Elliptical Trainer Guide

Go to a Gym - Xtreme XTLU Home Gym I have to say the Idea of a bowflex is great, a compact gym that makes it easy to change from workout to workout. ...

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Who makes it?

To start I would like to give a little bit of the Bowflex history, or at least what I could find about it. The company was started in 1986 and it looks like they are owned by Nautilus or they are the same. They were both started in 1986 so I think they are pretty much the same company. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. Nautilus seems to have a very good reputation in the fitness world with many articles raving about their equipment. But it does also go the other way, there are a lot of lawsuits that are going on or have happened on their older equipment. The way I see it is that in making a home gym that can do what a Bowflex does with its size being such a factor for the home and trying to keep the price down, you should know there is a certain amount of risk especially having that much weight being moved around. I would just suggest Googleing Bowflex law suits and read about them and make a decision for your self on weather the risk is worth it. But almost guaranteed I bet you if you do the same for almost any other popular gym equipment you will find at least a few law suits. My advice is to know the risk and just be as safe as possible.

I tried to find out what country they make their products in and I couldn’t really find much information except on some of the machines they have had to recall where made in China, Taiwan, and the USA. So I am betting that most are made overseas because if they were made in the USA that is usually a good selling point for people living here and I would think they would advertise it.

Who should get one?

I read a lot of reviews before I bought mine and here is basically what I got out of them:

I found VERY few Women that did not like it. That is because most Women are not looking to get big or even gain very much muscle, most of them are looking to slim down and tone, which this machine does extremely well.

Now for Men the response was a little different. The reason is, a good portion of them are trying to gain massive amounts of muscle. Their reviews did not like the machine very much because it is not meant to make you into a body builder or help a body builder get any bigger. The weight can be increased to over 400 lb that’s over 200 lb on each side. That is plenty to get you pretty ripped though.

Keep in mind I filtered out any reviews that did not give substantial information. For example:

“Hi my name is Bob. I hate this gym it doesn’t work at all.”

I did not pay any attention to anything like that even if it was positive because most likely they did not learn how to use it correctly or were expecting amazing results in a ridiculous amount of time or many other reasons that should not affect the out come of anyone’s decision.

My Workout Experience so Far:

Well I am in no way an expert at working out but I have done a lot of research from many different places or the last couple years and have made a lot of good changes in the way my body looks. I fall off the wagon as do most of us and I bought this machine to get back on. I used to workout in the gym and liked the results but did not like having to go there. I am also pretty shy and did not like working out with all the people around. Another thing is when I wanted to go the most was when most people wanted to go, before or after work… So sometimes I could not the machines or weights I wanted to use because other people had them. So I would wait around or just skip that. That is why I decided to get my own gym. I have never had a more efficient workout. I can do what I want when I want for however long I want and there is no one standing in front of me waiting for me to hurry up and be done. The gym also provides a different workout that works the muscles in a different way and I am sorry if I can not explain this very well but I will try. The Power Rods keep the tension on you muscles so there is no way to cheat it, like giving that strong push to get the momentum of the weight to go up so it is easier on the muscle. You can push harder sure but it does not make it any easier. I think it is because of this I have to use a lower weight than I would have to at the gym. It is also nice having the cables because they are extremely quiet compared to most other machines and free weights. There is nothing to clank, no metal on metal. Just a smooth whooshing sound. Another thing to note is how easy it is to switch from one exercise to another, there is very little cable adjustments that have to be made. I have already had pretty decent results with this machine, a lot better than the gym but mainly because I use this a lot more.

Shipping Info:

Mine was shipped from Oregon and took the whole 5 days until it was shipped but then arrived in 2 (I was quoted 5 to ship then 5 to arrive) So it came sooner then expected. I don’t really understand why it took 5 days before it could be shipped out though. I did order a few accessories with it that I will talk about a little further down in the review but I don’t see why those would add time to the shipping date. But anyway 7 business days does not seem that bad to wait for me. The shipping was a little over $200 for the machine with all the accessories but there was a promotion at the time for free shipping.

Setup:

Setting it up was not too difficult but I have never had many issues with assembling anything. It took me a little over a hour and a half but I did not spend very long reading the instructions, which I do not recommend. It must be setup correctly to work correctly and to make sure you are doing everything possible to avoid anything breaking. They do have a very good customer service line that would be glad to help anyone that has issues setting it up.

Space Use:

This model is one of the space saving models and that is one of the main reasons I bought it. Here are the dimensions:

Width: 49 in

Length: 62 in

Height: 82 in

I would add about a foot of workout space to the sides through just so you don’t have to worry about bumping into anything. There is also a space planner on their site. I looked at it really quick but it wasn’t really an issue for me. They have it setup so you can put in the size of the room and add object like beds and other items so you have it exactly how it is really setup then you drag and drop the gym around until you find a big enough space.

Customer Service:

So far every time I have called Bowflex to order a product or just to ask some questions they have been more than helpful. They are always friendly and seem happy. That is a big plus I do not like trying to talk with someone that doesn’t seem to care about me or their job.

Accessories:

They have many accessories to choose from and I am going to list what I thought were the best ones to get and some of the ones I decided to skip.

• Power Rods:

I bought the power rod upgrades to 410 lb. It costs about $200 but when I get to the point where I need the upgrade I do not want to have to stop and wait for them to arrive or possibly not have the money at the time and stop working out.

• Preacher Curl Attachment:

One of the main muscles most men want to improve on are their biceps and this attachment is very useful in my eyes because I used them at the gym and found them to workout the bicep much differently then the normal curls. It seems to work the lower part of them closer to your elbow and it is very important to me to have them shaped right. It was worth the $140.

• Ab Crunch Attachment:

I did not order this one because I am not trying to have big abs. If you just lose the excess weight on top of them they look very good to me with just doing normal crunches and I do not think you need to add weight to this exercise. This cost about $200.

• Other Accessories:

There are a few other accessories that I am not going to mention because they really are meant to specialize your workouts in different ways. So when you know what you want to work on you will know what you need to buy to get it done. Or the customer service line can probably help you decide which ones to get.

Financing:

They do offer a no money down credit card that you can apply for online and get instant approval and order your product during that session. BUT you can not apply and then order the next day it HAS to be during that session or you have to wait for your card to come in the mail. I applied for the card and got approved and to give you an idea if you can qualify or not my credit score is around 600 or so and I got $2500.

Exercises Offered:

It does over 65 exercises as listed on site. Now you are probably thinking that is over kill and you will never need 65 different ones to do, that will take hours but the whole point is so you can switch it up. You make one routine and do it for 2 weeks or a month and then you work the same muscles but you do different exercises to shock the muscles and get them to break down easier again.

Warranties:

Ok so there are 3 main warranties and they are:

• 7 year warranty:

There is a 7 year warranty on this gym and it is limited to manufacture defects and is limited to only the purchaser this can not be transferred. So if you sell it or give it away it no longer has a warranty…

• 6 Week Guarantee:

Pretty much if you are not happy with your purchase you can return in anytime within 6 weeks. But that does not include shipping and handling. In my eyes that is a pretty good deal; it gives you enough time to see if you are going to really use it also.

• Power Rod Warranty:

If they get worn out, which they say they won’t, they will replace them for life… This also only applies to the purchaser.

Owner’s Club:

Now I have not signed up for this yet but I have been thinking about doing so. It is pretty much access to an online webpage that offers the following:

• Interactive Trainer

Basically you type in what exercises, weight, and reps to help you track what you’re doing and your improvements. I probably would not use this function because after a little while you remember what your weights are and where you started.

• Training Videos

This shows you how to do each exercise correctly for the best results. I think this could have some value, especially if you have not worked out very much before.

• Member Forums

This is where you can talk with other members about training issues and pretty much just become part of a community. I would not use this function because of the next function on the list.

• Access to Trainers and Dietitians

Pretty much seems like another forum that you can ask professionals what to do and they will respond within 24 hours. I would possibly have use for the trainers but I doubt I would share the same views with the dietitians but this could be the most value for someone that needs these things.

• The Cost

In my prospective this is a great value for $60 a year if you are really going to use it and get something out of it. My suggestion is to do as much research as possible on your own and then if you need future help signup.

As my last piece of advice, research all the machines before you buy and make sure you are getting the right one for you. They all seem to be great machines but they are also a lot different.

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