The Weider X-Factor is the total body training system that attaches to any door. At least that is what the ads and Weider website tells you but you may have problems finding an appropriate sturdy door that opens the right way.
Ease of Use, Performance: 5/5
Look & Feel: 3/5
Features: 2/5
How much I enjoy: 3/5
Total: 3/5 Stars
The Weider X-Factor reminds me of those infomercials where they show athletes that look like they came straight from the Navy SEALs or special forces working out. Weider does just that showing both men and women, really fit men and women exercising with the X-Factor on a door in the center of a wall sitting in a large room.
The workout they show is a lot of calorie burning jumping and pulling, stretching and lifting using the rubber bands of the X-Factor system to provide resistance. The X-Factor is a set of three rubber bands connected to four sets of pulleys in an X shape that attaches to the corners of a door.
The system uses the X-Factor rubber bands to get a resistance workout but the set also includes four DVD’s that have a variety of workouts to get you in shape and a nutrition guide. The three DVD’s are titled Abs Workout, Explosion Workout and Total-Body Workout with each having a routine that is suggested by the title but you also get a nutrition guide DVD to help with your diet.
Each DVD has a workout routine explained and then performed by very fit people who could perform the routines almost without breaking a sweat but they do sweat to show off their workout routine. The routines are what I would call advanced ones for those who can perform an hour straight of rigorous exercise like high impact aerobics without stopping.
The DVDs seem to me to be more of a suggestion of what to do or an example of how to perform the specific exercises with some being on the included chart and others based on the charts individual exercises. The people showing off the routines seem to be full time trainers rather than someone getting a workout to keep in shape in their off time.
I would love to see a full time professional like a lawyer showing off his fit body performing the routine instead of a full time trainer performing the routines. The individual exercises on the chart give a good full body routine and give you a nice choice to create your own routine using some of the charts examples.
You can use one of the routines on the DVD or you can create your own just by picking a variety of the exercises and performing them as your own custom workout. If you feel you need more of one type of exercise you can use ones that work out that part of the body and add ones that give a more full body workout to even things out.
The routine I chose to use is one that gives more upper body than leg work because I use my exercise bike or Gazelle for a leg work out and calorie burning. The routines of the DVD I found to be much harder to follow and keep up with so I just worked on my own routine and varied this from time to time for variety.
To setup the X-Factor the door needs to be in the center or toward the center of a wall so you have at least some room on each side as many of the exercises need at least three or four feet of room to work in. This area you work in is centered on the X-Factor and door but it is nice to have a foot or so on each side to perform at least the basic moves but many of the exercises on the DVDs require much more on each side.
Several of the exercises in the DVD’s require four to six feet on each side as you see the athlete in the video moving forward and back as well as side to side to get both a strength and aerobic workout. This side by side workout means you need to have the top and bottom pulleys secure to the door or door replica and you need the space on each side of the door frame.
I got my first workout even before getting the X-Factor up on a door as I did not find any doors in my home that it would work on without being on the wrong side of the door or against an adjoining wall. The instructions state it is better to place the X-Factor on the inside of a door so when the exercise device is being used it is pulling the door into the door stop.
If you place the X-Factor on a door so that it is pulling the door open and the only thing keeping the door closed is the latch I would hope the latch is pretty hefty. Several of the exercises have you putting a good portion of your body weight against the rubber bands so the latch would be the only thing keeping the door closed and you from falling flat on your face.
I decided to use the X-Factor in my basement where my other two pieces of gym equipment reside and screwed some 2×4 boards to a support post that acted as my door. This of course required me to rearrange some of the junk in my basement along with moving a shelf made of 2×4 boards that was screwed into the ceiling joists.
After my work out setting up the X-Factor I tried it out and found the rubber bands seem to be about the same tension and have pretty much remained the same, this was one complaint I found on the system. It was pretty easy to set up once you have an appropriate place to use but this is the main problem I see with the piece of equipment and especially the videos on the Weider website.
The video where two people are getting an excellent workout, high fiving after the strenuous labor they endured to get fit is a solid testament to paying attention to the whole scene. The video clearly shows the people using the device on a steel door with one system on each side of the door but it’s the wall you should pay attention to.
The wall is about twenty feet long with a door smack in the middle of it, not many homes are set up with a door with plenty of room both on each side and in front that also opens the correct way to use the X-Factor on. The people in the video and the chart show exercises where you are using the area in front of and to the sides of the door so you need plenty of room to make full use of this equipment.
I will start using the X-Factor as part of my routine but I will watch the videos and also give opinions about them as a staple to my daily workout or just a suggestion for things to add to what I already know I want to do. I do not want to get into top athletic shape, I don’t have the time, but I do want to lose some weight to get into better shape.
I’ll see if this helps and if it is worth using and buying or if you should look elsewhere for your daily fitness workout but I do have to say that I am not impressed to start with. I did want the X-Factor + that the company also sells as I thought this would be a better fit for my needs and my home but the company only sent me the lesser costing X-Factor.
I was concerned upon reading other complaints about not being able to fit the device to any door that I would also have the same problem and as it turned out I did. The door hooks need clearance between the door and the frame so a couple of doors I wanted to use it on failed the fit test right away.
Other doors I tried it on opened the wrong way so I was relegated to designing something other than a door to use the piece of equipment so I wound up in the basement. The video also says” and don’t worry it can’t damage any door.” But it did chip paint off the door frame of the first door I tried it on that had inadequate clearance.
I have been using the X-Factor for a month now and have been pretty happy with the use and exercise the device gives me but the main problems of finding a door that works with it is still a major factor. I installed the X-Factor on a set of boards screwed to a support post and they have held well with all the force I have been putting on the system.
I would be afraid to use the X-Factor on a nice looking door as I think the metal braces would rub and move on the door and against the frame causing some marking. I feel much better making some kind of door replica and using two by four boards to mount the X-Factor on instead of a door.
With that I would also not really recommend the X-Factor unless you have a very sturdy door like a steel one to mount the device on instead of a wood door unless you have a door you don’t care much about. The ends of the X-Factor have some foam rubber and this has left some black marks on the wood frame I am using which would also be left on a wood door if I used one.
I really think the door attaching part of this device is a bad idea as doors are just not made strong and sturdy for forces trying to pull out from the door unless it is a steel door and frame. The X-Factor is good enough for an occasional workout but for a full time and heavy workout routine like they show in the videos I think you really should look for a tower workout platform like the X-Factor +.
Smaller problems like the stickers identifying the rubber band strength rubbing off and the ankle straps being a bit of a pain to put on and take off are minor compared to fitting the system on a door in the first place. I really would not recommend the X-Factor as it just is too hard to find and ensure the proper door and also be reasonably assured the device would not mark up or break the door.
The videos are a silly addition in my opinion as most of the exercise videos I have seen throughout my life, paid trainers are not the same as everyday people who use a piece of equipment in their off time. I just do not like when these really fit people who exercise for a living are performing routines that I have no hope of keeping up with.
The videos should include some lower keyed workout routines to show how to use the X-Factor for the rest of us who are actually buying the machine but are not yet in shape. It would be a real help to show someone who is not the top athlete working out with the machine and especially demonstrating the actual movements from the chart.
The videos are alright and at least show the basics but if you’re not in shape good luck with trying to keep up with them when you first start out, maybe after six months. I would really look more to a tower device because you can use a tower wherever you want instead of trying to go the lower costing but potentially damaging door hanging system.
X-Factor @ the Weider Website
