A 44-year-old woman that doesn't enjoy exercise writes this review. I spent many years as an overworked hospital administrator that did not take the time to keep myself in top physical condition. I purchased this product after realizing that that it was used in the rehabilitation gyms in the hospital where I worked. The Physical Therapists not only used this equipment for their patients, but also worked out on the equipment themselves at lunchtime and after work. You can get a great workout on this piece of equipment. Both my husband and myself use this piece of equipment.

Pros:
1. Well made piece of equipment, smooth movement during exercise
2. Can be used by both males and females
3. Weight limit of 350 pounds
4. Ability to add 75 pounds of additional weight to the bar for added resistance
5. Challenges muscles, young and old (you will know that you have exercised the next day)
6. Allows you to move quickly and easily through different exercises
7. Excellent Pilates reformer stand in
8. Easy to collapse to storage
9. Folds into a reasonably small size for storage (will slide under a bed or into a closet)

Cons:
1. It is a little heavy if you plan to move it very far. Mine is now permanently set up to encourage exercise.
2. Purchase an additional Pilates reformer exercise routine (check Amazon for options) if that is your primary reason for this purchase.

If you are seriously considering this piece of equipment I would recommend finding a friend with one and working out on it a few times before making the decision to buy this. My husband and I have discussed upgrading to the next model up (about twice the price) when this one bites the bullet. Overall we are very happy with this purchase and would recommend this product, or the more expensive models. 4 stars

My husband and I bought the total gym 1700 model for ourselves as an early Christmas present. We were in the market for a home workout machine and had tested the Bowflex and Weider machines but found the cost to be too high for the Bowflex and the quality to be too "iffy" for the Weider. The Total Gym comes fully assembled and it is so much fun to use. I find myself looking forward to our workout nights all day long while I am at work (and I am usually a couch junkie, not a fitness buff). I told my husband it is like a Six Flags ride that you have to work hard for. You get a great workout, can do most any exercise you could do at the gym, the video that comes with it is excellent, plus you can use it for a great Pilates workout as well. For the money, I believe that it is the best machine you can buy. It does have one very easily correctable negative though, the cable pulley attaches under the seat with a karabiner that is small, sharp and downright ornery to get on and off. Just buy yourself a little larger karabiner (or use one that you got as a prize for excelling at skee ball) and in a few weeks, you too can look like Chuck Norris or Christie Brinkley (the folks from the infomercial)! 5 stars

I have been using a TotalGym for several years now. My particular model is an 1100. I find the TotalGym to be very easy to use and quick to go from one exercise routine to the next. I think the simplicity of how the TotalGym works compared to other home exercise machines is a big benefit. I have put a lot of time on my TotalGym and it shows very little signs of wear. There are a few exercises that I feel the TotalGym is lacking in however. It's not that you cannot do them but that to do them on the TotalGym is awkward. Doing a "bench press" is one example. I supplement my TotalGym routine by using free weights for this particular exercise. Abdominal crunches are another example. While my son prefers doing reclined sit-ups on the TotalGym, I like a bit more back support and have obtained an Ab-Lounger for this particular exercise (and yes, that works too!) When changing the incline level of the TotalGym, the legs must slide on the floor. I don't like this and am working on some sort of slide mechanism to keep from scraping the floor. I don't like to fold and unfold the TotalGym only because I like it ready to go when I am. I don't need an easy excuse to avoid a workout such as setting it up or going to a Gold's gym somewhere. At the end of my workout, the TotalGym has pretty much kicked my butt. However, if you are a steroid-laden professional baseball player, you may find something that offers more resistance to be desirable. Before I began using the TotalGym, I was suffering chronic neck and shoulder pain. Chiropractors and massage therapists were unable to help. The solution was simply to exercise. Not only do I feel better but also I do not think I will enter my senior years looking like Ted Kennedy on his yacht. If you are not working out, start! No matter what exercise you do, you will only get out of it what you put into it. That is, you will reap what you sow. The TotalGym makes it easy to exercise regardless of what shape you are in and it will grow with you as you develop. 4 stars

The Total Gym 1700 Club is a pretty good piece of equipment. You definately feel the resistance, and wake up feeling a little sore after the first workout (at least I did). The DVD is pretty useful too. The machine is quite heavy, but assuming I bought the machine to get physically fit I guess the weight is not a bad thing.

There were 2 things I found as a drawback to this product. The first is that the machine is quite rigid and hard to change levels of resistance. The second is that the "wheels" that the machine are supposed to come with were cracked and did not work. They are made of a brittle plastic and probably wouldn't work had they been in perfect condition. I had to resort to carrying the machine instead of rolling it. 4 stars

The Total Gym 1700 is a pretty good value and offers a nice low impact workout. The book of exercises that comes with the machine is a good guide and is broken into beginner, intermediate and advanced workout plans.

This machine really only works the upper body and the abs (mostly upper abs). While there are some leg exercises in the manual, they really don't provide the difficulty or breadth of the upper body exercises. Working out on the device does tire out my muscles and I definitely know that I have worked out afterwards, but I'm very rarely sore. It takes a bit of practice to get comfortable getting into the positions the machine requires because it can be hard to reach the pulleys while in certain configurations, but after using the machine for a little while you'll get the hang of it.

I doubt the claims that 20 minutes a day only three days a week will really help you lose much weight, but I do think it provides a decent way to tone/build muscle. The machine isn't a great cardio workout (in fact, many of the exercises are supposed to be done quite slowly in order to work the muscles), so if you are looking for a good cardio machine, this is not it. I do about 60 - 90 minutes of cardio work (swimming) in addition to using the Total Gym between 30 - 40 minutes and I feel like it provides a pretty good workout. The Total Gym is actually very complementary to swimming.

I am 6'1" - 6'2" and the bench is a little small for me, so if you are any taller, you definitely should think twice about this machine (I think the more expensive models can handle taller people). Some part of me is usually hanging off the bench when I am doing exercises that require you to lie flat on the bench, but it is tolerable.

The craftsmanship of this device is OK, but not great. Many of the attachments are wobbly, although this isn't really noticeable when you actually use the machine. The reviewer who suggested getting a bigger clip for the pulleys has a good idea there as switching between exercises often involves detaching the pulleys and it really is a pain. It also isn't as easy as I thought it would be to raise/lower the incline; it's not hard, it just isn't that easy.

The reviewer who said that this machine doesn't take up space is just plain wrong; while the device might not be as tall or as wide as some machines, it is really long (9+ feet). There also is assembly required in order to get all the pieces attached, although it isn't really that bad (20 minutes).

I agree with the other reviewer in that one of the real flaws of the machine is that when you raise and lower the incline, the machine gets longer/shorter which could scrape your floors. The mat provided with the machine helps, but doesn't solve this issue completely.

I would recommend the machine to anyone who is looking for a low impact, mostly upper body workout that is looking to tone their muscles. This machine will not bulk you up, so if you are really looking to build big muscles you should probably look elsewhere. It is also not a good cardio workout, so you should plan on adding some sort of cardio component to your daily regimen as cardio is important to an overall healthy lifestyle. 4 stars