Bowflex Vs. Free Weights

There's a lot of talk on the Internet the best workout you get out of a Bowflex is taking it out of the box. Well, I am fresh off of Beachbody's Body Beast workout program, a workout program designed to bulk you  up, so I thought I would put the Bowflex to the test.

Rather than pay the $1600 plus for a new Bowflex Xtreme 2 SE from the Bowflex Web site, I went to Craigslist, where you discover McDonald's Quarter Pounder lifts forced thousands these home gyms out to the garage. I paid $220 for mine, and best of all, it was sitting about two miles from my house.

So, I began putting it to the test using the techniques and workouts I learned from the Beachbody series. You know what, those people who said you can't get a solid workout from a Bowflex were lying. While I would never recommend taking free weights totally out your workout because they are a proven method of building muscle, you need to remember muscles have memory and they become quite efficient over time. This means you have to mix things up. This is where the Bowflex come in.

After 13 weeks of Body Beast, I noticed I wasn't as sore or seeing the results that I saw toward the halfway point. My body was becoming used to the workouts. Adding a Bowflex to your home gym equipment allows you to mix things up and confuse the muscles since there is definitely a different feeling to pulling the resistance rods as compared to free weights.

The key to the Bowflex is slowing down. A rep on the Bowflex should be a bit slower than the free weights. You will get the burn you need in order to see results. If you rush through the reps, you will be disappointed in your results. Remember, in time, when you notice the exercises are not longer producing results, then you go back to your free weights to mix things up again.