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Ah, the Bowflex. I've had one for about two years. I thought it cost too much, but I like it. I mostly run, and I mostly train for ultra-marathons these days (I'm not competitive, I just seem to like running farther and farther), and I was doing free weights to crosstrain, which I still do sometimes, but the Bowflex makes some exercises easier. I wanted something at my place that I could use whenever I needed instead of a gym membership (running in the woods = good; going to the gym = bad).
I somehow avoided ever seeing the notorious ad before I bought one - I just Googled for reviews of non-plate type home gyms, and in general, people who sounded like they knew what they were talking about liked the Bowflex (took me a long time to decide). I got the one with the extra parts - I've used the pull-down and the leg-extension a lot, and the squat plate hardly at all. One thing I was pleasantly surprised to find is that it's a pretty good rowing machine - you get two types of grips, and can vary pulling the bar-type grip over or under. The drawback with all of these types of machines is that they try to do everything, and some exercises are better than others. I found that a few of the exercises that use the basic setup are so convolated I would probably never do them or would not do the right. The pull-down and leg-extension units don't offer a lot of variety, but what they do they do well. It took me awhile to get the hang of it - there is an instruction video that must be like the infomercial - (Randy is here to help you "achieve your success", but the lady is in it, too, if that helps). I didn't feel like I was really getting much done until I had been using it for a couple weeks and had the hang of changing the settings and doing the basic exercises correctly - this is probably why most of these things end up sitting in the corner or collecting towels. People who don't like to exercise won't like exercising on the Bowflex any more than they won't like exercising on other machines.
In two years, the only problem I've seen with it are two hairline cracks on the plastic around the cord on the right side that pulls the power-rods, or whatever they're called, and some scratches on the rail that the seat slides on. I once forgot to put the pin in the leg extension unit and nearly took my head off when it came flying back at me when I started hooking the weights up ("killed in a Bowflex accident", what an ignomious end). Don't expect to fold it up and roll it away into a closet or something when you're not using it - it's a big pain to take down and move around. Be prepared to spend a good long time putting the thing together. I think I had to run out and buy some particular size wrenches to finish assembling it (can't remember exactly what, but check the manual, which should be available in a PDF file on their site).
In my uneducated opinion, I think this is the kind of machine that builds muscle tone and strength but won't bulk you up in the manner of the ads. But who knows, maybe work out on it for hours every day and eat that protein stuff they sell at GNC and it might work. Also, the last time I saw an ad in a magazine, it looked like they had changed the machine quite a bit and added some bells and whistles - I have the one from a couple years ago. Hope this helps. If Saab made a Bowflex, it would have a turbo. David
posted by 68.21.1...
, Sun, 23 Feb 2003 13:17:34
, Fri, 21 Feb 2003 12:38:34
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