I picked this up at a thrift store yesterday for three dollars. Even though it is only three cables it is fairly stout. I also like the wooden handles. LOL - those who follow the firearms forum know I have a fondness for wood and steel revolvers.
I had done a couple of workouts where I used the giant rubber band a student gave me as a parting gift a few years ago. Wrapped around a 1.5 inch dowel rod it allows me to do some exercises with both hands. And, that brings up a point. It has been my experience over the years that any exercise that allows both limbs to come into play tends to be more effective than one limbed movements. It seems some what serendipitous that I ran across this yesterday.
I did a lot of strand pulling as a teenager and later as an adult in my late thirties. I tended to prefer springs over rubber cables if the springs were a decent length. Otherwise, if they were too short, they played havoc on my shoulder joints. Rightly or wrongly, it always seemed to me that I got better strength gains from the springs as opposed to rubber cables.
So anyway, I plan on incorporating these into my workouts for awhile as a change of pace.
I agree, they go well with calisthenics. Yeah I never really liked cables for legs. Although I had the Power Push up years ago and liked side lunges on a step.
I never pinched myself, but then I am not hairy on the chest and back. I'll only use the standard exercises for shoulders and arms such as various presses behind the back and archer pulls. The biggest mistake I make with expanders as a teen was not to do bodyweight exercises like pushups and pullups along with them to build strength throughout the body. Even though you can rig various contraptions together to work the lower body with cables or springs, I always looked at it as more of an upper body tool.
Never used one of the spring chest expanders. Did You ever pinch yourself in between the springs? I had two rubber cables snap on the Lifeline chest expander. Didn't feel to good. What exercises do You plan on using?
One thing I found, which is not always good for me, is I can produce more tension in one limb exercises. But when using both limbs for an exercise You can save some time. That's why I always use an isometric strap when doing isometrics.