It is worth it only if you have no other choices.
Written: Mar 23 '04 (Updated Apr 21 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Exercise at home.
Cons: Dangerous, expensive, plus indispensable "extras" cost a fortune; mediocre to unacceptable quality.
The Bottom Line: All in all, I would not recommend this to a friend unless he or she had absolutely no other reasonable options where exercising (or safety) were concerned.
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| camerasarefun's Full Review: Bowflex Power Pro |
**Note: please see an important update posted on April 21st, 2004. Here is the link:
http://www.epinions.com/content_3877150852
Of course, the original posting here is important, too!
About 15 years or so ago I lived in the United States, and at that time purchased a Bowflex. Back then there was just one model. I bought it because I did not want to spend the time going to and returning from the gym. Besides that, I figured that for the cost of about 2 years at the gym I got to keep a machine for a much longer time.
Fast forward to the present, and what do we find? I currently live in Europe, where the Bowflex is just making its first appearance. I had but one choice here: the Power Pro. So, I could either spend 40 minutes (each way), and pay the equivalent of about 50 dollars per month for a good workout, or go with this machine. Other multi-exercise devices in these parts are either prohibitively expensive or very limited in scope.
So, I bought the Power Pro for the equivalent of $1,350 (yes, waaay more than in the States), and that price did not include any extras such as the lat attachment, the pec bar, or the leg attachment, etc.
Being familiar with the machine, I was able to immediately work out effectively. It does provide for a decent workout. However, it was very disappointing to see that the machine was generally of lower quality than before, and it still had the same design problems it had 15 years ago. For example, the rowing function which is used for warming up and cardiovascular exercise forces you to use mostly the arms, which just serves to get your arms tired without revving up your heart. Leg muscles are much larger, so they are usually the target of cardio work, such as that in stationary bikes, steppers, or other "real" rowers.
The plastic support for the bench will obviously fail in due time, so you must use caution. More on caution in the next paragraph. Back to the rowing, I asked a friend to send me the special straps that "attach" your sneakers to the machine so you can (as Bowflex humorously states) "row like crazy", and I don't know about the rest of you, but as soon as I accelerate past a "leisurely" pace the sneakers come loose. So, keep your $30 bucks.
Safety is always a concern, and you can never let down your guard with this machine. First off, follow all safety indications in the manual, etc. Beyond that, I would like to add this. Always place and replace the hooks on the power rods carefully. If you let one slip for any reason, it could rearrange your face, or remove part of it, as these power rods whip back very quickly and have a hard plastic end. Since I am not auditioning for a part in "The Phantom of the Opera" I am being extra careful. Next, the bench. It is not ever fully stable, regardless of the position it is in, so keep your balance. I like a solid bench I can trust, and when you factor in the cheap plastic "support" for inclined positioning of the bench, this bench inspires no confidence at all. That makeshift support may very well be the next huge Bowflex recall. More on a humongous Bowflex recall later.
Inconveniences: you have to get a mat (Bowflex has one for "just" $100) if you want to row or even do certain exercises, as the machine otherwise dances all over the place. So, you can give your patience a workout while at the same time ruining your floor. Next, the handles with straps used for most exercises are fine when using your hands, but when you strap one of them to your ankle for some already awkward leg exercises, it becomes a matter of pain while it slips around your ankle (wear high socks to avoid ripping your skin). And those exercises that you put the straps near your elbow are a joke. They are very uncomfortable, have you in the wrong position (from the ergonomic perspective), and slip around too. I don't even bother with those exercises. Even the exercises that "work" are often peppered by minor hassles such as the cable and hooks rubbing (often quite hard) against parts of your body such as the arms, legs, or torso during the movements. And this is using proper technique! Improper technique would be dangerous to say the least! Some people may also find hanging off the end of the bench for other exercises a tad uncomfortable.
Now, onto what I call the "Sony Syndrome." What is this, a medical term? No, it is my term for an item which lacks certain necessary features, forcing you to pay a small fortune to get what you should have gotten at no additional cost. You know, something similar to the way Sony sells something like a given TV model relatively cheap, but if you want obviously useful and/or indispensable features such as stereo sound or certain inputs or outputs, you have to get a more (often a lot more) expensive model. So, to the cost of your Power Pro you can add about $250 for the lat attachment (indispensable for certain shoulder and back exercises), the leg attachment goes for another $250 or so, the mat is $100, the foot straps are $30, the "T-bar" is $30 more, the "Purvis (who the heck is he or she?) Pec Bar" is over $100, then there is the squat attachment for $150, and finally the upgraded power rods go for $200 or so. Don't bother with the math: just figure on over $2,000 to have a machine that should have cost less than $1,000. I mean, come on, if Bowflex crows so much about the full-body workout you get, then doesn't it make sense that most people would want the leg attachment (for the leg exercises, of course), and the lat attachment (to be able to properly do many upper-body exercises)? And, if you think about it a bit more, doesn't the need for the lat bar, for instance, indicate the faulty engineering and ergonomics of the original machine? And, to top that off, they make the users pay a pretty penny to get an attachment which tries to compensate for the machine's deficiencies. And to top even that, read further to the recall thing.
On the positive side, you can do many exercises, and if you are creative you can even invent some. Of course, be sure of what you are doing. Other reviewers have gone over other aspects relating to the exercises, so you might try reading them. Aside from this, the user's manual is available free in PDF format at the Bowflex site.
I have not been able to see if the Weider Crossbow, for instance, is a comparable product from the ergonomics and quality perspective (around here even a Bowflex is hard to find, and competing products are non-existent), but seems to be worth a look where you are probably reading this. It costs 50 to 80% less than the equivalent Bowflex, and seems like it might get the job done equally or better. But, as I just said, I can't confirm this. A machine I have used in the past is the Soloflex, which costs about the same (or a little less) than an equivalent Bowflex, but it is built like a tank. It provides a rigorous workout, but is a bit of a hassle to use and requires some getting used to. Plus, it weights a ton. Pick a place for it and leave it there. Please see Epinions reviews for the Soloflex for more on this solid exerciser.
Those of you that are mathematically inclined may have a nagging question: how did I give it 1 out of 5 in one category, 2 out of 5 in two categories and 3 out of 5 in the other, yet come up with an overall 1 out of 5? The main reason is this: with an exercise machine safety comes first. I give it a 1 out of 5 in safety, due to the issues I previously mentioned, so for me (and I am the one writing this review) this translated to an overall 1 out of 5. By the way, check out the Bowflex Web site for information on a massive (over 400,000) recall of certain models of Power Pros. If you buy one now, according to the site, you are okay. If not, they will tell you what to do. One tidbit I found interesting was the "fix" they provide free. Check out the PDF instructions they provide at the site for the "repair" kit and then decide whether the engineering they brag so much about is as well thought out as they make it out to be.
In conclusion, if you are stuck (like me), shell out the big bucks and use that darn machine at least a couple time a week. If you have choices, I would suggest you investigate them before buying the Bowflex. I bought this machine due to my circumstances. If I lived closer to a gym or had any other even remotely reasonable alternatives available I would certainly not have purchased the Bowflex.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
camerasarefun
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Member: Steve
Location: Austria, Europe
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Hi! I'm Steve.
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