I just wanted to ask everyone's opinion. I have a good model of the total gym. I can place weights onto it and there are only a few exercises where I wouldn't be able to put enough weight on to create enough resistance.
Do you think the Total Gym can help gain muscle? Does it matter what kind of equipment is being used? If you make the resistance hard enough so that you can only do 4-8 reps isn't that still going to successfully tear down muscle? I had bought this a while ago and it is very good equipment. girlfriend loves it and it is good for cardio and overall fitness. Just didn't know if it upped the resistance big time, whether that would be good enough for muscle gain.
Total Gym and Muscle Mass
Moderators: Boss Man, cassiegose
Your muscles don't know the difference between free weights, machines, or elastic bands. The difference is range and freedom of motion. Resistance is resistance. The Total Gym is not a bad starting point and its not even bad for intermediate workouts but it has been experience that free weights elicit more muscle fiber because they generally engage more muscle by doing nothing more than forcing your stabilizers to trigger. With the Total Gym you spend most of your time sitting down. Compound exercises are the best at building lean muscle. I started with a Total Gym until I found it wasn't giving me the type and variety of resistance I wanted.
What ever you do just keep on keeping on!
Craig
What ever you do just keep on keeping on!
Craig
I also bought a workout bench and will be doing dumbell and curl bar exercises mostly. I will use the total gym for aerobics and some other exercises like squats and pullups. I am using the 14000 model that is sold by EFI Sports Medicine. It's not the one you see endorsed by Chuck Norris on TV commercials. These are much nicer. It can handle a little over 400 pounds of weight. The guy told me it has a breaking weight of 1000 though. Im afraid to go over the recommended weight. For the most part it can do the whole body. I just find that you need some of the attachments to make some of the exercises better and more comfortable.
Think the same
I just tought the same. 
Re: Total Gym and Muscle Mass
I bought a total Gym where you could put weights on it 2 years ago. It was New Years resolution. I think it is awesome. With that along with a cardio workout, I lost over 80 pounds and have gained upper body muscle. Best investment i have ever made.com34x wrote:I just wanted to ask everyone's opinion. I have a good model of the total gym. I can place weights onto it and there are only a few exercises where I wouldn't be able to put enough weight on to create enough resistance.
Do you think the Total Gym can help gain muscle? Does it matter what kind of equipment is being used? If you make the resistance hard enough so that you can only do 4-8 reps isn't that still going to successfully tear down muscle? I had bought this a while ago and it is very good equipment. girlfriend loves it and it is good for cardio and overall fitness. Just didn't know if it upped the resistance big time, whether that would be good enough for muscle gain.
Good job on the weight loss. The Total Gym is actually a very well built home gym. Yes it has limitations but not that many. It doesn't ever use 100 percent of your body weight because otherwise you would be upside down or standing up. You can do the math and add what is needed to make up the difference. Then you can add even more. As long as the total weight on the seat isn't more than 400. 600 for the other model. So in theory you have a limit of a little less than 400. Probably more but you risk voiding your warranty. I think it is a great investment as well. I can always use it to change up routine.
Can you get by with just dumbells,bench, and a curl bar? I have a lot of plates that I just put onto dumbell handles and then use a tension clip. It is better than having a seperate dumbell for each weight.vamp wrote:a sturdy flat bench, a power rack, a barbell and plates. The only limitations are those you put on yourself. The plates you buy as you need more to distribute the cost over time.
Cheers
I don't really know much about a power rack though. I would think I really don't need much else then I already have. Is there some other type of exercise that I am missing or can not do?