Tonal Workout Programs? Perhaps Custom

[SwagenGTI]

So I have always been a big proponent of the "big" lifts; squats, bench, deadlifts, overhead press. Over my workout "career" which has completely died down in the last two years, I have mostly stuck with stronglifts and Wendler 531 style programming. I stopped going to the gym for almost a whole year and after switching jobs to working from home, I have found it extremely difficult to get into the gym. So I ended up getting a Tonal; would love to have a power rack and all sorts of free weeks but I have limited space in the house and will not give up my garage space for workout equipment.

Anyways, I haven't been using the tonal too much (had it for a couple of months now) and I have only done a single program. I can say that I just don't like what they have available. The weight feels fine, plenty heavy enough for me and I am certainly out of breath after each set, however the programs that I have seen just don't seem to fit my style. They tend to be more oriented towards efficency but to me just feel more like cardio and have a ton of exercises that seem kind of like "fluff" to me such as marching stationary, lots of off tonal movements, axe chops and stuff like that. Don't get me wrong, they are exercises, get my heart rate up and help with mobility but I would rather just do 5 sets of bench press, followed by five sets of flies or something vs doing a set of bench press, moving the arms for another exercise, doing some body weight exercise off tonal, then going back to bench. I guess I am just so used to a strict 5 sets of a big lift, followed by several sets of auxiliary exercises. Tonal programs seem to be almost circuit style training. A lot of the exercises seem more geared towards quick fitness and fad workouts.

Does anyone know of any built in/included programs that are geared more towards no bull **** body building/strength training? Anyone here setup any custom workouts/programs that they would like to share? Some exercises are just awkward to use with the Tonal so I am curious to see what people have found/played with.

Thanks!

[BeginnerGainz]

I don’t even think I’ve *seen* a tonal in real life…

Best of luck!

[air2fakie]

I doubt anyone here who lifts seriously uses Tonal. Not sure why you'd buy an expensive machine that isn't compatible with how you like to work out. The stuff you're complaining about is exactly the type of workout its target market is interested in. And even those people don't bother using it either.

[SwagenGTI]

I doubt anyone here who lifts seriously uses Tonal. Not sure why you'd buy an expensive machine that isn't compatible with how you like to work out. The stuff you're complaining about is exactly the type of workout its target market is interested in. And even those people don't bother using it either.

I figured as such, it was definitely a compromise and I felt it was better than "nothing" since I was having trouble getting my ass to the gym. My previous work place had a nice quiet gym full of free weights and I literally walked out of my office and into the gym everyday. But then I decided to start working from home. All I heard was nothing but praise but also figured there would be some cool programs available. Dumb on me.

[air2fakie]

I figured as such, it was definitely a compromise and I felt it was better than "nothing" since I was having trouble getting my ass to the gym. My previous work place had a nice quiet gym full of free weights and I literally walked out of my office and into the gym everyday. But then I decided to start working from home. All I heard was nothing but praise but also figured there would be some cool programs available. Dumb on me.

Don't feel bad, they market stuff like this & The Mirror pretty hard when they first come out so you're not alone in regret. To be fair, they can be used to get in "better" shape, just not for serious lifting.