The Weider Total Body Works 5000 is in direct competition with other glideboard gym brands like the Bayou Fitness Total Trainer and Total Gym. Like its competition, the Total Body Works offers a full-body workout, with your own body weight, perched on the glideboard, as resistance. Which muscles you work depends on how you sit, lie or kneel on the glideboard, and which attachments or pulley settings you use.
Step 1
Pull out on the long knob, located on the support leg beneath the Total Body Works upper bar. Adjust the frame to the desired height, then release the long knob. Check to be sure it snaps fully into place through one of the holes in the support bar before you release the glideboard rails or get on the machine.
Step 2
Warm up with 5 to 10 minutes of gentle cardio. If you don't have a cardio machine at home, do calisthenics, jump rope or go for a brisk walk.
Step 3
Straddle the glideboard facing upslope. Grasp one of the pulley handles in each hand and pull. This works every major muscle in your back. Keeping your elbows close to your body places the greatest emphasis on your lats; allowing your elbows to flare naturally out to the sides places more emphasis on your trapezius.
Step 4
Sit on the glideboard facing downslope. Grasp a pulley handle in each hand and push both arms straight out in front of you at chest level, moving yourself up the rails. This works your chest, shoulders and triceps. If you complete a full set of this exercise but your chest isn't fatigued, do a set of flyes as well: Extend both arms straight out in front of you, palms facing in, elbows pointing out. Spread your arms like the covers of a book, until your elbows are even with your shoulders. Bring your arms back together. Repeat.
Step 5
Lie facedown on the glideboard. Grasp the pull-up handles, located at the top of the incline rails. Pull yourself up the rails on the glideboard; it might help to think of drawing your elbows down against your sides as you do this. This works every major muscle in your back, plus your arms and shoulders.
Step 6
Lie faceup on the glideboard. Plant both feet securely on the squat platform at the bottom of the machine, as far toward the forward edge as possible. Squat down, sliding the glideboard down the rails. Stop when your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle, or once you're as low as you can go without letting your knees jut forward past your toes -- whichever comes first. This works every major muscle in your thighs and hips, with primary emphasis on your quads and glutes.
Step 7
Cool down with another 5 to 10 minutes of gentle cardio.
Tips and Warnings
- Aim for 12 to 15 repetitions of each exercise. If completing the fifteenth repetition isn't a challenge, adjust the Total Body Works 5000 to a higher incline setting. Adding stretching after your warm-up and cool-down increases your performance, reduces soreness, lowers your risk of injury and increases your range of motion.
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