Ease of Use, Performance: 20/25, Look & Feel: 20/25,
Features 20/25, How much I enjoy 15/25
Total: 75/100
No one likes to exercise unless they are odd, just joking, but exercise is not always the fun stuff portrayed on TV. Jogging around the quant neighborhood waving to the friendly neighbors or biking across the splendid vista of majestic mountains. It’s more like the wheezing trying to catch your breath or the shooting pains of a slightly arthritic knee while you’re stooped over in front of the neighbor as they peer out from behind the curtain at you. How do those people even get to those majestic vistas that the cross country bikers enjoy besides being on a commercial or TV show.
Exercise for most of us who cannot afford the expensive gym memberships usually means a jog or walk when the weather is nice or purchasing some piece of equipment that we hope won’t take up so much room we have to get a smaller bed. The equipment available that really works is also a test of our will power and intelligence of scouring the internet to find others who actually used the thing and saw, or better yet felt results that mattered.
Well here goes, I have been working out with the Red Exerciser for a month now and can tell you I have felt the results, seen is yet to be determined. The Red Exerciser is a seat that turns with two handles; you can also adjust how much tension is on the seat while turning. The model that I received for this review also has the Power Arm which is a couple of bungee cords attached to a wheel in a box that mounts under the seat. The Power Arm is nice to get some upper body workout along with the abdominal and leg work you get from the seat exerciser.
To understand how this thing that looks more like a bar stool for the elderly you have to try it, there is no other way unless you work out in a gym and use some of their equipment. I spent several years in the military and was a little overweight so had to work out to stay in shape. Jogging was terrible and I soon found in later years was not for me, I have some early arthritis and it hurts my knees to jog.
To walk is fine and bike riding is great but I still have knee problems some but I can handle that. Except I live in Minnesota and walking and bike riding gets a bit cold for several months of the year so a workout indoors is a must. The Red Exerciser is a great way to get that needed work out and still be able to accomplish all you want. You’re going to be working your legs way more than I would have thought but you also work your core or main body muscles.
The work out is simple yet very good for you, you sit on the seat holding onto the handles while using a simple twisting motion and combine this with all kinds of other movement. You can lift one leg for a set of repetitions and then the other to mix up the type of movements your doing. You can add in some upper body work by punching and moving your arms out and over your head while you’re moving in the seat.
The entire workout is centered on the core of your body but your legs get just as much if not more of a workout. The Red Exerciser seat is a padded cushion on a plywood base that has a swivel that attaches to a frame. The frame folds up for easy portability and storage and there is a belt that runs around the seat to give more and less resistance while the seat is turning. The handles attach to each side and are nice foam rubber coated steel tubing to help you keep your balance and stay on the seat while turning.
You will be turning your lower body from side to side while maintaining your upper body in the same upright posture to keep from injuring your back. You should use a nice upright posture to keep the workout good and centered on the stomach area as well as prevent back injury from the wrong type of movements. It’s very easy to accomplish a decent workout in just fifteen minutes a day.
The side to side movement works on your abdomen but to move side to side easily you need to lift your feet off the floor. You can start with your feet planted like in the video, there are two with the Red Exerciser, to warm up but you will need to do some other work and lifting your feet about doubles the workout. Think of it as those boring leg lifts while you’re watching TV and swinging back and forth.
To start any workout you should use a warm up and cool down to get ready for the workout and to slow down before you quit. You should always stretch out and get your body ready by doing some simple stretches and then slowly getting into the workout by stages. This gets the body ready and slowly works the heart into the cardiovascular workout. You will be doing a cardiovascular workout, or getting your blood moving to get your body in shape with the Red Exerciser.
You can mix up your workout and not use the tapes if you have some kind of understanding about what you need to do to get some exercise. Lift your feet off the floor an inch or two and swing back and forth while keeping your back nice and straight. Now lift the legs higher for several swings back and forth to really work on those leg muscles. Do a set of swings but on one side lift one leg at the knee and do this for ten swings. Now do the other side to work that leg.
Watching both the videos will give you an idea of the different things you can do to get a good workout and adding in the Power Arm with so many of the different curls and other arm and upper body work will really add in some cardiovascular and strength building routines. Just some common sense and basic understanding that any movement with some kind of resistance will be worth the effort in a workout will have you getting into shape in no time, okay it does take time.
Using the Red Exerciser will not have you getting those six pack abs in a month or two, if ever. The fact of the matter is that many of us are never going to have the kind of body they show in those commercials but we can get into better shape with some good old fashioned exercise. The back and forth movement is very easy to accomplish and does not stress yourself and your body with jarring or large movements. Arthritis is no problem as this is just slowly and steadily swinging your body back and forth.
You could say you’re using a barstool for something better than sitting in but this piece of exercise equipment is built so much better. The handles are attached very securely with two screws on each handle that easily come off for portability and storage. The whole seat can be stored every day and only takes a minute or two to set up and take down. The belt for adding tension is easy to adjust while you’re sitting that they have added this in each video to vary the workout and not have to change positions or interrupt your routine.
The Red seat attaches to the tubing with some pretty secure and sturdy hardware. I found that most of the parts of the Red were pretty good and nice quality. The main problem I had with the seat as far as quality is concerned is four pads that are between the seat and the framing. There are small foam rubber pads that protect the seat from the frame and they should have been rubber or other highly resilient material instead of foam. I just went to the local hardware and replace the four pads with a piece form a rubber gasket material sheet in a few seconds.
The Red Exerciser is a pretty decent piece of equipment and works very simply. The entire idea is like a simple yet effective workout that is very low impact like aerobics but does not require the coordination or jumping around that aerobics does. You sit and swing your way to better health and I am not joking that you will feel this on your legs. I thought by watching the TV infomercial that this was kind of a joke piece of equipment as so many things are these days but the Red Exerciser is not, it works.
After a few minutes of lifting your legs and swinging back and forth you will feel the legs muscles getting the workout and the stomach will be getting that much needed tuck. I really feel it more in my legs and the backs of my calves than the stomach area but that may just be the fact that my stomach has more padding than muscle. I’m working on that now and you can rest assured that this piece of equipment will be staying around my home for my use and not ending up in the garage sale or at the second hand store.
One thing that I really like about the Red is you can set it down and start using it right away, no ten minute setup. I have mine sitting on the side of my living room and use it when I take a break from writing for ten minutes or so. In the evening I or my family will use it while watching TV for a quick and decent workout that is very easy and doesn’t take all that much effort. There is the effort of the workout and you do get to feel the benefits, even the sweat of the aerobic type of workout.
You can simply sit down and start a gentle warm up for a few minutes and then swing your way into shape. The Red exerciser is also pretty quite so you really can watch TV or listen to a radio without having the volume cranked up on the set. There is a gentle low noise from the tension belt but the only other noises you will hear is the occasional grunt when you hit your stride and start to sweat.
As I said earlier I have had the Red Exerciser about a month and have not seen much improvement on my waist line but I have not been working out like a paid athlete. I have done a ten or fifteen minute workout five or six times a week and have also been walking or biking a few times a week as well. The Red Exerciser can be a great way to get some extra workout without much effort like doing regular sit ups.
Now to the cost, I rarely put the cost of products in my reviews but on occasion have when it relates to my recommending it or not. I think the Red Exerciser is a bit expensive and would have to really think hard before making this kind of purchase. The basic model is $150 and the better and sturdier ones are more so this is a somewhat expensive piece of exercise equipment. This would be a major purchase for me and I would have to say that this seems a bit expensive but if you want a pretty easy workout at home that does not take a room full of equipment this may be the answer.
So if the cost of the basic model at $150 or the added $40 for the Power Arm is not that much of a worry than the Red exerciser may be for you. For a low impact and pretty easy workout try the Red Exerciser, you don’t even have to get down on the floor to work on those abs.
