Fitryo Total Bar - A Review

I love fitness gadgets.  It's always fun to try something new, to work out muscles in different ways, and to shake things up to prevent boredom and burnout.  I was really interested to try the new Total Bar by Fitryo - I'd never seen anything quite like it before.  It stands for Fitness, Training, Yoga. It's a long, very slender pole that is slightly weighted on the ends.  All together it weights about a pound and a half.  The weights on the ends allow you to vibrate the pole as you work different muscles, giving more frequent reps than you would get from using standard weight lifting equipment.  It arrived with a carrying case, a nutritional guide, a workout poster and a training brochure.  

 I tried the different poses by following the brochure and the poster.  In particular, I liked working the core.  I often get vertigo from doing crunches, but I had no problems from using the Fitryo Total Bar.  It works the entire core by forcing you to use stabilizing muscles, so it's a more gentle workout than crunches would be as well.

 This position works the triceps, as well as the quads from doing the lunge.

This one works the back.

You hold each pose for 30-60 seconds, while doing the small repetitions.

You can watch a video to get an idea of how it works:

I think this is a wonderful product for people who are looking to just get started with weights.  It may take some time to get used to how to perform the movements.  I had to mess with it a bit and watch the videos before I felt like I was using it correctly.

For those who already have an established weight routine, it offers a fun alternative.  I came up with a few exercises not in the book to offer a bigger challenge - such as doing the yoga boat pose while using the Total Bar.  After having three kids, I can use all the intense core work I can get! 

Disclaimer: I was provided with the Fitryo Total Bar to try out and write a review on my blog.  The opinions expressed are my own.