Customer Reviews

Gymboss GB2010 BLACK SOFTCOAT

5 star:		(99)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I love the timer. Absolutely awesome product. I would have rated this product 5-stars, but the included manufacturer's instructions are ridiculously awful. Luckily, I found instructions on the amazon.com site from another purchaser that he was kind enough to link. A real life saver.

GymBoss would do themselves and their public a great service by either publishing (and including with the timer) a very good user sheet OR putting up a web page with all of the great uses for the timer and exactly how to take advantage of them with well thought-out instructions provided to help individuals achieve their fitness goals. Just a thought....

I had been doing tabata exercises before and thought I was doing great until I got my timer. The intervals keep me on schedule so much better than watching a clock. I can put my efforts into my routine and not in clock watching and I can tell I am doing so much more intense workouts now. The new black color is great- soft feel to the finish. I keep it clipped to my pocket edge and don't have to keep looking at it-it beeps to tell me when time is up. I would give the gymboss a 5 Star rating. Gymboss GB2010 BLACK SOFTCOAT

I really like the stronger vibrate mode on this black Gymboss for when I'm in the gym and don't want to use the beep alert. The softcoat gives the timer more grip as well which makes it feel much more durable.

This little gadget is far superior to any sports watch I've owned. It can be used for intervals or as a stop watch. I do interval HIT weightlifting and bodyweight workouts and I'm really hooked on Gymboss. I don't have to worry with setting my watch on the computer or glancing at it from time to time. Moreover, I can set the Gymboss to time my exercises and my rests and time needed to go to the next exercise. This is a terrific feature.

The beep or alarm can be set to be loud or softer or even vibrate or any combination of these. It's really well made and nice looking. When you have it on you forget you're wearing it until it goes to work. It uses one AAA battery and when not used for several minutes, it goes into sleep mode to save any drain on the battery.

Setup takes just a bit of time to learn. The instructions that come with the unit are not great. But the website is rich with video instructions and a PDF file you can download. I found that by watching the videos I quickly got the hang of what the buttons are and how to set it up and use it. Be sure and watch these videos before you use your Gymboss. You'll be glad you did.

I next did a short workout. I set the number of exercises I would do and the amount of time for each one plus the time I needed to go to the next exercise. It's great not to have to watch the clock or count reps or worry about the time. I do slow reps and really don't count reps. I'm more concerned with the intensity and time. So I love the Gymboss.

Some features of Gymboss include:

* One or two different time intervals from 2 seconds to 99 minutes
* Auto mode keeps repeating through intervals
* Set up to 99 rounds
* Manual mode acts as countdown timer
* Stopwatch Function
* Alarm by beep, vibration, or both
* Alarm duration of 1, 5, or 10 seconds
* Size of a small pager (1 3/4 x 2 1/4 inches)
* Water and shock resistant
* AAA battery required

Gymboss helps you maximize, Anaerobic endurance, Cardio endurance, Increased VO2max, Muscle strength, size, and endurance and
Fat loss. I can't imagine doing a workout without Gymboss. It's quickly become my fitness buddy. I can't imagine any workout that wouldn't be more powerful with this little gadget, no matter what fitness program you use. There are many ways to use it so it will increase the intensity of your workout and let you concentrate on accomplishing your fitness goals.

Gymboss will count sets, reps, even the length of time you take for a rep if you want that. In fact, if you need to time anything, you can easily do it with this little thing. The rubberized exterior is really great too. No fingerprints on the unit. Has a nice tactile feel to it. I also appreciate the fact that the phone number of customer support is clearly written on the back of the unit. What a great idea! A few quick instructions are also written on the back on the clip. The clip, by the way, is a really good one. Very durable.

There is one thing about the timer that I don't like. I often do the PACE program. In that program, each interval is for a different amount of time. There's an exertion time and a rest time, etc. Each exertion and rest time is different. The Gymboss can't be used for this type of timing. I have an interval timer on my watch that does the job nicely. So, I use that. So, at least to me, that's somewhat of a limitation to the Gymboss.

Highly recommended.

-- Susanna K. Hutcheson

I was looking for a stopwatch to keep pace on the track, but wound up finding the Gymboss GB2010, an absolutely essential component of my weight training regimen. How I managed to get along without it, I'll never know.

My strength training program is 5 x 5, meaning five sets of five repetitions, with three warm-up sets of five repetitions. I take a rest of 3-5 minutes between sets, depending on the exercise. The Gymboss GB2010 is the perfect tool for timing my rests and keeping track of which set I am on. I simply set it to count down 8 intervals, of whatever rest time I want between sets, plus 30 seconds for the exercise itself. The Gymboss does the rest, sparing me having to look at a clock, figure out the math on when to resume exercising, or remember how many sets I've done.

Some specifics about this unit:

-- It is an interval timer. What that means is it's basically a count-down timer, which can count down the same amount of time several times in a row. That's how I use it.

-- This unit can do two intervals. What that means is it can count down one period of time, then a second period of time, and repeat that process several times. For example, maybe your cardio program is to do two minutes at 50% effort, followed by one minute at 90% effort, and to repeat that process 6 times. The Gymboss allows you to program one interval of two minutes, then a second interval of one minute, with 6 repetitions.

-- The Gymboss beeps briefly at the end of each interval, and continuously at the end of all intervals. You can set the beep volume to low or high; the high is about 50 percent louder than the low. In my cavernous gym, I find the low setting quite loud enough. You can set the unit to beep from 1 to 5 times after each interval; it will continuously beep at the end of all intervals, until you press the Start button to silence it.

-- The Gymboss has a basic count-up stopwatch function. You can pause and resume the time, but it does NOT do splits.

-- The unit has auto power off after a couple of minutes of the timer not running. Pressing the Start button wakes the unit.

-- Several people have complained about the Gymboss being difficult to program. I disagree entirely. It couldn't be more straightforward; it's extremely similar to programming a digital wristwatch, only with two way bigger, way more handy buttons. The documentation explains it quite clearly, as do the training videos on Gymboss's Web site.

-- My unit has already survived two five-foot drops. In one case, it held together fine; in another, the battery cover came off and the battery was ejected. Nothing was broken, it still runs fine. Additionally, I have doused this thing in my sweat, and it hasn't missed a tick. I have also slammed it quite hard into gym equipment on a few occasions (yeah, I'm clumsy) and again, no nicks, marks or problems. I wouldn't make a habit of banging it around, but it's pretty tough in my experience.

UPDATE, Oct 2, 2011: I finally did in my Gymboss unit, slamming it against a barbell. The belt clip broke off and the unit hit the floor hard, breaking the display. This was entirely of my own doing and not something I would consider under warranty, but suffice it to say, the unit is NOT indestructible. Fortunately, at $20, it's not as serious a loss as destroying a fitness watch.

-- It's about the size of a small pager (for those of you old enough to remember pagers). It attaches via a belt clip. Gymboss sells basic armbands and wristbands; I use the wristband and absolutely love it.

-- The unit runs off a single AAA battery, which you need to supply.

-- DEFINITELY check out the videos at Gymboss's Web site. They really show how simple and useful this device is.

My older Gymboss timer died an early death due to a leaking Gatorade bottle in my gym bag...there wasn't that much liquid spilled actually, but I guess it was very fragile as a few other reviewers have noted. So I kind of HAD to replace it with this one.

1. Appearance: much nicer looking black softcoat, compared to my previous plain silver plastic model. The lettering/styling is nicer-looking, too.
2. Tactile ergonomics: that softcoat makes a HUGE difference! The older model often felt liable to slip out of my fingers esp. if they were sweaty from a workout.
3. The buttons are made of a harder and rougher-textured plastic, so they feel more solid and less slippery than the old ones.
4. Recessed REBOOT pin-button...I don't remember the old one having this.
5. Instructions: seem easier to read and understand.

Unfortunately I had already thrown away the old timer, so I can't verify #4 and 5. The general user interface is still not nearly as intuitive as it could be, but for some reason it feels simpler or more streamlined with this new model.

Overall I am very happy to get this...for my Tabata workouts (wind sprints and occasionally, stuff in the gym) this nifty little timer is indispensable! Ordered it from e Bay, saved a few bucks on the shipping.

I'm so glad I found the Gymboss! My old Ironman died and I'd been shopping for a watch and was just looking for the least expensive option with an interval timer. Unfortunately, it seemed that I'd need to spend $30-40 or more to get a timer that allowed for two or more intervals. Such a timer is essential for any sort of sprint exercise training. Worse, even those watches often seemed to have alarms that weren't very loud - clearly audible if you're on an elliptical, but easy to miss you're really pushing an intense set of just about anything else.

Then I found the Gymboss - it seemed perfect. Its volume is adjustable and can be set plenty loud enough to hear over the noise of intense exercise. The additional vibrate feature is a great bonus. And I love that you wear it like a pager. I've always found wrist watches irritating because the back of my hand would occasionally trigger the buttons during push-up or free weight work. It didn't happen too often, but it was enough to be irritating. The other style of timer/stopwatch that you wear on a lanyard is only good if you're a spectator. I find that I can always position the Gymboss so that I can reach it easily, but it's out of the way of the exercise.

It does have a basic stopwatch as well, which is the only other feature I really want.

The best part is that it's actually cheaper than most sports watches.

I can think of only two downsides. First, the stopwatch doesn't support lap timing. I've never used that feature in a sports watch except by mistake, so I don't mind this. Second, it can be a little tricky to configure the Gymboss because you have to do everything with only three buttons. A fourth button would allow for a simpler interface and reduce the number of button pushes required to configure it. I'm so happy with the device otherwise that I don't even find this particularly bothersome.

I like the GymBoss when working out myself. But I am also a personal trainer and would like to have a clear or reset button that is easy to access. Sometimes I need to start over with the timing and there isn't an option to do so. Also trying to change from interval timing to stopwatch it takes sticks and can take few tries to clear and change modes. So overall this is a handy product because it has 2 timers that are easy to access (vs. a watch) But I would like to see the modes work a bit better.

I use the Gymboss when I am exercising and I want to alternate between walking and running. I used to wear two sport watches and set two different timers until I heard about what the Gymboss can do. Now I can set walking and running intervals and never have to fiddle with my sports watch. The timer alarm is loud enough that I can hear it even when I have my earphones in listening to music on my ipod. It is a great new tool for me, and the friends that I exercise with love it too because we know when to walk and when to run without constantly checking our watches or hitting "off" and "reset" on our sport watch alarms.

Great product, loud beep and strong vibration so I know when my rest period is over between sets. Great product to help standardize my work-outs so I can record improvements. The soft coat really helps the gymboss adhere to my jogging pants when working out.