ne1 tried bow flex?

[BigPoopaPump]

i came back from my holiday in barbados like 3 weeks ago and while i was there i got to watch some american tv (i live in the uk btw, and they show america tv in barbados). i was watching alot of the infomercials becuase the people on there make me laugh becuase everything seems to be the best ever.

the bow flex machine looked like it really works but i have heard people on this board diss it so what is it like?

a;lso the guy on the infomercial is really scary, he is just too enthusiastic(sp)

[ctgblue]

It will make you stronger, it will firm you up, it WILL NOT give you the physique of the guys who demonstrate it.
Free weights baby, those build mass.
For a Boflex price you can set up a serious power rack gym.

[maximusthegreat]

I have had a bowflex for the last 5 months and it is a great but expensive machine....

You can build mass if you eat enough and use the bowflex but it will take time.....otherwise it is a great machine for getting the ripped look on your muscles. I would highly recommend the squat rack attachment, it adds 10 more power excercises that work really good at mass gains.

hope this helps....

[Postwood]

I'm using one now and they are good machines, and cost effective when compared to going to a gym, which is what the ads always compare it to. But...

Nearly all the stuff I do could have been done with cheaper equipment. I'm about to buy dumbells so that I can do curls with freeweights, in fact.

Order the video, it's free. I'd suggest getting more than the standard 210 lbs as the leg presses you have to go into the stratosphere with that to make yourself feel you have done anything.

Heck, I do a 200 leg press when I tie my shoe.

I don't regret buying it, but you won't get any respect on the board when asking questions.

Also, the lat pulldown they show in the video is a joke. It can't be done. Do lat flys. They also recently took upright row and put it in the very back and say they dont' reccomend it anymore, even though the blurb in the book has a doctor mentioning it by name.

But you can work out with it and you don't need a spotter. My mother in law has a shwinn gigantor unit from the 1980s which does fewer things, worse, and it cost around $3000, if I remember correctly.

But once you spend your $1100 on the power pro, it does provide a little motivation. Basically for that money you better have a life changing experience.

[MuscleGainer]

Is it hard to get positioned for doing heavy bench pressing on the bowflex? I checked the PDF manual of the bowflex Ultimate and it says you have to do a curl to get the handles in position if you want to do bench press and I can't curl what I bench for reps.

[BalMan]

I wrote a review of it in another thread a little while ago:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54297

(sheesh. i just reread some of what i wrote and i sound like i should be a salesman for them or something.)

anyways: I've been working out hard on it for a few months and have definitely seen some mass gains. And don't worry about not being able to "curl" the weight up to your chest for doing the bench press. I don't curl it up; I just lean and grab one handle, brace it up by your shoulder and rotate your body towards the other handle and do the same. (Trust me, there's no way my arms are curling 90 pounds each.)

I definitely think it was worth the price I paid for it. I'm still glad I bought it. (although my girlfriend hates how much time I spend away from her to work out now. hehe)

[Blashy]

www.powerblocks.com

Best investement I ever made.

[CreatineMan]

i have tired it, its too easy, i could bench 200lbs of resistance, and i cant nearly bench that normally

[maximusthegreat]

Then you weren't doing it correctly.....When one uses resistence type machines you don't just throw the weights like using free weights. You must count up and count down....5 seconds up and 5 down to recieve the pump one achieves with free weights. It is also much much more difficult to balance the weight on a bowflex then is is with free weights. Thats why beginers shake alot when they first try benching with a bowflex.

I use the bowflex and free weights..and I find them both to be different and solid approaches to weight training. There are pro's and con's to everying. But make sure you are doing it correctly before you judge it.

later

[Blashy]

The problem with machines like bowflex is they work too much the stabilizer muscles, meaning that you spend 1/2 your time concentrating on your form instead of concentrating on the muscles being work.

Form and stabilizing muscles are important in a w/o but too much and it takes away from the goal, concentrating on working the actual muscle.

They're not bad machines. But you can't beat free weights and it is a less expensive investment.

[Zerosen]

I totally disagree with creatine man. I have used the bowflex for about a year now, and I can bench even more with free weights than I can on the bowflex still, even after adapting to it. The chest flies on the bowflex are also very effective for me.

[ftblplayer15]

Theres nothing really "wrong" with the bowflex, just some people (like myself) , prefer building muscle the regular way, and plus, most of us don't have the money to invest in something like that when we don't even know what its like, we only see whats on tv!

pz

[G8K3P3R]

My boss bought one for me about 6 months ago. I started using it almost 2 monts ago 3 times a week, just on my upper body. I also kick a 70lb bag every day except for sunday for about 1 to 2 hrs. I changed my diet and I have lost 4 inches in my waist and went from 280lbs to 265lbs in this timeframe. I have also seen great gains in my chest (man breasts are almost gone completely) and my arms have seen good gains, especially in the tricepts. I think it is a great workout and I really enjoy using it. I think it was worth what she spent on it........

[glock nyc]

I'd rather buy a nice home gym set for the money, I got a great deal on a bench on E-Bay, I'm 6'1 and its wide and large enough to fit me well. Bought the weights online, too..shopped around, and got the whole set for close to $400. Only thing I need is an EZ-Bar :)