who has one and who thinks its a waste of cash?

um edited.....this should have been in the fitness equiptment section sorry

its a peice of trash


because it pulls those bows, the weight you set it to is only at the end of the contraction. You do not get the full amount of resistance throughout the whole motions. When you lift free weights, its 200lbs at the beginning, middle and end.

go with a power rack, adjustable bench and olympic set of weights

Well, to call it trash is a bit extreme. I think that one can make gains on the bowflex--clearly it is not for one who is a serious bodybuilder. But not all of us are that. It is very compact--not all of us have room for an olympic weight set, etc. Here's a nice link to get you started.
http://www.exercisecertification.com/articles/products/bowflex.pdf

You've got to have adobe on your computer to read this pdf file.

This guy has a nice review of the bowflex with a little more detail than just calling it "trash". I'm 45 and I love it. Don't worry about killing myself with free weights and no spotter.

Depending on what your goals are, I rod type machine could help to you achieve them. The main attraction is that they don't take up alot of room, and can be easily moved if needed. (they're not heavy) You're not gonna be building alot of muscle with something like this, but you can get pretty toned, and you will get a hell of a workout as long as you keep your rest between sets short. The prices of the rod type machines have plumeted over the past 6-8 months, with Weiders Crossbow hitting the market, and Bowflex prices dropping to compete. For me to say that it may be a good machine for a woman, could be a bordering sexist remark, but I really do feel that something like this could work out well for "most" womens fitness goals.
I've got a Crossbow in my weight room...one of the first. I only use it for calve raises these days, and those require loading up all of the rods. (440) I will be using the Crossbow initially with my girlfriend to help her towards achieving her goals.The machine does have it's merits, but may simply not meet some peoples goal to pack on muscle. The Bowflex is going to produce pretty similar results. If you can get one really cheap, it wouldn't be a horrible purchase at all.

who has one and who thinks its a waste of cash?

um edited.....this should have been in the fitness equiptment section sorry

The Bowflex or Weider Crossbar/bow will meet the needs of the majority of the public. It will build and improve the bodies of most who visit here. Weights or weight machines might be better but they have their drawbacks, too.

Any home equiptment takes up room. It should be sought only after a gym is ruled out.

who has one and who thinks its a waste of cash?

um edited.....this should have been in the fitness equiptment section sorryI own a bowflex extreme 2 as well as a smith machine treadmill and a set of selectechs and supplemental dumbells for weights to 80 lbs .I use all the equiptment and i find it is an awesome piece of equiptment ,this is my second one.first one was the ultimate and that was great too.