I am like most people in the fact I like to keep fit and look as good as I possibly can and to help me along with this I bought the Weider 8515 Multi Gym because of being at home with five children it can be very hard to find the time to get down to my local gym and at just £299.00 I thought I was really getting a good bargain. I ordered the Gym from a home shopping catalogue and was very disappointed at having to wait a whole 5 weeks for delivery but eventually it arrived. Below I will take you through my experience of this Gym in a step by step process and include all the features you need to know about it and what I found good and bad about it, this will hopefully provide you with enough information to make an informed purchasing decision.
Setting Up --------------
The Gym itself arrived to me in what seemed like a hundred thousand parts and the instructions were very confusing, I persevered and set it all out in the way instructed by the manual but still struggled and had to get my cousin round to help me. This was very fortunate as it took two people to assemble later on in the process anyway. You have to set up loads of pulley systems and cables as well has safely fastening various screws and bolts to secure the Gym together. It took the two of us well over 3 hours to assemble but once it was done it looked very impressive. I must also add that should you try assembling one of these Gym's yourself please be very careful I ended up with numerous gashes to my hands and also nearly crushed my fingers in the piston powered stepper, no real warning of the dangers of assembly are given.
Features -----------
I must say that this Gym has all the features you could ask for and below I will list them with the relevant information needed to compare different Gym's available on the market today.
Bench press 160lb and butterfly functions for working on perfect chest development.
High pulley for shoulders and back muscles.
Leg extension/curl unit for toning thighs one the ladies love.
Low pulley for calf and thigh definition and to give a full arm and back workout.
I must say that the idea of having a Gym to use whenever I wanted was great but in reality I used it twice a week at the most and I was not to impressed even when I did use it. It has loads of great features I admit that but they do not work half as well as they should and are certainly not up to the same standards as real Gym equipment. I found the operation of the Gym very clumpy and stiff the pulley system was sticky and at times varied greatly between a stiff action and then a sudden slide causing me to slip during exercise quite a few times. The stepper that is built in is also very weak and does not offer a moderated level of resistance, I found on many occasions that I could not use it as it went all lame and would not take my weight and I am only 13 stone which for a six foot man is about right. Even though I had the Gym set up on a solid concrete base in the conservatory it moved whilst I used the rower exercise and leg extension exercises making it quite frankly dangerous. I did start to develop some good shape whilst using it but gave up on it as the risk of injury and of it collapsing just seemed to become not worth it. I certainly kept the kid's well away from it and in the end it has been dismantled and stored in the garage.
The Supplier -----------------
After contacting the catalogue and being given a customer care number for the manufacturer I contacted them and explained my concerns and was told I must have assembled it incorrectly, this I disputed and even had them tell me how to assemble over the phone step by step which me and my cousin did yet again from scratch but the problems still arose. I told them that I had done this and they said they would replace it but I would have to organize shipping back to them before I would be sent a new one, I didn't bother as it was a fortune to send back to them and I felt I would have the same problems even with a new Gym. I am considering small claims action but it just doesn't really seem worth it for the money I paid and the fact they are offering a replacement I may not win anyway.
My Opinion ----------------
I would say after my experience don't buy Gym's that you have in your home unless someone is willing to set it up for you from your supplier they can potentially be lethal and they don't offer the greatest range of exercise anyway. If you are considering buying one then avoid this model and check out the companies return policies etc before buying. This is a leading name in the Home Gym world and they have let me down badly and left me well and truly out of pocket I could have had nearly a years Gym membership for the same money and am now shopping around for a Gym that suits my available exercise times. For now I am sticking to my running and hand held dumbell exercise which if used with the correct exercise routine can be just as effective a lot cheaper and with no real risk to your safety. I hope this review has been informative and of some help when deciding on a home Gym or not and if I can help you any further please feel free to comment.
Barry
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