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Question for you all and that is i'm getting ready to relocate from Albuquerque where we have tons of Gyms. Infact i have been a member for years at a Key Gym where members can work out 24/7 as we all have a key and now moving to a small town in Southern NM that has just 1 gym i believe so i thought about buying a Bowflex. But you know after pumping iron with Barbells and Dumbbells since 1985 when i was 21 i'm just not sure about it. The male models they use in the ads are very cut not not much muscle mass on them as i'm confused so if anyone who is or has been a serious weight lifter and tried Bowflex could you please give me the good and/or the bad so i can make an informed decision.
Question for you all and that is i'm getting ready to relocate from Albuquerque where we have tons of Gyms. Infact i have been a member for years at a Key Gym where members can work out 24/7 as we all have a key and now moving to a small town in Southern NM that has just 1 gym i believe so i thought about buying a Bowflex. But you know after pumping iron with Barbells and Dumbbells since 1985 when i was 21 i'm just not sure about it. The male models they use in the ads are very cut not not much muscle mass on them as i'm confused so if anyone who is or has been a serious weight lifter and tried Bowflex could you please give me the good and/or the bad so i can make an informed decision.
Thanks so much !!!!!!
6/3
The male models used in advertising almost never have anything to do with the product being advertised in terms of the results. The male models used are what the marketing team thinks will speak most to the general audience... I doubt any of those male models would actually use a Bowflex if there was even a rudimentary gym within an hour's travel distance.
One of my friends in college went to the Olympic Training Center and one of the weight room instructors was a Bowflex model. This instructor told my friend that the only time he uses a Bowflex was when he was filming a commercial or doing a photo shoot.
If you can't get to a gym, try bodyweight exercises. Done the right way you can get just as good if not better workout than you can with weights.
One of my friends in college went to the Olympic Training Center and one of the weight room instructors was a Bowflex model. This instructor told my friend that the only time he uses a Bowflex was when he was filming a commercial or doing a photo shoot.
If you can't get to a gym, try bodyweight exercises. Done the right way you can get just as good if not better workout than you can with weights.
What is the right way to do bodyweight exercises that will result in a better workout than with weights? Let's keep that same Bowflex male model as the ideal to achieve.
Go to www.bodyweightculture.com for a good start. I'm into trail running and other endurance sports and I like body weight exercises because I can get really strong without bulking up. The website seems like it attracts a lot of military guys and guys into MMA. Another website is Welcome to CrossFit: Forging Elite Fitness, lots of exercises plus videos showing you how to do them.
So if you like to look like you just got out of basic training or are training to be a boxer/fighter, body weight exercises are the way to go. If you want to bulk up and look like a body builder, then weights are probably the way to go. Plus with body weight exercises you can get a really good workout and all you need to buy are a pullup bar, some resistance bands and a few dumbbells. You can get the basics for less than $100.
Go to www.bodyweightculture.com for a good start. I'm into trail running and other endurance sports and I like body weight exercises because I can get really strong without bulking up. The website seems like it attracts a lot of military guys and guys into MMA. Another website is Welcome to CrossFit: Forging Elite Fitness, lots of exercises plus videos showing you how to do them.
One thing to watch out for is CrossFit: it's not for the average Joe. It's a great regiment for people who are already in top shape: regular Joes have a strong history of damaging themselves because the workouts are very demanding and peak condition is an assumed prerequisite.
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So if you like to look like you just got out of basic training or are training to be a boxer/fighter, body weight exercises are the way to go. If you want to bulk up and look like a body builder, then weights are probably the way to go.
This is precisely why I asked the question in the previous post: if you want to look like a Bowflex male model then bodyweight exercises are not for you. They may be a starting point but you won't get anywhere near what a Bowflex male model looks like with just bodyweight exercises. You'll have to add resistance.
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Plus with body weight exercises you can get a really good workout and all you need to buy are a pullup bar, some resistance bands and a few dumbbells. You can get the basics for less than $100.
The OP can judge it for himself, but if I'm looking to achieve a Bowflex male model's physique, I'll need serious weights. Most likely the OP will also.
Bowflex isn't necessarily horrible. It may ever work well for you for a period of time. The problem is there simply isn't enough variety. After a while, your body and muscles will get too used to the exercises and you'll get diminishing returns - much like going to the gym and never changing up your lifting routine. In my mind, if you are serious about building mass, you need to be lifting primarily with free weights, taking advantage of the huge variety of exercises that are available.
Bowflex might be nice to have for the occasional day you can't make it to the gym (though honestly, a good set of adjustable dumbbells can serve that purpose much more cheaply), but I wouldn't recommend relying on it as a primary lifting workout.
I own a Bowflex. It's not for gaining, I can speak from experience. Mine's weight capacity is 250 on each arm, I believe...and I can do the bench with no issue. However using Perfect Pushup I can still feel major resistance - and I'm only 152lbs.
I think the Bowflex's strength is in the unique type of exercises you can do. Standing curls, rowing, double arm side spin (normally done with a medicine ball), etc.
Quite frankly I've gotten more of a workout using the Gazelle Freestyle while holding a water cooler bottle over my head.
All I know is you sure see a lot of BowFlex's for sale on Craigslist in our area. And for what you pay for one new, that would go a long way to paying a membership at a gym for quite some time.
All I know is you sure see a lot of BowFlex's for sale on Craigslist in our area. And for what you pay for one new, that would go a long way to paying a membership at a gym for quite some time.
Precisely.
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Let's keep that same Bowflex male model as the ideal to achieve.
