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If you’re looking to build muscle at home and improve your fitness, then you need a home gym. There are many options to choose from, so which home gym is right for you? Our Total Gym XLS vs GR8Flex review will compare these two to show you the best gym for muscle growth.
Our GR8Flex vs Total Gym XLS review will compare these based on exercises, weight limit, accessories, storage, and any other differences we can find.
Both are fantastic. We believe that Total Gym XLS is a more tried and true brand, but GR8Flex is ideal for those who want lots of exercises.
| Total Gym XLS | GR8Flex Gym |
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Is Total Gym Good for Building Muscle?
Many people want to know: is Total Gym XLS good for building muscle? A Total Gym workout, whether with XLS or any other model, will challenge your muscles and improve your strength. This gym uses your bodyweight as resistance and allows you to change incline for more resistance.
This not only strengthens your joints and stabilizes your body, but you’ll find that many other muscles are activated during your workout with Total Gym. So yes, this will help you build muscle as long as you’re consistent.
Is GR8Flex Good for Building Muscle?
GR8Flex in many ways is similar to Total Gym. While there are some differences, such as in accessories and price, this also uses your bodyweight as resistance as you do flys, squats, and more. As such, you get all the same strength and stability benefits you see with Total Gym.
Despite the differences, we’d say this is basically as good as Total Gym in terms of building muscle. You’ll really feel a GR8Flex workout throughout your entire body.
Exercises
This is something you’ll want to check with any home gym. You want a system with dozens of workouts to ensure you strengthen your entire body. While both of these are amazing, we found that GR8Flex offers more movements, but Total Gym is good as well.
The Total Gym XLS offers over 80 movements to work your arms, legs, core (with the Ab Crunch optional attachment), chest, back, and more. You should have no problem targeting all the major muscle groups.
While that’s great, GR8Flex offers even more with 100 different exercises. While the gym looks nearly identical, the difference is that you get more accessories for other arm, leg, and other resistance exercises.
Both are very good and you can easily work your entire body, but GR8Flex offers more and allows you to do more targeted exercises.
| Total Gym XLS | GR8Flex Gym |
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Weight Limit
Here’s another area where both are similar, but we found that GR8Flex is better. However, it’s only by a small margin, and we’d call this functionally a tie.
Both of these home gyms use your entire bodyweight as resistance. As such, you must ensure that you can lay on the bench without damaging the machine. Truth is that most people will be able to use both of these, but it’s still good to know the maximum weight.
XLS Total Gym has a weight limit of 400lbs, which is very good. GR8Flex is a little better with a limit of 450lbs. As we said, GR8 Flex is better, but only by a small margin.
If you are close to the weight limit, then GR8Flex will likely be better. If you’re under the limit, then these are functionally the same.
We also need to touch on the resistance levels. Total Gym XLS offers 6 levels of resistance. You simply increase the incline to improve the resistance. However, GR8Flex has 15 different resistance levels.
That’s not all. You also get resistance bands that add even more resistance to your workout. This includes a 10lb, 15lb, 20lb, 25lb, 30lb, 35lb, 40lb, and 50lb band. Whether you want to add a little or a lot, you can easily get the exact amount of resistance you’re looking for.
GR8Flex vs Total Gym XLS: Accessories
Both of these come with accessories, but there is a very big difference between them. Total Gym only has some basic accessories while GR8Flex has a large accessory set. This is what gives you the extra 20 workouts, and it allows you to do even more with the home gym.
Total Gym only comes with cables for arm and leg workouts. You can also get the optional Ab Crunch accessory for core workouts. While this is enough for all the workouts, and surprisingly versatile despite the small number of accessories, it may leave some people wanting.
GR8Flex on the other hand comes with handles, leg pulleys, phone holder, wing bar, EZ bar, ab accessory, dip bar, and resistance bands. This makes it easy to workout however you want, and it gives you so many extra options.
It’s really no contest here. While Total Gym is quite versatile, GR8Flex is even better with its large number of accessories.
Total Gym XLS vs GR8Flex: Storage
The best home gyms can fold up and store either under a bed or in a closet. This ensures that you can get a great sweat without giving up part of your home. We’d call this section a tie as they are functionally identical in terms of their storage.
Both of these are able to fold up and have a very slim profile. You’ll have no problem fitting this in small, compact spaces. Whether space is at a premium or not, you can easily get this out of the way once you fold it up.
We found Total Gym a little easier to fold up, but as we said before, they are functionally identical.
| Total Gym XLS | GR8Flex Gym |
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What is the Difference Between Total Gym XLS and GR8Flex?
Curious about what is the difference between GR8Flex and Total Gym XLS? While they look very similar, there are a number of differences between them.
Both are efficient at building muscle and offer dozens of exercises. However, while XLS has 80+ exercises, GR8 offers 100+ exercises. It also has a slightly better weight limit, but a much better accessory packet that really makes this machine more versatile. While both fold up and store, we found Total Gym was a little better here, but they were functionally identical.
Final Thoughts
So, which is best when it comes to Total Gym vs GR8Flex? Both are good, so it really depends on what you’re looking for. XLS felt more stable, and it comes from a leading brand. GR8Flex though offers far more accessories and was amazing. In general, GR8Flex is better for most people, but those who want a reliable machine might feel more comfortable with Total Gym.