This is a topic that tends to have great bias. So allow me to prelude. I think free weights are the best. Dumbbells, barbells, benches, various racks, and the, all important, chin up bar to perform the various exercises, etc. provide the best results by far. I wanted to state this to avoid somebody mentioning this in a response. Also, I plan on having a gym membership to supplement the work out, but I will likely oly be able to attend once or twice a week, which, alone, is not enough.
Here are the constraints: the equipment has to be fairly light. It cannot take up a lot of space either. My current thinking is the Bowflex. Of all the home equipment, it seems to give the best work out while fitting my constraints. I also want to purchace some dumbells and possibly a Swiss Ball. I want to know what you, my comrads of muscle, think. Given my constraints, what would you purchase? Also, I want to here from anybody who has used the Bowflex for your opinion of it as a supplement to the gym. I look forward to hearing from you.
P.S. Please for give my spelling mistakes, it is not my strong point.
Your in big ass muscles,
Pat
Pat, I would forget the Bowflex… I’ve “tried” it at one of those mall expos, and trust me, they suck.
Keeping the weights “light” is kind of tricky, but I can easily help you with the space issue. If I were you, I’d buy a compact power rack with an adjustable bench. With this one piece of equipment you’ll be able to do squats, benches, deadlifts, chins, rows, military presses, or virtually any other barbell exercise you can think of. I’ve even seen brands that you can purchase little dip bar add ins that plug into the holes. Add to that a set of PowerBlock dumbells and you’ll have just about everything you’ll ever need. All you might miss are some machines like leg curls and rowing machines. But you can easily work around that.
If keeping the weights light is really that much of an issue, skip on the power rack and get one of those bars you can slide inside a doorway to do chins. You may have some problems training legs though without the power rack, but you could save your leg days for when you can get to your gym. So the light version of this home gym would be Powerblock dumbells with an adjustable bench and a chin bar. Of course, you can add a swiss ball too. -doug
I would omit the Bowflex and get Powerblocks
in the larger size (adjustable weight DB’s),
an Olympic barbell set, a flat bench or one
that can adjust to become an incline bench,
a chinup bar, and a thing to rack the barbell
on (Vulcan racks, from IronMind), and optionally spotting bars from the same source.
i bought a squat rack, 300 lbs of weight, and an adjustable bench for under 300 bucks at sam’s club (price club, wholesale club whatever) its weider but it fits in my garage and it works well. i bought some dumbell olympic things that hold 10’s all the way to like 160 lbs apiece. all for less than 500$
I appreciate the responses so far, but I must emphasize that I can’t have a lot of equipment and weight is a big issue since it will be in the upstairs of my house. The equipment has to be light. Sorry for the initial confusion, but putting an olympic weight set, though preferable, is not possible.
Thanx for the input so far!
I have used the Bowflex for the last nine months and have supplememented with 2 days a week in the gym, and i have gotten phenomenal results. Infact, all my friends think I’m on steroids. Now I feel that I do have great genetics and a great work ethic, but I would DEFINATELY recommend the Bowflex. I know a lot of you guys will say I’m pussin out, but I think it works great.
Ditto on Paul. I bought the weider squat/safety cage at Sams and I also got the Power Blocks. I can do just about any exercise I want. I really think you will be disappointed with the bow flex. Since weight & Space is a issue I recomend adjustable dumbbells, adjustable bench, and a swiss ball. What you can’t accomplish with that you will be able to pick up in the GYM.
The level of training you’ve achieved so far, and what your goals are, make all the difference in what equipment to choose. Most Bowflex customers are either beginners or are starting over after a long layoff. If this is the case, just a set of adjustable dumbells,(Ironmasters happen to be my choice, as they tighten up solidly enough to be used for swinging, whole-body conditioning movements), are a good start.
For those with a space problem, my extreme solution is the dumbells -only-, no bench. It’s surprising how much of the results attributed to bench work can be had with standing presses and floor presses, and beginners can get good results with higher reps on squats with ‘heavy’ dumbells. Yes, you’ll soon need more, but by then you’ll have a better idea what you prefer, and you’ll never out-grow a 75lb set of bells,(although they can be upgraded to 120lbs). In the meantime, a far better workout than a Bowflex,(in my opinion), and effectively -no- space taken up by the equipment.
[quote]lazur wrote:
The level of training you’ve achieved so far, and what your goals are, make all the difference in what equipment to choose. Most Bowflex customers are either beginners or are starting over after a long layoff. If this is the case, just a set of adjustable dumbells,(Ironmasters happen to be my choice, as they tighten up solidly enough to be used for swinging, whole-body conditioning movements), are a good start.
For those with a space problem, my extreme solution is the dumbells -only-, no bench. It’s surprising how much of the results attributed to bench work can be had with standing presses and floor presses, and beginners can get good results with higher reps on squats with ‘heavy’ dumbells. Yes, you’ll soon need more, but by then you’ll have a better idea what you prefer, and you’ll never out-grow a 75lb set of bells,(although they can be upgraded to 120lbs). In the meantime, a far better workout than a Bowflex,(in my opinion), and effectively -no- space taken up by the equipment. [/quote]
6 years late on the thread, that is one of the best that I have seen.
[quote]helga wrote:
lazur wrote:
In the meantime, a far better workout than a Bowflex,(in my opinion), and effectively -no- space taken up by the equipment.
6 years late on the thread, that is one of the best that I have seen.
[/quote]
Give him a break Helga, he could be from New Zealand and this is about how far behind they are.