Bowflex, Totalgym, Dumbells?

[Bren]

I just moved to northern Minnesota and i am out in the middle of nowhere. the closest gym is miles away and it is not practical to spend that much on gas on top of membership dues. I am wanting to get a home gym of some sort and i am on a budget. I saw some bowflexes and tome total gyms and some dumbbells on Craigslist.org should i spring for a bench set and weights or a used fitness machine? i can get a bowflex for 250-500. my budget is about 500 at most considering moving across the country took up most of my funds. any suggestions would help me out. i need some ideas.
Is a bowflex enough resistance?
thanks for reading,
Bren

[Tigershark]

A friend of mine has a Bowflex and swears by it. Do a search on Amazon and read the reviews there. See what others are saying who own one too. I have a Soloflex but the bands are showing thier age and all the resistance is gone as I lower the bar. Now where I live they have installed a fitness center so I can sell the Soloflex now.

[rockinred]

shop for a power rack/cage.... you would get way more use from that...jmo.

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

shop for a power rack/cage.... you would get way more use from that...jmo.

+2 for a power rack

[Bren]

thanks for the food for thought guys. i will check out the bowflex reviews and see if i can find a power rack/cage used. Have a Merry Christmas!!

[MalibuD]

Definately free weights and a good rack.

[Tigershark]

....

[AcePowerZ]

Ill tell you the truth here I know from experience. I was 15yo had a junior bench 210lbs, a Bow Flex and also a Total Gym. I used all three in my workouts. You will not get any Strength whatsoever from the Bow flex or Total Gym. I was doing all 210 on my bench then I went to bow flex for a while and when I went back to benching I had lost all my strength that's how i know u lose the strength. Total gym was awsome for abs and triceps it hit the back and biceps very well too. I tell you you can gain the size form bow flex and total gym. After 2 years on those two i went from 12 in bi to 19 in guns. My arms haven't been that big again since all of my injuries though I cant stand it.

If I could choose one or the other I would choose Bow flex but I did Personally like the total gym more. I felt more of a workout after using it.

[Older lifter]

I spent many years working in very isolated countries, what i used to do, not wanting to spend much money as i would move often was to make DB's and BB's out of concrete that was poured into old tins etc, and steel rods or pipes as bars, very basic but you will be surprised what exercises you can do with them, and they do give you the weight... just an idea mate

[Bren]

that's true, Selvester Stallone started lifting with 5gallon buckets and a mop stick. he would put more water in as he got stronger, but like the concrete idea, it's not practical. Although if i had no other option i would work with what i had.

[Older lifter]

that's true, Selvester Stallone started lifting with 5gallon buckets and a mop stick. he would put more water in as he got stronger, but like the concrete idea, it's not practical. Although if i had no other option i would work with what i had.

Don't rule it out, you can use chains the vary the weights...

[green22]

If its and hr and 30 min to the gym then Id drive 3x per week. If its further, then a power rack and free weights. If ya low on funds then just wait til ya got enough. It wouldnt kill ya to not lift for a cou[le months.

[AdamGH]

i love the bow flex commercials with the big dudes on the machine. marketing lies they did have a decent one recently with a normal size guy though. i applauded them for that at least. of course it was interwoven with a big dude using the machine too.

[ghettoboyd]

i love the bow flex commercials with the big dudes on the machine. marketing lies they did have a decent one recently with a normal size guy though. i applauded them for that at least. of course it was interwoven with a big dude using the machine too.

i have a bowflex at home along with freeweights and i like to use it as i would other machines at the gym. like for pull downs,rows,flyes fromvarious angles ect..i realize its not all machizmo and hardcore like freewights but it is resistance and very smooth at that.iits great for finnishing moves at the end of a bad ass workout.i really dont think the bowflex is a scam of any kind and if you actually tryed one of the top models i think most would be impressed.anyway that my 2 cents.

[AdamGH]

what i meant was, that big model dude didnt use a bow flex only to get his size. it was more than likely free weights(maybe even gear). i want to see a guy only uses a bow flex and nothing else and show me how it turns out. i am not knocking it and saying you cant use it as a workout. i just like to keep things real. i have just never been a fan of machines. cables are really the only machines i use.

[UberSteroids]

If you plan on building good amount of muscle mass, forget about bowflex or total gym. They are good as add on, to finish off some exercises, stretch etc. Definitely not a primary workout equipment for building mass.

[Bren]

I am not a small guy, but at the same time I am not the size or strength desired. The general consensus is that the bowflex/totalgym can give a workout, just not a mass building one.
I do live a hour and a half from the gym and if i were to drive 3X per week thats 52 bucks a trip (13mpg). 156 bucks a week, 624 a month! no freaking way!

[green22]

holy cow dude!!!!!!!!!!!what do you drive??????

[Bren]

Ford F250 4x4 long bed. i haul steel.

[steroidsRtheshit.]

whats up you can get big on bowflex, I am currently on d-bol and winni-v and i have a bowflex extreme se and i get serious results on it , I have done alot of reasearch on full body workout and swithing it up , so when i went to the gym i would get the most out of my workout and work all my muscles . with work and so much shit to do i didnt have time to go to the gym so ibought a bowflex and it works. Even with all the workouts i know i cant do as many so easily like i can on bowflex and it gives u so many full body workouts. You have to read the book and follow it to get the result , for instance To realy feel the workout you dont just do a rep ,you do a rep and hold it for at least 4 seconds so if u do a bench of 210 and u hold that weight for at least for 4 seconds or more u will feel like your doing a actuall 210 bench just like the book says u will. Another thing it says to do to get good cardio while doing lets say the body building workouts in the book ,you do your a set that makes u feel the burn lets say 12-14 benchpresses and then when you go to the next set you do it no longer than 30 seconds after the first and this makes it far more effective and its all in the book. u get a great full body workout in ways you cant always get in the gym unless u know 60 to 90 workouts like the book has. on d-bol i have gained 15 pounds in a month with only working out 4 days a week on bowflex. another thing i want to talk about u may like is strengthogen it will help you be stronger on your cycle and help you still feel and be strong after your cycle. i read about it in anabolic almac, its special amino acids not like the ones you buy at the store but very potent ones that they would give u cliniclly at the hospital for a bad cut amino acids are the building block for protein sythesis and accelerate the muscle building process alot and with this potency and with these specific amino acids that when reasearched werev discovered to build serious muscle and u would think u were on anavar,i dont know if u know what anvar is but it is a very strong steroid and u can gain 15 20 even 25 pounds on strenghtogen. it is completly natural with the building blocks of life(amino-acids) and with it you can take it with anobolic agents and get really buff especially with protein intake and these pharmisutical aminos. and when you need to take a break after a cycle you can take these with protein all year round and it will help you keep your muscle mass and improve your health while taking roids and especially after a cycle. if baseball player took strenghtogen with protein and some teststoserone booster they could gain these 20-25 in muscle in a month and pass a drug test. strenghtogen also cause your nitrogen levels to skyrocket and just like anavar cyclic adenine monophosphate( known as amp) so your metolic rate will soar shredding u to peices and just like anavr (a potent steroid that is like 400 -600 dollars for a 3 week cycle thats how good it is) and this streghtogen has all the same quility of anavar but with this you can take it all year. like anavar it increases ATP levels like crazy giving u amazing endurance on this i ran 3 miles like it was nothing when i can only run 1 at a time, u will be recruiting all these latent unused muscle fibers. u can take 100 times the recomended amount and become scarily huge because its completly safe and affordable. it is none horomonal so it doest have all the side affects of roid only all the perks. and it is a anti immflamotory,reduces blood pressure,anti-glaucoma,positive inotropic action in the heart ,prevents platlet aggression and broncho-dilation. it is the ****ing shit and so healthy for you. just call 1-866-397-2665 and order or request anobolic almanac and read all kind of cool shit. ok 1 more thing in seirra scientist observed a baby deer atracted to a certain herb and when they eat it they could run and escape from full grown deer and in sierra wilderness they had to escape wolves just to survive. so if you understand the significance of a fawn escaping a full grown wolf by eating this certain plant you would understand its potency. before in the 60 and 70 people would take it but it was given in low doses which was not enough to really explode in muscle mass and use its real potential the product is called ecdysterone and it is non horomonal so u can also take it year round and now the doses in each pill are very high so u get 300n-400 mg a week and you explode with raw power and healthy safe mucle mass like its nothing and it has the same mechanisim of perscription anobolic steroids. i dnt know if u know about prescription roids but they are the best you can buy even better than street roids so this is some potent shit and healthy for u. many olympic althletes use it and have only possitive side effects and could pass a drug test. like roids it increases RNA activity at such a level unlike roids it helps you recover mentally and physicaly . with its muscle replication properties all your protein intake is directed and absorbed through your muscles instead of it normally passing through your body with a low aborbtion rate. sorry this is so long but with these two products alone year around you can be the badest mother****er around but dont be stupid and ignore the science of this shit you dont have to take roids and if you do with stack it with theses you will stay huge and be more powerful than you are now and roids has bad side effects so with theses you can stay healthies than ever . i gave u the number to call so call it these are completly affordable and safe , if your secptical request your free anobolic almanac but make sure u ask for the one with these products and many more real roids also on it. hit me up at my email address later.

[Nooomoto]

^^SPAMMMM

Anywho...stay away from the Bowflex. What happens when you max out, and the machine can't take you any further? Then you have a stupid machine sitting around. Free weights are the way to go, power rack, bench and dumb bells!!!

[Bren]

I think what the fundamental thing is that most people have 40 bucks lying around at least once a month so it is much more practical (if you live by a gym) to drop the 40 bucks a month and have availability of all the equipment in a gym. Buying dumbbells and a power rack outright requires savings for most people. so far I have been unable to do so. buying a new house and starting a business take a toll on the check book. I have since gone down from 235lbs (as in the profile pic) to 205lbs. Losing 25lbs of muscle that took me 2 years of hard work to put on is hard for me to deal with. But I am working through it. has anyone else gone through a similar predicament?

[Biff77]

Im not saying to buy or not to buy the bowflex.... But dont spend that much on it -- cuzz its on craigslist... Put a add in the paper saying you want one and r paying $100 bucks... LOts o fpeople would like to dump the one they have for a 100 bucks... Its the same when you watch one of yer friends old lady's decide she wants to workout and buys a $800 dollar elipticle, when she coulda probley had the one the nieghbor girl quit using after 2 weeks for 200 ...... Add in the paper cost ya like 12 bucks..

[Bren]

Im not saying to buy or not to buy the bowflex.... But dont spend that much on it -- cuzz its on craigslist... Put a add in the paper saying you want one and r paying $100 bucks... LOts o fpeople would like to dump the one they have for a 100 bucks... Its the same when you watch one of yer friends old lady's decide she wants to workout and buys a $800 dollar elipticle, when she coulda probley had the one the nieghbor girl quit using after 2 weeks for 200 ...... Add in the paper cost ya like 12 bucks..

Good call biff! I posted a wanted ad on craigslist and I got several replies! I am going to pick up a bowflex today that i got for 100 bucks! I am going to start a thread with tracking of my progress with my bowflex. I will post a link here later on this week.