Total Gym 1700 Club (Fitness Home Gyms Work)
Want to tone your entire body without buying a complete home gym? Check out the Total Gym 1700 Club, which helps you strengthen and sculpt every major muscle group in your body using a single glide board and a few handy attachments. The Total Gym 1700 Club works by making you lift a percentage of your body weight against gravity, making the resistance smooth and fluid. As your strength and conditioning improves, you increase the total resistance by boosting the incline, thus increasing the body weight lifted in the exercise. The Total Gym 1700 Club thus not only works your upper body, but also your lower body, abdominals, and even your cardiovascular system. And by reducing body fat and increasing the proportion of lean muscle mass in your body, the strength training effectively turns up the thermostat so that your body burns calories constantly.
The Total Gym 1700 Club also offers several handy attachments that add a new dimension to your workout: a Pilates bar that helps you improve your range of motion and balance; a weight bar that lets you add up to 75 pounds of additional free weights to intensify your workouts (weights sold separately); dip bars and press-up bars; and an exercise mat to help protect your floor. All it takes to get in great shape is 15 to 20 minutes per day, three to four times a week.
Key Features:
- Pilates Bar to add a new dimension to your workout by helping you improve your range of motion and balance
- Dip Bars and Press Up Bars add exercise versatility
- Exercise mat protects your floor
- A larger glideboard for workout comfort
- Wider tower for added stability
- Auto-lock height adjustment
- Exercise flip chart for easy reference while exercising
Customer Review: Inauspicious Start
I ordered the Total Gym 1700 Club on March 24th, got word that it wasn’t shipped until April 9th, over 2 weeks later (even though the seller Stress Less, Inc. claimed it had at least one in stock), and received it on April 15th, a day late from the latest date for delivery (April 7-14). But no big deal - I got it.
I received the item with one broken wheel under the glide board - the other 3 are fine for now. The wheel’s flange is broken making the glide board prone to “jumping the track” if any twisting or turning takes place. It’s still useable if I don’t twist any on the glide board, but frustrating if the board jumps the track in the middle of an exercise. That necessitates having to stop whatever exercise I was in the middle of, get off the machine, put the glide board back onto the rails, get back on, start where I left off, etc. Very annoying!
I contacted the Total Gym Limited Warranty 800 number on April 25th to not only register for the 12 month warranty, but also to get a replacement wheel sent to me. When I mentioned the broken wheel, the girl that I spoke with acknowledged the broken wheel problem in a knowing manner, as if to say to me that that happens alot. She also said that she would send a pair of wheels out and that I should get them within 7-10 business days. I’m still waiting.
Today I called back to follow-up on the replacement wheels (5-6-08) and the different girl that I spoke with didn’t show any record whatsoever of my name or product being registered in their system. So I had to start all over and give her the usual stuff; name, address, phone, serial number, etc. She also told me that they only send out wheels in packages of 4, not 2 like the previous girl said - which I’m not complaining about getting 4 wheels. It’s just that getting conflicting information along with the overall experience thus far has not inspired confidence in either Total Gym or in Stress Less, Inc.
Now for the product itself: The Total Gym is a tool just like any other piece of workout equipment. You get out of it what you put into it. Despite the broken wheel, I have used the TG 1700 Club 3 times a week every week since taking delivery. That makes about 7 workouts by now.
Along with the TG, I was provided with three different sources of how to do a proper warmup and basic workout. The TG 1700 Club came not only with an instruction book, but with a flip chart that mounts on the machine itself and a DVD. All three are different as if put together by three different people during different times without consulting the other sources. I have chosen to go with the DVD for now simply because it’s easier for me to watch the models workout using proper form while describing what they are doing. If I get bored down the road with the DVD, I’ll use either the book or flip chart for variety. But for now the DVD works. The DVD is not TG1700 Club specific. It’s generic and covers all TG models.
The workouts are good but interrupted by having to connect and disconnect the arm attachment and pulley system to reconfigure for different exercises. I’m getting faster and more efficient with the changeovers though, so I can generally keep my heart rate up between sets.
The TG 1700 Club seems somewhat durable although a few of the parts are flimsy - probably to help save weight not only in shipping but for the advertised feature of quick and easy setup and tear down. I weigh 220 lbs and have noticed that the track seems to give and flex some whenever I get on and off of the machine. That may not be a bad thing - I’m just sayin’. And the broken wheel which I have already discussed to death still needs replacing.
Overall, the jury is still out with me on the results. I intend to use the TG 1700 Club at least 3 days a week and put in a good honest effort. If the machine holds up and I ever get my replacement wheel, then I intend to use this in conjunction with my treadmill for years. So far, the workouts feel refreshing with a “good tired” feeling afterwards. The inherent stretching that’s involved also feels great. The workouts are not too taxing but are hard enough so that I feel like I’m making a good effort and will reap some results. I know that I will never bulk out on the TG, nor do I want to, but hope to get a lean wirey look and lose weight.
Overall, I would somewhat recommend the TG 1700 Club but with reservations based on problems as described in the review.
Customer Review: I’ve lost 70 lbs…
I bought the Total Gym 1700 club last year June. I have positioned it right in front of my bed and I never put it away. Therefore I have never missed a workout (not even once). Presently I am at the level just before the top on the resistance tower. Its a culmanation of my gained muscle and strength and of course my weight loss too. I feel myself moving to the last level within the next 2 months (maybe before). When I reach that level than I will add additional weights with the weight bar.
The 1700 club has changed my life. When I started I was just over 300lbs and now I’m somewhere around 230lbs and Im no where near stopping. This is the single best investment Ive ever made in my life. Just to note, I also have a stationary bike and I follow a very strict diet and nutrition plan.
Also, I actully didnt buy my 1700 Club from Amazon, I live in the Bahamas where I bought it for $650.00 and every penny was well worth it! Therefore if Amazon has it for $475.00 then I’d say go for it. I hope this review was helpfull…
Be blessed… .