Bowflex Tips

Bowflex Ultimate 2 Power Gym During the late fall and winter season I gain a lot a weight.It comes from not using my body as much as I do during grass cutting sea...

Reviews on Bowflex Ultimate Bowflex Ultimate is it really? SALES INFORMATION This product is not made in the USA!!!! The sales people at the company assured me it was manufactured in the USA before ...

I read many reviews here before ultimately deciding to buy my Bowflex Ultimate. My wife’s trainer uses an Ultimate 2 as part of her setup and loves it, but I was unsure about what type to buy or if Bowflex (or a home gym at all, for that matter) was the right purchase. This group’s reviews, plus a hard look at Bowflex’s web site for a features comparison, led me to buy an Ultimate.

As with several of the reviews here, I really like it. After 5 months, I’ve lost almost 30 lbs. and have gained significant strength. I truly enjoy working out with this machine, I still look forward to my workouts.

I started with the advertised “20 minutes/day, every other day” routine and did see actual, measurable results (yes, it does work). I followed the program for the precribed six weeks and felt better, while becoming measurably stronger and leaner. I track my progress. I bought a Tanita body fat monitor scale, to ensure I was making the right kind of progress and kept (and keep) detailed records of all my workouts.

Since the end of the initial program, I have changed my workout routine several times (using both the pre-built routines in my Bowflex manual and my own workout routines) and continue to see results and progress.

I was 225 lbs. with over 30% body fat when I started with my Bowflex. I’m now 195 lbs, with 22.9% body fat (so I still have a way to go) and have reduced my waist line from a generous 38″ (truthfully, probably close to 40″ - I’m sure you know how that goes!) to a 36″ and now I’m threatening 34″. All this time, my legs have trimmed down and become more muscular again (I’m a former division I ice hockey player), my chest and back have become more muscular, and my arms have also expanded and become stronger. I also have a hint of abs now, too.

For reference, I’m 41 years old and haven’t done any serious weight lifting since college.

After 5 months, I still look forward to my workouts and have a hard time limiting to my four day/week Bowflex schedule. Not only has the Bowflex been a good physical tool for me, it’s been a great mental tool, as well. It’s helped me refocus on living a healthier lifestyle (to get the most from my workouts). I think that part would come from almost any routine you commit to, but the Bowflex is my anchor here and I can’t see me doing anything else right now.

This is a well-built piece of equipment. The metal is heavy gauge and the weld points are extremely solid. I’m routinely impressed with construction quality.

The machine is easy to configure for most of the exercises. I have little/no trouble moving from one exercise to another.

The PowerRods provide smooth movement and consistent resistance throughout the exercise motion.

I like that I can workout to the point of muscle failure without being concerned with injury, due to no spotter (think about a bench press with a barbell). Since my wife doesn’t work out with me, this is a big deal.

Lots of flexibility to lots of exercises. There’s an exercise for almost every muscle group.

The accompanying workout manual, gives you a very good starting point and suggestions for using the Bowflex effectively for many, many exercises.

There really is no cardio option (regardless of the “cardio rowing” exercise), so if you want cardio, you need to plan for other things. I bought a treadmill and run on that for warm up and cool down, plus two days/week cardio. The Bowflex just doesn’t provide a good option here. I see it as a weight machine, though, so that’s OK in my book.

The PowerRods don’t apply consistent resistance, depending on where they are located in the rack. For example, the 50 lbs rods at the front of the pack provide FAR more resistance than the back 50 (with the extension pack) or a combination of the 30 rod with 2 10 rods. I find this VERY frustrating.

Some of the exercises seem a little “made up” for the Bowflex. Almost like, “We need an exercise for this muscle group. Let’s just do this,” thus I still find I go outside the Bowflex for some strength training needs. Again, I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect anything to solve everything, so it’s OK in my book.

The connection straps for use with the squat machine are hard to consistently configure and use. Having multiple sizes vs. a single massively adjustable strap would be far preferable.

Storage. This puppy is big. No way around it; especially with leg machine attachment. Fold up doesn’t get you much. Bowflex recommends a 9′x7′ area for your machine - believe it. This isn’t something you keep in the corner unobtrusively. You’ll likely want to dedicate some space as a home fitness area and just leave it there.

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