Bowflex Vs. Free weights

[rbt]

lol haha

[duck1dong]

With bowflex the resistance is more difficult at peak contraction and generally due to this not only are more repetitions required and hence more fatigue, the eccentric component is largely missing. So with bowflex the inherent eccentric component of freeweights is missing. The eccentric component is what specifically energizes the body and helps in terms of not only muscle growth but also to perceived energy increase in the hours after training for the individual lifting free weights. Bowflex's lack of eccentric resistance means that the actual resistance patterns are suitable for a person less skilled at lifting. What this means is that the strict control in free weights are not as necessary-if you are really feeling enraged the bowflex is a great tool to have because it dissipates these feelings of rage. Also, because the bowflex induces maximal contraction and fatigue there is no wondering if the muscle was worked to exhaustion. However, due to the lack of eccentric component, there will not be near as much muscle growth. So ultimately both free weights and a bowflex are desirable. Use the bowflex when you dont want to deal with gym people or you are enraged and at risk of injury, lifting in that mental state.

It is not as simple as saying bowflex vs. free weights. The lifter must determine why they are lifting. I lift for exercise and also to build and get rid of anger. Going to a gym would no doubt piss me off even further- ie, traffic, moron receptionists, guys wanting to fight me because I can outlift them, gym psychos, Ive experienced it all. At this point I dont see the point in investing time in sitting in a gym when I can work hard on the bowflex in the basement and play drums or heavy metal guitar in between heavy work sets.

[teyink]

I am bumping this thread to give a review of the Bowflex (aka Derpflex).

First, here is a little bit of background. I picked up a used Bowflex Sport with the original intention of my wife using it as part of a weight loss program. I ended up trying it out and I have now been using it for about 6 weeks. I currently use it about 5 times/week with a split set. I was 6'0" and 215 lbs with about 25% bodyfat when I started working out. My intermediate goal is to get down to less than 15% bodyfat through diet and exercise with no specific target for my weight. I'm just trying to keep as much lean mass as possible. I lifted with barbells in high school and again in graduate school, but it has been about 12 years since I have lifted weights seriously. I am currently 36 years of age.

About one year ago, I joined a gym with a family membership. Unfortunately, we rarely ever went. We have two small children at home and it was too difficult to get away from home to go workout. Besides swimming lessons at the gym's pool for our 4 year old, it was wasted money. We bought a used Bowflex Sport and after I purchased rod upgrades, I have $550 in it. So it cost less than one-year's membership at the gym for our family. We have since canceled our gym membership.

First, let me state that I was not expecting much out of this equipment and mainly purchased it for my wife to use. I had only ever lifted with free weights in the past, so I was skeptical. Luckily, it has been much better than I envisioned. Probably the biggest reason that I have had success is that I actually use it. It is much easier for me to get a 45 minute workout done while by daughters are watching TV in the next room than it is to have my wife watch the kids, drive to the gym, workout, drive home, etc. If my kids need me for something, I can take a small break, help them, and get back to my workout. For my situation, working out at home just makes more sense than going to the gym.

Sure, I could have bought a power rack, barbell, bench, weights, etc., but I'm sure I'd have much more than $550 in that equipment. I just haven't seen much of a used market for that equipment on craigslist in my area. Who knows, mabye I will go down that path in the future, but for now I will try to stick with the Bowflex. I'm not going to say that the Bowflex is superior to free weights, but I do think it is sufficient equipment to increase strength and build lean body mass for the majority of the population.

I've read through most of this thread, and there is a lot of misinformation posted here. Although the Bowflex does not exactly provide a constant resistance during exercises, it is not a linear relationship to distance such as provided by Hooke's Law (F= k * X). The mechanics of bending an elastic rod are different than stretching a spring. I would say that the resistance does increase slightly during the concentric part of the exercise, but since the rods start in a preloaded state and because the increase seems to be less than linear with distance, the muscles are still worked at the start of the concentric move. It's not perfect, but it is still effective.

Also, the muscles are definitely worked during the eccentric portion of the exercise. The muscles elongate while under tension during the return to the starting position. That is the definition of an eccentric contraction. I don't understand how it would be possible to forgo the eccentric portion of the exercise using the Bowflex. It's not really possible to just let the rods snap back to the starting position without doing the eccentric portion of the exercise unless you want to injure yourself.

I find that I can do every major compound exercise on the Bowflex and that the moves do require the use of stabilizer muscles. I'm sure that I don't use the stabilizers as much as I would during dumbell exercises for example, but you do need to recruit them more than you would on typical gym machines. I do deadlifts*, squats, bent over barbell rows*, seated shoulder press, bench press, dips**, lat rows, and lat pulldowns as my major compound moves. It is also possible to do most every other isolation exercise and I usually choose 1 or 2 isolations for each body part to go along with the major compound move.

* The standard deadlift on the bowflex is more like a rack pull. I now stand on sheets of plywood in order to get more range of motion out of the exercise. I need to do the same thing for barbell rows if I want to get my back parallel and still keep full range of motion.
** This isn't a standard exercise on the Bowflex, but I was able to think up an exercise on the Bowflex to work the chest and triceps in a similar way.

The only problem that I will have with this piece of equipment is the maximum capacity of 410 lbs. I'm not sure what that equates to in real world pounds. After 6 weeks, I have reached the max capacity on the machine for working sets for the deadlift using 4x6 sets and I will probably reach it in a few weeks for the squat also. I will just increase the number of reps and sets on these exercises in order to continue to get a good workout. When that becomes too cumbersome for the deadlift, I will probably change exercises to straight-leg deadlifts and/or good mornings. Eventually, the big limitation for this piece of equipment will be the inability to increase the resistance for squats and deadlift. If it weren't for that, I could envision myself using the Bowflex long-term. I'll find out how effective it is to just increase volume instead of increasing resistance for these exercises.

I'm not arguing that the Bowflex is better than free weights, but I have been surprised at how effective the machine has been for me. It has also been much cheaper and more convenient than alternative options. For most females and many smaller males, I would think a Bowflex would be a decent choice for long-term use. For larger males, the max capacity of 410 lbs. is definitely a limitation. Even though I have had a 12-year layoff, I still had a good amount of "muscle memory" and I've had some big strength increases in just 6 weeks. However, for larger males who are new to resistance training, I could see getting a good amount of use out of the Bowflex before outgrowing it. Obviously, professionals would probably want to look elsewhere. I was contemplating buying a bench and adjustable dumbells for home use to eventually replace the Bowflex, but I don't know if that will be an effective replacement for heavy deadlifts or squats either.

Here is my current progress after 6 weeks. I'm still 6'0" feet tall and now down to 203 lbs with approximately 21% body fat. My lean mass is approximately the same as when I started, but I have shed about 11 pounds of fat. My strength is way up from 6 weeks ago. I've had a lot of newbie gains and for most exercises I am using probably 50-60% more resistance than when I started. Most of the fat loss has been because of diet, but I have been able to keep almost all of my muscle mass and increase my strength significantly due to the Bowflex. I am very happy that I have been able to keep lean mass during this attempt at fat loss. Without resistance training I'm sure I would have lost a good amount of lean mass due to my calorie restricted diet.

The Bowflex isn't perfect, but for my situation it has been great. My only complaint is the 410 lb resistance limit.

[jffktt]

I ended up on this forum since I recently purchased a used bow flex sport. Since I prefer to work out in quiet and solitary area and not the gym I prefer the use of the home gym over going to the gym. More convenient and I don't have to wait around to use the equipment. I also have a bench, barbell and dumbbells as well. My experience is one of working out off and on using free-weights since 1990. I've read a lot of material over the years and while I’m no expert or professional trainer I can only speak from my experiences.

After purchasing the bowflex sport and putting it together I was very interested in seeing how effective it is. I attached the 50 lbs resistance bar and attempted to do a few bicep curls. I was shocked at how easy it was to do and the difference as compared to my dumbbells. So I continued to add weight until I felt like I was doing something, which leads me to this post as I could feel.

There are many different methods of strength training, the most common being the use of gravity or elastic/hydraulic forces to oppose muscle contraction.

Strength training differs from bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting, and strongman, which are sports rather than forms of exercise, although training for them is inherently interconnected with strength training, as it is for shotput, discus, and Highland games. Many other sports use strength training as part of their training regimen, notably football, rugby, lacrosse, basketball, hockey, and track and field.

But what is strength training: Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles.

What is resistance training: Resistance training is a form of strength training in which each effort is performed against a specific opposing force generated by resistance (i.e. resistance to being pushed, squeezed, stretched or bent)

But here is where I feel the problems in this thread lie: the terms "strength training" and "resistance training" are often used interchangeably.

Since most if not all of the information we garnish on strength training comes from the magazines, articles and awesome websites such as this. When most people go to work out or say they want to gain strength, most of them want to increase muscle mass and get this ideal man in their head of what they want to look like, i.e. Arnold schwarzenegger, Lou ferrigno, tom platz, etc. Basically they want to get bigger. The thing is they want to get their by the quickest way possible and to do that you need to use free weights over the machines like bowflex, bandflex, weider bow cross etc.

Anybody worth their weight and on sites like this knows that there are different stages to building muscle and looking good. You have the bulk stage and then you have the toning stage or pre contest phase. These are what most if not all the professional body builders do. I'm not going to post proof etc, you can Google the information and just search this site, read articles etc.

The first step in building muscle and working out is to define your goals. What are you trying to accomplish? Do you want to look like a body builder like Arnold and Lou or do you want to have a decent muscle physic like the guys in the movie 300, Hugh Jackman in the movie Wolverine or Brad Pitt in Troy? This is the most important step. If you can't decide on what your goals are then don't even begin to decide what system, machines and weights you want to use.

Second: If your goal is to build bulk and gain mass quickly and to do that you have to use free weights for all the reason that everybody on this thread has posted. Google the information, go down to the public library and research the information, read bodybuilding magazines. To build muscle you must have a progression on the amount of weight you use. Don't expect to get big by just lifting the same amount of weight over and over. While the bowflex does allow you to build mass it's as its limits. But as I've stated and so has everybody else do the research, spend a few hours and a couple of weeks researching it. To build bulk you need to lift free weights. The best way I have learned to do this is to use free weights put on the max amount you can lift in one rep without destroying yourself ( use a spotter of course) then decrease that by (i believe) 10-20%. Then start to do your reps etc with that weight. Do that for each exercise. You can do the same on the bowflex but you’ll end up doing more sets and reps.

Along with the second step is to determine your diet. What are you going to eat and what supplements are you going to take to reach your goal. If you’re bulking up then you need to consume more than 2000 calories a day. For this part you can review the other threads or go and speak to a professional trainer or dietician.

After your done bulking up you will want to tone down and lose a lot of body fat so you can show the definition of the muscle, you know the stuff that the girls and significant others go gaga over. To do that you will need to lower your weight and do more reps, as well as change your diet. This can also be called the pre-contest phase. This is where something like the bowflex and other resistance type machines can come into play and are useful. With resistance type machines you will need to do more reps and more sets but will be great for toning the body while maintain your current strength.

Let’s do a quick review of the bowflex workout. In the bowflex manual it says to take 4 seconds to go up then 4 seconds to go down when using the resistance bars. One set for the bowflex = 8-12 reps. then when the 12 repetitions are accomplished you are suppose to increase the resistance by approx. 5%. This is for each muscle group.
Now lets review the diet in the manual, As stated by them in my bowflex sport manual "The menus in the Bowflex® eating plan are designed for maximum fat-loss effectiveness and nutritional value. For best results, follow them exactly." By that definition alone They are talking about weight loss and not increase in strength.
When reviewing the calories of their 6 week program:
Week one and 2: men: 1500 calories per day: women, 1200 a day.
Week 3 and 4: Men, 1400 Calories per day, women 1100 calories a day
Week 5&6: Men 1300 Calories a day, Women, 1000 calories a day.

This tells me that this is a fat burning/ toning the body/ pre competition phase while build a small amount of muscle mass or maintaining the mass you have.
You won't be looking like any bodybuilder doing those exercises and that diet. You can see it in the picture that someone posted a while back of the 40 year old that has a bowflex body. If you look at the before and after pictures, you can see he just toned his body and did some increase in mass. You can still do the toning part with free weights as well.

To sum this up since this is an old post I just wanted to add to it in the hopes of clearing the confusion for the original poster as well as those who should stumble across it. I also apologize if it seems like I jumped around.

If you want to tone your body, lose weight fast and gain small amounts of mass over time while at home, the bowflex with a proper diet is the best way to go. To continue to gain the mass you will need to show progression in the amount weight used (whether using resistance type of machines or free weights) and unfortunately the bowflex (depending on your model) is limited.

However, if you want to gain mass quickly and bulk up faster, free weights with a proper diet is the way to go.
Will I keep the bowflex? Most likely yes ,since I can use it to town down and as an added supplement to my free weights. I bought it used for $200 so I’m not out a whole lot of money.
Think of it this way, a Lamborghini and a geo metro both will get from point a to point b, it's all just a matter of how fast you want to get there.
For those of you who want to know how much I spent on my work out equipment it’s a total of approx. $650. $200 for the bowflex sport, $80 for dumbbells, $50 for a bench with a barbell and weights as well as misc. quick disconnect grips for the dumbbells and barbell, work out gloves.

[DonnyDon]

Its a known fact that you can build as much muscle from HI Reps low weight by reaching fatigue. But once it takes you longer than 60-70 seconds to reach fatigue via high reps that is when you will need to add weight. If you never think you will bench more than 255 when working out BOWFLEX is a great machine. People bad mouth it because you see videos online of people who dont use it make fun of it because they dont believe in it.

Its a known fact that if you eat right , work out PERFECTLY, follow all the right steps youll only be able to put on 7-9 pounds of muscle a year. When you hear someone say they put on 20 pounds of muscle...........ummm no they didnt, and if they put the weight on its fat , or water or DRUGS.

You will never ever reach Mr.Olympia type results without DRUGS!!!!

Used right the BOWFLEX is the all around best bang for the buck!!!!! And your talking to a guy that Has the Powertec Leverage system with all attachments. But I use the bowflex for a HEALTHIER workout.....I have 410 pounds of resistance on it.....Thats means your starting at about 246lbs working up to 410lbs.

Ummmm how many people do you know that can do 4 sets of 12 reps at 246 pounds? If you want to become a bodybuilding monster than go with a Powertec Home Gym....

Again its a fact that low weight with HI reps going to fatigue will give you same results!!!!!

Dont stray from bowflex because you think its girly....... I love my powertec because i love the feel of steel and the sound. But My bowflex saves my joints and gives me results as well.... BTW if you order a bowflex with 310lbs resistense........... call up next day to cancel and say you tried it and 310 wasnt enough .....theyll upgrade you to 410 for free...... I got the xtreme 2 se 2 years ago.

Im 5'9...193lbs, bench close to 400 MAX..... I never go over 255 when working out. EVER! Id rather bench 255lbs 20 times than be able to bench 400 once.

Hope this help.... Oh if you want bowflex go on craigs list for a cheap one.

[musikguy72]

Hope this help.... Oh if you want bowflex go on craigs list for a cheap one.

Dude, he asked the question in 2006. I'm pretty sure he made up his mind 5 years ago.

First post, huh?

[Farley1324]

Ummmm how many people do you know that can do 4 sets of 12 reps at 246 pounds?

Hello

[joshcochran86]

You wanna do the dead weight. I have the bowflex xtl and itts only good for flys and back work outs I try the bench press on it and it sucks so go with dead weight

[kfh227]

That's great that you've made such tremendous progress with a bowflex, a device that the vast majority of posters on this site would say is a POS. In fact, there will probably be several of them posting in this thread to say that same thing soon.

Why not go ahead and post a few pics of yourself showing your development, and kind of "head 'em off at the pass?"

Without an actual study, there is no way to prove anything.

The person that made gains could have probably made the same gains with free weights. Maybe even more gains.

Personally,dollar for dollar, I'll take free weights any day. Deadlifts and sqauts will do more for someone than a bowflex ever will. Free weights can do anything the bowflex does, and more. Put this guy up against someone else here benching 280 and have them both do dead and squats and the bowflexer will probably look foolish.

[Farley1324]

You wanna do the dead weight. I have the bowflex xtl and itts only good for flys and back work outs I try the bench press on it and it sucks so go with dead weight

Is there a reason you bumped this thread from last year?

[kfh227]

Is there a reason you bumped this thread from last year?

Looking at dates, I am more responsible for the bump.

Reason:
I searched the forum via Google search for bowflex and this is what came up first. I started reading. Probably should have just lurked instead of posting.

[cjpnaayen]

I see there is allot of argument here on bowflex vs free weights which i believe is to be expected. so here is my OPINION.

I use both free weights and machines. I find that they both have there place in the world of fitness and should be treated respectfully. saying that a machine is junk is not acceptable.as for bowflex, why would bowflex still be in business making them and charging an arm and a leg ( i got mine used and cheap thankfully) if they were as some put it A POS. ???


now that i got that off my chest.
im not a huge guy and ive only been lifting for 2 years now however thats why i like the bowflex. it still offers me enough resistance to get a good workout. i dont have a gym member ship because i have access to free weights at the local drop in center that i volunteer at. but the drop in is not open 24 hours a day and i like to lift as often as possible. i like to lift i like to feel lift the superman. so having a bowflex in my living room can be very handy. you can complete many excersises in one small area ( and im pretty sure thats what the bowflex is meant for, taking the whole gym home) bowflex is a conveience factor however that doesnt make it ****ty.

i dont think a person should start off with a machine. start with free weights even 5 lbs if you have to because this gives you the feel for lifting. plus there is a chance you can hurt yourself using a bowflex since it is a constant resistance.

but people should not knok the bowflex.


but i will say. i do like free weights a little more simply because #1 its iron #2 your lifting it #3 people are watching you lift that ****.


the only thing i dont like about the bowflex ( and it could be just me) i find i can curl more with my biceps on the bowflex but then again i could just be trippin and not pushing myself hard enough when im curling the free weights

theres my rant i hope u enjoy


"

also im sorry i posted bringing this back to life . Like the previous post i googled something clicked the forum link and then posted. :-) sorry next time i will pay more attention

[mike_nofx]

But imagine what you could have achieved with 2 years of iron pumping versus 2 years of plastic bending...

Oh, you just wanted to tone up?

[SuffolkPunch]

I use both free weights and machines. I find that they both have there place in the world of fitness and should be treated respectfully. saying that a machine is junk is not acceptable.as for bowflex, why would bowflex still be in business making them and charging an arm and a leg ( i got mine used and cheap thankfully) if they were as some put it A POS. ???

This is a non argument. There are legions of chumps out there willing to throw money at all kinds of useless fitness and dieting solutions. The market is massive. This very forum is built on the back of such people's money.

99% of supplements are totally useless but it's how bb.com makes its money.

People like Bowflex and before them Weider have been peddling crap for years and doing very well thank you.

It's down to human nature - people want a gimmick or a quick fix. They don't like the idea that it's going to take years of lifting heavy iron to achieve anything worthwhile.

Problem with bowflex summarised: not constant resistance. VOLUME is the key determinant of muscle growth and volume is resistance over range of movement. If your resistance only peaks at one end of the ROM then you are only getting half the benefit (oversimplifying but there it is).

I am not saying it will do nothing - any exercise has an effect in relatively untrained people. But is it optimal? Anyone who understands exercise science and human physiology will tell you : NO.

[UnitedRampage]

There are literally MILLIONS of people out there with muscular, lean bodies of their dreams. Do you think they built their physique with BowFlex or free weights? Do you think Reg Park, Layne Norton, whatever natural bodybuilder out there built their physique from BowFlex or free weights? If BowFlex is better than free weights, why dont we see them in gyms, why dont we see professional bodybuilders or powerlifters use them?

Free weights > Anything else

[Mdenatale]

I've got a Bowflex as well as a power cage, bench, etc. The Bowflex has its uses. For one it got me started before I slowly built up a collection of dumbells, barbells and finally a cage and bench. I don't use it nearly like I used to. I still use it for leg extensions, leg curls, pushdowns, trunk rotations, plus a few other isolation exercises.

[FastCatChamp]

I just posted my entire home gym on cl........got my eye on a real nice Bowflex machine. Owner says that it's hardly used and that he will sell it for about a quarter of what he paid. So I just need $500 and then I'm set. Will post videos in my journal of my new badass setup soon.

Can I bulk with the Bowflex? I'm not sure. I've been eating 5400 calories each day, but can't gain weight. Must be that I am an ectomorph.

Can I do SS or AllPros? I know it's not a barbell, but I really want to run one of those programs. Wouldn't the Bowflex be superior for those programs since I won't lose energy moving weight plates around?







Not srs, but I'm almost convinced by the guy that brought this thread back to life. Us old school bb.com guys enjoy the classic N@tural1 vs SDG postings........Lulz relived.

[SuffolkPunch]

I suggest you phone Mark Rippetoe and ask for a bowflex variant of SS. He's sure to oblige because of all the bowflex customers out there.

[michaelsean11]

I'm not a body builder by any means. I'd probably call myself a gym hobbiest. That being said I have been working out most of my life. Mostly free weights and weight machines. I am in good shape and you can clearly see I'm an avid gym goer. I recently bought a used boflex and I must say I am definitely getting some great workouts on it. I get pumped and I sweat and am sore. Definitely an impactful workout. Will it replace free weights for me? Def not but I think it's a great workout inbetween the gym and anyone who says it's a gimmick is dead wrong. It works!! If you're an average guy who enjoys the gym and being in good shape you'll love it. If you're a true body builder always looking for huge gains. You'll love it as a supplemental workout when away from the gym. Just my experience and opinion.

[Farley1324]

I'm not a body builder by any means. I'd probably call myself a gym hobbiest. That being said I have been working out most of my life. Mostly free weights and weight machines. I am in good shape and you can clearly see I'm an avid gym goer. I recently bought a used boflex and I must say I am definitely getting some great workouts on it. I get pumped and I sweat and am sore. Definitely an impactful workout. Will it replace free weights for me? Def not but I think it's a great workout inbetween the gym and anyone who says it's a gimmick is dead wrong. It works!! If you're an average guy who enjoys the gym and being in good shape you'll love it. If you're a true body builder always looking for huge gains. You'll love it as a supplemental workout when away from the gym. Just my experience and opinion.

You bumped a 2 year old thread to post this?

And you say it works because you sweat and got sore? That's not the measure of it working unless sweating and getting sore are your actual goals.