Suntamer/Total gym Qs

E

eda-koppo

Joined
Nov 16, 1999
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I've got questions about 2 items & wondering if anyone here has any experience with either (yes, I used the search function and got zilch):

1) The Total Gym. This seems like a decent and relatively compact piece of exercise equipment but am wondering if anyone here has any experience with them.

2) The Suntamer hat http://www.alumapole.com/product.asp?ID=51&nPage=3 . Ditto, saw their ad in Popular Mechanics and I've been curious ever since. Looks stupid but main aim is to keep sun off dome and out of eyes. I'm sort of skeptical about the "one size fits all" thing, though, and wonder how much heat this apparent vinyl might trap.

Any help appreciated.
 
I don't own a Total Gym, but have used one several times. They are an "OK" piece of equipment if you are just looking at something compact that will tone you up. There are many other options depending on your wants/needs, but something is always better than nothing. If you have your mind set on a total gym, check out a play it again sports store or search the classifieds. Tons of people buy equipment only to end up as a coat rack. Good luck.
 
There are lots of wide-brimmed hats that will keep the sun out of your eyes and off your face. Find one that you like and works for your surroundings (and has a tight weave in the brim--not straw or basket-weave).
 
Thanks for the replies. Total Gym may well be viable since my aim is to lose weight and tone up (was wiry before I allowed blubber to take over).

Unfortunately a straw hat won't cut it--I really don't like hats but am bald enough to need one out of doors, and my aim is to get one, not a collection.
 
Did anybody ever get the Total Gym? My wife wants one to add to our collection of modern and abstract art (treadmill, weightbench, etc).
 
If your aim is to tone up you might find that something more aimed at aerobic exercise might give better results (ie a treadmill/ exercise bike/ rowing machine)

The most important thing is to choose something you will use. One motivational factor is actually seeing yourself loose weight and this will happen quickest by using something that burns most calories, you can burn a lot more calories in a given time on an exercise bike or rowing machine than using weights.
 
We also have a decent treadmill. My wife wants the Total Gym as another piece of equipment for her not to use (I didn't just say that did I?)
 
eda-koppo said:
Thanks for the replies.
Unfortunately a straw hat won't cut it--I really don't like hats but am bald enough to need one out of doors, and my aim is to get one, not a collection.
Click to expand...

http://www.sundayafternoons.com/index.cgi

I bought one and my daughter laughed at me. Said I looked goofy. We went to Disneyland, it was 85* to 90* and I wore my Sunday Afternoons hat. I was shaded, and cool. My daughter wants a Sunday Afternoons hat now, and the wife said get two!

I love mine.
 
One of the fastest ways to lose weight is to pay for a physical trainer if you can afford it. Doesn't matter if it's only once or twice a week. But having to commit to meeting him will make you more determined.

About the total gym, it will help you tone yourself up and lose a bit of weight but i don't think it's the ideal solution. A treadmill, a small bench and a small set of weights will do that better. I think my brother in law has a total gym. I asked him when he last used it and he just laughed. I'm thinking it's been awhile.

If you think that you are determined. Get a bench set and go jogging. Well...walking first if you're not that fit.

About the hat. Damn that is one fugly hat. That shiny surface might be practical but it looks like you're wearing a plastic hat. Have a look at Tilley hats. Some people might not like their marketing techniques but they do produce some of the best hats in the world. And they're kind of good looking too.
 
The Total Gym is one of the few pieces of excersise equipment on the market that is worth something. The Total Gym is best used in a circuit training fashion (Going from one excersise to another after a set time limit). Training in this fashion, will help develope endurance and cardio vascular fitness (i.e. fat burning). Along with excersises like stair climbing and running, circuit training is one of the best ways to burn fat. The Total Gym is very limited when it comes to "building" muscle. This is how TG markets it too. My wife uses a Total Gym for aerobic workouts three days a week. She is very content with the machine, with the exception that it wears out about every year and she is now on her third one.:) Usually the handlebar and the rollers are the parts that wear out the most. Now if you're looking to bodybuild (develope muscle), you'd be better off buying an adjustable bench and a set of adjustable dumbells. Dumbells generally build muscle better than machines and barbells. For circuit training, on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best for fitness, I'd give the Total Gym a 3 or 4.
 
Look at the rest of that web site. This company makes extruded vinyl house molding, and is now trying to capture part of Tilley's market by making hats out of the same material. Would you really pay $57 for a "one size fits all" plastic hat? Crap-ola!
 
Get a bench a dip bar and a chin bar and you can do any muscle group you want. Training has been brought to the level of orgasm by the marketing industry. News Flash! Training (or training thats worth a damn) is hot, sweaty and usually unpleasant for the most part.

Get a trainer if need be but its 90% desire and a little 'educated' help is all you need. I put the ' ' for educated because there are so many numbskulls in gyms that still think light weights to 'tone up' or shape muscles and heavy weights for size, its a scary joke. Get someone that is certified and up to date. Do a bunch of sessions close together so it sinks in and you dont get into bad habits, then see the trainer once a month for a checkup and to talk variation (although this is marketing BS as well, if you can stand the monotony you can stick with the same routine, adaptive response is a result of more resistance or more work in the same time, etc, not who made the machine to blast if from all angles :rolleyes: :rolleyes:. You can only work a muscle in one way, and that is from origin to insertion there are no angles to blast if from, only the OtoI.

These 'All in one' systems are a pile of junk in general, they feel awful, dont have enough adjustment for your particular limb length, not enough weight etc. A bar for chest, shoulders & curls is all you need. a Dip bar will act as a squat rack if you are careful and a chin bar will do your back just fine. You can improvise a lot of stuff with a few bits of equipment that wont clog up the house or be a glorified clothes hanger.
 
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