Excellent product

I have been using this product for a couple of weeks now and I can already see the results. My only regret about this product is that I didn't know about it sooner. The ab exercises are amazing with this product and you can work all the muscles with different movements. I have never been able to work obliques effectively however with this product I can target them directly. Two weeks only and I can already feel the results.

Short version: this is one piece of equipment that is a must-have for a home gym.More detail ...

Great Home Exercise Equipment For the Upper Body

There are some advantages and disadvantages to this product that buyers need to be aware of before purchasing:



-this is a great in-home piece of equipment to primarily exercise the chest (pecs) front shoulder (anterior deltoids) and back of the arms (triceps)



-once you can do 20 reps in a row with this item you will not get these muscles any stronger using this piece of equipment. The srength training literature is quite clear (ex. Fleck and Kramer) that anything OVER 20 reps of an exercise will build primarily muscle ENDURANCE and NOT strength. Thus you can strengthen the above named muscles only to a certain extent- since this exercise equipment is unable to provide progressive resistance (unlike a weight machine or dumbbell where you can keep adding a little more weight now and then which challenges the muscle and makes it grow bigger and stronger). Having said that it is a great tool to use for moderate strengthening and to maintain a certain level of fitness. Just know it won't turn you into Hercules...



-this is an especially good piece of equipment to use if you have wrist problems since it can rotate and let your wrists do what they do naturally with you do this pressing type motion- unlike other exercise equipment where your hand is fixed on a bar.



-using this piece of equipment is vastly superior to regular floor push-ups as it allows the torso to "sink down" to the floor more which increases the range of motion for you to exercise in. Thus the muscles are exercised more thoroughly thru a greater range.



When all is said and done: Its a good product for someone looking for a moderate upper body workout and wants to "stay in shape". Also recommend Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff if you have a shoulder problem that interferes with your workout.More detail ...

It works GREAT!

I agree with the other review...this works GREAT! My upper arms have become more and more flabby over the years and within just a few weeks I see a shocking improvement. I also do the 6 minute workout daily (because of the positive results I am very motivated to keep doing it) and mostly while watching tv since it's an easy routine to remember. I also take it on vacation with me since it doesn't take up that much room. I've seen the absurd comments about it being suggestive but honestly don't most excercises look silly when you're doing them? This works great and I was convince to buy it because the main site offers to not only return the purchase and shipping price but pay for return shipping if you wanted to return it.More detail ...

Poor reviews unsound

My first thought is that if you swing when you use this product you probably have bad form on all of your moves in the gym. This is far superior to a captains chair because you don't have a rigid object babysitting your hind end and to push against. If you swing you need to smoothly counteract and summon your core balance. Try not to swing and that's when your crazy abs are born. Slow down control your movement impress ladies with six gnarly toned bumps on your belly. That's what I do. I'm starting to look like that muscle guy from the anatomy class books.More detail ...

Great Set- Different Than the Class

I started taking the Zumba classes and was so in love with them that I wanted to do them at home. After researching the Zumba DVD's I stumbled across this set and bought it. I loved it- but it wasn't like the Zumba Beginners class that I was taking. The first DVD is a beginners DVD that shows you how to do the steps and includes a 20 minute workout. I am a fairly fit active female and broke a sweat in no time with just the instructional DVD. They break each step down into 'easy' 'medium' and 'hard' so you can learn the steps and be confidant enough with them to move up into the other DVD's. Other reviews thought this was lame- I actually loved it. It was very helpful here I thought I knew the steps all along and I really didn't. It will also help me with my class. The 20 minute workout is also a good beginners dvd but I assume would get old after you get good at the moves. The Zumba Live DVD is probably most like the Zumba classes where there is no instruction and everyone is just dancing in rows. Surprisingly you can pick up what they're doing and I really didn't see them use the moves you learn from the first DVD too much it was a little more freestyle. Beto the creator of Zumba is kinda crazy- he's hard to understand but the other female instructors are great and easy to follow.



I also thought this was very different than my classes. I was hoping to hear some of the same music and routines that I see in the live classes I attend but it's different- not better or worse just different than I was expecting. The 'weighted dumbells' are kinda lame- they're long and not real heavy- I haven't used them yet because I find it hard to add yet another dimension to these moves still. You want to make sure you have a good area in front of your TV to do this on and that you have the ability to jump and move your body weight without having to worry about things falling off bookshelves and such. The reviews that this was cheaply done and put together are false- how could it be cheap? It looks pretty clear from the pictures what you're getting. There were several DVD's and a dumbell set and I thought Amazon.com's price was reasonable for what you get. I don't know what these other people were expecting. I guess this is going to be sold on infomercials but I have yet to see one yet- it's put together by that Gunthey-Renker brand that touts several other 'as seen on TV' products.



In all I would highly recommend this and recommend you wear hip-hop shoes (like the Bloch S0538L sneakers) and as few clothes as possible- each time I try to do this in a tshirt I end up having to put on a tank by the end of the workout. Get ready to sweat and work your butt off- and you'll be well on your way to needing hip replacement surgery after all this latin dancing!!More detail ...

Works as advertised.

I shopped around and I have many years of fitness experience and so I didn't make this choice lightly. Yes it smells of chemicals but it's probably because it was packed before the paint fully cured. The smell goes away by the time you get it together and use it a couple of times. The grips are good but they're a bit soft and made of foam so I don't expect they'll last a long time. The area of the bar that comes into contact with the doorframe is a hard plastic with a textured surface that will leave an impression in the wood plus the natural up-down flex will rub a bit. The flat area on the back is fine and I don't see any noticeable marks on the wall. Yes some of the more gimmicky exercises rank right up there with using it as a grill for a compact pickup. Still there's no simpler way to have pull-up capability at home. Portable? Yes. Does it come apart easily for compact transport? Don't even think about it. The beauty is it goes on quick you work out then put it away. Truly easy effective and versatile since there are more grip locations than the single bar type. I even use the bends where there is no foam and it's no problem. I bought some fitness bands to keep my reps high and I just leave them on it and use them as I desire. Can't test the weight limit though I'm less than a buck 50. The top 20 guide is a leaflet and my "kit" came with no tools. Didn't use the included brackets. The stupidest thing they did with this kit is provide you a "printed on both sides" piece of paper of 20 exercise pictures but NONE of them use the bar. The only exercise pictures using the bar are on the box which I am sure most people will throw away/recycle. Come on guys sheesh. Still a great product.More detail ...