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What are the pros and cons of a Bowflex machine? Login/Join 
Too soon old,
too late smart
posted
All the local gymns are not all that convenient to me. There is a used Bowflex Sport machine for sale near me. I’m wondering if it is worth having.
 
Posts: 4757 | Location: Southern Texas | Registered: May 17, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Mensch
Picture of kz1000
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They make great clothing racks.



------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Yidn, shreibt un fershreibt"

"The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind."
-Bomber Harris
 
Posts: 16119 | Location: Ivorydale | Registered: January 21, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Tinker Sailor Soldier Pie
Picture of Balzé Halzé
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Pros: It fits a lot of exercises in a relatively small space.

Cons: It's a really crappy workout.

We have one on the ship, and I hate the thing. I'm a free weight guy though so perhaps others have had better experiences with them. I just get zero satisfaction out of the thing.

A TRX suspension system is better in my opinion.


~Alan

Acta Non Verba
NRA Life Member (Patron)
God, Family, Guns, Country

Men will fight and die to protect women... because women protect everything else. ~Andrew Klavan

"Once there was only dark. If you ask me, light is winning." ~Rust Cohle
 
Posts: 30297 | Location: Elv. 7,000 feet, Utah | Registered: October 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
It's not you,
it's me.
Picture of RAMIUS
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Just get a nice used Olympic weight set and Dumbbells.
 
Posts: 7016 | Location: Right outside Philly | Registered: September 08, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Oh stewardess,
I speak jive.
Picture of 46and2
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quote:
Originally posted by RAMIUS:
Just get a nice used Olympic weight set and Dumbbells.

I agree.

Especially on the used aspect.

I would never pay new prices for exercise equipment, motorcycles, music gear, boats, etc.

Depreciation is a bitch. Let it be someone else's.
 
Posts: 25613 | Registered: March 12, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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If I was going that general direction I would second the check out the TRX suspension setup. Better workout and takes up almost mono space once you make your anchor point, which could be a tree or strong door. Great ass kicking workouts are quite possible.
 
Posts: 7344 | Location: Florida | Registered: June 18, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The biggest problem with exercise equipment is keeping the dust off it.


Awake not woke
 
Posts: 566 | Location: Citrus Springs, Fl. | Registered: January 02, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I works fairly well, it just takes discipline to use it.

Unless your are a gym rat that works out with over 200 lbs for most exercises.

I used mine for a while now it is just gathering dust.

I tend to use it in spurts mostly in the winter when I don't feel like going out for exercise.
 
Posts: 4743 | Registered: February 15, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Too soon old,
too late smart
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Thanks guys. I should have mentioned I’m a high mileage diabetic with mostly flexibility issues resulting from a wreck. Hopefully the proximity will make it easier for me to stay active. For $100, it won’t sting too much if I decide to give it to my nephew’s son.
 
Posts: 4757 | Location: Southern Texas | Registered: May 17, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Price is good, there are a variety of exercises you can do, doesn’t take up too much space, few/ no loose parts to shuffle around the room to get them out of the way.

Additionally, in use the flex rods have maximum “weight”at full flex, as you slack off, they do too. This makes for a lighter load at the end of a particular exercise. Load increase/decrease is progressive vs. free weights. This may be an advantage. Kind of like comparing joint impact of running and bicycling.
 
Posts: 2130 | Location: south central Pennsylvania | Registered: November 05, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I have one and use it 2-3 times a week. I bought it used which is the only way I'd buy one of these. It is great for my needs as my best time to work out is from 5p-7p and I'm not going to fight traffic to go to a gym. I also dont like working out around other people and prefer to just kick on a show and workout while its in the background.

Pros-
Its in my home, I often work out even if I feel under the weather or tired. A huge bar against working out is generally motivation.

Theres a variety of things you can do. I dont do all the hundreds of excercises they post but I have a good routine of bi and tri arm curls and squats on one pulley position and pullups, bench press / flys for chest and crunches in a second position. I rotate through these with only one cable switch and its pretty quick.

For about a year of gym membership Ive got over 4 years of workout out of this and its still going.

Lastly its effective. Most importantly, I have good functional strength and depending on how religious I am and how much I pay attention to my diet I have good physical results.

I dont have a ton of cons, it takes up some space, it apparently doesnt actually give you the resistance on the numbers you read (ie 300 lbs is more like 270 or something like that) This isnt a huge deal to me as I'm going for fitness and resistance not a specific number, not knocking the bench 300 crowd mind you. Basically due to the bow action it ramps up to most of the weight at the peak and ramps back down as you release.

If you will actually stick with it and combine it with something like an elliptical which I also have, you will see good results and its pretty low impact. Its not better than anything else but if you use it, its pretty good. When I plateau, I switch to body weight stuff on my living room carpet and switch back to the bowflex after about a week.
 
Posts: 3041 | Location: Pnw | Registered: March 21, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Too soon old,
too late smart
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Do the resistance rods wear out or degrade? If so, are they replaceable for a reasonable price?
 
Posts: 4757 | Location: Southern Texas | Registered: May 17, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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If you release them before you put it away you get many years of use.

You can get additional rods or replacements cheap directly from bowflex.

http://www.bowflex.com/search?q=replacemetn+rods
 
Posts: 4743 | Registered: February 15, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I had one for years and used it often. I was beginning to have joint issues at the time. It worked very well for increasing strength without increasing bulk, and really helped me lose weight. The rubber strap things they used at the time did eventually loose their snap back, I bought a new set at a reasonable price. The was a way to set the t-bar for hang by your knees sit ups that I loved.
 
Posts: 17121 | Location: Lexington, KY | Registered: October 15, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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We trained on a bowflex for two years. The main advantage is convenience. The main disadvantage is the resistance becomes inadequate, especially for males. You will "outgrow" the machine in time. We sold ours and obtained another gym membership.

We trudge on.
 
Posts: 123 | Registered: March 10, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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