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.
Mr. Wilson, dont write many of these most likely because there so few products im still impressed with after 27 years or 27 days for that matter. If you keep records that long youll see a purchase by Steve Garceau in Brooklyn NY . I still remember all my neighbors staring out the windows of our apt building as the tractor trailer pulled up to deliver my new Soloflex. My parents thought i was crazy spending so much money at that age for a “silly” execrcise machine. I was 5’10 , 230 lbs and while i was not in terrible shape i knew i was heading down the wrong road. Fast forward 27 years and im still using that Soloflex as much as the first week i got it. Im 45 and havent passed thru 175lbs since i slipped under. Have run several marathons and sincerely credit it your product in helping
> me achieve my goals. So much so I have picked up a few extra Soloflex machines which ive set aside 1 for each of my 2 sons and donated a 3rd to the a local firehouse. Im so happy to see the Soloflex interest picking up again think its the absolute best machine on the market. Im also compelled to tell you that when i hauled mine off to college suddenly a Soloflex appeared in the home of my parents! Sorry to rambe on but I did feel i owed you this thank you for some time. I continue to spread the good word about your products and company .
> Wish you good health and continued success. Regards , Steve
On Wednesday, April 20th, Jerry Wilson did not get the lift he was looking for. He is ok but the video below, shot by his youngest son, is telling of the very close call he had. Some people are risk takers and Jerry Wilson is absolutely one of those people. Enjoy.
Mr. Wilson, dont write many of these most likely because there so few products im still impressed with after 27 years or 27 days for that matter. If you keep records that long youll see a purchase by Steve Garceau in Brooklyn NY . I still remember all my neighbors staring out the windows of our apt building as the tractor trailer pulled up to deliver my new Soloflex. My parents thought i was crazy spending so much money at that age for a “silly” execrcise machine. I was 5’10 , 230 lbs and while i was not in terrible shape i knew i was heading down the wrong road. Fast forward 27 years and im still using that Soloflex as much as the first week i got it. Im 45 and havent passed thru 175lbs since i slipped under. Have run several marathons and sincerely credit it your product in helping
> me achieve my goals. So much so I have picked up a few extra Soloflex machines which ive set aside 1 for each of my 2 sons and donated a 3rd to the a local firehouse. Im so happy to see the Soloflex interest picking up again think its the absolute best machine on the market. Im also compelled to tell you that when i hauled mine off to college suddenly a Soloflex appeared in the home of my parents! Sorry to rambe on but I did feel i owed you this thank you for some time. I continue to spread the good word about your products and company .
> Wish you good health and continued success. Regards , Steve
Hey there. I just wanted to let you all know that next week marks the 16th anniversary of my Soloflex. Through the years it has earned it’s share of “character building” scrapes, scratches, and surface rust. And while I use it mainly for pull ups, dips, and such these days, she is still as solid as the day I got her way back in 1993. Other benches and machines have come and gone, but my Soloflex is the one constant I always come back to, time and time again. Thank you for building such a remarkable piece of equipment.
Recently, First Lady, Michelle Obama, has begun a campaign that is so very important to all of our futures. Physical fitness. She is trying to spread the word about the state we are in when it comes to our kids and really ourselves. Physical fitness is a lifetime commitment. If we start out healthy than we are more likely to stay healthy. Soloflex has been saying this for the past 33 years.
Eating right and exercising is all it takes. This sounds easy but really it requires time and thought. It is so easy to sit down and eat fatty processed foods that that is what we have naturally fallen into. Exercise takes time and forces us to get up and try. If we do not do something we will be in serious trouble. The obesity levels in the United States are off the charts. Our kids and most of our adults are shortening their lives by as much as 20 years. Not to mention the burden on health care.
If you want to live a fun productive life exercise and balanced eating will have to be your number 1 and number 2 priorities. Lifting weights and well as cardio need to go hand in hand. Muscle strength is the key to so many other functions of your body. If kids want to play organized sports, jump, run, ski, skate board or do any activity muscles are required to do the work.
Take the time that is needed to stay healthy and share that with your kids. Michelle Obama notes that families need to get involved too. Go play with your kids. Get them off the sofa and get them moving. Get healthy together.
You can find this valuable information from Michelle Obama at Letsmove.org You can find our valuable information at soloflex.com. There is nothing new in all of this information just reminders of how very important it is and is for everyone.
If late-night television commercials are to be believed, America’s soft-bodied sofa dwellers dream primarily of three things: owning a knife that can cut through a penny; obtaining cash for gold; and building their muscles with a minimum of time, money, and effort. Of these three dreams, the last appears to be the most pressing. Today, gullible endomorphs can choose from dozens of fitness miracles: the Total Gym, which is endorsed by Chuck Norris; the Ab Flyer, an expensive swing that tones your midsection; the Thigh Glider, which turns leg-spreading into an exciting workout; and the Flex Belt, which uses electronic stimulation to shock your abdomen into six-pack shape.
Twenty-five years ago, though, a single home-fitness product ruled the airwaves: Soloflex. The first comprehensive home-exercise device marketed to a mass audience, Soloflex broke ground with its unique design, which promised users a safe way to build their bodies at home; its magazine ads, featuring close-up photographs of chiseled torsos and abdomens; and its infomercials, which brought those torsos and abdomens to life. Although Soloflex no longer paces the home exercise market, it paved the way for all the Ab Flyers and Thigh Gliders to come and changed the way we think about building our bodies.
Soloflex was established in 1978. Soloflex is a brand synonymous with quality, originality, beauty and fitness. Soloflex pioneered infomercial advertising on cable TV, forever etching the brand name into Americans minds. A survey done in 1992 indicated a brand recognition of 92%, the same as Bill Clinton’s that year. Alone, Soloflex created the home fitness industry and most of the direct-response marketing strategies still used today. Soloflex has always been family owned. Our products are built to last a lifetime, all made in America. Over one and a half million Soloflex exercise devices have been sold. Total sales to date are approximately $1 Billion. We have never had a recall.
Soloflex equipment has always met the demands of serious bodybuilders. Many home gyms on the market today have a poor reputation, lacking quality and durability. We never understood the wisdom of lifting heavy weights with flimsy equipment. The whole point of a weightlifting machine is safety.
The original Soloflex home gym.
The Soloflex machine has broad appeal because it makes weightlifting safe to do at home, alone. Not spotter is required while using the Soloflex. The Soloflex machine is weight plate adaptable for those who want to safely add free weights to the resistance straps. The machine allows proper form and range of motion on all exercises. The free floating barbell arm recreates the natural movement free weights offer which is important for proper form and balance. The Soloflex machine has been endorsed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane (3 time Mr. Olympia), Nordine Zouareg (Mr. Universe), Gale Sayers (NFL running back), and Mitch Gaylord (Olympic gold medalist). The Soloflex Muscle Machine is priced from $1250 to $1550 + freight.
The Soloflex WBV Platform.
Our Whole Body Vibration Platform, unlike the others, was designed to exercise on. We have been in production with the WBV platform for approximately 6 years. We have sold over 75,000. One only need stand on the platform for short periods a few times a week to see improvements. After research at SUNY with funds provided by NIH, NASA and the U.S. Army, WBV has demonstrated its effectiveness for the treatment of osteoporosis, an alternative to drugs like Fosamax, (a $5 billion/yr market). WBV works as advertised. Ours is affordably priced for home use at $445 + freight.
I will be turning 50 in February (2009), and Im still using the same Soloflex that I bought in 1981, when I was 22. Ive updated the weight straps and added the butterfly and leg extension over the years, but the machine itself is still the same and its still going strong.
One of the best products I’ve ever owned.
I bought my Soloflex 22 years ago right after my first divorce. I wanted to get in better shape. I used it quite a bit the 1st two years and then got re-married. then it just sat dormant for the past 19. I am now going thru another divorce and sat my micahine back up to begin towork out again. I’ve never really been out of shape, but now at, soon to be 53 years old, I wanted to get toned again. I’m also a volunteer firefighter and could use all the help I can get when wearing full gear that wieghs in at 70 lbs. that includes the air pack. I bought my machine with the leg etension and the butterfly adapter. My recommendation to any one buying one is to make sure you get both of these with your machine. Guys, if there is anything to critque after all the use, all these years would be these few small items. I made a padded backrest for when using the butterfly. The only other thing would be the bench – it could be 12″ longer and also wider, some time it feels like your falling off. All in all a great machine and I would recommend it to any one.
Soloflex was established in 1978. Soloflex is a brand synonymous with quality, originality, beauty and fitness. Soloflex pioneered infomercial advertising on cable TV, forever etching the brand name into Americans minds. A survey done in 1992 indicated a brand recognition of 92%, the same as Bill Clinton’s that year. Alone, Soloflex created the home fitness industry and most of the direct-response marketing strategies still used today. Soloflex has always been family owned. Our products are built to last a lifetime, all made in America. Over one and a half million Soloflex exercise devices have been sold. Total sales to date are approximately $1 Billion. We have never had a recall.
Our Whole Body Vibration Platform, unlike the others, was designed to exercise on. We have been in production with the WBV platform for approximately 6 years. We have sold over 75,000. One only need stand on the platform for short periods a few times a week to see improvements. After research at SUNY with funds provided by NIH, NASA and the U.S. Army, WBV has demonstrated its effectiveness for the treatment of osteoporosis, an alternative to drugs like Fosamax, (a $5 billion/yr market). WBV works as advertised. Ours is affordably priced for home use at $445 + freight.
I will be turning 50 in February (2009), and Im still using the same Soloflex that I bought in 1981, when I was 22. Ive updated the weight straps and added the butterfly and leg extension over the years, but the machine itself is still the same and its still going strong.