Bow-Flex

EZD

Member
Oct 13, 2000
71
0
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I was just wondering if anyone has the Bowflex home gym or has ever tried one before. The one I have now is way to big and takes up way to much real estate in my room, so I am thinking highly about investing in one.
 

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
136
I'm somewhat leery of tension based exercise products. Call me paranoid, but weights don't snap back & hit you in the face.

Viper GTS
 

duragezic

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
11,234
4
81
I have the bowflex in my house. I don't lift weight much but it is pretty good. There is a ton of exercises and a lot of them are actually useful. There's a bunch of addons too. There's a leg extension/leg curl one, pull-down tower, and a squat one. It is quite a bit of money though. I think my dad paid $1500 (with shipping) for the bow flex, pull-down tower, and leg thing.

I have found that the weight it says isn't the same. For instance, 100lbs on the bow flex seemed to be about 80lbs with a regular bar and weights.

I think it's good overall.
 

Wedesdo

Platinum Member
Jun 5, 2000
2,108
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a rip off for that mch if you ask me - just get out, run a few laps, and do a few push-ups
 

yakko

Lifer
Apr 18, 2000
25,455
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EZD,

I used to work in a Schwinn shop that sold them.(Schwinn used to own them) We would regularly stay after work and use the floor model. They worth it in my opinion. I still kick myself for not getting one at cost.
 

jorken

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
1,143
3
81
I have a bowflex here in the house, and I think its pretty good. I always watch those rods bending ALL the way down and i have mental images of them snapping but they never do. I find that the machine is good for toning and things like that, not really for bulking or anything. Also as eagle said, the weights aren't exactly the same. None the less, i still use it and like it.
 

BoberFett

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
37,562
9
81
How is it as far as evenness in tension during a single rep? Is it a pretty steady tension or does it get harder the further you push or pull?

Do you understand what I'm saying? I'm not sure how to word it. 100 lbs of free weights always weighs 100 lbs. Is there more resistance the further those bars bend?
 

nd

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
1,690
0
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We have one, and I'm happy with it... just be sure to purchase some of the add-ons and extra resistance to make it worthwhile.

All these claims about it "snapping back" are BS. The movements are very natural, and in many ways provide better resistance than free weights (builds stability muscles better).

It's also true that the "weight" it uses isn't equal to free weights.. bench pressing 150 lbs feels like 130 for free weights.
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,460
6,691
126
Bober, I seem to remember that a spring, which is pretty much what we're talking here, exerts a steady pull throughout it's range until it's distorted and will no longer spring back. That would mean that the rods should bend with a smooth even force. That would be why, I think, bows have cams to change the force required to different parts of the pull. Just a guess based on some assumptions.
 

Toolman

Senior member
Oct 10, 1999
989
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0
The Corvette has, or use to have, it's rear leaf spring made out of the same composite stuff.

1) The Bowflex rods have a lifetime warranty

2) The Bowflex rods flex out to the sides, perpendicular to the workout area, so if one was to snap it would smack the other power rods.

So if you're afraid of them snapping you're a paranoid weenie!

Bowflex is awesome! Great for rehabing injuries too because they offer so much flexibility in the exercises you can do.
 

ApacheXMD

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,765
0
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Hooke's law dictates that the force of a spring is equal to the spring constant multiplied by the displacement
F=kx, where F=force, k= spring constant and x=displacement
the farther you pull, the more force the spring pulls back on you

so the bowflex rod thingymabobs probably aren't Hooke's Law springs, if they provide relatively constant force

-patchy
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,460
6,691
126
I think the issue is the constant. It takes twice the work to pull a spring twice as far, but the force required is the same, a constant, NO?