The Workout 180 is the last piece of workout equipment you will ever need. I can do cardio; I can do strength; I can do balance training; and I can do all three of those at the same time, and I can do them with [increasing] levels of progression. There’s no quirky, gimmicky thing about it. Once you’ve got it, you’re never going to need anything else – period.
- Amy Cotta, Certified Personal Trainer
It’s challenging my body in a way that it hasn’t been challenged before.
- Robin Cahn, Certified Pilates Instructor
SHAPE tested?July 2008?Our favorite new home workout tools
We sorted through the latest exercise products that promise to work your entire body and found these two top picks.
Workout180 ($200; workout180.com) is a balance board with seven resistance bands, snap-on handles, foot attachments, and a square base. It also comes with a DVD. WHAT IT DELIVERS With 180 ideas for strength and stability exercises, you'll never get tired of this board. When you attach the flat base (as shown) it becomes stable so you can use it for bursts of cardio (for example, step-ups) - M.S.
Los Angles Times ROY M. WALLACK May 5, 2008 Gear: Exercise equipment for better balance
"Use it or lose it" goes for most things in life, including balance. Athletes use it to stick a landing, dodge a would-be tackler and score 9s on "Dancing With the Stars." When de-conditioned folks lose it, they feel shaky on a bike, walk stiffly and slowly, and risk falling and breaking their hip while vacuuming the floor. Fortunately, balance comes back when you work the quick-reaction core muscles that coordinate a body in motion, traditionally with the assistance of stability products such as wobble boards and Swiss balls. Here are four new takes that strike a good balance of simplicity, challenge and fun.
-- Roy M. Wallack
Small but effective Workout 180: Unstable half-circle platform with built-in stretch-cord mini-gym.
Likes: Fun, effective, compact. You get a nice core workout on the rocking, round- bottomed 24-by-14-inch platform while doing stretch-cord curls, overhead presses and especially tough squats. The platform makes push-ups and planks far more challenging. The clean, space-saving design houses three retractable resistance cords of varying difficulty levels to which the user attaches clip-on handles. You can use it with your own dumbbells too. The included frame stabilizer can be used as push-up bar. Easily stores in a closet or behind the sofa.
Dislikes: None
Personal Fitness Professional, April 2008 KELLI CALABRESE
I must say that I love this new piece of equipment. You truly can do 180 different exercises with it-and more. This is a compact personal gym that is perfect for in home, in studio or even outdoor workouts. It can be used for strength, cardiovascular and stability training, and it literally can be used as an exercise step, balance board and push-up bar to get a total body workout. The built-in resistance band system makes it easy to vary your intensity so you get real results. You can double and even triple up the on the band resistance for more resistance. This is perfect for group fitness or one-on-one training.
SHAPE Germany raves about the Workout 180
The Workout 180 makes working out fun, especially since it can be used as both a step or balance board for cardio training. It comes with a DVD that shows the many different ways you can work out with the Workout 180, including how the bands contained in the step can be used for strength training. It is approximately $199.