Hello, I'm new here and looking for some feedback. First, a little preliminary information:

1. I've started using my Bowflex about a year ago, although I needed to take about 5 months off due to a shoulder injury 1 month into my training. So really I've only been lifting for about 6 months.

2. I really love the convenience the Bowflex offers, and I simply don't have the time, or the interest in joining a gym or using free-weights. I'm definitely more muscular since using the Bowflex, so I know it's plenty effective for my needs.

3. I'm currently lifting 3 days per week M-W-F. I really don't want to change this.

Now let me explain the routine I've been using. Each day, I've been doing a full body workout using the same 10 exercises:
Bench Press, Chest flys, Leg Curls, Leg Extensions, Shoulder press,Ab Crunch, Lat Pull Downs, Tricep Pulldown, Seated Row, Biceps curl.

For each exercise, I've done 3 sets of 12 reps. So that's 30 sets total.
Initially, I had been resting 1 to 2 minutes between sets, and it has take me an hour or more to complete. More recently, I've cut that rest period to closer to 30 seconds, and the workout dropped to about 40 minutes.

Obviously, this workout makes me plenty tired, and it has produced results, but my recent reading of this forum, and about things like Max-OT, have made me questioning my current approach.

I need to print, and read the Max-OT PDF more carefully, but it's clear that what I've been doing is about the opposite of the Max-OT approach. With so many exercises and sets, I haven't been lifting super heavy weights and feel this may be hampering my progress.

Today as an experiment, I tried performing a routine that followed some of the Max-OT guidelines. I cut my exercises in half, did the warm up sets, followed by 4-6 rep sets using much heavier weights.

As an example, for the bench press, I normally do:
3 sets of 12 reps with 120 lbs

But today I did
3 sets of 4-6 reps using 200 lbs.

Until today, I had never even bothered to see how much weight I could lift, because the number of reps I was doing, prevented me from using very much weight.

Do you feel I'm on the right track? Perhaps I won't be able to truly follow the Max-OT program, but should I at least try to follow some of it's guidelines? Any advice would be appreciated. Remember that I definitely want to use the Bowflex, and I definitely want to continue
a M-W-F routine.

In particular, I'd be interested in hearing advice about what the best way would be to get all the muscle groups covered by a M-W-F schedule. If any of you have tried a Max-OT-like approach on the Bowflex, I'd be interested in hearing the specifics about what exercises you did on which days.

Thanks in advance,

Steve

I haven't ever tried Max-OT. But I wanted to make sure you have seen Ellington Darden's book - The BowFlex body Plan. It is directed towards High Intensity Training (HIT) on the bowflex and fits your goals. I think it taps the potential of the bows better than any program.

I am sure you could substitute and change things to adapt Max-OT to the bowflex. I have seen Body for life done on it. :gl:

PS: you might have gotten same results at 240 for 1 set of 8-12 reps Darden style.

I haven't ever tried Max-OT. But I wanted to make sure you have seen Ellington Darden's book - The BowFlex body Plan. It is directed towards High Intensity Training (HIT) on the bowflex and fits your goals.
PS: you might have gotten same results at 240 for 1 set of 8-12 reps Darden style.


Hello, yes I have the Darden book. And actually, my injury came shortly after trying his single set, HIT approach. This is part of the reason I switched back to more sets, more reps. Perhaps I pushed myself too quickly, and I sure was out of commission for a long, frustrating period.

Now that I've been at it for 6 months, I think I may be more prepared for a more HIT approach. I guess I'll either settle for a Darden style full body, single set workout, or a Max-OT approach which will require me to figure out the best way to split the muscle groups between days.

Hello, yes I have the Darden book. And actually, my injury came shortly after trying his single set, HIT approach. Perhaps I pushed myself too quickly.

Now that I've been at it for 6 months, I think I may be more prepared for a more HIT approach.

Form is important and as we begin with a new piece of equipt. or a new exercise, we need to work in to it. Safety first. I have been lucky so far, the only exercise induced injury was, I hurt my back at 15, doing side bends with no weights. I had never done them, and never do them now, but I jumped in and wham only after about 20, a disk or something messed me up for a couple of weeks.

Go back and review him. Darden might look better after 6 months.

I also use a bowflex and agree with your points 1, 2, and 3 above.

We have remarkably similar stories with it. I've also used it about a year and hurt my shoulder a few months into it.

I work biceps and back on Monday, triceps and chest on Wed, and legs/abs on Friday. I found that doing the whole body thing everytime I worked out kept me from lifting heavier. Right now I don't specifically work the shoulders because of injury.

I do three sets for each exercise and do 2 or three exercises per body part. I start with 15 reps on the first set and probably lift about 50% of my max. Then go to 12 reps a little heavier (75%). Then 6 reps about as heavy as I can go. When I feel like that last set is getting too easy, I increase the weights next time. I seem to be making steady, slow progress--in fact on a few of the exercises I am getting close to running out of rods. I'm not trying to get huge and am happy with the bowflex.

I don't know much about maxOT--will have to read about it. Might be cool to modify it to bowfex. John certainly shows that it works in a big way.

I seem to be making steady, slow progress--in fact on a few of the exercises I am getting close to running out of rods. I'm not trying to get huge and am happy with the bowflex.

on maxing out, if you can't add rods, you might think about going slower on reps to increase intensity, a 4/1/4 count.

on maxing out, if you can't add rods, you might think about going slower on reps to increase intensity, a 4/1/4 count.


I'm back to using the Darden approach with a single set of the same 10 exercises that I've been using. So far, I'm liking it a lot! It actually seems a lot easier than my previous workout because I'm sitting on my butt for about 30 out of the 40 minutes of my workout.

Before my workout definitely involved a lot of fatigue. Previously, every time I couldn't complete a rep, it was always because I was fatigued, and never because I had lifted the most weight that I could.

So I guess I'm starting to understand what overload is all about. :)

I also downloaded and am using the fitday sofware which I think is really fantastic. I haven't figured out if I'm "bulking" or "cutting", I'm just eating reasonably well, and lifting heavy. Personally I'd like to build up some muscles before trying to cut down too much body fat. I 'm one of those people who seemed to go directly from being a skinny wimp as a kid, to (for the last 13 years) a sedentary, and increasingly fat adult. Being too skinny without any muscles is just as bad as being fat in my opinion.

Thanks to John, for his website/this forum. You're my new source of inspiration.

Steve

p.s., I also started on whey protein, and will be trying creatine as soon as it arrives.

6 feet tall
199 lbs (down from a high of about 224 2 years ago, so I have made some progress).
30% body fat (according to my digital scale)

I'm back to using the Darden approach with a single set of the same 10 exercises that I've been using. So I guess I'm starting to understand what overload is all about. :)

I also started on whey protein, and will be trying creatine as soon as it arrives.

6 feet tall
199 lbs (down from a high of about 224 2 years ago, so I have made some progress).
30% body fat (according to my digital scale)

Sounds great. Put Darden's book by your chair and read and reread him. He tells it like it is.

Take it from someone who's used the Bowflex at home 6 days a week for over a year, got great results and at one point said the same thing you are saying now:

GET FREE WEIGHTS

A quality rack, bench and weights will cost you as much or less as the Bowflex, take up as much space (less if you're using the leg attachment), and give you much better results. Even if they're only 20% more effective, that still means that you spend two months every year training for nothing on the Bowflex.

Take it from someone who's used the Bowflex at home 6 days a week for over a year, got great results and at one point said the same thing you are saying now:

GET FREE WEIGHTS

A quality rack, bench and weights will cost you as much or less as the Bowflex, take up as much space (less if you're using the leg attachment), and give you much better results. Even if they're only 20% more effective, that still means that you spend two months every year training for nothing on the Bowflex.


Perhaps I'll try free weights when I'm no longer satisfied with the bowflex. I'm basically ignorant about what the free weight options are. I did use free weights in college many years ago, but i hated all the clanking noises, and lugging around those 45lb weights to put on the barbell. Another thing I hated about the freeweights/gym experience: I just couldn't stand all the grunting, flexing, and posturing in front of the mirror that went on. :)

I guess the idea just doesn't appeal to me as much as the quiet zen like experience I get on the bowflex. And what about not having a spotter? How do people lift at home with free weights without one? Again, I'm ignorant about this.
Another conern with free weights is that I have a 3 year old son and a baby on the way. Both of which will have some access to the garage and like all parents, I'd rather not have them get crushed. :) :) While purchasing the bowflex from a local dealer, my son pushed a dumbell off of a rack which thankfully did not land on his foot. I distinctly remember thinking about how glad I was to not have to worry about things like that.

I don't doubt that free weights are extremely effective. But I also am not convinced that they have a substantial edge over the bowflex. I used free weights for about 9 months, and I've had better results so far after 6 months on the bowflex.

Thanks for your input, perhaps I'll change my mind in the future.

Steve

I can ditto a lot, if not all of your comments... I use the Crossbow and have had excellent (if not better) results from it. I think each person might be different (ok, each person IS different).

I am restarting my training (again), but this time plan to stick with it, and I think that's the key over any equipment you may use.