I'm just wondering if anyone here has any experience with any of the Bowflex home workout systems, dumbbells, etc. I know they are very pricey but then again so are gym memberships. I'm really starting to consider buying one so any help would be appreciated...thanks!

Hitmen,

Do yourself a favor and invest in a nice weight bench and some dumbbells. I bought a Bowflex when I first got into working out about three years ago. It wasn't very effective. The machine winds up doing much of the work for you; you don't engage many/any of your little stabilizer muscles. With free weights, you have to focus on proper form but, in doing so, you will become stronger and more fit. Plus, you will save yourself a load of money. Get some free weights, get a treadmill and you will be better off.

^^Thanks...anyone else?

right on, but i would join a gym if you can, you do not see any of the stronger guys on a bowflex except on the commercial and im sure they got there with free weights, many gyms have cables anyways, they re good for a few sets not a whole workout.

Hitmen, I actually had a Bowflex. This was several years ago when I first took up resistance training. It was great for a beginner like me cause it got me into the habit of exercising, but it didn't take long for me to outgrow it. And I was a weakling so I can't imagine how worse it would be for someone who was already strong. Right from the start, I maxed out on the squat and the leg press belt snapped. I was lucky I didn't get hurt. I eventually junked it and got a bench and free weights. There's no substitute for free weights. My workouts are so much more effective and I feel like I'm in better shape than I've ever been. Skip the Bowflex and anything else you see advertised on TV.

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I've been a gym-goes for the last 4 or 5 years so I already have a good base of fitness/strength. However, I'm getting tired of spending money on the gym and would rather start working out at home...hence the Bowflex inquiry. I already have a bench and weights but I don't have any dumbbells. Bowflex is now advertising these new dumbbells that go from 5 to 52.5 by a snap of the button so are those worth a shot?

Stick to what you know works. If something is new, do you really want to be the one who tries it out?

those things are pretty junky, i tried them out in a store just browsing and it seems like they might break easy and 52 lbs wont get u much as far as dumbell bench or several other things u might use them for. your best bet is to stick with that gym membership i find it so easy to slack on workouts at home, get distracted, and just feel like its not my best effort because i dont have as good of equipment as my gym

There are plenty of reasons to avoid the Bowflex, but I don't think working out at home as opposed to the gym should be one of those reasons. I work out at home and much prefer it to going to a gym. I can work out when I want, don't have to wait in line for the equipment I want to use, have less distractions at home, don't have to be self-conscious of how I look, and having paid a lot for the equipment makes me more likely to use it. Gym memberships are cheap so it becomes easy to make excuses and not go to the gym.

HEY MY SWEETIE HAS A BOW-FLEX....HE USES IT EVERY MORNING (ALMOST) THE AD SAYS 3 TIMES A WEEK FOR 20 MINUETS......WELL HE STILL DOESN'T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE THAT GIRL....DAMN.... :D HAHAHA...ACTUALLY HE DOES LIKE WORKING OUT ON IT...ATLEAST IT GOT HIM TO DO SOMETHING BESIDES WATCH T.V. :bouncing:

20 minutes a day 3 times a week is nothing. A healthy adult should be performing 1 hour of exercise per day. That's what bothers me about most infommercials. They make it sound like you barely have to do any exercise to see results. They lose credibility when they say that, which is why it's hard to believe anything else they talk about, including the quality of their product(s).

We have a Bowflex and like it a lot. We don't go to the gym. I do a combination of free weights and the Bowflex, which seems to work for me. For example, I will do a set of Lat Pulldowns on the Bowflex, and alternate that with chest flyes using free weights. Then I will do a bench press using the Bowflex, and a back exercise using the free weights. So, it works for me, and I like the combination of a machine with free weights.