A Gym with Flex Bands by Stamina
by - Written: Feb 06 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to use; inexpensive; it folds
Cons: Not enough resistance for the advanced person; low user weight
The Bottom Line: For the money and for the right person this isn't a bad choice. It isn't my favorite machine and the quality is not up to par for Stamina.
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| jo.com's Full Review: Stamina Products Band Flex Gym 50-0202 |
The Band Flex Gym may look like a machine with bows but what you are seeing are bands.
Specifications:
The Flex Gym folds to only 21.5 inches by 27.5 inches. When opened it is about 86 inches high by 78 inches long by 44 inches wide.
The warranty is five years for the frame; 90days for the parts. This short warranty makes me nervous.
The maximum weight of the user is 250 pounds.
You’ll get:
A lat tower which builds the muscles on the sides of your back. One of my favorite exercises that I can do is a lat pulldown.
I liked the feel of the bands. It is different so it took a little getting used to. I could work every body part and like other machines have the option of the ability to row which gives some cardio benefits.
It comes with a leg curl/extension unit with comfortable foam padded ankle roller. With this I could do leg extensions for my quadriceps (upper thighs) and hamstring curls (back of upper thighs). You’ll get 260 pounds of resistance when using the leg curl and the arm curl/preacher curl attachments. You get 130 pounds for other exercises.
It comes with a comfortable padded bench with a sliding seat.
Other “must know” information:
Put simply the rubber bands get stretched. Instead of taking advantage of the gravitational force on weights to provide resistance, this setup takes advantage of the elastic force exerted by stretched rubber. I found the cords very easy to change.
The bands translate into 10, 20 and 30 pounds of resistance. The way it works is that there are three bands on each side of the machine. I could use these in any combination. The bands are attached and detached with a simple clip.
You are wondering where the 130 and 260 come from. The resistance, using some math, add up to 130 pounds. However I could double this number to come up with 260 pounds. I don’t need that much but my husband does and he was with me. To get 260 pounds of resistance the bands (also called bungee cords) get doubled. I did this by taking the cable for the foot bar and arm curl pieces and running it under the bench and connecting it to the bottom of each band. It wasn’t difficult to do. It was actually quite simple.
I found the rowing capability to be inadequate as a true cardio vascular workout. However for those of you who do no cardio it will provide something. The movements aren’t very smooth but you are getting an inexpensive machine at around $350.
I like the Stamina brand. I like this machine. My husband is close to 200 pounds and is 5 feet 11 inches. This wasn’t adequate for him.
With the full amount of resistance, although the machine felt sturdy, it moved a bit. I would recommend this for the beginner, someone well under 250 pounds and perhaps women or teens.
Recommended:
Yes
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