anyone use bowflex?

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bickel76

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i'm thinking about getting a bowflex ultimate 2 in order to help with conditioning for riding. anyone have any experience with one of these?
 
I used one when I lived at home. I loved it, very easy to use and you can switch weights and excersises real quick. I just haven't found the cash to buy one since I moved out.
 
i used one of the older power pro models back in college. i'm hoping that the new ultimate 2 will work as good. i'm tired of getting sore everytime that i go riding. just bought one on ebay for 1350. not too bad considering it is only a few months old and from bowflex they run around 2300. just have to make a road trip to go and pick it up.
 
I heard something about those not giving as good of a workout as free weight. Probably BS though. I have a bench and all that at home but can't bring myself to use it. When I got a gym membership I actually worked out cause it felt like a waste to drive all the way to the gym and not do anything.
 
When they say that it doesn't give as good of a work out they mean that about how you don't have to balance the weights like when using dumbells, and doing a bench. Which in turn does work smaller muscles not normally reached when in a controlled atmosphere (Any machine that has preset/moderated path the weight/resistance travels on). And on top of that during certain excercises such as leg extensions, curls, and some others you can't get a full extension/curl with the stock length of the cable. By limiting the amount of movement (due to the cable) you limit the amount that the muscle can be worked.
I know you can do more reps of a lighter weight, and less reps of a heavier weight depending on if your more interested in toning, or building mass. But I personally have seen better results on myself due to free weights. I've personally spent close to 2 years using a bow flex, and then I switched back to free weights due to similiar little factslike those, and I've noticed that when I went back, I wasn't used to balancing the weights as well as I used to be, and I fatigued more quickly while using free weights.

I'm not sure if other people have noticed anything similiar, but that's my personal experience. For the simple fact that it's a comparatively small machine (compared to all the equipment you'd need to do all the similiar work outs) I do like it for certain applications. Such as not being able to get to a gym due to various reasons, but if you have the means and access to a full gym, I'd say take advatage of that.
~Bill
p.s. I Hated how you had to reach beneath your bodies full drop to get under the bar for squats, I don't know if they changed it, but you had to take some of the weight in your arms, then get under the bar with weight on your shoulders at all times, even while fully compressed at the Very bottom of the lift.
 
atleast on the ultimate 2 they did change the entire setup of the squat. you are able to start in a standing position. the main reason i wanted to get the bowflex is because of the fact that i can use my oxygen machine at home instead of using a tank strapped to my back. i think free weights and bowflex each have their advantages and disadvantages. i'm just hoping to get some exercise incorporated into my day to day activities. i'm not lookin to get all bulked up or anything of that nature. hopefully it will help with my riding also.
 
I do like it for certain applications. Such as not being able to get to a gym due to various reasons
Not that you can't get to the gym, it's just easier for you to have it at your disposal at your house.

Yea bud it's perfectly understandable. Especially if your just looking into getting into some better shape, and not looking at it like you want it to do it all in one shot. just do what you can, and push yourself a little at a time, and you'd be surprised what has changed in a few months, and what your starting weight/reps were, and 3-4 months later what they will be.

I say go for it man, Doing Anything is better then doing nothing. and the better shape your in, the easier it will be to ride, and the longer you should be able to do so, since your body will be used to working at higher strenuous levels than what it used to be.
~Bill
 
my good freind has it and the thing is sickk he works out on it every night for around an hour and he stays in great shape and hes starting to get pretty big
 
Free weights are definitely better. And dumb bells are actually better than long bars. Don't believe me, try it. If you work out bench pressing 200 lbs on a long bar, get a couple of 75 lb dumb bells and try it. The balancing power is tremendous compared to a long bar.

The problem with free weights is you need a spotter. In a gym that may not be a problem but at home it can be.

I'd get and use the bowflex but maybe get a set of adjustable dumb bells as well. As said before, anything is better than nothing.

Here is the set I have:
1340.jpg


It's from soloflex. Has 170 lbs of weights and two handles with good grips and positive locking collars (not the threaded style!) that go on easily and hold the weights securely enough to not spin and wobble when working out. The weights are also rubber coated so they are quiet. They make a bar for use with the same weights and collars but I haven't got it. Plan on getting one though.
 
i agree with you guys that free weights are probably better, but the bowflex is already bought. here is one major reason for not using free weights. even though i can have a spotter, i am really high risk for fainting while doing any sort of activity due to health. i would rather pass out on a bowflex and run the risk of a cable smackin me across the grill instead of dropping a 75lb dumbell on my twig and berries. since my o2 saturation is lower than most, it is going to take me much longer than anyone else doing the same routine, but like kreed said, anything is better than nothing.
 
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