The Evolution Training System is a new home gym designed with women in mind. That said, I see no reason why men couldn’t benefit from using it as well.
The design of this system is unique, combining a set of parallel bars with a series of resistance bands, to provide users a fully functioning home gym that is surprisingly compact.
Not only does The Evolution allow you to perform a wide variety of strength training moves through conveniently located resistance band attachments, but it also provides the benefit of several body weight moves that few home gyms can offer.
Like dips and horizontal pull ups- both of which can seriously up the intensity level of any workout routine.
Overall, if you’re looking for a new way to exercise from home, The Evolution gym system is definitely worth considering.
But is it the right fit for your home gym?
Well, that’s what this review is going to help you answer. In this article, we’ll take a close look at everything The Evolution has to offer.
After reading, you’ll know everything you need to in order to decide whether or not this is the right choice to meet your fitness needs.
The Evolution Training System
The Evolution Training System is a relatively new product. I can’t find an exact year that they started, but I would guess that they’ve only been on the market for a year or two tops.
The Evolution is the only workout product provided by this company at the time I’m writing this. They also offer replacement bands and handles, as well as some digital services, but a little more on that later.
According to Evolution, this gym system was designed with busy women in mind.
The idea was to come up with a unique fitness solution that would allow working or busy stay-at-home moms a way to exercise from home without having to go to the gym.
It took me a while to figure out what exactly made this gym a good fit for women specifically, but I finally got it when I realized that you can do assisted exercises with The Evolution.
This means you can set the bands in such a manner that they actually help you perform the exercise, making moves like push ups or squats or even lunges a little easier.
Now, before I get myself into too much trouble, I want to say clearly that women are not the only ones who can benefit from assisted exercises- us guys can benefit just as much from them as anyone.
And, I’m not the one who said this system was designed for women- they are.
I’m just trying to figure out why this home gym is geared more for women than men.
Personally, I think The Evolution could work great for both men and women- it comes with a ton of exercise variety and has the capability to grow (or evolve) with you as you get stronger.
Ok, without any further adieu, let’s see what this gym has to offer.
Pros
- 4 adjustable height posts
- Set of parallel bars
- 5 sets of resistance bands (170 lb total resistance)
- 4 handles included
- 4 able straps included
- Exercise ball included
- Ton of workout variety
- Easy assembly
- 330 lb weight capacity (150 kg)
- Coaching call included
- 1 month of online training
- 1 month personalized workout
- Compact
Cons
- Band warranty a bit short
- Coaching calls and online training access expensive after free trials
The Training System
At first glance, The Evolution looks like a pretty straightforward device- but you know what they say, the devil is in the details.
You’ve basically got a platform with 4 vertical posts arising from each corner. You also get 5 sets of resistance bands, 4 handles, and 4 ankle straps.
Ok, so far, nothing too crazy going on here and nothing that’s especially different from anything else on the market. After all, there are plenty of resistance band systems out there.
The Evolution steps things up a notch by making each post height adjustable. This detail alone takes this gym to a new level because it gives you a ton of variety with how you set these bands up.
This variety is seen in the amount of exercises that can be performed on The Evolution, which I want to say I read is somewhere in the ball park of at least 200 or so.
Few home gyms can offer this type of exercise variety (Total Gym and TRX come to mind, but not many others).
And with 4 posts at your disposal, you can attach bands at multiple heights, allowing you to combine exercises into more complex movements.
Not only does this increase the intensity of your workouts, but it can also cut down on overall workout time (which is nice for us that have limited workout time to begin with).
So, I love that this system comes with 4 adjustable posts allowing you to position the included bands pretty much anyway you can think of.
But what really sets this system apart for me, is the fact that it comes with a set of parallel bars you can attach to the posts.
Having access to parallel bars is pretty rare for home gyms, unless you specifically purchase a set of parallel bars.
With these bars, you can do more advanced strengthening moves like dips, horizontal pull ups, and a wide range of isometric moves.
But you can also use them to make a lot of other resistance band or stretching exercises safer.
You could attach a bar and hold onto it while doing hip abduction or extension. You could even use a bar for ballet training or stretching.
I think what I’m trying to say is that the inclusion of the parallel bars is a game changer for The Evolution- it significantly increases the amount of moves you can perform, but it also allows more gifted athletes the ability to do more advanced exercises.
The makers of Evolution also throw in an exercise ball for good measure.
Overall, the training system here is a little more advanced than it first appears. Although it’s quite simple in design, the adjustable height posts allow for a ton of resistance band positions and combinations that allow you to perform a lot of exercises other systems can’t provide (like resisted mountain climbers!)
And the inclusion of a set of parallel bars is genius.
Oh, I almost forgot to talk about the assistance feature.
Not only can you set up the resistance bands for strength training, but there’s also an assistance pad you can connect the bands to that allows it to help you perform certain moves.
For example, if you currently struggle with push ups, you can connect the necessary amount of bands to the assistance pad (which goes under your hips) so that the bands will help your arms return you to the starting push up position after you go towards the floor.
This is another unique feature The Evolution has over a lot of other resistance band systems. This assistance feature allows folks to perform challenging moves they may otherwise not be able to perform.
And as you get stronger, simply reduce the amount of bands that are assisting you. Eventually, you may even get to the point where you surprise yourself and don’t need any assistance.
Additional Features
If you purchase The Evolution, you get the platform, the bands, and everything mentioned above. You also get a few extra bonuses:
Coaching Call: you get to talk to a personalized coach. In this call, you’ll discuss what your exercise goals are and what type of plan you’ll need to reach said goals, including mind set and how to integrate exercise into your lifestyle (important for newbies).
1 Month Personalized Workout Plan: based on your coaching call, the good people behind Evolution will create a 1-month workout plan for you to perform, based on your fitness goals and the amount of exercise time you have.
1 Month Access To Online Training: the online training system is a paid subscription service that gives you access to a lot of workouts and fitness tips. In your free month, you’ll get access to 3 options, which include the “Sweat of the Day” (follow along videos that teach you how to set up and use the machine), “Workout of the Day” (exercise calendars that offer different workouts to choose from based on difficulty level) and “Build you own Program” (offers tips for creating your own workout programs).
After your included coaching call and month of online training access, you can purchase both separately as needed. The coaching calls are about $99 per 30 min and access to their online system is about $10/month.
You can also purchase replacement bands, handles, and straps from their site at reasonable costs.
Assembly
You won’t have to worry about a challenging assembly procedure with this gym because the entire system can be constructed without tools.
The frame consists of 2 pieces that connect together. Then you place the base on top of the frame and set your post heights. Then it’s just a matter of attaching whatever bands you need.
The parallel bars are simply attached on top of the posts as needed.
Overall, The Evolution is ready to go in minutes. Users shouldn’t have any issues with putting this gym together or taking it apart for storage.
Warranty
The Evolution comes with the following warranty:
- Frame: 5 years
- Platform: 1 year
- Bands: 3 months
It’s kind of hard to compare this warranty to other gyms because this system is pretty unique. So, I’ll just go with my gut.
I think 5 years on the frame is pretty fair. Given the price and application, I this is a pretty solid guarantee on the frame. A year on the platform is also pretty good, considering this is a wear piece.
3 months on the bands sounds a little short to me- 6 months would’ve been better. But I get it, resistance bands are going to break down with use, so it’s hard to guess how long they’re going to last.
Overall, I think this is a pretty fair warranty. Also, it’s good to know that The Evolution comes with free shipping and a 14 day money back guarantee (which is always nice).
Final Thoughts
I’ll be honest- I didn’t think much of The Evolution when I first saw it. But the more I looked into it and the more I learned, my opinion changed.
I think The Evolution is a unique home gym system that a lot of people could benefit from- both men and women.
I like the 4 adjustable posts that allow a ton of different resistance band positions and combinations- this really gives users a ton of workout options (and allows for some killer core moves).
I also like that they aren’t stingy with their attachments (5 sets of bands, 4 handles, and 4 ankle straps is pretty sweet).
I love that you can attach a set of parallel bars to this gym because that alone ups the ante on what The Evolution can provide.
Overall, I think The Evolution is the real deal. I could see this becoming a very popular home gym. Recommended.
