I’m not sure if this should go in MPSIMS or not, but i shall let the mods decide.
I stay up late at night often, and I see these commercials and infomercials for Bowflex. they make it seem as if it’s good or a little better than free-weights, or a weight machine. So, this leads me to some questions:
Is the bowflex as good as free weights/weight machine? Can it build muscles as good as a classic weight machine or free weights?
to my amateur eyes, it looks like it works, but we all know that commercials make their products look good.
…I’ll wager a non-weightlifting, non-Bowflex owning WAG:
One of the features of Universal/Nautilus-type weight machines is that they can isolate the muscle to be worked. The reason that these machines have oddly configured seats and strange restraining bars is to force the user into a posture that makes it possible to only use the muscle to be worked. Bowflexes and similar machines attempt to be multi-functional and thus, do not configure in such a way that the machine isolate muscles. Instead, the machine simply allows the user to access the range of motion for the muscle, and requires the user to maintain proper form throughout the exercise to ensure that the muscle is isolated and worked. This is something that most light and moderate users will not do.
You get a sense of it watching the commercials. In closeups, you can sometimes see one of the demonstrators struggling to keep his arms close to his sides while doing tricep exercises or chest presses. Most users would let their form slip a little, and wind up using other muscle groups to help pull the weight, reducing the efficiency of each exercise.
Of course, in the end it’s still a machine that offers resistance against your muscles, which is its function. But to sell it as being “as good as a whole gym full of weight machines” is typical infomercial overstatement.
I’m not an expert, but I do work out. I initially worked out with a trainer who filled me in on bowflex/ab machines/other crap and he said not to waste my time. He, and all the other guys who worked with him, stated that freeweights were the best way to go. The reason is that when you lift free weights, you have to use a lot of supporting muscle groups to keep good form. This gives you an overall workout. Using fixed weights isn’t bad for you, but you won’t get the same workout. I’m willing to bet that the people you see advertising all those things got built that way using free weights. Just my $0.02.
I use Nautilus machines and I see a pt (not mine,I’ve never had one) help others on the Nautilus equipment. You have to maintain good form on those machines, too. It’s easy to slip into sloppy form.
As far as Bowflex is concerned, or whatever it is called now, it appears to be the same company that made Solarflex a few years ago. They then advertised at a Chicago address. I used to live in Chgo (in another life) and was there visiting, so I decided to drop in at the address to check out the machine. It was a small place and the guy met me at the door and said that no visitors were allowed, or words to that effect.
Hence, I am quite leary of the outfit. Why wouldn’t they let anyone see it? Why did they change their name?
I have one. It’s great if you are rushed person simply trying to avoid looking like the flabby programmer that you are. But, as previous posters have pointed out, it is not a substitute for free weights and it is hard to maintain your form so that you isolate a particular muscle. I’m not a body builder anyway, so it doesn’t matter much to me, but if you are really looking for shape sculpting not much beats a gym and a trainer.