Ever see the infomercials for Bowflex Pro? ”Pumped arms. Ripped abs. Legs of steel.” Bowflex Pro promises more than just functional strength building and quality exercise. Bowflex Professional promises total body exercise that will transform your life. Can it? Will it? What else? One easy workout for twenty minutes a day, three times a week that provide “xtreme fitness,” a path to “power aging,” and overall health benefits in less than six weeks. The truth is, Bowflex Pro, Bowflex Blaze and other Bowflex sports equipment (see the 7 Bowflex series for cardio) can provide the same compelling strength training results as those in the Bowflex video, so long as you know what your’e buying and how you plan to use it. Let’s begin with the fundamentals- the exercise. Bowflex sports equipment will provide you a kind of strength training known as progressive resistance that mimics other kinds of traditional strength training but accomplishes it not through barbells, dumbbells and other weight stack type fitness equipment, but through Bowflex Gym Home Sport “power rods,” tempered metal rods that provide fitness resistance through bending (or “bowing”). Power rods make a lot of things possible. Multiple exercises such as a chest press, front squat, overhead press, wrist curl and others that may, depending on your personal fitness preferences and Bowflex routine, replace or complement home fitness equipment like the lat machine, incline press, neck machine and pullover machine. Altogether, Bowflex Pro equipment provides a truly impressive diversity of exercise. Bowflex manuals list 75 exercises and there may be some that you come up with on your own.
But does the Bowflex Pro work? Consumer Reports evaluated Bowflex Gym’s home equipment and came to some interesting conclusions. The magazine fond that while the infomercials were a little heavy on the hype and more expensive than some other strength training equipment, a Bowflex routine will shape and tone your body and the Bowflex Pro can indeed make a difference. This was in contrast to machies such as the Body by Jake Total Body Trainer, which Consumer Reports judged “not much for the money.” The report went on to desribe the Bowflex 7 Series as effective, though somewhat difficult to set up.
Making the Most of Bowflex Pro What You will need Certainly not much space. One of the key selling points of equipment like the Bowflex pro xt is its small footprint. Compared to equipment like a front squat machine which requires 50 to 60 square feet of home gym area, a Bowflex routine will require only 20 to 30 square feet of home gym. As Consumer Reports suggests, setup may take some time, unless you opt for pre-assembly at an additional cost. And while the company lists it as one of many additonal Bowflex accessories, you would do yourself a favor by springing for the optional $99 floor mat to put under it. That Xtreme fitness is likely to involve pushing the equipment a little and if you want your Bowflex Pro to help you with any serious “power aging” you don’t want to end up marring your floor.
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