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OUAndy1807
10/18/2006, 10:58 AM
anyone use one? I'm looking to get totally ripped and was thinking this may be the route.

anyone want to sell me one?

dolemitesooner
10/18/2006, 11:00 AM
iF YOU WANT TO GET TOTTALY RIPPED A BOWFLEX AINT GOING TO DO IT...GO TO THE ****ING GYM

OUAndy1807
10/18/2006, 11:07 AM
thanks for the insight.

IB4OU2
10/18/2006, 11:08 AM
anyone use one? I'm looking to get totally ripped and was thinking this may be the route.

anyone want to sell me one?

We have one, we bought it a couple of years ago.....my wife uses it all the time. She diligently exercises on it atleast every other night and she's in great shape and very healthy.

I hang my pants or shirts on it......

tbl
10/18/2006, 11:13 AM
Actually, that is some very good insight, just not much explanation. If you want to get in shape, go sign up at a gym. A bowflex is probably as much as 5-10 years of a gym membership (depending on which gym you go to). Working out from the home sounds nice at first, but it's just like buying a pool table. You'll use it a lot the first couple of months (maybe), but working out is something you have to commit to. If you have it at your house, it's very easy to get lazy about it. If you have a gym membership, you know you're paying so you feel inclined to go. Plus it's a little break from the house and while you're there, you're totally committed to working out. Go to a gym.

If you're absolutely insistent on working out at the house and think you'll commit to it, get a bench and some free weights. Much cheaper and they take up less room. The bowflex is way bulky and WAY overpriced. The amount of money they spend on advertising is absolutely ridiculous (as anybody that watches TV on any channel can verify), and all the people they sucker in are paying for a bunch of fluff (no offense IB4). My sister got suckered on it and she couldn't sell it for half what she paid since they're constantly changing the style up.

Melo
10/18/2006, 11:38 AM
We have one at home. Before I elft for college, I weighed under 120 pounds and had some kicken abs, calves to be proud of... etc etc. This summer, after having accepted the fact that I had gained more than the freshman 15, I got back into it, and added in walking a lot on the treadmill....

And now I am back down to 120 (slightly under).

So if youre looking at getting healthier, just getting up off the couch and doing something, losing a little bit of weight, toning up your body a little bit, then there isnt much wrong with it. But like others have said on here, you have to commit to it. If youre looking to get a total work out and be in great shape, I'd suggest going to a gym.

Plus, if you have the bowflex, you can work out and watch tv at the same time. Lol.

Soonerbabeinbama
10/18/2006, 11:46 AM
Home exercise equipment is fine, for..... well, home exercise equipment. I've always found that if you can go a gym, especially with a workout partner, you have a much greater incentive to work out. Most of my home exercise equipment ended up as a clothes rack.

However, if you are truly dedicated and this is the way you want to go, I think the Bowflex is probably one of the best pieces of "home" exercise equipment you can get - just my opinion.

achiro
10/18/2006, 12:06 PM
anyone use one? I'm looking to get totally ripped and was thinking this may be the route.

anyone want to sell me one?
My parents actually do have one for sale. It's an older model but works really well. I was surprised how good of a workout you can get with it.
If you are interested I can get the specifics of it and how much they want for it. I bet they'd give you a pretty good deal.

Widescreen
10/18/2006, 12:52 PM
I've seen this from both perspectives. About 10 years ago we bought a treadmill which we used about 5 times and then put it away. In January I started using it almost every day. So basically it's all about motivation and how serious you are. We have a nice workout facility at work but I prefer to workout at home because I'm kind of self-conscious about people staring at me while I workout - cuz I'm all that and stuff. ;) Basically, I prefer working out at home for the reason Melo gave - you can watch TV while you workout and don't have to watch Oprah because the wench on the adjacent treadmill needs her fix.

Taxman71
10/18/2006, 01:37 PM
Buy an adjustable bench and some Powerblocks. You should be able to all that is needed to get in shape. You will save enough money for a cheap gym membership if you really need to bench, squat or do leg presses.

Taxman71
10/18/2006, 01:38 PM
Don't the Crossbow machines rate about as well as the Bowflex for less than 1/2 the price? Never tried one myself.

OUAndy1807
10/18/2006, 01:45 PM
I understand the point everyone is making about home exercise equipment, but if you're not committed to working out, wouldn't you just stop going to the gym as well?

NormanPride
10/18/2006, 02:03 PM
I understand the point everyone is making about home exercise equipment, but if you're not committed to working out, wouldn't you just stop going to the gym as well?

Psh. Only if you're a loser. :rolleyes:


;)

Harry Beanbag
10/18/2006, 04:36 PM
If you go to a good club, they have basically every piece of weight equipment (both free and selectorized) as well as all the cardio machines you'll need to get a more well-rounded workout.

I don't know what a Bowflex costs, but you should be able to get a membership to a good club for $25 a month. I'm guessing you'd get a few years use out of a club with what you'd be paying for a Bowflex.

Oh, and the scenery at fitness clubs is much better than at home, at least it is in the ones I frequent. :)

IB4OU2
10/18/2006, 04:40 PM
Alot of Gyms are nasty, people don't wipe down their machines when they're done and you can catch all sorts of crap from them....even though the scenery is nice at times. ;)

Harry Beanbag
10/18/2006, 04:47 PM
Alot of Gyms are nasty, people don't wipe down their machines when they're done and you can catch all sorts of crap from them....even though the scenery is nice at times. ;)


Yeah, you definitely have to go to the right ones. Newer ones are probably better. Newer looking equipment, carpet, locker rooms, etc. is more likely to cause people to take better care of it.

Pick one that caters more to women and professionals than meathead power lifters and the twenty-something crowd. Like out here, go to LA Fitness instead of Gold's. You want a meat market, not a sausage fest.

49r
10/18/2006, 04:56 PM
mmmm.

Meat Sausage!

oumartin
10/18/2006, 05:00 PM
very good for toning and definition.. not so much for building muscle

tbl
10/18/2006, 08:22 PM
LA Fitness workout facilities are the bomb. Straight up. Pool, racquetball, all kinds of free weights and machines, classes for the ladies and the effiminate men.

Also, if you're paying the money for the gym, that's a pretty good motivator to go. I know the same argument can be made for the Bowflex payment plan, but with that you have it in your house so you feel like you're actually paying for something.

Taxman had an good idea. Get a good bench (not a cheap rickity one) and get some of those adjustable dumbells. You can do every exercise imaginable.

olevetonahill
10/18/2006, 08:33 PM
spend 6 hrs minimum lifting 12 once cans , swap arm as needed . you will be in as great shape as me :P

Boarder
10/18/2006, 08:37 PM
I like my home gym because I don't have to worry about anyonoe else. I can crank up classic Britney Spears and work out in my underwear if I want. Not that I do. And not that I couldn't do that at the gym. Maybe not. Anyway.


When I tried a Bowflex, I didn't like the elastic motion. It seemed weird to me. So, aside from the home gym vs away gym stuff, I just don't like the Bowflex because of the strange elastic motion. I would HIGHLY recommend the powerblocks and adjustable bench idea. That and a GOOD treadmill or better yet elliptical and you're good to go for a home gym.

Harry Beanbag
10/18/2006, 08:40 PM
Also, if you're paying the money for the gym, that's a pretty good motivator to go. I know the same argument can be made for the Bowflex payment plan, but with that you have it in your house so you feel like you're actually paying for something.


You can always cancel your gym membership, but Bowflex probably frowns on people who stop paying them money.

GottaHavePride
10/18/2006, 08:54 PM
I frown on people that don't give me money. That means I'm frowning at ALL OF YOU! :rcmad:

tbl
10/18/2006, 10:01 PM
Again, strike against Bowflex.

Taxman71
10/19/2006, 06:32 AM
The Y in Norman is pretty crowded so I don't hit the weights there often. The Downtown OKC Y is great if you work close...brand new and rarely crowded. That gym on Main St in Norman across from Coach's is a ghosttown when I drive by in the evenings. You could easily have the run of the house at that place.

12
10/19/2006, 06:38 AM
Of course, you do realize you were born with everything you need to get "totally ripped", right?