercises. The manual isn't on the best paper, but it's really super with some exercises I hadn't seen before.

As some people have mentioned, the boathooks on the handles sometimes do rub a bit - I found this was true when trying to do any movements involving chest. It wasn't painful, just slightly annoying, which is why I took 1 star off.

The handles have foam padding, which made them much more comfortable than my last set of resistance bands, and the ankle straps are far superior to any others I've used - I was quite impressed with how comfortable they were, and how versatile. They're good for more than just ankles. I found changing from one resistance band to another was fast - the hooks are good quality, so it takes seconds to slip off the handles or ankle straps and clip them on the next band.

When it comes to customer service, I have been happy so far. I had emailed Bodylastics a question, and they got right back to me. The response was helpful and clear. Also I had read a couple reviews here that said the bands were breaking when they did P90X with them. Well, Bodylastics has now includes a pamphlet that shows the alternate way to use the bands so they won't break when doing 4 particular P90X exercises. I was also impressed by all the workout videos they have at LiveExercise.com, which I checked out after several people here wrote about it.

Couple things worth mentioning. I used a spring scale to measure the tension of each band, and although some people feel the bands may be lighter tension than stated, I found them to be pretty accurate, or even to have a hair more tension than stated, but not less. And these bands when used seem a little longer than the others I've owned - perhaps due to the hardware - so you may need to get a little further away from whatever you anchor them to when working out.

One last thing, and one of the reasons I chose this set, is that you can buy individual pieces from Bodylastics if you want a second band of the same weight, replacement parts or extras.

The bottom line - I'm one happy camper. I get great workouts with these bands, and while they're not perfect, they're very good. I'm impressed with the quality, ease of use and versatility, and the manual rocks. Good stuff, and if you're into resistance bands, need a travel workout kit or want to get a set that lets you move up as your fitness increases, this is definitely one to consider.

Overall, I'm very happy with these bands. They offer a lot of versitility as well as portability. Most of the exercises that you can do with dumbells, you can do with Bodylastics (most, not all). The only downside that I've encountered is that with some of the exercises, the metal clasps rub me. It's not bad, just annoying sometimes. Please take into account that it could be poor technique on my part. Also, the changing of bands detracks a bit from the workout. But that's the price of versitility. I have a Weider Crossbow. However, since purchasing these, I have stopped using the Crossbow. One hint, do as many of the exercises as possible standing. That will automatically engage your core. If you're looking for a set of resistance bands that are durable and can take out of your home with you (workout outside, park, different part of the house, on trips), take a serious look at Bodylastic. If you intend to just keep your bands in 1 room, think about a fixed handle set of bands. That way you don't have to hassle changing bands (downside, ankle attachment is a lot trickier). Bodylastic come with a great warranty.

After moving to Chile, I became immediately frustrated with the lack of first-class gyms that I'd grown accustomed to in the States. I spent many hours searching for a viable in-home alternative, and I ultimately settled on these bands by Bodylastics. After a week of use, I endorse these bands 100%.

I had several doubts about fitness bands but decided for the relatively cheap price they were worth a try. First, I was slightly worried about being able to motivate myself to use them every day. When I'm at the gym it's easy to get motivated because once I've driven there, I might as well go hard. But with the bands, I thought it'd be too easy to slack on my routine. However, Bodylastics offers an AMAZING website called LiveExercise dot com that serves as a training class for the bands. You have an instructor and a set routine each day. The classes are about 45 minutes each, and stream live each day, with the ability to watch whenever you want thereafter.

Second, I was worried that the bands wouldn't challenge me the same way free weights can. I still feel this is more or less true if you're going for big gains, but my goals have changed since I moved to South America. To stay fit and toned these bands are an integral part of a workout routine (I supplement with regular cardio, abs and additional pushups). With regular cardio and a balanced diet, there is no reason that these bands can't help you achieve the body you've always wanted. I am challenged with each workout, and many mornings-after feel that good soreness.

Finally, I was worried about the quality, especially since any returns would be difficult from SA. I've only been using this system for a week but am very pleased with the overall durability. I will have to post an update after 6+ months of use, but the bands and straps are very well-made and sturdy. The d-ring clips aren't the strongest, but they seem sufficient. As a note, I'm 6 feet tall and 180 pounds, and the length and tension of the bands are appropriate for my body type.

I was thinking about buying a slightly cheaper system with less bands but am very happy that I chose this one. I end up using all of the colors with each workout, and have a large number of combination options. I haven't even come close to needing more bands for more resistance.

Pros:
-exercise classes online
-durability
-sufficiently varied resistance
-small bag makes for a great gym-on-the-go solution

Cons:
-not recommended for adding a lot of bulk
-requires self-motivation (like any workout plan)

This is my second body lastics that I've bought. they improved the clips, the handle and ring gauge (thicker guage). With enough tension or use, these bands will snap over a few months of use depending on how much you use them. I would say their life span is anywhere from six months (daily use) to two years (once a week usage). The warrantee regarding wear and tear and defect of the item works this way: You pay for the replacement item. It's not a free replacement.
If you can accept the fact that this product will Not last you forever and you will eventually have to replacement, it does a great job in what it does and you will enjoy it to strengthen your biceps, triceps, pecs etc. The best thing about body lastics is the portability factor!