Home Gyms

trooper77 said:
I LOVE my Bowflex. I purchased it 3 years ago and wouldn't trade it for anything. BUT, I also train alone and it allows me to lift until muscle failure without fear of dropping anything on my head. If you have a training partner, then I guess it's a matter of preference. I certainly gained a lot of size/strength after switching to the Bowflex. It also saves a lot of time in transitioning from one excercise to the next.
Click to expand...

its times like these that i wish the internet had a built-in sarcasm detector, so i could tell if this is funny or a giant steaming pile of crap.
 
rEmY said:
its times like these that i wish the internet had a built-in sarcasm detector, so i could tell if this is funny or a giant steaming pile of crap.
Click to expand...
Certainly not a sarcasm.

If it was, it sucked.
 
rEmY said:
its times like these that i wish the internet had a built-in sarcasm detector, so i could tell if this is funny or a giant steaming pile of crap.
Click to expand...

Not sarcasm...not an advertisement...just imput from someone who actually owns a Bowflex and has trained on free weights for years prior to owning a Bowflex. Opinions vary from person to person--hopefully this has clarified things...I can't really dumb it down any further.
 
Why does everybody say "Stay away from machines!"?
 
TJ Combo said:
Why does everybody say "Stay away from machines!"?
Click to expand...
Because machines lock you into a fixed plane of movement and do not allow you to move as may be correct for your body. For the large part machines offer many isolation exercises (not good for building strength) and put you in compromised positions for inferior compound movements which can increase the rate of injury. In addition, machine junkies do little to NOTHING to train their lower back, and almost never train their posterior chain as a unit and stabilizing muscles in your core are often taken out of the equation entirely.

freeweights are a superior method for building strength, a solid core, strong posterior chain, and bomb proof lower back. period.
 
Urban said:
Because machines lock you into a fixed plane of movement and do not allow you to move as may be correct for your body. For the large part machines offer many isolation exercises (not good for building strength) and put you in compromised positions for inferior compound movements which can increase the rate of injury. In addition, machine junkies do little to NOTHING to train their lower back, and almost never train their posterior chain as a unit and stabilizing muscles in your core are often taken out of the equation entirely.

freeweights are a superior method for building strength, a solid core, strong posterior chain, and bomb proof lower back. period.
Click to expand...
I benchpress with a smith machine because I have noone in the gym to help me if the weight gets too heavy. Is this really that bad?
 
TJ Combo said:
I benchpress with a smith machine because I have noone in the gym to help me if the weight gets too heavy. Is this really that bad?
Click to expand...
If you have a perfectly good bench and barbell in your gym and you're still using a smith machine then yes, it really is that bad.

As long as you're smart with the weight and make sure you have a spotter (I'm sure someone would help you out) if you train to failure or for 1rm attempts then you'll be fine.
 
Yea just don't go too heavy on your own dude.
 
Alright, thanks for the advice guys.
 
Don't listen to Trooper77. He dated a crazy chick I knew. I'm fuckin' serious dude.
 
you have no idea how hard it is to convince some of my highschool friends that bowflex is shit.

blah blah "money back guarantee" blah "hot oily bowhunk i want to be liek that"... shut up and hit the weights
 
Eh, bowflex is a lil better than a pec deck or smith machine or pretty much any gym machine, I know that's not saying much...there's nothing that's going to top a set of free weights and a power rack. Plus bowflex is like 400 bucks, and you can't squat much on it, and I don't think you can deadlift.
 
Here's my home gym set up - two grand all up including adjustable bench, weights, focus mitts etc. You can also hang the heavy bag off the lat pulldown crossmember and it also has a chinning bar built in, so pretty much everything is covered.

click here
 
Appreciate the advice but I think I'll save up some more $ and buy one of these. Seems to have almost everything I want, and btw isn't the U.S. model.

www.fitcore.com
 
DaMacker said:
Appreciate the advice but I think I'll save up some more $ and buy one of these. Seems to have almost everything I want, and btw isn't the U.S. model.

www.fitcore.com
Click to expand...

Isn't that just a smith machine? Looks like a smith machine but the pics are tiny...

Thanks for the advice on the home gym stuff and where to get it from. My brother and I are going to be in the market for a power rack soon, and those links above really helped us get an idea of places to go. Beats the hell out of our original plan of driving to Chicago for it. Heh.

Back to the topic at hand though... If you're really afraid of getting hurt, have no one to train with, and you are just trying to add on some bulk on a few muscles for a better look, that smith machine should be fine. Although, holy crap, that's too much money.

To each their own.
 
Why not Just buy a power rack and a bench? You can get a pullup bar put on top (built in) and a dip bar attachment and it'll be much cheaper.
 
These guys train with bowflex:

Queer%20Eye.jpg


Seriously, all you need is a power rack, and a bench. Bonus points if you have a buddy that can weld.
 
i'd grab a power rack... an adjustable bench... some plates and problem solved.

i actually consdiered getting on because of my hectic schedule.

with a rach and an adjustable bench you can do almost anything... from using it to bench, squat, bent over rows, military presses every sinlge thing i can think of you can find a way to work it out... so for $600 for the rack, a bar and some starter weight... your on your way...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,236,917
Messages
55,454,952
Members
174,786
Latest member
Gladiator47

Share this page

Back
Top