My Bowflex came yesterday
 

Since I live in the middle of nowhere, I decided to go ahead and get one of these for strength training. I got the Xtreme2 model:

http://www.xxxkinkypics.com/bf.jpg

A much crappier cell phone pic of the same thing in my garage:

http://www.xxxkinkypics.com/bowflex.jpg

If it wasn't for my dad, the thing would still be in 5 boxes, with me looking at the instructions drooling on myself.

Had a skull buster headache yesterday, but today I am going to watch the DVD that came with it. I also ordered (but don't have yet) their iTrainer software that develops a workout routine for you based on your goals.

Now all I need is lots of motivation. :winkwink:

Man I have been so tempted to order one of those things. Let us know how it goes...

you got free weights already right

Those are perfect. I always wanted one. These days I just do 3 rotations on machines in the gym and I would love to have one at home. Not sure what it would cost to get one here in South America.

Mr. Romance

i don't have the room for bowflex so i bought this bodylastics.com works for me.. i use it in my chair in the office etc...

Please keep us updated on your progress and how you like the machine.

I hate to say it, but you wasted your money. Bowflexes are over-hyped pieces of shit. The resistance is very unnatural and unbalanced throughout the range of motion.

For the same price of a bowflex you could get a nice olympic bench with the attachments, and all the freeweights you could possibly need.

You will still have results, just not nearly as fast as using freeweights or better equipment.

I've heard good things about the bowflex from people who've actually bought them.

If you dont' have a gym near you, and in the middle of nowhere, cramped for space, it's perfect. I can see from your post Selena you fit the parameters.

Have fun, take before pics, and 3 months later, take after pics. :)

Oh man Goooooooood luck on that. Some day you'll look like the people from the commercial.

Motivation and Dicipline is the key.

Good for you!

ya when you work out 8 hours a day

I had a bowflex once
the crappy thing hurt me so it went back to the store
I was much more happy having the junk gone
then having the hurt from crappy product :mad: :mad:

I have had mine for a little over 3 years now. Works great. Biggest piece of advice I can give you is make sure after each work out you take off the bands and let them sit in the straight up position. You can actually weaken them by leaving them hooked up. Even though it will save a few seconds when you hit your next workout. The weight will no longer be true.

Also remember that following a good diet is very important to getting the best results. They have some great stuff on diet and the foods you should eat in the book that comes with it.

Go get em tiger!

I have two friend who have one and they love it. If you wanna build muscle mass quickly you will need freeweights too thought.

goodluck

Has anyone every tried those powerplate exercise devices that are supposed to be the newest and greatest? I have heard about them but never actually seen one. I hear they are insanely expensive to purchase.

i want and could use one of those.
Congrats and best of luck with your results!

Bowflex fucking rocks
 

Bought a new one on Ebay, got it cheaper than the Bowflex site (about 800 cheaper). That thing was fucking HUGE! It came in seven boxes and took about 5 hours to put together. The wife and I are doing the Bowflex challenge where we limit our calories for six weeks (it comes in the instruction manual). We drink a gallon and a half of water per day, plus limit the calories to under 1400 (they lay it out for you in detail). Within 4 weeks, we have both lost 7 pounds each, along with building muscle and trimming down. There were a couple of small parts broken in shipment, and we called Bowflex. They replaced them without a problem (they honor full warranty even on Ebay items). We got the Ultimate 2. Absolutely love and recommend it, as we hate the gym...

I have an Ultimate 2 but can only do lower body workouts because I've had a badly broken collarbone for the past 5 months and my doctor says probably another 4 months for it to fully heal, and no lifting over 30 pounds until then.

Thanks so much for all the positive posts, good peeps. :)

I do think that if a person is fit to start with, and has the resources/space that free weights will ultimately produce better results.

But I'm not a fit person to start with. Picture a gelatinous blob, then put a head on it. That would be me. :winkwink:

And I needed something tidy and compact. So when it was all said and done, Bowflex was the right choice for me. :)

Eric, thank you for that tip, because I would have probably blown off that velcro strap and never used it.

I read the manual last night, and was kind of taken back by the food intake plan by that Darden guy. The amounts didn't seem bad to me, but the carb ratio was funny to me given all the low and no-carb stuff there is out there.

I also bought, The Bowflex Body Plan, a book by that same Darden guy on half.com. It just came in the mail today, and I haven't had a chance to do anything but quickly thumb through the pages. It does have some very "real people" looking before and after photos though.

I'm pretty excited, and will be glad when the iTrainer package gets here so I can figure out what I'm supposed to do when. I only lifted weights during one other time frame in my life, and I felt great when I did it.

I'm also motivated by sheer stinginess. I will never be able to live with knowing that I spent that much money on something and didn't use it.

Anthony, I may have to hit you up with some questions. :)

cardio is key to get toned
bowflex is good, but id rather workout at the gym where i can show up 90% of the people there

Did you miss the part where she said she doesnt live near a gym?