Bowflex

[MrPump]

I'm considering on getting a bowflex. Does anybody use one, or has used one? If so, let me know your thoughts on it, I've beed lifting with Free Weights for years now and think that the BOWFLEX resistance training would be a nice change. Let me know

[gregc]

I own a bowflex and it's a pretty darn good piece of equipment. While I don't think I'll ever look as good as that Randy guy does by using a bow flex (the guy who you see in those bowflex commercials), I have to say that it has given me pretty darn good strength all over my body.

When I first got it I was weighing 245 and I have since gotten down to a pretty lean 230.

I would recommend it, it's very smooth (unlike free weights), but free weights do produce better results...but injury is much more likely with free weights, whereas it's virtually impossible to injure yourself on the bowflex.

If you get a bowflex, I recommend you get a bike or treadmill to do cardio on the days you are not using the bowflex. Most people (including myself) do weight training (or the bowflex in my case) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays -- and cardio (I run on a treadmill) on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (and rest on Sunday).

There is another machine though that is similar to the bowflex called the Crossbow by Weider. I've never used it personally, but it's basically a complete copy of the bowflex (but is about half the price).

I don't know how much money you're willing to spend, but I recommend you get the crossbow unless you are looking to get some of the "add ons" for the Bowflex. You can't really get extra add ons for the crossbow, but you can get tons of extra gizmos for the Bowflex.

I recommend you do a bit of research on both machines and see what you come up with. I personally love the bowflex, and I love doing it in the privacy of my own home. lol, I know I would never be able to consistently get to the gym to work out, it just takes too much time out of the day.

Also just keep in mind that you will only get good results from the Bowflex if you work your ass off on it. You have to push yourself to the limits, do 5 more reps of each exercise when you feel like you can't do it anymore (that may not be good advice but this is what I do, lol). Just remember that you're not going to get results if you aren't intensely working out on the bowflex -- 20 minutes isn't long, so you should make the most of it if you do get a bowflex.

[Shmackey]

I had one. If I were to do it all over again, I'd definitely look into a decent-quality weight-stack-based home machine. They're out there.

Apart from the strange resistance provided by the rods, I found that a lot of exercises required a kind of makeshift motion that was definitely not ideal. This is because of the way the cables have to come out of those two fixed points. Try doing flyes on one and you'll see what I mean. There are ways to work around it, but for $1000 I didn't feel like I should use workarounds.

It's not a bad machine, but I think there are better options.

[mustang GT]

Truthfully, I'm getting sick and tired of freeweights. I've been using freeweights for years, and they are getting annoying. I want a change, so I might order one of those bowflex/crossbow machines. I have to do more research. I have a question though...can you do a squat and deadlift on the bowflex and crossbow?

[PixlPushr]

Originally posted by mustang GT
I have a question though...can you do a squat and deadlift on the bowflex and crossbow?

You can get a squat attachment.. and you could probally do deadlifts with the same attachment.

Just remember though, you wont be able to go higher than 410 pounds..

[mustang GT]

Originally posted by PixlPushr
You can get a squat attachment.. and you could probally do deadlifts with the same attachment.

Just remember though, you wont be able to go higher than 410 pounds..

Oh k thanks. So this attachment, is it just for the bowflex, or is it for the crossbow as well?

[gregc]

I think you can only get the squat on the Bowflex Ultimate. I have the Bowflex Power Pro XLT, which cost me $1300 but I got some awesome attachments like a lat tower and a leg press. I probably should have gotten the Ultimate though because you can get the squat attachment whereas I don't think you can with the model I got.

The thing with the Crossbow is, it's probably a better deal than getting the $995 Bowflex because I think you can do more exercises...but if you want to upgrade your machine so you can do more exercises, you're better off getting the Bowflex. (I don't think you can really upgrade the Crossbow, whereas you can add all sorts of stuff with the Bowflex.)

One thing that SHOULD be noted though is that the Crossbow has better range of motion. This may not matter to some people, but with the crossbow the pulleys (the cords attached to the rods) are two feet long so you never have to come to a stop on a certain repetition. I have had some times where I could really see why the Bowflex's range of motion isn't as good, but at the same time it hasn't bothered me that much. I still love the machine, and have gotten to look pretty good.

Something that should be noted too is that the power rods are a lot harder than free weights. For example, two 50 rods on a bowflex is A LOT harder than two 50s on a bench press. The Bowflex comes standard with 210 pounds of resistance, and you can upgrade to 410, but I doubt you'll ever use the extra rods... If I some day exceed the 210 pounds of resistance I have, I can always upgrade to 410 by buying the extra rods, but I doubt I'll ever need them.

One thing some friends/relatives have said about the bowflex is how smooth it is, compared to free weights. My step dad was raving after the first time he used it, because he had been using free weights for a long time and had gotten his share of injuries.

Needless to say, I'm very satisfied with the Bowflex. But just remember that if you get one, work your ass off for all of those 20 minutes, no breaks longer than a few seconds in between each exercise. It's the high intensity workouts that gets the fat burning and the muscles pumping. I think a lot of people return these exercise machines because they somehow think that the machine will do the work for them, and that they should be looking like the celebrities on TV without much effort/hard work...which is definitely not true, lol.

If any of you decide to get one, and need a workout routine, I've got a pretty good one (I'll post it a bit later, I've got to go now).

[Alex(AJ)]

i've tried a bowflex on holidays, and if you're looking to get into shape then yes, it can be quite good. However, if your goal is to become a freaky mass monster( ) then no it isn't. your money would be best spent towards building a proper home gym (easily done for like 1,000-2000USD, depending on the options u want)

[CRUZIN]

I own a Crossbow. It's the same principle as the Bowflex (rods). Some of the differences to consider are:
1. the rods are horizontal
2. it comes with a lat tower and leg attachment. Bowflex doesn't. It's an extra.
3. The range of motion is better than Bowflex.
4. It's ALOT LESS EXPENSIVE than the Bowflex. ( approx. $500USD vs. $1500USD to $2000USD.

go to thecrossbow.com for more info.

[carcajou]

Greetings all...I was also very interested in Bowflex BEFORE two people who I know and have trained with told me about their experiences with them. One of the guys built a home gym with me before and we trained religiously together. Anyway, he got the Bowflex and returned it after the trial period. He said that the resistance just didn't feel right...it was really difficult at the start of the motion and after the rods started to bend it got easier...(or the opposite of that ) whatever...it didn't sound attractive to me.
The other guy said, as we were working out and I was talking about the Bowflex, "did you ever try it man?" I said that I didn't but that it just seemed like such a comprehensive machine and that I'd really like to get one. He responded " the resistance is really strange and because you are using the pulleys all of the time it is always really shaky...the resistance on your machine is WAY BETTER."

Well, what machine do I have? It is called Nitroflex and it all works off of a nitrogen charged cylinder.

The limitations of this machine are:
#1 leg exercises-there just aren't many that can be done on it although SQUATS CAN be done AND DEADLIFTS can be done as well.
#2 resistance- 250 lbs resistance on exercises in which you are exerting 'upward force' and 200 lbs on exercises in which you are exerting 'downward force'
#3 the feature for leg adductors/hip flexors is useless really unless you are rehabilitating an injury or your girlfriend wants to use it.

The advantages of this machine are:
#1 the resistance is such that you CAN NEVER use momentum to assist what you are doing...the cylinder just does not allow momentum. I guess this is why they call it a 'muscle accelerator'. Whatever fancy, futuristic, space-age marketting term that you'd like to attach to it...all I can tell you is that the resistance is WORK ALL THE WAY THROUGH YOUR MOVEMENT...no soft spots.
#2 the machine is only 95 pounds and it looks good enough to have in your living room-it is in mine. This machine is also rugged enough to use as a flatbench for dumbell work like flyes or whatever.
#3 you don't need a spotter at all for anything.
#4 it cost me $300 CANADIAN including being FED EXed right to my door. After the straight-forward assembly (about an hour-making sure it was done right!) it was ready to go.

My recommendation would be to get a Nitroflex, a separate leg machine and a set of dumbells. You would be FAR AHEAD in the $$ game in comparison to the other machines out there and the resistance is unmatched as far as machines go...there are even some things that the Nitroflex does better than free weights...but then again there are advantages to everything and free weights have certain advantages too. I guess it is a matter of balancing the pros and cons.

You can see the Nitroflex here:
http://www.newsearching.com/strength...celerator.html

Most people probably have not heard of it because it hasn't been hyped up like the latest greatest AB ROCKET TENSION BUSTER or whatever.
Cheers and all the best in your search.

[carcajou]

Just as a follow-up to my earlier rant...I couldn't find any place online that had them in stock currently...but I did see that the price was $199.97 American...incidentally, it is a different looking machine than most people are accustomed to seeing. Don't let that fool you. In most of the photos that you can find of the machine online it is set up to do lat pulldown. Gee...I am glad I got mine just over 2 years ago!!!

[Spydermn]

I have the Crossbow too. The only thing I am really dissatisfied with is the squats, & I am trying to build my own attachment for that. It does take some time to get used to the resistance, anyway for me it did. I was ready to send it back after the first week, but knew I had the trial period. After a few weeks I really started liking it. If you compare it to other machines in its class, IMO it is one of the better ones. But then again, many will accomplish what you want if you just get your butt to using them.

[Merrida]

I didn't see this post until AFTER I made my own post (recently) about the BowFlex (my bad, sorry guys!)

If people keep trying to compare the bowflex to free weights, it's going to keep causing this conversation to run in circles because it's like comparing plyometrics with power lifting. Just example here fellas,...point is, they are not only NOT the same thing but they're not even MEANT to be the same thing.

If you go in expecting the bowflex to duplicate or be just like the free weights, you're in for a disappointment.

It's like comparing yoga with karate.... one can help the other, they have different movements, goals, purposes....but they are simply not the same thing. So accepting they're different and working WITH that is far more beneficial.

[carcajou]

I agree Merrida...they are not the same. They can be used to achieve the same goals however and my point was and is that the resistance (by the reviewers who I know and respect) is not of the calibre that I would like in purchasing a machine.
Especially one of the cost of the Bowflex.

Once again my recommendation would be:

Nitroflex...the way to go if you are looking at machines...$200
Separate leg unit.
Some dumbells.

One more comment that I'd like to throw in...isn't it odd that people say when trying out machines...."it is so much smoother than free weights"?

Well, since they are evaluating the movements of a MACHINE then one of the features is definitely how smooth its components move. However, when moving free weights the 'machine' is the bodypart moving the weight.
Just something to think about.

[blacklbl]

whoever started this post needs to use the search to find their info, this has been discussed time and time again. id also love to see a moderator make a sticky out of one of the past posts, so that when people join, they see it.

my opinion on the matter is this;
free weights are the best, that's why 99% of pros and seasoned lifters/builders use them. i dont see olympic competitors in any sports using bowflexes, only people trying to lose weight, getting paid on infomercials to say the things they do. if bowflex is some sort of myracle machine like they say it is, it would sell itself and they wouldnt be paying millions of dollars in advertising and infomercials just to get it to sell. people that say it is safer really need to look at all aspects. the bowflex teaches people to be dependant on a machine (one that costs over 1k) instead of spending 50 bucks (more or less) for a book to read, to teach them how to not be stupid and lift improperly. heck, you could read up online to figure out how to lift weights properly. i got tendinitis in my right arm, not from being uneducated or using free weights, from being impatient and in a huge rush while my workout partner had to go to work earlier one week. so i got stuck spending half the time to workout, which cut out alot of my tendon workouts to work my tendons up to heavy weight. so i screwed up my arm. the same thing could have happened with a bowflex, probably easier than with free weights. why? you ask;
because bowflex makes their customers feel immortal and unharmable by their socalled "safer" machine, so people will start working out thinking "well its a bowflex, not free-weights, i dont even have to warm up. heck, i can try lifting a crapload more than physically possible for myself, because its a bowflex and im safe, bring on the +400lbs!". with free wieghts, people hear the stupid gossip about them not being safe, so they read up and make sure they dont hurt themselves, and are usually extra causious. the only thing the bowflex is good for is the fact that it doesnt require a spotter, but it also doesnt provide a 10th the possible excersizes as free weights, without spending another 1-2k on additional options that SHOULD have come with it to begin with, due to its original price. I will never pay 700 bucks for a 'bowflex' that is the bottom of the line, and requires upgrading to the 2k machine just to do half what free weights can, just to not need a spotter. id rather use that 1k to buy some more equipment and fish.