BowFlex Home Gym Workout Systems

I ordered this back in 2020. 5 years later it's still in perfect working order. The seat has slightly worn but nothing drastic. This is probably one of my best purchases of 2020. This machine has lots of different work outs you can do with it. It's basically a total gym. The only issue i have is that I have maxed out on the weights, they are to light for me now. I just need to look into Buying a heavier resistance bar set. I have also been through 2 moves with this machine, the first time I took it mostly apart to load it into a SUV, it survived. The 2nd move i loaded it into a uhaul. It survived that. Yes it does take a bit of time to take it apart to then load it into a vehicle but honestly it's worth it. Putting it back together is pretty easy. You can also find instructions on how to put it back together online if you lost the instructions manual. One thing to note, because these are resistance bars and not normal weights you have more control over them so it feels different vs normal weights. Also make sure when you are done using it you unhook the resistance bars from the cables so it releases the tension on them, otherwise they will lose their resistance.

I waited about 18 months to write this review, as I felt that how the thing aged and how I felt about it after using it a while would be important elements in giving useful feedback.Tl;dr version: it's a solid, well-built machine that is a great fit for certain people, but probably not for everybody.I've used every imaginable piece of workout equipment, and this one is pretty unique amongst the resistance training options out there. I feared that the resistance would feel hokey, maybe more like resistance bands with pulleys and handles than real weights. However, this is not the case. While it does not feel exactly like a weight stack, it's a reasonable facsimile up through medium resistance levels (really high resistance does feel funny and unsatisfying). What you get in exchange for this sacrifice is a machine that can work any possible muscle and muscle combination with a fraction of the weight and floorspace of an equivalent free-weight setup.I've religiously tied the rods back up after every workout with a strip of velcro, and they're still providing similar resistance to what they provided out of the box. The $100 plastic gizmo they sell for this is not at all necessary to achieve this: an shoelace is just as effective.Having to change the pulleys and carabiners between exercises was annoying at first, but once I got used to it it was fine. I know there is a more expensive model that has extra sets of pulleys and thus less changing between exercises, but I don't think it's worth it. At the end of the day, it doesn't take any more time than changing plates on a bar, changing machines, or racking dumbbells like you would in a gym.Who this is NOT for, in my opinion, is the following:--Someone looking to seriously bulk up and get ripped. I'm pretty sure the guy in the promo photos did not get that way with a Bowflex machine. It's less effective and less natural at high resistance, and I'm pretty sure buying the extra power rods to really challenge a serious weightlifter would not change this.--Someone obsessed with tracking improvement over time in a very precise way. The power rods are numbered with weight values, but they don't seem to have much to do with actual pounds, and the resistance they provide is such that it can be hard to know what's progress and what's a rod that you've been using for an hour and is just getting a little tired.--Someone for whom the machine is meant to be the primary fitness outlet. I don't think it's meant for that.On the other hand, if you want an endlessly variable set of resistance exercises to stay tone and/or support other primary activities (running, cycling, golf, etc) and you don't have a ton of space for a stack and a mountain of free weights, this is a solid option. Setup was time-consuming but straightforward, and after maybe 100 workouts it's as good as new.

I used a Bowflex Ultimate Xtreme (circa 2000) and I loved that machine. I put it together at the time and I can say the Blaze was much easier to assemble. They've improved in that sense.And I do like the Blaze, but there are some ways it differs from the Ultimate (at least the model back then) that I was disappointed in.First, there is only one incline position on the Blaze, while the Ultimate had holes up and down the seat rail so you could pick the position that best fit your height and arm length, particularly for reaching back to grab the handles, but also just for the general position of incline exercises. Luckily this was a fairly painless fix, as I just drilled two additional holes in the seat rail for the positions that suited me. (The position it comes with leaves me too far away from the mast to reach back and grab the handles with any ease.) WARNING: For anyone who might want to do this, assume it will void your warranty.I also wish it had a leg press, which I used regularly on the Ultimate. But it does have rows which is nice, and it has the lat bar, and really most of the other exercises the Ultimate had.Another subjective con is also one of its pros - which is that it can be folded up. The fact it can be folded up is nice, and also makes it easier to move if you need to wiggle it into a better position in the space it's in (I also tie a belt around the mast /seat rail if I am going to move it just for extra insurance). But this feature comes with a big fat knob that screws down through the brace at the foot of the mast, into the seat rail, when the machine is in its usual configuration. What this means is that the flat seat position does not allow the head of the seat to be at the usual spot at the foot of the mast... you are laying further down the seat rail, again making it difficult to reach back and grab the rear handles, should you want to use those. So this was the second drill hole I made, to allow the head of the seat to lay at the foot of the mast. And I either remove the knob (temporarily) or put a piece of foam over it when I use that position.And while the Ultimate had pulleys in the same approximate position as the Blaze (by your feet while sitting), for some reason I find it awkward stepping around the Blaze while using it, because of the position of those pullies which seem to be exactly in the way of where I want to step when maneuvering around the machine, sitting back down on it after racking up, etc. An awkwardness I didn't have on the Ultimate.To be fair, the Blaze was thousands cheaper than the Ultimate though they have all dropped dramatically in price since those early days.A final small thing is that the exercise placard attaches to the mast in the space where the head of the seat rests with my newly drilled positions, so the placard can't go on the machine. Which doesn't matter except that while the Ultimate came with a video or CD (forget which) to show you how to workout and various exercises, the Blaze only has the placard, and I can't remember the exercises I used to do. So I set up a TV in my gym room and watch YT videos that Bowflex users have put together to take you through workouts... something I will do until I build a new routine of my own. And the placard is sitting nearby, though it's not much use anyway.It would have been nice if Bowflex made workouts available for each of their machines on their site as a download. Could have placed that on a memory stick to put in a TV and watch. Cheaper than supplying CDs with every machine, and probably cheaper than making the placards.Overall though, I'm happy to have a Bowflex again and I like working out on these to get toned and generally fit, and stay there... and the Blaze does do most of the exercises. But I wasn't as happy as I expected to be, having had that past experience with a different model, and having to modify this still-expensive machine to suit my needs.