Bowflex Blaze Home Gym

Tips on using the Bowflex

First of all I have the Bowflex Sport which is the same as the Blaze just with different trim and labels but which is being discontinued to Bowflex (however if you can find one they are cheaper than the Blaze).



Before I get into my tips I'll give a brief review. I've had this machine for 10 months now and I am mostly pleased with it. I started out as a computer desk nerd with no strength and I've worked up to about average guy strength - I can bench about 200 bowflex pounds now more than twice what I started at. So it works - just don't expect the miracles they advertise. The best thing about it is that is uses a pully system which makes it extremely versatile. The worst thing is the bows which are elastic. If you can find a machine that uses pulleys like the Bowflex but has a weight stack instead of bows that would be best but I don't think there is one in this price range.



Now for the tips.

1. The bows work by stretching and can get stretched out of shape like a rubber band. So make sure you tie them back with the included strap after every workout. If you mess up and stretch them out you *could* try connecting them to the opposite hook and leaving them like that for a couple of days. I did this and it seemed to fix the issue.



2. By the same token the resistance varies with temperature. I found this out by accident when my AC stopped working. The temp went up by 10 degrees and I was suddenly able to lift about 10% more.



3. The bows are not like physical weights. The resistance changes from easy at the beginning of the motion to hard at the end. Also I believe they are overall lighter than physical weights.



4. The weight labels on the bows don't add up mathematically. For example 30lbs + 10lbs + 10lbs is much "lighter" than the 50lb bow. So while you are making gains you should actually increase from 45 to 30 + 10 + 10 to 30 + 10 + 10 + 5 to 50 instead of jumping directly from 45 to 50. Another way to think of it in your head is that the 50lb is actually 60-ish in Bowflex units. This is also true for the jump from 25 to 30. Since there are only 2 10lbs weights I get around this by doing extra reps at 25 until I can finally do a full set at 30. You could also try raising the room temperature by about 5 degrees which should soften them up to start and gradually increase it with each workout.



4. Despite what Dr. Bowflex says the machine just isn't made for a cardio. I got a schwinn exercise bike to compensate for this. I immediately noticed being able to have longer workouts due to my increasing cardiovascular endurance.



5. The manual also states not to rest more than a minute between each exercise. I did this at first but then (anecdotally) I discovered that if I rested longer in order to catch my breath I could do more reps and make faster gains.



6. Certain exercises just don't work that well - basically anything involving legs feet or cardio. The supposed rows are not even worth it. Also the leg curls are very awkward. The manual does not even describe how to do them but according to an old manual I found on the net you need to lie halfway on the leg station seat and halfway on the bench (the opposite exercise - I forget the name - let's call it "leg raise" - does work rather well though). Finally the leg press might be worth it after you upgrade to 310 or 410 pounds but at 210 even someone completely out of shape might find them wanting - mainly because your legs are the strongest part of your body even on a sedentary person. On top of this it is hard to get the leg press strap to stay in place when you are first getting into position.



7. In my case there were some exercises that hurt my joints. I've never had joint injuries that I know if so it may just be my body shape. I'm pretty sure I did them correctly. However in the manual it lists the muscle groups of each motion. Instead of trying exercises that hurt I picked others that would exercise the same groups.More detail ...