Reviews

Review by R. D. Harrison:

This twisty exercise is something I'm actually likely to do — it definitely appeals to the wiggly little kid in me The board is pretty small but not too small for me (with size 8 women's feet), although you can't really place your feet more than a few inches apart. I didn't find it hard to balance on at all, as long as you're careful when you step onto it. It worked fine and I was having fun twisting away, but then maybe only about 20 minutes in, I heard a "crack" and a strange noise — turns out one of the little rolly balls on the inside somehow became dislodged, and now there's a sort of a "dent" spot in it, and I'm worried that if I keep using it it will actually crack. I don't know whether this was because of some manufacturing flaw or what. I'm not a small girl — me + the weights I was using are probably nearly 200 pounds taken together — but it seems to me like exercise tools ought to be built for people who could stand to lose a few, you know? I would love this if only it didn't seem like it was on the verge of breaking. I can't really say I feel like I overspent though, since it was so cheap to begin with…

Review by Howard E. Adams:

The twist board would be more useful if it were a bit larger. The size makes it difficult to stand on while moving, about another 2-3 " would help.

Review by Christopher Marland:

This home gym is small and compact. Designed really for general fitness and strength training, not for huge body-building. It needs assembly but that only took me about 4hrs by myself. The only thing I would say is don't follow the pulley installation instructions. Place the cable and pulley on the machine in order of feeding the cable, then tighten the pulley bolts to the machine.

This machine does just what you need as a home-fitness gym. It is compact and both my wife and I find it great to maintain tone without wanting huge bulk. It has 150lb in stacked weight which is fine for your general fitness needs. If you want larger weights then I would buy some free-weights but if you want a decent, well put together home gym that works arms, legs & chest then you can't go wrong with this machine.

Review by R. Howard:

This is a great machine for those of us who don't want to become too sedentary in the winter months. I am an outside guy but in the winter I spend a lot of time inside. Usually by Spring I am pretty much "stove-up". Hopefully, this will keep me from getting too far out of shape. I have owned it about 2 months and use it about every other night. I have come up with about 10 exercises that take me about an hour and a half to do. I take it easy. I believe if I pushed myself too much it would cause me to exercise reluctantly and eventually lose interest. I am not trying to be a Joe Weider here ya know. If I do get muscles popping out all over that would be okay too. I feel great after a work-out. And that's what it's all about. It should be an enjoyable experience. I usually listen to music while working out. A little Dire Straits, or Who, or anything that will get you "pumped-up".
The reason for the 4 star is the instructions. As was mentioned in another post, you do not want to follow the instructions on the pulleys. You'll just wind up taking them all off again to get the cable ran. Also, there are end caps that are supposed to go over the nuts. These caps only fit about 1/4th of the nuts on mine because the bolts come through too far. There was a little bottle that came with mine that said "poison" on it. I don't have a clue as to what was in the bottle because the cap came off during shipping and it was empty when I received it. One last thing, they should tell you in the beginning that you need silicone spray for the guides. The guides on mine were dirty or gritty or something and the weights would get stuck. This could have been dangerous because they would all of a sudden fall after being stuck. After using the spray they work great.
Everything is fine now and I consider this a good purchase. Bring out the charge card and get you one for Christmas. They are cheaper now than when I bought mine. So now you got a deal. Merry Christmas.

Review by Robert B. Althouse:

I had a shipping problem with my ball, and I also ended up with the wrong size. Max Fitness went the extra mile and met all of my needs with 100% integrity. They were pro-active and gracious.

I also love the ball. One qualification for those of you considering getting a ball. The size of the ball may depend on not only your height but what you are using it for. In my case, I'm 6' tall and I use the ball to do Core Exercises as taught by Gunnar Peterson and the 65 cm ball is definately too small for me. The 75 cm ball works for me, and I'm completely satisfied both with it's quality and the excellent service I received from Max Fitness in the process.

You can't go wrong with these folks.

Review by yourlibrarian:

I bought this item to use as a chair replacement, which means it likely gets used more often than if for exercise. I bought this items a month ago and have used it almost daily since. To date I have not had to reinflate the ball and it has been sturdy and comfortable. The enclosed pump didn't inspire a lot of confidence but actually worked just fine, and given the fact that it may not require a lot of use, should be suitable for the life of the ball.

Review by P. Barker:

Works well, makes your thighs feel the burn. Would have given it 5 stars if it were made more " heavy duty ". Seems a bit flimsy and like it could break at any time, but it hasnt. I have used everyday for about 3 weeks and no problems at all, and I can see a difference in my thighs already. If your inner thighs need help this is a good product to use.

Review by Mia Cellar:

I bought this about a year ago to use while I watched tv or was on the computer. I do like the product and prolonged use does give you results. The only thing that was a con for me is that it is not made for shorter people. I am 5'1" and I cannot put it parralel I have to use it vertical (if that makes sense to you). My thighs are too short compared to the length of it. If they made a smaller size I would prolly use it a lot more.

Review by Matt Keaton:

Yes, it's a decent speed rope for the money and yes, it's extremely frustrating to adjust. For me, the problem wasn't so much in getting the metal cap off (easily done with a simple, sturdy flathead screwdriver pinned in the center of the tab) nor was it in actually adjusting the length of the rope. The problem was in getting the tab back in the handle. The cylindrical metal tab has to be snug in the handle lest it fly off during your excercise, but OH MYYY!!!, getting it back in requires an incredible and equal amount of pressure on all sides at the same time. I spent almost an hour before I finally got lucky and was able to push it back in. Good luck!!

As for the review concerning knots, I can see how they might prove to be cumbersome with the hindering of the motion of the rope. However, I'm not sure why anyone would want to tie knots in the first place. Just cut away the excess rope.

Now that my frustration is gone and my rope is fixed, it does a great job.

Review by K. PARRISH:

I saw a few complaints about adjusting the length of this rope. However, I had no issues pulling the caps off the end of the handles and did so by hand. Then I measured the length I needed – to measure a jump rope correctly, stand on the middle of the rope with both feet. The ends should come up to your armpits. There were two extra crimp bands included, so I just cut off the extra length, used a pair of small pliers to crimp the new band in place, and put the cap back on. I recommend you use a rubber band wrapped around where you think you need the crimp band first, try jumping with it for a few rotations, then put the crimp band on where the rubber band was. Too easy.
 

Review by J. McDonald:

I've read several reviews here with people being confused or disappointed, but I think perhaps expectations were different. First off, I'm not a trained professional, but I've been exercising for years and I pay close attention to proper form for the most effective effort. I'll try to explain how this works and what to expect.

– CORE MUSCLES WORKED WITH AN AB WHEEL:
Shoulders, arms, upper and lower back, abs (all sections)

– WHAT TO EXPECT ON QUALITY:
The quality on these things doesn't have to be fancy – it has a simple use and just has to be functional. Two wheels are better than one, however. The wheels are solid plastic/rubber and the grips are similar. Are the grips terribly comfortable? No, but they're not bad either and you aren't using it for hours at a time -just minutes. Wrap some tennis racquet grip around them for added comfort if you want more, but it's really not needed. This is a basic tool and doesn't need to be made of expensive materials. The bar through the middle is solid metal (not sure if there is a weight limit but I'd guess at about 200lbs).

– PUTTING IT TOGETHER:
It arrives in a box as two separate wheels, a metal bar, two rubber handles and a single sheet of instructions. Place the bar through the wheels and center them as best as you can. Then slide/wiggle/twist one handle all the way onto one end of the bar (I didn't need grease – it went on pretty easily, yet snug). Then try to line up the grip of the other handle and slide that onto the other side of the bar with the wheels in the middle. Push on the ends of the handles to make sure they're on all the way. You will be able to twist the grips a little to line them up perfectly. Putting it together took me only a couple of minutes.

– USING IT (BASIC):
Using the Ab Wheel is simple, but really works the abs if done correctly. This simple devise helps create the line down the middle of your abs for that nice six pack!

Kneel on the floor with one hand on each handle and the wheel positioned on the floor, centered before you. Without arching your back (keep it straight and keep your head straight too – don't look up or drop your head down) slowly roll the wheel away from your knees in a straight line before you. Your body moves forward with the wheel, away from your knees – this is KEY to making this move effective! Your weight is supported via your hands on the bar and by your knees (and a straight back). The further you can stretch your arms out before you and the further you can lean away from your knees the more you will work the core muscles in your abs. When you've rolled out as far as you safely can, reverse and roll back up to the starting position (this should be hard!). Line your body up facing a wall (knees 2-3 ft from the wall) and roll out toward the wall if you want something there to help you stop rolling. Line up further and further away as you get stronger.

You may not be able roll out more than 2-3 feet at first but that's okay. (When I stop my abs/hips are about 10-12 inches from the floor. You want to aim for about a 45 degree angle from your knees to your hips and then a countering 45 degree angle from your hands on the ab wheel to your shoulders. Think of making a bridge with your body where your knees are one support on one side of the water and the wheel is the other support on the other side of the river/body of water. Again, the farther you can stretch out, the more difficult the workout, but be careful and don't push too hard too fast or you'll tear something! Use your head and be conservative at first.

Beginners should probably start with 1-2 sets of 5-10 reps and work on rolling out further as you become stronger. I'm trying 2 sets of 10 reps and my abs are SORE after 2 days of this!!

It's IMPORTANT TO KEEP YOUR BACK STRAIGHT and to not arch it as you roll out. You can hurt yourself if you do this move incorrectly. The wheel comes with some basic instructions that show you the proper form. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!

– USING IT (ADVANCED):
Once you get comfortable using it as described above, add a twist and rather than just rolling straight ahead of you, keep your knees still and roll out at about a 25-30 degree angle left or right of center, twisting at the waist. This will really focus on the oblique muscles. I'd suggest alternating each direction during your reps, but that's just my opinion.

This really is a GREAT ab workout and you WILL feel it if done properly. Good luck on that six pack!

Review by D. Dubier:

Got it at a great price. Nice burn from using it. I don't know that 2 wheels makes it better, but it does the job.
Only gripe was that it was almost impossible to put the foam handle on over the metal bar, that was a workout by itself, had to use all knowledge of physics and all brute strength in fingers to get job done.