We received a complimentary Total Gym XLS for the purposes of this series; this post also contains affiliate links. This article is an account of our personal experience only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any medical condition. Always consult with physician before embarking on any fitness program.

Can you believe that we’ve had our Total Gym XLS for over a month now? Here are mine and Jai’s measurements for the last week:

Another great week with the XLS! I moved the incline up to Level 2 last night, so it’s neat to feel myself getting better and stronger with the exercises. I’m noticing a difference in my body tone and can see the beginning of improvement in my arms and waist particularly. It’s a little surprising to me how much I’ve been getting out relatively so little time – I’m spending a lot less time working out now that I have the Total Gym versus a brick-and-mortar gym membership, since it’s a much more efficient use of time, but I’m still seeing the benefits. I think having the Total Gym in my house helps me be more consistent, since I can do a little bit every day rather than a few intense workouts when I have bigger chunks of time available. For example, on days when I’m really toast and I really don’t want to exercise, the fact that I know I only have to spend 2 minutes on the Total Gym is enough encouragement for me to go through with it – especially since I don’t have to do any special preparations, wear special clothes, drive anywhere, put on makeup, or whatever. And surprise surprise, once I actually start doing the exercises, I usually feel good enough doing it that I want to continue for a few more minutes than I thought.

One thing that continues to impress me about this unit is the versatility and seemingly unlimited amount of workouts that can be done on it. I was concerned that a home gym setup would get old quickly because we might be limited in what we could do, but the Total Gym has so many options that Jai and I have barely even begun to scratch the surface. So far, we’ve been following the workout cards and watched part of the introductory DVD – I haven’t even looked at the entire deck of cards or the 6 other DVDs I received with the XLS. I’ve been getting SUCH a good workout just from these basic moves that I wanted to continue enjoying them and really get my form down well. Now that I’ve had a month to build confidence with the unit, I’ve also been able to start integrating more leg workouts on it – and that’s the great thing about this: You can adjust it to what your comfort level and physical capabilities are.

If you’re curious to see some examples of the kind of techniques illustrated on the workout cards that come with the unit, you can click here to download a sample workout PDF.

Have you had any fitness wins this week?