Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

UPDATE: January 2018 - Still using the Weider 3-4 times per week with no issues. Still feels brand new. Just to start off, I want to say that we have used this equipment for over 6 months with moderate to heavy use (minimum 3-4 days a week by myself and wife) and we love it. I did not buy this product and wrote a review just because, it has been used every week for the past 6 months. Honestly, there are a lot of hokey gym equipment out there that anyone can buy and most of them are all useless (push up devices? sit up devices? come on now). Seeing the Total Gym on t.v made me laugh until I actually tried it out in person. My younger brother had one in his home gym and I decided to use it for stuff and giggles and to my surprise, I wanted one right away. It was perfect for anyone wanting to build there own home gym and this was a much needed device. Why did I choose the Wieder Ultimate Body Works over the Total Gym? First is the cost --- it was half the cost of the Total Gym and did practically the same thing. Second was storage --- it can be lowered down and adjusted to smaller dimensions. Third was the resistance band --- 4 bungee cord systems that can attach to the lower half and can be adjusted upwards to an extra 50 pounds, the basic Total Gym did not have this at all. The basic Total Gym does come with easier height adjustments and also glides a lot smoother while in use. Not a big difference in my opinion though, considering the cost of the Weider over the basic Total Gym. Why would I buy a cable/pulley system for my home gym? 1) cheaper than real cable/pulley systems that Big Gyms have. Most folks don't realize this but those Gym's that have cable systems can run upwards to $600-1000 bucks and are huge, where are you gonna store or place that equipment in a house?. 2) Perfect for folks who how have muscle injuries/need physical therapy --- I have shoulder and back injuries from deployments in the military and have issues using dumbbells and heavy weights. This is perfect for my body. 3) You can virtually work on almost every muscle group with this equipment alone. Granted you won't get huge, cable systems in my usage are mainly for stretching/low weight-high rep work outs/ and also for my wife. She doesn't like using weights and this is also perfect for her. What kind of exercises can I do with this? Use your imagination or google/youtube some videos. I've seen some comments here stating that the package came with no instructions on how to use it. Yes that is true but you can google/youtube videos and descriptions on what to do. There are literally hundreds of videos on youtube show casing what exercises you can do with these equipment. There is no need to buy the exercise chart unless you have extra cash on hand and just want it. Pros: 1. Cheaper than Total Gym 2. Resistance Bands 3. Stable, won't move around while in usage 4. Good Cable system, no kink's or problems with mine. 6 months of moderate/heavy usage 5. Storage Cons: 1. Not as smooth as the Total Gym 2. Handles might need to be upgraded (cost considered, this isn't a big con) 3. Height adjustment is not as good as the Total Gym. Uses a pulley on side which might be harder for folks to adjust All in all, this is a good buy if you are looking to add something to your home gym or just need something to begin with. If you liked my review on this product, please press the Yes button below so that I will know what to review again next time. Thanks! --JY