Tower 200 - Can The Tower 200 Home Gym Live Up To The Hype?

There has been a lot of hype recently about the Tower 200 System. Everywhere you look you can see it being advertised with Randy "The Natural" Couture showing you how it's done. So the big question is, "Is it worth the Hype?"

What Is It?

The Tower 200 by Body by Jake is a home gym system using various resistance bands to alter the weight. It installs very simply onto any standard door. It offers 200lbs resistance and 200 different exercises, hence the 200 in the name. It comes with:

- Tower 200 with 200 lbs of resistance

- Tower 200 Hand Grips, 1 pair

- Tower 200 Ankle Straps, 1 pair

- Tower 200 Exercises Chart

- Ultimate Muscle Explosion Starter Guide with Over 200 Killer Exercises

- Side 1 - 11 minutes No Excuses Mother of All Workouts

- Side 2 - Isolation Exercises

- Tower 200 DVD with 21-Minute Mother of All Workouts

- 4 Bonus Power Pack workouts

The printed guide demonstrates many exercises and the DVD is well-done and simple to follow. It contains:eleven minute total body workouts , three minute MMA total body workouts by Randy Couture, and three quick (3 minutes) programs to focus on the abs, triceps/biceps, or chest/shoulders.

The programs are fast, comprehensive, well thought-out The resistance is modified by connecting the handle's grips to 1 or any mixture of the 3 resistance bands on both sides. This really is easy and quick, while offering a reasonably fine selection of adjustment . Just like any resistance band system, resistance increases because the bands are extended. Which means that minute resistance changes can be created by moving nearer to, or farther away from, the doorway.

The 3 pairs of bands are ranked at 25, 35, and 40 pounds of resistance.

Installation

After unpacking the box, the setup was straightforward and needed no tools. The setup instructions were sufficient, however I would have liked more, and bigger, pictures. Line sketches would have been clearer. It installs simply by connecting onto the top of the doorway and connecting the underside part under the foot of the doorway. It's pretty simple to install for anybody. There is no need for any assembly since it comes pre-built.

One thing the instructions don't mention is that you need to install the Tower 200 along the side of the doorway opposite to how it opens (e.g. when the door shifts out, do the installation inside). If you do not, all of the stress from tugging about the gym will transfer towards the door's latch and hinges.

Construction

It is surprisingly well constructed and feels very solid and sturdy. It feels perfectly safe to use it as hard as I can with as much power as I can. It's also quiet too, so you can listen to your music while working out without having any noises from it.

One slight niggle is that the metal brackets that contact the door have insufficient padding, and may scuff up your door. I added some stick-on rubber bumpers to avoid this. The brackets are wide enough to accommodate a thick door, up to approx. 2 in. (5 cm).

Does It Work?

Well, as everything in life this greatly depends on you. If you’re a beginner or haven't worked out in a long time, then this could be great for you. If you’re a seasoned bodybuilder, then I would say no, although it would be ideal just before a contest as it really gets your muscles looking very pumped. As for me personally, I regularly workout - I'd say I'm intermediate/advanced, I find it really good when I can't get to the gym. Working from home, I'm often too busy to drop everything, drive to the gym, have a workout and drive back again. So it is really useful if I want a quick workout and it definitely works. Can it replace a gym full of thousands of pounds of high tech equipment? Of course not. But it can and does prove to be a good accompaniment to the gym.