OYO Personal Gym : FirstLook

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We have always been fans of the home workout, even before the pandemic forced gyms, dojos, and similar places to shut. Working out at home has a number of advantages, especially convenience, time-efficiency, and no waiting. Did we just say the same thing three different ways?

Anyway, the main reason we hate going to the gym is because who has the time? Ha, right there, we did it again!

OYO Personal Gym

A good 25 years ago, we got a Soloflex machine. It was a solid piece of weightlifting/workout gear, based not on heavy weights but thick rubber “plates.” It was very innovative, and we enjoyed working out on it.

Later we traded up to a more “advanced” machine called the BowFlex. This piece of gear was based on flexible rods. We liked this one too, and the office cats were always keen to curl up on the bench to, uh, encourage us.

Both the Soloflex and the BowFlex were really great for home workouts, but they had one pain-in-the-neck thing in common: they required a lot of room. Like, they practically needed their own room. It got kind of annoying after the first bloom of “I am going to get SO pumped!” wore off.

NASA astronauts living in the International Space Station (ISS) had similar issues: they needed to work out, had no time (and no place) to go to the gym, and didn’t have any extra room (at all).

Their problem was solved with the same technology behind today’s reviewed product, the OYO Personal Gym.

What’s in the box:

• OYO Portable Gym
• One 5 pound and two 10 pound FlexPacks
• Leg and Door Anchors

SpiraFlex resistance technology has been used for over a decade on the ISS to keep astronauts fit. NASA studied the SpiraFlex concept and found it to be as effective as free-weights in helping astronauts maintain their muscle size and muscle strength while in space.

The OYO Portable Gym leverages SpiraFlex technology in its FlexPack discs. They come in five-pound and 10-pounds “sizes” and can be stacked together to provide “heavier” resistance. Trust us, with the OYO, 25 pounds is a lot harder to move than you think it is…

The effectiveness of the OYO is not just these FlexPacks, but in its patented DoubleFlex action. Resistance is provided to opposing muscle groups in both direction of movement—you can pull the ends of the OYO apart as well as push them together to work both muscle sets.

Just like free-weights, but without the…weights.

Of course, a “personal gym”  is not a Personal Gym unless it works out the entire body. To do that, the OYO uses an ingenious anchor at the end of the grip which mates with the foot and door straps.

In combination with the straps, all kinds of exercises can be done, in very little space.

Perfect for the Space Station and most city apartments!

Next…

One of the editors is doing the 10-week OYO challenge. She’s already on Week Two and keeps wanting everyone in the office office to look at her biceps.

Look for her report—and her lats—at the end of the Summer 😉

Links to items mentioned:

• OYO Personal Gym