The Total Gym Success Story
All over the world, people are spending more and more time at home. This is great for building family relationships, keeping houses clean and eating home-cooked meals. However, it also means fewer people are able to get to the gym. Thankfully, with the upgrades to new home gym equipment, that isn't a huge problem.
When it comes to strengthening and toning muscle, the Total Gym Apex G3 is one of the best pieces of home gym equipment you can get. The Apex G3 can help out anyone looking to lose weight, sculpt and build muscle and get and stay healthy. It's a great piece of equipment for people of all ages and genders, no matter their current fitness levels or experience with exercise.
It does more than just help you lose weight; it helps you transform fat into lean, healthy muscle, which in turn helps out with all kinds of things. It helps raise your metabolism, allowing you to burn calories more easily. It can help regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Most importantly, it can provide you with more energy and allow you to function better in everyday life.
The best part is the G3 allows you to do all this from the comfort and privacy of your own home by investing as little as 15 minutes a day, three or four days a week.
Total Gym FIT Exercises with Chuck Norris on QVC
Total Gym Apex G3: Key Specs and Features
Eight Levels of Resistance
One of the best features of the G3 is that it provides you with eight different levels of resistance. This means you can use the equipment no matter where you are in your fitness journey. Even better, becoming healthy and more toned doesn't mean you "outgrow the machine." Instead, you just go up to the next level of resistance for a more strenuous workout.
Over 70 Different Exercises
In addition to the gym itself, the Apex G3 also comes with four additional items that are great for those of us starting an exercise routine for the first time. These items are:
- Start It Up! Dvd
- Exercise Guidebook
- Exercise Flip Chart
- Access to Total Gym TV
All these extras give first-time users a vast library of exercises and routines from which to choose. If this is your first time really getting into exercising and fitness, these extras are going to be a vital component in developing your routine.
For those of you who've been working out for years, these are still beneficial because they can show you all of the 70+ exercises you can do with the G3. They can also introduce you to some routines you've not considered. The G3 allows you to work your arms, shoulders, chest, legs, core and more.
The main features of the G3 are its glideboard, wing attachments, cable kit and pulley system. With these, you can perform numerous different exercises to work the different areas of your body. A few include:
- Shoulders: The Surfer, Neutral-Grip Pull-Up, Sweeps
- Arms: Kneeling Row, Kneeling Triceps Kickback, Kneeling Biceps Curl
- Legs: Squat, Single Leg Squat, Calf Raise
- Strengthening the Back: Overhand Pull-Up
- Toning Your Core: Roll-Up, Incline Ab Crunch, Twists
- Building the Chest: Seated Chest Press, Rows
All of these exercises - and so many more - can be found either in the exercise guide, flip book, DVD or the Total Gym TV site.
Total Gym TV
One of the great things about buying home gym equipment from Total Gym is that the equipment comes with access to Total Gym TV. There are two different levels: Basic and Premium. Total Gym Basic is free with your purchase of a Total Gym product.
While the Premium version gives you a much wider access to the platform, the free version isn't bad. You can access it from any device and watch great workouts you can do on your Total Gym. There's also a large library of videos dedicated to Pilates, strength training, cardio workouts and more.
What's Included
In addition to the extras already mentioned, the gym itself comes with everything you need for a full-body workout, despite not taking up a ton of space. Its dimensions are 93" (length) x 43.25" (height) x 15.5" (width). It comes with a padded, ergonomic glideboard where you do most of the work.
Additionally, there are wing attachments, which are incredibly versatile. They're used in a wide variety of exercises. Some require holding them with your hands; others require you to place your feet in them. There's also a cable kit and leg pulley system that attaches for even more additional exercises.
There's an adjustable height bar, which allows you to raise and/or lower your glideboard to adjust to your strength level, and a stand for holding your exercise flip book for quick access to routine exercises. A set of dip bars and a squat stand are also part of the system.
Total Gym Apex G3 Pro's and Con's
Pros:
- Works for people of all ages, genders and fitness levels
- Eight levels of resistance
- Comes with a great workout DVD and access to Total Gym TV
- Over 70 different exercise options
- Folds up for easy storage
- Includes a one-year warranty
- Less expensive than many other Total Gym models
Cons:
- Supports a maximum of 300 pounds; not suitable for larger people
- Uses your own body weight as resistance, so may not be suitable for heavyweight lifters
- Doesn't come with the flexible nylon strap handles, Pilates kit or ab crunch attachment the more expensive models have
- Less stable than some other Total Gyms
Total Gym 6-8 minute 6 day men's workout
Total Gym Apex G3: Great for First-Time Users
One of the biggest reasons people love the G3 is it's so simple to use. If you've never set foot on a piece of exercise equipment in your life, you can still use the G3. The exercise guide, flip book and user manual that come along with it are packed full of easy-to-understand information on how the equipment should be used, but honestly, it's such a user-friendly set, most people could probably figure it out without any of the extras.
The G3's also great for users who are avid gym-goers, with the possible exception of heavyweight lifters who might want to choose a larger piece of equipment with more resistance and weight. The G3 helps build muscle for those who don't have it and maintain muscle for those who do, so it works for most people.
Additionally, as you increase your muscle mass, you can use the adjustable height bar and the eight different resistance levels to make your workouts tougher to meet the demands of your stronger body. You'll also likely design your own workouts and find new exercises not mentioned in any of the provided accessories.
Total Gym In Use
As is true of most home gym sets, they're a favorite of people with busy lives, hectic work schedules and/or small children. This is, of course, because it gives them the freedom to work out from home whenever their schedules allow. The Total Gym company markets the product as being fit for anyone "aged 8 to 80," but it seems to be most popular with people between 35 and 55.
Set-up is extremely simple. It comes with several parts already pre-assembled, so all you really have to do is follow the easy, step-by-step instructions in the user manual to put things together. All-in-all, it takes most people between 20 minutes and an hour to set it up fully.
Getting Started
Once the G3 is set up, the first thing you'll notice is how long it is. While it isn't bulky and doesn't take up a ton of room, it is long. This is by necessity. It gives you enough room to fully extend your body while lying on the glideboard, which is a requirement for several of the exercises.
You'll want to play with the adjustable height stand a bit to find your perfect resistance level. The higher you raise it, the steeper the incline will be. This'll require more force to pull the weight of your body. If you're starting a fitness routine for the very first time and don't have a lot of muscle, you'll likely want to start out lower on the height bar. This is also a good idea if you're older; it'll make you less likely to hurt yourself.
You may want to watch the included video first to get an idea of some of the exercises you'll be doing. There are also some great workout videos on YouTube that show you a wide range of different routines. If you're looking for a workout for your whole body, use the provided extras - DVD, flip book - to find a good routine.
If you're more focused on toning specific areas of your body, that's fine, too. With this gym, you can narrow your focus easily to upper body, lower body, core, legs, etc. It's also a great piece of equipment for doing daily workouts in stages (i.e. - Monday - leg day, Tuesday - arms and back, etc.)
You don't have to do a lot of adjusting to move from one area of the body to the next. At most, you might have to remove the wing attachments in favor of the cable kit. Still, doing your workout in stages will prevent even this little bit of rearranging in the middle of a workout.
The Total Gym Apex G3 Allows You to Do Over 70 Different Exercises.
Total Gym 6-8 minute 6 day women's workout
Be Creative with Total Gym
Although the G3 doesn't come with some of the attachments the other, more expensive Total Gym equipment has, it is compatible with those attachments. As your fitness routine evolves, you might consider purchasing some of the additional attachments so the machine can evolve with you. While the G3 alone allows you to do over 70 different exercises, the attachments can open up entirely new routines for you, including Pilates, dedicated ab workouts and more.
The G3's also great because it has few areas of weakness, even without the attachments. You can get a strong leg workout, a strong arm and shoulders workout, a strong back and core workout and everything in-between. Overall, it's an excellent piece of home gym equipment for beginners, intermediate users and even some advanced users, if they're only looking to maintain.
Apex G3: Price & Warranty
Although the current price on Amazon for the G3 is pretty high, the actual retail value if bought from most places is under $800. This is lower than the Apex G5 and significantly lower than the price of the Total Gym XLS (which has all the extra accessories).
It isn't really that expensive for an in-home gym that allows you to work every part of your body. If going to the gym isn't an option for you for whatever reason and the Total Gym is going to be part of your regular, dedicated workout routine, it's a really great price. Having the one-year warranty as an added bonus makes the price seem even better.
Compare Total Gym Prices
| Model | Name | Max Weight | Rating | Current Price | Features | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Total Gym APEX G5 Home Gym | 375lbs |
|
$499.00 |
10 levels of resistance, 80+ exercises, Includes wing attachment, larger squat stand, leg pull accessory, dip bars, training deck with holder, 2 stability mats, Total Gym TV access, exercise & nutrition guides, owner’s manual, and DVD, Folds easily for storage, Padded, ergonomic glideboard with pillow headrest. | |
 |
Total Gym APEX G3 Home Gym | 300lbs |
|
$375.99 |
Stored easily, Leg Developer, Cable attachments, Ab developer, Simple design, 8 levels of resistance, Comfortable padded board, Fluid sliding system. | |
 |
Total Gym APEX G1 Home Gym | 300lbs |
|
$279.99 |
60+ Exercises, Includes wing attachment, leg pull accessory, exercise wall chart, Total Gym TV access, exercise & nutrition guides, owner’s manual, and DVD, Stored easily, Simple design, 6 levels of resistance, Comfortable padded board, Fluid sliding system. | |
 |
Total Gym XLS Universal Workout Home Gym | 400lbs |
|
Out of Stock | 400lb Weight capacity, Over 80 exercises, Padded and stable glider, 20 resistance training levels, Silent smooth glider motion, Easy attach cables, Fold away for space saving. | |
 |
Total Gym 1400 Home Gym | 295lbs |
|
Out of Stock | Includes DVD, 60 Exercises, Stored easily, Leg Developer, Cable attachments, Simple design, 12 levels of resistance, Comfortable padded board, Fluid sliding system. | |
 |
Total Gym Fusion Home Gym | 275lbs |
|
Out of Stock | 60+ Exercises, Includes AbCrunch accessory, wing attachment, pilates kit with toe bar, leg pulley system, STEP attachment, 5 workout DVDs, exercise wall chart, Rosalie Brown's Fitspiration Guide, and nutrition guide, Folds easily for storage. |
Our Final Verdict
If you're looking for a great in-home workout that doesn't cost too much money, the Total Gym Apex G3 is a good choice. You get a great, full-body workout in a minimum amount of time for a reasonable price. It doesn't get much better than that. Read about my other tips for the best home gym equipment.
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