From what I have gathered, it seems like a fine tool for people who want to be generally fit and probably stay on the cusp of late novice/early intermediate as far as strength training.

If you're someone who needs to see numbers/a constant challenge it may not be for you. I had contemplated it early on but got too attached to progressive overload on the barbell and knew it likely wouldn't be a good match for me.

The tonal fee is annoying but it is worth it for me. I really like seeing tangible results. Getting stronger at middle age is a slog and seeing progress month to month keeps me motivated.

Plus I can afford it, essentially the cost of going out to eat once a month at a decent place.

CC09LawAg said:

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From what I have gathered, it seems like a fine tool for people who want to be generally fit and probably stay on the cusp of late novice/early intermediate as far as strength training.

If you're someone who needs to see numbers/a constant challenge it may not be for you. I had contemplated it early on but got too attached to progressive overload on the barbell and knew it likely wouldn't be a good match for me.

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Thus, why systems like this are a good fit for those of us closer to 50 or over. My days of lifting heavy, and weights period for most things, are over. I will always have my Soloflex dumbbells, but I haven't touched a barbell in over a decade. Two frozen shoulders, an unrelated shoulder surgery, and a microdiscectomy in my 40s ensure that lifting heavy is done.

Aging is not for the feint hearted (my 40s were a *****!) so solutions like this are really good for people like me.

this is 100% where I am.

Yeah, it's a great fit for the middle age lifter. That said - one comment on the progression ability. I think tonal is actually pretty great for that; it senses how you are handling the weight and is always incrementally pushing you further and further with more weight. The personal records "dings" get to be a bit addictive. You can back that off, but for me, it has always seemed like it knows really well when to put more on. But more or less, you can have it do what you want with a screen tap

Id say just use free weights and whatever is in your tolerance.

CC09LawAg said:

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From what I have gathered, it seems like a fine tool for people who want to be generally fit and probably stay on the cusp of late novice/early intermediate as far as strength training.

If you're someone who needs to see numbers/a constant challenge it may not be for you. I had contemplated it early on but got too attached to progressive overload on the barbell and knew it likely wouldn't be a good match for me.

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Everyone's mileage may vary, and if you love the barbell good for you.

I'm far from a novice/early intermediate, I just got sick of moving weights around in the basement and lifting heavy-ish alone with no spotter (unless I drug my wife downstairs and forced her to spot). I was very skeptical I'd max out the Tonal when I was shopping, and tried one out at a Nordstrom at Mall of America just to make sure. I still haven't maxed anything on the machine and I've had it almost two years. Now they have the Tonal2 which can go even heavier.

Pahdz said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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From what I have gathered, it seems like a fine tool for people who want to be generally fit and probably stay on the cusp of late novice/early intermediate as far as strength training.

If you're someone who needs to see numbers/a constant challenge it may not be for you. I had contemplated it early on but got too attached to progressive overload on the barbell and knew it likely wouldn't be a good match for me.

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Everyone's mileage may vary, and if you love the barbell good for you.

I'm far from a novice/early intermediate, I just got sick of moving weights around in the basement and lifting heavy-ish alone with no spotter (unless I drug my wife downstairs and forced her to spot). I was very skeptical I'd max out the Tonal when I was shopping, and tried one out at a Nordstrom at Mall of America just to make sure. I still haven't maxed anything on the machine and I've had it almost two years. Now they have the Tonal2 which can go even heavier.

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I was doing 175 barbell deadlifts this weekend so getting close-ish on that lift. Not even close on anything else haha.

That is interesting - how does it feel with squats and deadlifts compared to the barbell? Those are the lifts I have a hard time thinking would translate, but I'd be glad to be wrong.

I'm not trying to knock it at all, as it's definitely a great fit for a lot of people. I'd be curious to see if anyone has maxed on a barbell, trained exclusively with a Tonal for 6 months, and then tried to max again.

YouBet said:

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CC09LawAg said:

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From what I have gathered, it seems like a fine tool for people who want to be generally fit and probably stay on the cusp of late novice/early intermediate as far as strength training.

If you're someone who needs to see numbers/a constant challenge it may not be for you. I had contemplated it early on but got too attached to progressive overload on the barbell and knew it likely wouldn't be a good match for me.

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Thus, why systems like this are a good fit for those of us closer to 50 or over. My days of lifting heavy, and weights period for most things, are over. I will always have my Soloflex dumbbells, but I haven't touched a barbell in over a decade. Two frozen shoulders, an unrelated shoulder surgery, and a microdiscectomy in my 40s ensure that lifting heavy is done.

Aging is not for the feint hearted (my 40s were a *****!) so solutions like this are really good for people like me.

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Totally understand and could see myself making the shift if later on in life I have too many bangs and bruises to continue with the barbell.

Im 47. Soon to be 48. I haven't maxed in over 25 years.

I probably have more than a few screws loose to keep doing what I'm doing, so I'm definitely not trying to use myself as a great example.

I'd add that it also has eccentric mode, chains mode, and burnout mode, which can all really add something. Eccentric mode adds resistance during the eccentric/lowering/lengthening part of the rep which a normal lift with weights is the easy part of the rep. With Tonal eccentric mode, it is adjusting the resistance throughout the rep to stress the muscle the entire rep. Chains is self-explanatory - it's like lifting chains - the resistance increases thru first half of the rep then decreases the second half.

Also, the tonal weight feels about 20-25% heavier than a traditional weight because with a traditional weight, you benefit from momentum once the weight gets moving so it gets easier. That is not the case with tonal's electromagnetic resistance - no momentum benefit. So don't get too wrapped up in the "weight" number.

Big picture, tonal has ways to really stress the muscle in ways traditional lifting cannot.

Which again, with loading and unloading the weight with just a button push while you are in position, it massively lowers the risk of hurting yourself

I'm 52 and lift five nights per week with weekends off. I have a functional trainer and use dumbbells and barbell for all my training. I bench/squat etc. other than some hip issues, I lift without any sort of real issues.

Thanks to issues in several major joints there's a lot I can't do anymore. I can't do any chest or tricep exercises anymore because of arthritis in my shoulder. I have issues in both knees so I can't really barbell squat or deadlift. My current regimen involves kettlebell workouts, back and biceps workouts, and walking a few times a week. My shoulder gets angry depending on the angle of my arm and elbow which I don't have any issues with back exercises. My shoulder is doing fine with what I currently do so I might be able to avoid surgery even though I need it if I ever want to be able to do chest exercises again.

I highly recommend kettlebells for the simplicity and variety of what you can do in a small space.

I think often we try to find the "perfect" workout machine plan. As we age we lose metabolism and the best way to counter that is to keep your muscle mass up. Machines like tonal can help us old farts but not everyone has a few thousand to spend. A lot of us have muscle and joint issues so do what works for you. As I get older I limit myself on how much weight I lift and don't do exercises that hurt my body. I have also shifted to more kettle bell, sand bag, and body weight exercises. Still lift, just not as much as I used to.

I need to get back to it but doing at least one day a week focusing on mobility helps my daily life greatly.

At the end of the day just make sure you are lifting something and moving several times a week. Being able to do anything physical my kids want to is a great motivator for me. I also need to be the protector of my family and can't do that being out of shape.

Yeah, if you are our age you need to be doing way more mobility and flexibility in your regimens which I've been doing for some time.

On that note, I paused getting the Tonal this week because I actually have a minor surgery I'm getting done tomorrow and everything around that has consumed me this week.

AggieLAX said:

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I'm (almost) 55 and have been a personal trainer for 30 years. I've seen it in the older guys I've trained and now in myself. Here's my advice:

• prioritize mobility (some days that's all I do)
• increase movement variety (change planes of motion, incorporate gymnastics, kettlebells, etc.)
• vary rep ranges/loads/speeds
• prioritize mobility (yes, it's that important)
• use barbells sparingly

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This is good advice. I am 63 and have been lifting since I turned 55 and was very obese. I stick with lots of dumbbell work since i have those. Only time I touch a bar is when I go to Crunch one or two times a week.

Instead of chasing the logbook, I have switched my mentality to chasing the muscle stimulus. I still push myself as hard as I can, and go as heavy as possible. But my main focus is full range of motion, perfect reps from start to finish, and really contracting the intended muscle. So before adding weight, I will try to make an exercise harder by slowing the eccentric, pausing in the stretch, etc. Also really figuring out which exercises and setup work for me instead of doing them just because. Now I get great workouts, still progress, but without my joints feeling wrecked.