Bowflex Power Pro - Decent Workout, Decent Value
Written: Mar 10 '03 (Updated Apr 18 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Gives You A Workout
Cons: Exercise Variety Comes At A Cost
The Bottom Line: The Bowflex Power Pro delivers a decent workout for a bearable price, possibly a good choice for the weekend athlete or beginning fitness buff.
|
|
|
| spongebob_man1's Full Review: Bowflex Power Pro |
I love working out, feeling blood rush to my muscles and inflate them! Yeah baby, look at these guns!
The Bowflex Power Pro will assist you in accomplishing your fitness goals, whatever they may be.
For the beginner this is an excellent exercise machine.
I purchased this machine thinking that it would be a great alternative to working out in a gym, which can be quite expensive. I thought I had considered this purchase but apparently not. I actually get more value from staying with a health club. I pay $25 per month, instead of paying for one machine I get over 3 years at a health club and I don't have to maintain the machine or be limited in my exercise routine.
Perhaps the best feature of this machine, is simple the fact that you can workout in your own home. I know I enjoy that. It's great being able to watch TV, or list to my massive MP3 collection, or whatever while I workout. Somtimes I still like going to the gym though. I like to be around people who have similar goals as me. And seeing other well built, athletically minded people really motivates me.
The infomercials on TV, not surprisingly, have a funny way of playing up the effectiveness of their product. It is one of the most popular pieces of exercise equipment available, but by itself it will not make you look like their fabulous models.
The actual quality of the machine is fairly high. I was really surprised by that. The bench is comfortable and well cushioned. I don't think it would wear out quickly. The whole machine felt pretty stable and well built. Which is good when you're straining on bench pressing over 200 lbs!
My main complaint is the "springy/cheap" feel of the Power Rods. When you first start it'll seem all wobbly. Another thing is you need to make sure that you have control of the weight because it really is similar to pulling a bow, and it wouldn't be funny to launch yourself off the bench (unless you were watching someone...)! I like the less restricted feeling of lifting free weights or doing body weight exercises. I guess I'm a bit old fashioned (what with being 22 yrs old and all...). A benefit of the Power Rods, like free weights, is you will not only work the primary muscle for the lift you are performing, you will also get the supporting or secondary muscles too. That's a real plus.
One important aspect is to do cardio work and that's where the Bowflex is somewhat lacking. Weight training alone will most likely not enable you to achieve your goals. And, in case you didn't notice, the Bowflex is not much of a cardio machine. Yes, it does have the rowing function but it's not that great especially for tall people like me (6' 4") there isn't much range of motion.
Bowflex Claims:
**quoted from website (www.bowflex.com)**
Women lost an average of 16.96 pounds of fat and men lost an average of 27.95 pounds of fat in only 6 weeks! These people didn't workout every day either. They worked out three times a week for only about 20-30 minutes. Hey – you can do that too! You can take 20 minutes out of your day for these kinds of results.
Features:
- Financing as low as $33/month
- 60 different exercises
- 210 lbs of Power Rod resistance, which can be upgraded to 310 or 410 lbs of resistance (for a small fee...)
- Aerobic rowing exercise
- 5 year warranty
Size:
Height: 6' 2"
Length: 5' 4"
Width: 1' 11"
Workout Area - 6' x 6'
Folded Footprint - 23" x 26
Customer Service:
If you want are considering a Bowflex Power Pro or any of the other models you can try it risk free (I hate that term) for 6 weeks. If you don't like it after the 6 weeks you can return it for a full refund (less shipping & handling).
Bowflex's customer service agents are helpful and for the most part friendly. I didn't have any problems when I returned mine.
Several excellent Bowflex reviews, well worth reading:
http://www.epinions.com/content_6887083652
http://www.epinions.com/content_19980455556
http://www.epinions.com/content_12332994180
The Final Word:
This machine, in my opinion, is best suited to the weekend athlete, stay at home mom, busy business man or woman, or young athletes new to weight lifting.
Overall, I'm not a big fan of the Bowflex. I prefer free weights, body weight exercises (push ups, sit ups, pull ups, etc.), running, and biking. However, this is still a good piece of equipment.
I give the Bowflex Power Pro a solid C.
Of course, be sure to visit www.bowflex.com if you are interested in reading more about this exercise machine or even purchasing one.
Check Out The Weider Crossbow:
WEIDER CROSSBOW - I Wanna Be, I Wanna Be Like...Bowflex - Except Better
Thanks for reading everyone! Good luck with your fitness goals!
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
spongebob_man1
|
 - Top 50 |
|
Location: Vancouver, WA
Reviews written: 264
Trusted by: 178 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.