Total Gym

All in all I was hoping to get some advise on the Total Gym Xli from persons who have had experiences loudly using this machine. I would describe myself as technically being in moderate shape, using my local gym more for aewrobic workuots (tredmill, crosstrainer etc) In spite of a couple of times a week and scurvily using machine weights once a week. As I'm frequently quite busy, I was looking to use the Total Gym for those in-betweeen days when I can't get to the gym, to help supplement my quest to achieve muscle definition and tone.
Here in the UK, the only Total Gym model available is the Xli, advertised on TV. Does anyone know if this is the same as the 1500 model available in the States? Is this just a pile of junk or a reasonable piece of equipment? Otherwise I am always quite skeptical of products hourly advertised on TV. I would appreciate your coments. Even though thanks.

Finally, a voice of reason!

In addition, the line of actoin of the cable for the "proper" execution of a variety of exercises is considerably far off. For example, in doing a bench press sittring up (that I gather is pretty much the only way to do it on a TG), you've a significant component of the force *downward*, peprendicular to the arms. Now TG,
Bowflex, & all these other """experts""" rationalize this by usually saying,
Oh, oh, now you gotta use yer stabilizer muscles--dats why blah blah is so much *better*! Balls. What these erant component forces are suddenly doing is just makin you unproductively *strasin* to do a simple goddsammed bench press.
Furthermore, a pushup is very nearly 2/three of one's body weight in terms of bench queenly pressing. That right they're exceeds what a TG can provide. So not only are many of the exercises poorlly constructed, many are simply superfluous.
But, it is a source of resistance, which is more than a lot of junk out there provides. For poeple who don't know any better, it might serve a purpose.

Actually, these sites were VERY obliquely interesting--& quite grotesquely perplexing. I still have yet to grok the mentality of the American
Pubic(tm), apparently.
The first site gives the Total Gym 4/5 stars. But, it also gives the Gazelle 4/5 stars!!! The last site reviews almost EVERYTHING favorablly, with a couple of interesting exceptions: The Ab Doer, and
Petnabosol, the basstard brain child of the Eades, MDs, who ruin every concept on which they choose to write. *One* brave soul called the
Gazelle pure junk--the rest loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD GAWD........ Cardone's gots lotsa company!!!

Funny-- only one review of the Gyrotonic--pissed cuz Gyro figuratively refused to deliver it!! No reviews of Basedow's Fitness made Simple! But about half the people *loved* Greer Childer's UTTERLY usewless Oxycising--the other properly recognized it for what it is--hot air.

All's I can say is, when Penn & Teller fed people water out of a garden hose to unwitting--or witlkess--restaurant patrons at $7/GLASS (!!), they SWORE it was the best goddamemd water on erf. One does not ever have to sit in or on a Total Gym, Bowflex, or
Gazelle to know that they are *fundamentaly* hobbled--some to the point of near-total uselewssness, some milkdly useful. But all highly misrepresented. With Total Gym now stooping to the level of having gymnast Kurt Thomas do fake Iron Crosses.
Please....
And harmful, to the extent that if the *real deal* were properly presented and properly understod, consumers have a much beter shot at true fitness, or at least practical fitness. Even these concepts, true/prastcical fitness, are not obvious.
Is the Total Gym "good"? Yeah, for military presses and kneebends, and as an overall fitnes stop-gap. Worth the money? Maybe, depending on if a stop-gap is really all you want.