Customer Reviews

Total Gym 1700 Club

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

A 44-year-old woman that doesn't enjoy exercise writes this review. I spent many years as an overworked hospital administrator that did not take the time to keep myself in top physical condition. I purchased this product after realizing that that it was used in the rehabilitation gyms in the hospital where I worked. The Physical Therapists not only used this equipment for their patients, but also worked out on the equipment themselves at lunchtime and after work. You can get a great workout on this piece of equipment. Both my husband and myself use this piece of equipment.

Pros:
1. Well made piece of equipment, smooth movement during exercise
2. Can be used by both males and females
3. Weight limit of 350 pounds
4. Ability to add 75 pounds of additional weight to the bar for added resistance
5. Challenges muscles, young and old (you will know that you have exercised the next day)
6. Allows you to move quickly and easily through different exercises
7. Excellent Pilates reformer stand in
8. Easy to collapse to storage
9. Folds into a reasonably small size for storage (will slide under a bed or into a closet)

Cons:
1. It is a little heavy if you plan to move it very far. Mine is now permanently set up to encourage exercise.
2. Purchase an additional Pilates reformer exercise routine (check Amazon for options) if that is your primary reason for this purchase.

If you are seriously considering this piece of equipment I would recommend finding a friend with one and working out on it a few times before making the decision to buy this. My husband and I have discussed upgrading to the next model up (about twice the price) when this one bites the bullet. Overall we are very happy with this purchase and would recommend this product, or the more expensive models.

I have been using a TotalGym for several years now. My particular model is an 1100. I find the TotalGym to be very easy to use and quick to go from one exercise routine to the next. I think the simplicity of how the TotalGym works compared to other home exercise machines is a big benefit. I have put a lot of time on my TotalGym and it shows very little signs of wear. There are a few exercises that I feel the TotalGym is lacking in however. It's not that you cannot do them but that to do them on the TotalGym is awkward. Doing a "bench press" is one example. I supplement my TotalGym routine by using free weights for this particular exercise. Abdominal crunches are another example. While my son prefers doing reclined sit-ups on the TotalGym, I like a bit more back support and have obtained an Ab-Lounger for this particular exercise (and yes, that works too!) When changing the incline level of the TotalGym, the legs must slide on the floor. I don't like this and am working on some sort of slide mechanism to keep from scraping the floor. I don't like to fold and unfold the TotalGym only because I like it ready to go when I am. I don't need an easy excuse to avoid a workout such as setting it up or going to a Gold's gym somewhere. At the end of my workout, the TotalGym has pretty much kicked my butt. However, if you are a steroid-laden professional baseball player, you may find something that offers more resistance to be desirable. Before I began using the TotalGym, I was suffering chronic neck and shoulder pain. Chiropractors and massage therapists were unable to help. The solution was simply to exercise. Not only do I feel better but also I do not think I will enter my senior years looking like Ted Kennedy on his yacht. If you are not working out, start! No matter what exercise you do, you will only get out of it what you put into it. That is, you will reap what you sow. The TotalGym makes it easy to exercise regardless of what shape you are in and it will grow with you as you develop.

The Total Gym 1700 Club is a pretty good piece of equipment. You definately feel the resistance, and wake up feeling a little sore after the first workout (at least I did). The DVD is pretty useful too. The machine is quite heavy, but assuming I bought the machine to get physically fit I guess the weight is not a bad thing.

There were 2 things I found as a drawback to this product. The first is that the machine is quite rigid and hard to change levels of resistance. The second is that the "wheels" that the machine are supposed to come with were cracked and did not work. They are made of a brittle plastic and probably wouldn't work had they been in perfect condition. I had to resort to carrying the machine instead of rolling it.

The Total Gym 1700 is a pretty good value and offers a nice low impact workout. The book of exercises that comes with the machine is a good guide and is broken into beginner, intermediate and advanced workout plans.

This machine really only works the upper body and the abs (mostly upper abs). While there are some leg exercises in the manual, they really don't provide the difficulty or breadth of the upper body exercises. Working out on the device does tire out my muscles and I definitely know that I have worked out afterwards, but I'm very rarely sore. It takes a bit of practice to get comfortable getting into the positions the machine requires because it can be hard to reach the pulleys while in certain configurations, but after using the machine for a little while you'll get the hang of it.

I doubt the claims that 20 minutes a day only three days a week will really help you lose much weight, but I do think it provides a decent way to tone/build muscle. The machine isn't a great cardio workout (in fact, many of the exercises are supposed to be done quite slowly in order to work the muscles), so if you are looking for a good cardio machine, this is not it. I do about 60 - 90 minutes of cardio work (swimming) in addition to using the Total Gym between 30 - 40 minutes and I feel like it provides a pretty good workout. The Total Gym is actually very complementary to swimming.

I am 6'1" - 6'2" and the bench is a little small for me, so if you are any taller, you definitely should think twice about this machine (I think the more expensive models can handle taller people). Some part of me is usually hanging off the bench when I am doing exercises that require you to lie flat on the bench, but it is tolerable.

The craftsmanship of this device is OK, but not great. Many of the attachments are wobbly, although this isn't really noticeable when you actually use the machine. The reviewer who suggested getting a bigger clip for the pulleys has a good idea there as switching between exercises often involves detaching the pulleys and it really is a pain. It also isn't as easy as I thought it would be to raise/lower the incline; it's not hard, it just isn't that easy.

The reviewer who said that this machine doesn't take up space is just plain wrong; while the device might not be as tall or as wide as some machines, it is really long (9+ feet). There also is assembly required in order to get all the pieces attached, although it isn't really that bad (20 minutes).

I agree with the other reviewer in that one of the real flaws of the machine is that when you raise and lower the incline, the machine gets longer/shorter which could scrape your floors. The mat provided with the machine helps, but doesn't solve this issue completely.

I would recommend the machine to anyone who is looking for a low impact, mostly upper body workout that is looking to tone their muscles. This machine will not bulk you up, so if you are really looking to build big muscles you should probably look elsewhere. It is also not a good cardio workout, so you should plan on adding some sort of cardio component to your daily regimen as cardio is important to an overall healthy lifestyle.

My husband and I bought the total gym 1700 model for ourselves as an early Christmas present. We were in the market for a home workout machine and had tested the Bowflex and Weider machines but found the cost to be too high for the Bowflex and the quality to be too "iffy" for the Weider. The Total Gym comes fully assembled and it is so much fun to use. I find myself looking forward to our workout nights all day long while I am at work (and I am usually a couch junkie, not a fitness buff). I told my husband it is like a Six Flags ride that you have to work hard for. You get a great workout, can do most any exercise you could do at the gym, the video that comes with it is excellent, plus you can use it for a great Pilates workout as well. For the money, I believe that it is the best machine you can buy. It does have one very easily correctable negative though, the cable pulley attaches under the seat with a karabiner that is small, sharp and downright ornery to get on and off. Just buy yourself a little larger karabiner (or use one that you got as a prize for excelling at skee ball) and in a few weeks, you too can look like Chuck Norris or Christie Brinkley (the folks from the infomercial)!

I exercise when I have time, I didn't want to pay a fortune, I don't like going to gyms, and my goal is simply to be fit (enough to feel good and be able to haul that couch up the stairs when my friends ask me to help them move). Thus I wanted something efficient, versatile, and of good quality but not too massive--this machine has all these traits. For someone like me, it's great.

Efficient: The idea of using your own body weight to exercise against appeals to me since you don't have to lug around anything more than yourself. I felt that I was getting good workouts after just a few days of using it.

Versatile: There are a lot of interesting exercises you can do to work on any muscle group. A booklet shows you each one in detail and an snap-on flip chart can sit on top of the unit for quick reference. Generally I suggest you follow the recommended exercise programs. They seemed ordered so you don't have to spend much time changing things on the Total Gym between each one. When you do, the transformation is a good way to spend that one minute break they recommend between each exercise--not that it takes anywhere near that to make the changes. One thing I like about this unit is most of the time I only have to pull a knob and raise the back and maybe unhook the sled. (Hint: changing the height also changes the length so don't step hard on the feet of the machine or you'll just end up fighting yourself)

Quality: The construction is of good quality and there are a number of useful attachments that come with this model to allow almost any exercise you can dream up but for the most part you just use the pulleys. My only gripes are: 1) the wing attachment seem a bit loose and so the rail pads slide around causing the wing to bite into the rails. 2) Where the sled hooks to the pulleys is rather cramped and is sometimes difficult to remove.

Not Too Massive: The Total Gym is 8 feet long and 4 feet tall unfolded. It does not fold up very pretty and forget about storing it under a typical bed but it will rest unobtrusively in a corner if you are short on space and can manage to lift the thing. It's not unbearably heavy so much as it is cumbersome to lift and move around. A little dolly will solve this problem nicely. Ideally, though, you don't want to have to unfold it for each workout so find a permanent home for it if you can.

The Total Gym seems best used for light to moderate workouts. You can't achieve REALLY heavy resistance on this thing. You get a maximum of 44% of the sum of your body weight and 75 lbs. For example if you weigh 170 lbs, you are looking at a maximum of about 108 lbs if you supplement it with the free-weight attachment which is included, although you must supply the free weights--75 lbs is the stated limit. I find this is sufficient for a good all-around workout but if that is not enough, you can always add some free weights to your routine.

In summary it's an all around workout machine exercising as many muscles as possible. It's not for body-building. Great for those who just want something to hop on for twenty minutes to an hour a day and feel great afterwards.

I had researched "small-footprint" excercise machines for upper body toning and had settled on the Total Gym 1500 as a good unit for me. One reviewer suggested upgrading the the 1700 Club and I'm glad I did. I am very impressed with the additonal quality of the 1700 and my wife is using the Pilates bar (an extra purchase with the 1500). It is the lowest priced Home Gym capable of handling additional weights - although the base unit provides plenty of exercise for me.
We all know that most of these machines end up in garage sales, but I really like the 1700 Club and it does have the extra weight capability if you really need to max out those muscles.
But, it is hardly "small footprint". Totally unfolded it easily takes up an eight foot by two foot space. You will need at least twelve to utilize the Pilate capabilty and some space on each side for arm pulls. I've got it in a spare bedroom and it takes up an entire wall. Also, it weighs a ton, so it would be a pain to fold it up after every session. Not to say it can't be done, but it would be a good part of the workout. Once folded it can slip under a high bed, or in a closet. But out of sight is out of mind (and one step closer to the garage sale).
I bought it for upper-body excercises but was quite surprised at the number of Ab and lower-body exercises that it it capable of. Its easy to do a full body set, and then work on a specific area.

I had been checking this machine out for quite a few months before Christmas. I'm not gonna lie, I was a afraid of buying it. So, I came home New Years morning, a little drunk and made a purchase. I thank my drunken self to this day.

The machine is great. I am having fun working out with the total gym. I love the burning it gives me while doing the various workouts. Oh, and the feeling you get after the whole shindig is awesome. I was really suprised at how many exercizes you can do with the total gym; especially the leg ones. I still have yet to use most of the accessories because there's so many!


My only gripes are: The machine is heavy! Like others have said, it's a workout before the workout. It doesn't fit under my bed, but it doesn't get in the way when I lay it away from high traffic area in my room. The latch for the rope thingy has almost sliced my fingers off several times. The level part is hard to move up, but I'm sure it needs to be broken in.

Even though those might be cons, I would have still bought it knowing about them. I just wish Chuck Norris was in the workout DVD. The guy in the DVD is a little creepy.

UPDATE(01/03/08): One year later, I can attest that the Total Gym is pretty awesome. The machine is still in good condition, although the plastic covering the wire is getting a little tattered from all the pulling. And the padding material on the wings have some rips and tears which isn't a bad thing considering it's been used 3 days a week for a year! But everything else is in top shape.

I've definitely seen great changes in my body. No, I don't look like a buff body builder, but I'm toned and look great. Even gotten compliments from people who aren't my mother ;). So if you're on the fence about it, go for it. Jump over the fence, you won't regret it.

Oh, and the guy in the DVD is still creepy

this machine can give you near-gym like quality at home. it's not quite all the way to gym quality because certain parts of the range of motion seem to lose most of their resistance. however it's much better than the other home alternatives on the market. it's very durable and the components are high quality. however, that comes with a drawback as it is not nearly as easy to fold and store as advertised. it's actually quite heavy and bulky and therefore awkawrd to fold, and when folded it's still over 8" and thus can only go under tall beds. it's not possible to store it vertically given it's bulk and moving parts. that said, it's best if you have a dedicated space like a basement area where you don't plan on folding and storing after workouts. but that just begs the question of getting a true gym-quality machine if you're going to commit that much space.

also, i'm not sure which is the "official" total gym given all the ads, models and websites. but from what i've seen i wouldn't recommend getting a model more pricey than this one (you could even drop down a model or two) as it's just more bells and whistles that you're unlikely to use.

Ok, so here's the deal. You can look all over the internet trying to find something cheaper or you can look all over town for the best deal on a gym membership...or you can just stop wasting your time and buy this product! For under four hundred dollars you can have a complete home gym that builds muscle while giving you a good cardio workout at the same time. Plus, the Total Gym does not take up a lot of space like many home gyms, but at the same time offers dozens of quality exercises for every muscle group. In addition, I was able to assemble it in about 10 or 15 minutes as it is mostly already assembled. I am a 24 year old male and have been using it for about 3 months and have lost at least 12 pounds of fat while gaining noticable muscle mass. I use about 3 days a week and my abs are showing (even though I haven't done a sit-up or an ab exercise yet - though I am going to start soon) because most of the exercises will work out your abs and core section of your body. All of the exercises are easy to learn and the Total Gym comes with both an instructional DVD and two sets of books with diagrams of exercises designed for specific muscles groups (chest, shoulder, biceps, triceps, legs, back, and biceps). After 3 months, my Total Gym is showing no signs of wear and tear, so I figure that even if I can only use this for a few years, it is definitely money well spent because that is less than a gym membership - plus you don't have to drive to a gym, wait around for other people, and I look forward to coming home and doing my workout while blasting music. The Total Gym is fun, safe, economical, and best of all, it works! If you don't believe Chuck Norris or Christie Brinkley, then you can trust me - the Total Gym is for real! I was really skeptical at first, but now I am a true believer.