I’d been meaning to get a home gym machine for some time now but never got around to actually doing it until recently. I jog regularly and bike (weekend warrior), but I also wanted a bit of strength training especially for my upper body.

At first it was a toss up between the Total Gym 1100 and Total Gym 1700. Big price difference there, but the 1700 has a lot more features. But then I came upon the Total Gym 1800 Club and it seemed perfect for me. I liked the price which is very affordable, plus there is free shipping.

After using the home gym for a couple of weeks I can say it’s a great workout machine. It gives my upper body a fantastic workout. Although I can say my lower body is already in good shape thanks to jogging and biking, I discovered that I have some muscles in my legs and thighs that I didn’t even know existed. The Total Gym 1800 Club really hits all muscle groups, big and small.

Total Gym 1800 Club Features

This machine has everything you’re looking for in a home fitness gym for a total workout. It’s great if you want to tone and strengthen your upper and lower body muscles. The Total Gym 1800 Club uses your body weight as the resistance, so there’s no need for weight plates. All you have to do is adjust the incline of the Glideboard to change the resistance level.

• The Total Gym 1800 Club has a wider glideboard and auto-lock height adjustment. It also comes with an exercise flip chart and two workouts on a DVD. You can do over 60 different exercises on the machine. Quite impressive.

• Aside from the dual dip bars, press up bars, wing attachment, leg pulley and Pilates bar, it now comes with the new ab crunch board attachment.

• It’s easy to assemble, and once you’re done working out on this equipment you can fold it and stash it away.

• A large exercise mat comes with the equipment to protect your floor.

How the Total Gym 1800 Club Works

The Total Gym uses your body weight for resistance instead of weight plates. You can adjust the resistance level by lowering or raising the Glideboard’s incline. The higher the incline, the greater the resistance.

The different attachments- leg pulley, dip bars, ab crunch bar, etc.- are used to workout different parts of your body. The exercise flip chart is a handy reference to pick out the routines that you can use to tone and strengthen specific muscle groups.

Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Use the Total Gym 1800 Club

Adults and older kids who want a total workout without having to go to the gym will definitely benefit from this home fitness equipment. You can adjust the resistance to suit your level of fitness.

However, the Total Gym 1800 is not suitable for serious or professional weight lifters. And because it uses your weight for resistance, it won’t work well for those with lower body weights.

The Good

It’s compact, convenient and reasonably priced. You can get a really good workout especially for the upper body. There are dozens of workouts that you can perform on this home gym to exercise different muscle groups.

Beginners will find it easy to adjust to the machine. You can work your way up to the next level of resistance as you develop your strength and fitness.

The Not-So-Good

Let me put it this way. Changing the pins and adding and removing accessories gave me a good workout already.

It wasn’t that bad, really. But it took some getting used to. You have to change the attachments when you transition to a different workout, and this can be annoying. I like to do Circuit Training because it gives me a good cardio exercise, and changing attachments can get in the way of your workout. It helps if you watch the video first and see how the trainer does the transitions.

Lowering and raising the Glideboard can be a hassle for some people, but it’s the only way to adjust the resistance level. Like me, you may be using different exercise levels for different exercises. This means that aside from changing the attachments, you will also have to raise or lower the Glideboard.

Initial assembly of the Total Gym 1800 Club was not difficult, but the home gym is not easy to unfold and fold when you want to store it after your workout. And be careful doing this, or you’ll mash your finger. Ouch!

The Verdict

Bottom line, this is an excellent machine and worth the price. It’s simple to use even for beginners, and the attachments can be changed easily and quickly once you get the hang of it.

You can adjust the level of difficulty, so it can be used by beginners and advanced users. The different attachments and exercises allow a full range of motion so you get a really good workout for all your muscle groups, both large and small. I’d recommend the Total Gym 1800 Club to all my friends.

You can only get the Total Gym 1800 Club online, so take advantage of the free shopping and place your order now at Amazon.