Gym in a Bag Review

While I sit here in the happy land of Vicodin, I thought I would post my thoughts on the Gym in a Bag.

I was given the opportunity to review the Gym in a Bag, which the company was kind enough to send me.   You all know I love strength training and believe everyone should be doing it in some form, so I was very interested to see this product up close and personal.  First off, I was surprised at how small the bag was.  There certainly is no reason one couldn’t take this for travel.  Inside the bag were resistance bands, ankle straps, hand grips, a door hanger,and a bar that comes apart in 3 sections to fit in said bag.  Plus a DVD and flip book to show the moves and workouts.

I popped in the DVD to see it in action:

This was using the handgrips.  Here I am with the bar itself doing bicep curls (obviously not taken in my current state of being):

I cut off my head…. oooops.  I have to say, the more I played with this, the more I liked it.  Especially the bar.  I know the biggest difference of this set versus regular resistance bands is the wrist cuffs rather than using handgrips, but I thought the bar was pretty darn cool. It  almost is like having a barbell or a cable machine.  There are 4 different resistance bands to use.

The coolest thing (which is also a drawback in my house) is the door brace so that you can do pull down exercises like this one.

That is so cool for a home gym.  I would need to buy an attachment for our bowflex to do these.  Unfortunately for me, our downstairs has no door to hook this to, so that was a problem to watch the DVD and do the exercises.  The only rooms that have doors like that are upstairs where there is no DVD player.  But, you don’t necessarily need to use the DVD, you just need to be able to workout where you have a door the attachment will slip onto.  (I am also going to admit that I had no idea who Kim Lyons is.  I have never watched TBL.  Am I the only one in America who does not watch this show?)

Check out all these exercises you can do with this:

My mother also thought this was a good product, and I am working on trying to get her to do some poses for me to put on the blog to show that it doesn’t matter what your age is to use it 😀

The cost of Gym in a Bag is $89.00, which really isn’t bad considering how many exercises you can do with this versus a lot of home machines (like the bowflex or home gym).   Or a membership to a gym. Not to mention it takes up no space.  I love economy, don’t you?

16 thoughts on “Gym in a Bag Review”

  7. Leah

    “…happy land of Vicodin…” had me cracking up out loud!!!!!! I remember that from after a c-section with my twins, good stuff if you can enjoy it and not have to care for anything but yourself. 🙂 Thank goodness my mom and hubby were there a few days to help me out, but I digress.

    Interesting about the gym in a bag. I could see it being very useful.

    Have I mentioned recently that when I see your before pics at the top of the blog I’m always encouraged that there’s hope for me to reach my weight loss goals? You’re an inspiration.

    Hope the healing is coming along nicely.

  8. South Beach Steve

    Lori, I am really enjoying my Gym in a Bag too. For me, it is a great addition to my workout, although I am a little disappointed in the leg workouts. They don’t seem to flow as well as the arm workouts for me.

    By the way, I don’t watch TBL either – have never seen it. I also didn’t know who Kim Lyons was.
    .-= South Beach Steve´s last blog ..Feeling the Burn =-.

    1. Lori Post author

      Leg workouts with anything other than barbells or press machines never quite feel like they give me enough of a workout, since those muscles are super strong.

  10. Pubsgal

    That does look very handy for travel. (The time I went to So. Cal. when my mom was in the hospital, my husband didn’t know I’d packed 10 lbs of handweights in addition to my other stuff and nearly got a hernia lifting my suitcase into the car!)

    Since you lift heavy, I’m wondering, did you find this to be challenging enough?

    I’ve never watched TBL either. Guess there really are others who haven’t! I thought I was the only one. Although, having read so many blogs that talk about it, I almost feel like I’ve watched it.
    .-= Pubsgal´s last blog ..Weekly Update, 4/7/10 =-.

    1. Lori Post author

      There are some moves that are very challenging with this. The darker bands do really provide quite a challenge to me, even though I lift heavy, which is good. I mentioned in a comment to Steve that the only thing that doesn’t seem enough are the leg exercises, because sometimes a barbell is the best thing 😀

      If I couldn’t go to the gym anymore for whatever reason – I would use this and be pretty happy.

  11. Ron

    Lori,
    Do you have and opinion on if this gym in a bag would work for me, For the next week two or three I will be lifting with my adjustable dumbbells at their max weight of 50 pounds, what’s next for me ? Do you think this gym in a bag could benefit me ?
    .-= Ron´s last blog ..Busy week =-.

  12. Lori Post author

    I imagine it probably would take you up to the next level. Dumbbells are awesome, but you can only do so many exercises with them. The bar and band with this kit would give you a lot more variety for your workout, especially with the stronger bands. And keep with the dumbbell workouts as well, cause free weights are so good to use.
    .-= Lori´s last blog ..Narcotics and chocolate and coffee, oh my! =-.

  13. Jerry

    Lori,
    I did not know whether or not I commented on your posting, but I am very impressed with your ability to connect to people in such a natural way, and I just love your sense of humor. Letme know when you want to do another give away and I am there!
    Thanks so very much and warmest regards,
    Jerry McGowan, President
    Flexsolate

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