With so many products available on the market, choosing a home gym is nowadays more difficult than ever before. There are literally hundreds of products in varying features and prices, which can make choosing a home workout system a nightmare.
In situations like these, most people tend to look for products manufactured by big brands and popular names in the industry. If you are looking to engage in strength training and just buy a home gym that will deliver a solid full body workout on any day, the Weider Ultimate Body Works and Total Gym are among the best options.
Total Gym and Weider have been in a battle for “the best home gym” for some time now. They both offer amazing resistance workouts that push your body to the limits and take your home workout to the next level. However, choosing between these two is not that easy. That is why below, we are making a deep comparison.
Total Gym Vs. Weider: What’s Different (And What’s Quite The Same) In Both Home Gyms
Even though these home gym systems look quite identical in terms of their structure, once you are in the details, it is easy to see that the main differences include the user weight capacity, the levels of resistance and the price point.
Also, the Total Gym solution gives you a wide range of models and price points, while the Weider home gym offers two options only. If you are wondering how much does the Total Gym cost, we can safely say that price is one of the most significant differences – and that the highest level model of the Total Gym home gym is ten times more expensive than the basic model of Weider Body Works.
That being said, now it’s time to look deeper into the structure of both systems and see how they are living up to the ultimate full body workout expectations.
Total Gym XLS
With the Total Gym solution, you can select one resistance and carry a person that is as heavy as 400 lbs which at the same time is the weight capacity supported by the model. Similarly, around 80 exercises can be done on the machine (there is a detailed plan that comes along with the package).
Next, Total Gym limits you to four main options:
All of these come as fully assembled home workout systems. Also, the four of them consist of a squat stand, a padded glide board that comes with head support, a pulley and cable mechanism and flexible handles. You can adjust the inclination as you work out on any model and perform squats, pull-ups, shoulder presses, front pullovers, shoulder extensions and even Pilates.
Fans of the legendary movie icon Chuck Norris will be satisfied hearing that he proudly stands behind the Total Gym brand, as well as a couple of other celebrities. But even without that, it is easy to see that the main advantages of this solution is that it is adjustable, easy to use, quite sturdy, comfortable and folds to save storage space.
The only area where Total Gym can improve is the price point, which is why many are not convinced to buy any of the four options and consider them quite expensive.
Weider Home Gym
The Weider home gym offers a great experience and is really well built. What many consider great is the nutritional products such as protein, burners and bars which all speak for the legacy of the brand and its proud owner, Joe Weider.
When it comes to the Weider home gym products, the machinery comes in two main options:
The main advantage that Weider has over Total Gym is obviously, its price. Considering the fact that it offers quite the same incline bench exercises (minus the squat rack), the product is popular in the market and chosen by many.
Obviously, Ultimate Body Works is one of the most popular products that Weider has, but they have not penetrated the home fitness equipment industry that seriously. Generally speaking, the brand has been associated with power towers, benches, dumbbells, and loads of other accessories.
On the other hand, the limits of the Weider home gym start with the weight capacity – where it only limits you to 250 lbs and 275 lbs in both models, accordingly. If we take into account the fact how this weight capacity translates to strength training (since the machine uses the weight of the person to work out their muscles), this is a major thing that Weider needs to focus on and improve.
Comparison Between Weider Home Gym And Total Gym
Below is a detailed comparison between the two brands. As noted before, the Weider home gym is a quite improved model compared to its predecessor (the Weider Total Body 5000) which is why we are only featuring it in the table below.
Next up is the part where we do a side-by-side comparison of the two brands from a couple of different perspectives.
1. Function
What many don’t know is that the Weider Ultimate Body Works is a home gym that was modeled after the Total Gym. The idea of using an adjustable height platform and series of pulleys to perform strengthening exercises and adjusting the height of the stand (to increase or decrease the intensity of each exercise) has been a major one but a competitive advantage for Total Gym.
Nonetheless, there is not much difference in function between both models. When reviewing both, it is easy to notice that the Total Gym’s function is quite better as it can perform more exercises and handle more weights. If we couple that with the Weider home gym and its versatility, there is still not much room for the Weider home gym to shine.
This is why Total Gym wins the function race and is overall a more functional piece of home gym equipment.
2. Weight Capacity
They say that weight capacity should only be taken into consideration when you weigh more. However, in this battle of the titans, weighing more means being able to get out more from the gym system.
In that manner, the Weider Ultimate Body Works has a maximum weight capacity of 250 lbs, which is quite low, according to many. On the other hand, Total Gym has varied weight capacities across its models, starting from 275 and up to 650 lbs. The model that is in the middle in terms of price delivers a 400 to 450 lbs capacity which is great.
Even though the difference is big and Total Gym is again better in this manner, the price point of Weider’s home gym can be one way to justify the limited weight capacity.
3. Warranty
Next up in the list of factors you should consider when choosing between Weider vs. Total Gym is the warranty.
Here, the Weider Ultimate Body Works only comes with a 90-day warranty on parts and labor, which is very weak, even for a product at this price range. On the other hand, the Total Gym home equipment gives you 6 months warranty on its parts and a lifetime warranty on the structure.
So, the winner again is Total Gym, even though we believe they should extend their warranty to accommodate the interests of more of their customers.
4. Number Of Exercises
The number of exercises is another major point to consider. Here, Weider allows you to do more than 50 different exercises while Total Gym is used for around 80 exercises.
Also, Weider offers 7 levels of resistance and Total Gym provides 6 in its lowest model, 12 in its medium models and 22 resistance modes in the top-tier model. Also, Total Gym comes fully assembled and Weider requires some assembling.
In this aspect, the Total Gym brand is again the better one. If you see the XLS model in detail, you will notice that it has more variety mostly because of the different attachments included. Primarily, we are talking about the squat stand which is ribbed for a better feel and a better grip during use. There are also more accessories and attachments you can buy later on to make your Total Gym machine even more effective for different muscle groups.
5. Price
Last but not the least is the only aspect where Weider beats Total Gym – which is the price. A piece of home gym that comes for less than $150 is an excellent value for money, even if you do not exercise that regularly.
In comparison, a price tag of up to $1,900 on the most sophisticated Total Gym model is more than 10 times Weider’s basic model price. So, this factor may be crucial for some people and the reason why they would choose Weider over Total Gym.
So Which Model is the Best?
It is really tough to compare two products that have a lot of similar features and different price points, mostly because of the different user specifications.
With Weider and Total Gym, we can see that both brands are in the premium segment and give people a chance for a full body workout. Both of them are also coupled with big names – Weider is owned by the famous bodybuilder Joe Weider while Total Gym is promoted by the movie star and legend Chuck Norris.
If you want to know which model would be best for your needs, we would say the following…
We see Weider as a home gym that is suitable for users who want to have affordable strength training equipment that delivers high performance and is well built. The 7 different levels of resistance would also satisfy the needs of any beginner and can offer challenging workouts for b eginners, intermediate users or lazy pros who want to fulfill their days at home. Click Here to See the Total Gym XLS
We see Total Gym as a brand that is both for beginners and pros in strength training. The company offers four different models with different prices and features, which really makes it easy to choose what you really need. However, we must accent the fact that in order to get a Total Gym home gym, you need to pay a lot more than you would with Weider. Click Here to See the Weider Ultimate Body Works
To sum things up, if you have $150 to spend and are relatively new to home gyms, the Weider is a great buy and you won’t go wrong with it. But if you are looking for a more sophisticated piece of equipment with more exercises for every single muscle, saving money and going for the Total Gym would always be a smart choice.
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