Weider Total Body Works 5000 Gym

First off, the construction: I'd let the box sit for over a week just because I feared having to wade through missing parts and complicated setup. Nope. Everything was already assembled save for a couple pieces and it was ready to go in MINUTES. That alone deserves 5 stars. I'd bought other workout machines and at least 3/4 of them came with missing parts. Second, the machine itself: Don't waste your money on the Total Gym. Weider shows you how simple this machine really is and owners of this machine will shake their heads at those that paid premium money for the Total Gym. I think someone else mentioned that the railing could use a little oil to avoid noise but, as is, the machine works exactly as advertised. I have found it difficult to both get seated AND grab the handles but that's not a failure of the machine as much as it is a matter of getting used to it. It can fearlessly handle close to 250-260 pounds (myself + added weights) which is a big plus. I find the exercises a bit too easy as I've spent years in the gym, but you can work around this by working on single arm pulls and such. I could use a more advanced machine due to that issue but I knew that going in. This is a great machine, in my case, to help strengthen the areas that I'm not super strong in (some core, endurance, situps, etc.). I've also used it as a regular incline bench with my dumbbells and have been happy with that so far. It's not perfect, but coming in at under $130, it's a reasonable investment. The sliding does make it more enjoyable as well. Anything that entices you to work out is a plus in my book. It's not built like a $1000 machine but for the price, I'm completely satisfied with the value of the TBW.

We just set this up and it works amazingly well. We need it for swimming exercises. It looks great for a "super pullover" type of exercise, and in addition you can do stroke pulls on your stomach. The exercise card shows 58 exercises but maybe 12 of them could probably be done better on your own (I don't need to be on a board to do leg presses, i can do lunges on the ground holding something heavy if I need that) and 12 of them are perhaps inferior duplicates of other exercises on the card. One failing is that you cannot lock both handles together in a straight line, so we put some 1/4" dowels (2 of them) through both of the hollow handles to treat the 2 handles like a straight metal bar. Another (very minor) failing of this device is that it's sized for adults with very long arms. What this means is that it's difficult for smaller people to grab both of the arm-pulls once you get onboard. At the moment my sons are using two people - one person gets on their back on the board, and reaches up, and the other person pulls each arm-pull down, one-by-one, to hand them to the exerciser. This is not a simple or convenient process. This machine has a HUGE advantage compared to some other low-cost machines because there are 4 bungee cords at the bottom to add resistance so you get 8 height settings and 5 bungee settings per height setting to fine-tune your workout! We looked up the parts on a exercise machine repair website and sure enough, the parts are priced as if this item retailed for $800. I thought I might pick up 4 bungee cords as spares, but not for $84 ($21 per bungee cord). What about a spare poster? $22. I was interested in spare foam pads but for $42 each, I certainly cannot afford 2x! I feel like the company should offer 4 bungee cords, 2 foam pads, and maybe cables for $40 and I'd buy that right away (and they'd probably make $25 in profit.) Instead, I'm probably going to be buying replacement parts at the hardware store and "rolling my own" - THEIR LOSS. With shipping the total gym cost us roughly $140, about 18 months ago. That is a great bargain. The build quality is surprisingly good and once you tighten the 3 nyloc nuts on the heavy duty bolts, it's very sturdy. You don't need the foot boards very often (only about 8 out of 40 exercises use them and I can do lunges on my own I don't need a gym for that) so I put those away for future use. There are only 5 things you need to do for (5-min) assembly : (1) There are 3 nut/hex-bolts you have to tighten to get the T-foot on the gym. Use a crescent wrench or a socket set for this (they are nyloc nuts with split washers.) (2) There are 2 foam pads you slide onto the bars (3) You need to rip the plastic off the vinyl-padded board (4) VERY IMPORTANT you must go down below and extend the gym. If you don't extend the gym, the board has nowhere to slide. (5) NOW PUT UP THE FOOT. The gym has a foot (kind of like an ironing board with one foot cut off) and you need to extend the remaining foot to set the height. There are 8x height settings. For even more settings, parts of the exercise poster show people leaning the gym against the wall for near-vertical exercises (pull-up type exercises.) I recommend setting the height while the gym is on its side because it's quite heavy and if the pull-pin gets away from you the whole thing can supposedly come slamming down on your thumb. This probably sounds scary but it's simply common sense as the gym is very sturdy steel and is a heavy-duty well-made machine.

Short summary: I've been doing sports for 20 years, 5 of them competitively. I like this machine for a light injury-free workout. It's good for toning and losing weight. I cannot see myself buffing up on this one, but it's not my goal. Long summary: It'll serve you better if you know already what you're doing. You should have at least a few years experience of working out. If you have no background, I recommend you go first to a gym that has similar equipment and use a personal trainer to get familiarized with the range of exercises, how to combine them into a meaningful workout and how to executed them correctly. I don't think this product falls short in any way to Total Gym XLS. I've been using it for about a week with my fiancée. We love it. We take turn with one person being "the personal trainer" for the other. She was a gymnast, I was a Taekwondo player. There are some exercises which are not comfortable to execute on this machine (especially the chest), but they're solvable with some simple modification. I wrapped my belt around the handlebars to increase the range of exercises I can do. Youtube "Weider Total Body Works 5000", and you'll see a video review which gave me the idea. As many people, I find it challenging to work out the chest. However, I've "invented" my own thing - as there is a one arm rowing, I'm doing one arm press, which is basically punching with one arm against the resistance of the machine. Works fantastically. There are some other creative things I've done to work out the chest, but they're hard to describe in words. Generally - buy this machine, and invent your own workouts. I also love it that I can do assisted pullups. I can do "normal" pull ups, but I prefer to warm up for them. This machine helps me warm up or to do pull ups when tired or lazy or injured. One warning - this thing is heavy and it's hard to toss to and out of storage. Folding is easy. Very easy and very fast. Also, it scratched my hardwood floor the first time I worked out. Now I make sure I put a bathroom rug underneath it every time I use it. I've been drooling over Total Gym GTS (commercial version of XLS), but couldn't find a used one for less than 1000$. If I could get Total Gym GTS for less than 500$, I'd take it over Weider Total Body Works 5000 Gym. But with the way things are, this is by far the best value/money investment. And eve if you're a serious athlete, it'll give you enough functionality.

My buddy has 1 of these and when he told me how much you pay for it I got excited because I use to own the old total gym. First I tried ordering from walmart but they sent me the wrong piece of equipment so I came back to amazon which I should of done in the first place. I just did the standard super saver shipping and 5 to 7 days actually only took about 3 business days so I was very pleased with that. I've been using the gym now for a couple of days and am really pleased with the level of workout that I can get even on the lower settings. The gym itself works great. Likes: 1. Workout is brutal. Love it. The ability to go from 1 work out to the next keeps you going and burning. 2. The bench is slimmer than my old total gym which means i can get less intereference when swinging my arms. 3. I'm 6'1" and i am able to get a better body extension on this machine than the total gym 4. The handles are removable unlike my old total gym so i can hook the cables to a single bar if i want. 5. For the price it does accomplish what its supposed to so far. The build is not as sturdy as te total gym but it holds up to my workout. Dislikes: 1. Havent been able to get in a good calf workout. Have positioned my feet on the outside edges of the foot panel but cant do one legged calves in 'he center because the foot plate is too close to the bungee hooks. So your heel cant fully stretch downward, weider shows a calf raise on the chart starting from a flat foot position. To me this is not a good calf workout. Please let me know if you have been able to get a good one in and build mass. 2. The foot bar for hamstring pulls is not angled correctly and i solved this by moving the pads the the upper bar and hooking my ankles over that. That was pretty grueling but you have to be careful not to fully extend or you may lose your grip. 3. The rollers are not smooth. As i roll up and down the rails it feels "bumpy." this had decreased during my use somewhat and is easy to ignore. I may order the replacement wheels as they dont seem very high quality or may have warped. It doesnt impede my workout but can be slightly annoying when my head is on the seat as it bounces. 4. When you receive it double check that all bolts are actually sufficiently tightened. My frame was a little wobbly until i did this. Overall i am pleased and once i solve the calf workout question and possibly replace the rollers i think i will be ve happy with this piece of equipment. Amazon did a good job getting it to me.

I am so happy with my purchase for the following reasons: 1.) It's much cheaper than any other home gym out there, and the quality does not reflect the price. It is built sturdy, and glides effortlessly. 2.) Can maneuver easily regardless of your height and weight (my husband is 6'1", 250 lbs+) 2.) Resistance bands are extremely easy to switch (just stretch them down and lock them into place), and are a great alternative to weight plates that have to be used with the Chuck Norris version of the Total Gym (replaces the need to buy at least 50 lbs worth of weights). 3.) You use your own body weight for resistance! Even the out of shape, like myself, can easily operate this machine by lowering and reducing the angle of the backboard (the lower it is the less amount of your body weight is used for resistance). As you strenghthen you can raise it. 4.) My husband HATED the idea of resistance training. He believed that the only way men could put on muscle was to use free weights, and that this system was only for women who wanted to tone. This machine showed him the error of his ways. Now, he uses it just as much as I do. What I didn't like: 1.) Some of the metal was dinged and the pleather on the backboard had a small rip on the corner,but I think that has do to it's rough handling during shipment. The damage was superficial, and not enought to warrant returning the product. 2.) The Chuck Norris version of the Total Gym offers attachments, e.g., AbCrunch, Dip Bars, Press-Up Bars, Pilates Kit, and ankle straps for leg extensions. I have searched and searched, but could not find attachments for this Weider version (not sure if the attachments for the Chuck Norris version are compatable with the Weider Total Gym). 3.) Although it came with a helpful poster that demonstrates at least 20 different exersizes; there are no videos or pre-designed work-out routines that the Chuck Norris version has on the market. However, I do suppose you could buy them anyway--the two machine are relatively the same. Or you could just look it up on Youtube for free (there are tons of videos).

Good Day all I never known these systems exists until seen one at sporting goods, it was total gym priced at $400, I fell in love with it using it for couple minutes in the show room, therefore I searched online for something similar with cheaper price tags and found Weider Total gym. I received Weider 5000 couple days ago, it took me 30 minutes to put together, only few 4 screws. I was very impressed with quality and stability of the product. I thought for that price i would get something cheap. Weirder 5000 is very nice well built product even better that the once priced $400 and above. I used to go to the gym 6 days a week then due to kids and school and work visiting the gym twice a week is great for me. Weider gave me complete home gym and complete work out for both losing weight and building in addition getting ripped. I'm 5'10" 210Lb, and this machine fit me very well. I believe after using treadmills for an hour a day then using Weider you will be able to lose weight and gain muscles add to that get your shoulders and back ripped. if you need to add more resistance you can use the resistance cord provided with it which adds 50lb more resistance. also you can purchase ankle and vest weight to increase your weight for more resistance in case you are trying to focus on becoming bigger. the machine wont replace the gym %100, but if you are busy and don't have the luxury of free time to go to the gum 6 days a week, this machine will do a good job. The machine is way bigger than the picture of the product is showing. like other reviewers below said, it is almost 9' to 12' tall when extended it all the way. Amazon gave me free two day shipping after 5 to 9 days free big saver shipping going to take more than 16 days for me to receive the product ( after making purchase on 20th of July, shipment said i should get it on 28th of July, two days later check package tracking and it showed the shipment still not shipped and I should get it by August 9th, called Amazon great customer service and moved it to two days free shipping, I received my product July 24th early morning.) The product comes with big poster with more than 50 training positions. Last but not Least. MAKE SURE TO FASTEN THE ALL THE SCREWS EVEN THE ONCE THAT ALREADY THERE SOME THEM ARE VERY LOSE.

This item is one of the best resistance training items you can buy for the money. There are other home gyms similar to this at very inflated costs in comparison. This gym uses one's own body weight as resistance. The resistance can be varied by either increasing or decreasing the incline in combination with using up to four resistance bands. The machine performs very nicely without taking much space. I have gotten better full body workouts with this machine than I ever have with free weight routines; you pretty much have no choice but to use your core to compliment most exercises. This may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you're looking for. Assembly of the machine was easy and very straightforward with one exception. On each end there are openings for either the foot-rest or handle attachments. One of these openings was significantly bent inward. Because of this I was not able to put any attachment into it. There is no way to tell whether the damage was already there or if it occurred during shipping; however, if it did occur during shipping it would have to be a pretty massive blow to the box in order to bend the metal so much in one location. I was able to fix it by heating the metal with a lighter for about a minute, then prying it back to its original shape with a hammer. After assembly I found myself with many other reviewers... figuring out all the ways to use it. This product comes with no guide whatsoever. After some searching I found a video on youtube someone created of his own routine using equipment very similar to this item (worldaccordingtojim - "The Best Total Gym or Total Trainer Home Workout"). Following this routine with this item I've gotten excellent resistance workouts and have already started to see & feel results. All in all I'm very happy I purchased this item. It's so inexpensive that I may not bother replacing parts when they wear out, it might be cheaper to simply buy a new one. So far no parts have worn out however I don't expect that to happen for some time. The reason I gave this review four stars is because of the dented attachment hole as well as the lack of any workout guide. Other than that it's superb.

Firstly, let's start with the positive..and on the whole I LOVE this equipment. While some of the exercises are tricky to perform (i.e. bar curls) I would recommend that one product can't do everything. While this tries, I'd say stick with simpler devices like bar bells for that. However, for the main exercises like bench pressing, this gives burn and bulk. Consequently, 4 of 5 stars for ease of use. I had an issue with the foam handles not matching. A simple phone call and new ones were sent expedited with no issues. So customer service/quality control gets 4 stars (the only reason they get 4 is because it should've been noticed prior to shipping) Finally and on to the negative... while I love it, the darn thing is RIDICULOUSLY DANGEROUS. I only read one comment prior to purchase about it being dangerous, so thought they just had a lemon. However, the key comes down to how you store it. My gym is in my garage, so I needed this to be easy to set-up and put away. It is pretty straight forward and very fast to set-up as only one knob controls everything. The problem (as noted by another commenter) is that the knob gets stuck. In my case after a month's use, I struggled to pull the knob up to release the board. When it eventually budged, the whole system collapsed quickly and heavily onto two of my fingers - completely crushing them. I cannot remember feeling pain like that and three months on, I still have pain in my knuckles. It's a little ironic that the equipment designed to make you stronger has made my fingers weaker! In summary, this equipment is a very good buy for the price. However the danger it poses to anyone who uses it MUST be taken into consideration.

This is an amazing gym. I started getting compliments within 2 weeks of using. The bands for extra weight are amazing. I think this gym is great for almost any strength or fitness level.

Very sturdy, and can't wait to get in shape. Bigger than I thought it would be... so if you lack space, don't buy this one. A little hard to set it at different heights...almost need to be 2 people so you dont get hurt, because it's really heavy. Overall, good exercise equipement to have, glides easily.

Had hip replacement done and I use this exerciser daily. Love it.

nice