Bowflex

[heytheresmoker]

i was thinking of getting the BOWFLEX i just wanted to know is it all its made up to be..i like to workout at home but dont like free weights casuse i have no spot..i just wanted to know is it a good investment??if not what else should i get??thankx

[Pete235]

It depends on what your level of experience is, as well as what your goals are. If you are looking to stay in shape, then maybe a bowflex will do the job, but if you want to get big, you HAVE to use free wieghts (and some pulley machines).
IMO a better choice for a basic home gym would be a sturdy adjustable bench, a set of power blocks, a barbell, 200-300lbs of plates. Even with a basic set up like this you could put together a very good bodybuilding program...and you wouldn't really need a spotter.

[heytheresmoker]

im 18 and just want to gain some weight..like 20 lbs..so should i go with the bowflex??if i go with what your saying how much will it be around and how can i do it so i dont need a spotter???also what can i take to help me gain 20lbs..i just started eating my 6 to 7 meals a day but what sups can i take i have a very high matabalism..thankx

[Pete235]

I'm not 100% but I think you can get a set of pwerblocks (which are adjustable dumbells) for about the same price as a bowflex. You can work every single body part with dumbells and an adjustable bench and you don't need a spotter. You will also be strengthening your joints, tendons and stabilizing muscles (you don't get that with a bowflex). Do a search for "powerblocks"

You have the right idea 6-7 meals per day. As far as suppliments, go with creatine, glutamine, multi-vitamin and whey protein. Also try posting a question in the diet and suppliment forums. If it's ok with you, I'll move this thread to the workout forum and you will get more responses.

Pete

[heytheresmoker]

yea please the more responses the better..can you reccoment any name brand sups??i like the isopure 40g protein drinks that are already mixed any good or is there better??but i will get results with the bowflex im leaning towards it becasue someones going to go half with me so i need to know if im gonig to get something from it and not waist my money...thankx

[Pete235]

You will see results, but they may not be the results you want. Lets see what others have to say...I'll move it over.

[partyboynyc]

and a good incline/flat/decline bench before i'd spend $$ on a bowflex.i remember back in the day my friend had on when we were in HS.kinda shitty.doesn't replace hard steel.if you wanted anything in home i'd go w/ the powerblocks.they are good for PT's who do in home training as well.

[TNT]

I've never tried the Bowflex, but here are a couple of general thoughts to consider . . .

First, television is full of the latest exercise equipment, gadgets, and inventions that don't work. The truth is, however, that most things will work only if they are used, and homes around the world are full of exercise equipment that doesn't get used at all.

The Bowflex, IMO, is simply the latest version of the Soloflex. Machines of this nature take up more space than you think, so one question is whether you want to be tripping over the machine when you get up half-dead to hit the bathroom at night. Or whether you want to block half of your rec room up with something that is likely not to get used.

Ditto every so-called abdominal crunch machine that has ever been invented or anything that has ever been marketed by Suzanne Sommers, Body by Jake, or that obnoxious idiot with the long blond hair who acts like he's on speed all the time - people buy them, and they rot away without being used.

Also, the time it takes to set up a Bowflex or Soloflex for each exercise isn't worth it. You're better off in a gym with a good set of circuit equipment - as you finish each machine, you simply bop over to the next machine, place the pin in the spot that gives you the right amount of weight, adjust the seat, and do your thing.

I agree with your sentiments, heytheresmoker, about free weights. For one thing, if you have never worked out, chances are nil that you will be using the correct form in the first place, and having a spotter available is important from a safety perspective.

Finally, when you go to a gym, you are there for only one purpose (at least one primary purpose): to work out. You will not have the distractions you will at home - the TV, the computer, the kitchen, or anything else that will take you away from fulfilling that key purpose.

My suggestion is that you try hitting a gym or fitness center, one that charges a monthly fee rather than making you pay a year up front. (Annual fees may be cheaper, but they lead tot he same lack of motivation in many people - they pay the fee, go a few times - then slack off, having wasted their money. You're likely to waste less money by paying a monthly fee than by going annual or by buying home equipment that will not be used when you get tired of it.)

[Capital X]

I have tried the Bowflex at a hotel that I stayed at. It was not as smooth as I thought it would be. I can't say that I enjoyed the workout and I definitely wouldn't trade it for some good old fashioned dumbells. I would suggest you get a month pass at a gym and see how you like it. (Most gyms will do that for you) Then if you still want to go with the Bowflex....you probably won't.

Capital X

[GenuinePL]

All I know is go with dumbells, basic bench (straight, incline) and if you got more money get a pulley machine.

[Tobey]

Yeah you can get in shape with a bow Flex although I would neveer recommend them for your primary workout. It has always been my experience in the past that those that worked out at home never stuck with their program for all that long a period. There just seemed to be to many distractions that can get in the way. Like Pete, I would have to agree that there is little comparisions from the workout that you would get from a bow flex and the workout you would get from free weights. It all really depends on your goals. The gym in itself is a motivational place where I can feed off the knowledge, experience aaaaand the energy of others that makes my workout so much better. Now if you came to my house I 'm not saying that you will not find steel plates laying here and there. I love working out at home but I do not use this as my primmary workout. I just use them to get that pumped feeling every now and then or to grab a quick set between commercials while watching TV.
Tobey

[arthurb999]

Join the gym.

[EXCESS]

Don't get a Bowflex if you want to gain mass. It would be alright for somebody not serious about bodybuilding, but not for your goals.

[TNT]

Sooooooooooooo, I woke up this lazy Sunday morning, flipped on the TV, and found (drum roll) . . . the Bowflex infomercial!

47john's right - a couple of the guys - and women, for that matter - are ripped. But I doubt they got that way from the Boxflex. (Besides, it looked like a "GQ" crowd more than anything else.)

As I watched the show, I couldn't help thinking that the Bowflex has no support system at all. One dude tried doing a sitting military press, and the cables and hand straps were going everywhere. Ditto when he worked the triceps. Ditto on the leg exercises - even on the lift, which seemed to work better than a few of the other functions, I would see a temptation to move your whole body backwards since you have nothing to lean back against. (I guarantee that some of them were using light weights, so when they managed to keep good form it was artificial.)

My take is that the Bowflex is nowhere near as good as any standard circuit machine, let alone free weights. On a good circuit (Nautilus, Icarian, Cybex, etc.), you're forced into correct form by having a back support, elbow pads, or other aid. Even with dumbbells, there is not as much a temptation to fly around as much as when you're playing with the Bowflex's cables.

Finally, the price of the machine ($999, or $34 a month) is as much as joining many gyms, but without the variety of structured circuit machines or weights available at a gym. IMO, the Bowflex may be better than nothing at all, but compared to real equipment, it's a rip.

After this commercial, a review of Ocean's 11 . . .

[Black Stang]

Invest in a gym membership if you are serious about working out. There you will find motivation from friends that you will make. It also helps get you in the habbit. Nothing like walking in the gym after being sick a couple of days. Your friends will be like: WHERE THE HELL YOU BEEN SLACKER! LOL But it's ok, cause they will get their turn. The first time I joined the gym, I was hesitant because of the money. But the owner, who is a friend now convinced me like this.
How much money do you spend on cable tv? Cell phones? Eating out? How much time do you spend sitting around? These things don't even help you much. If you are serious about training, you will find a way. It depends on what you want, and if you are willing to work for it.
IMO the gym is the way to go. You can find monthly payment plans. But find one that suits your needs. People your age, your type music ex. ex. YMCA in the middle of a retirement home might not be first choice another words. Also if you are new to weights, it would be good to start out with a trainer. Most gyms will do this for you for a couple of weeks just so you don't get hurt.

[Sicilian30]

Well guys, you all are probally gonna flame me, but I agree and disagree as I always do. Bowflex has some advantages and disadvantages. It is all your personal preferences and goals. No I don't own a Bowflex, but I have had a soloflex for years, even before BB took off like it has in the last couple of years.
I use it sometimes and the only reason I do, is for the convience. I also have a membership at my gym, but my schedule is weird and I find myself wanting to work out at 4:00am, or 12:00am in the morning. Gyms are open then. What happens on holidays when gyms aren't open or in my case, I have my daughter with me, and I can't just take her to the gym, but yet, I want to go grab a workout? What if the weather is just too bad to get out? I mean I find uses for my soloflex even to this day, and it is about 7 years old. Of course, I don't rely on that as my primary work out, just as secondary workout. I even find myself jumping on it, after i have left the gym to focus on a particular body part.
The one thing I do like about my soloflex is that you can't cheat. I had and always have a problem with one side of my chest stronger than the other. With Free weights even with proper form, my left side of my chest would always develop faster than my right. After a heavy set of free weights at the gym, I would go home and do my chest on my soloflex and solved my problem. I can't explain it. It does keep a constant pressure on your muscles unlike free weights. I like that as well.
I must agree you can't do it without free weights, depending on your goals. I love free weights, but for the simple fact of convience, and simplicity, I use my soloflex about once a week.
Another problem I had, is my partner is not always there to spot me, and to me it is a pain in the ass to ask someone to spot you while working out in the gym (our gym here is huge). With the soloflex for exercises I can't do at the gym cause my spotter isn't that, I do on my soloflex.
I guess what I am trying to say, is that I am not saying go out and buy one, but I use mine for me, and it is all depending on what you want to accomplish or what your goals are. Myself? I don't just rely on the soloflex to make me look good, I go to the gym way more than I use my soloflex. So the need for a gym is there, if you wanna get big and get an overall workout, but I am not saying that I dislike my soloflex, but again, it works for me, and you may not have the discipline or motivation I have, or vice versa. Hope this helps. I say if you think you will use it, and not just sit in a corner, buy it. If you are like most, and use it for the first three months, and stumble on it, later, don't buy it. I would not recommend however that you soley depend on it for your workouts. I would suggest joining a gym? But if you weight all that out, why would you want to buy one if you join a gym, unless you have more money than sense. Okay ya'll let the flamming begin. Sorry about the long drawn out discussion guys

[Boston]

All I know, is I hate that damn Bowflex comercial... It's driving me F*cking crazy!

[bluecollarskin]

Save some dough and get in the gym! just my .02...

BCS

[PaPaPumP]

Why not just get the Gazelle by Tony Little?

[bluecollarskin]

lol@ PPP. That Little guys a FREAK!

[Sicilian30]

LOL John