Learning New Tricks On My Soloflex After 25 Years
I bought my first Soloflex over 25 years ago after working out on a friends’s unit with the wood bench and the Shock Rings. I’ve loved it from the start. I gained muscle, lost inches and became stronger. I have never thought about buying a competitor’s brand in all of these years. Recently, I went back and read ALL of the blogs on the Soloflex website and became interested in Jerry Wilson’s (inventor of the Soloflex) assertion that using shock rings WITH weight plates on the end of the Soloflex lever arm gives the best and smoothest feedback to the body in his opinion.
I don’t have the Shock Rings yet but I have just begun to workout using Weight Plates with my Straps(a 50/50 percentage approximately) on many of the exercises and let me tell you, I am nearly as EXCITED as I was when I first got my Soloflex. I feel that I am working out on a NEW, IMPROVED Soloflex muscle machine. Here are the advantages from my perspective:
1. Using weight plates with the straps(or shock rings which I intend to buy as my straps wear out) add a new dimension of smoothness to the reps when doing the exercises. I don’t know why but I know that they DO! Jerry Wilson could probably explain it.
2. One reason many “free weight” believers including some fitness experts like free weights over machines is that it makes you focus on balance which is important especially as you get older. Adding Weight Plates to the Soloflex lever arm by using their free weight attachmant rods along with the straps/shock rings gives one the best of both worlds: You can still work out by yourself without a spotter but you still get the feel of balancing the weight plates.
Finally, how many products have you bought in your life that you can honestly say “almost” NEVER requires maintenance or repairs? For 25 years, the only thing I have had to do to my Soloflex is keep it clean and replace the straps as they wear out. It’s built so solid and well. So, here I am after all of this time, still enthused about a product I bought 25 years ago. THANKS SOLOFLEX.
Tennis Teacher(a.k.a. Richard Shirley)
“I never had the opportunity to meet Jack but knew well his counterpart here in Portland, Joe Loprenzi. Joe had a similar TV show here locally for decades, inspiring and teaching people how to live better, and was close friends with Jack. Joe died last year, healthy way past ninety just like Jack. Nobody lives forever but I was so impressed that Joe kept his wits and charm about him until the end. Kept his compassion, his love for others too. He really cared about people, knew that his example would make other lives better so was totally dedicated to setting the right example by teaching what he’d learned. Can’t think of a better way to earn a soul than that! These men were “happy.” It was infectious and they knew it. My shortcoming was their ace in the hole, they could motivate people to get off their asses to exercise and eat right! I did build a better mousetrap, own the federal trademark on “exercise and eat right” but never came close to being able to motivate people like these men did. It’s never too late to start. I’ll work on that.”
This is a story of the man behind Soloflex. He is a visionary on many levels. This book exposes his creative and crazy sides. Jerry Wilson is not the average guy. I suppose most creators and inventors are on the edge but this takes the cake. This book is not for everyone, just those who appreciate the wild side. Wish he would continue to write his stories as they are almost too much to believe. Working for Soloflex has been an amazing opportunity and as much fun as anyone could every have. I am lucky to know the family and to be a part of such a great product. This book, as I mentioned earlier, is more about Jerry than the company but at some point they have become one and the same. Thank you Jerry. The Soloflex team.