Bowflex Xtreme Se Gym Review

Okay, the Bowflex Extreme SE Homegym seems fairly expensive at first - but my husband and I counted the cost this way:

1. Qualifying for credit with them IS a good revolving account. (Good for building credit)

2. There are several safety features of the gym itself.

3. It's right in our home. No travelling to a club and looking fat in spandex.

4. The website seems to provide excellent customer support.

5. The equipment is sturdy BUT you have to put it together yourself.

6. Monthy cost at curves is between 30 and 70 bucks a month (just for women) and a family membership at a co-ed club could cost up to 150 bucks a month. The Bowflex is about 50 bucks a month.

7. The whole family can use it. (Except small kids)

8. There aren't any "free weights" to store and take care of (keep from falling off the bar and onton little kid's toes)

9.There is an instructional DVD

But -

You DO have to dedicate space and time to this. That seems obvious - but I HAVE had mine for a year and only just begun to use it effectively. It doesn't store. You set it up and it stays there. I would get a cargo box or large  plastic storage box to put the accessories in (hand pulls, straps, etc) when they are not in use. While it does have cardio (rowing) exercises - this is a muscle building machine. I didn't watch the DVD - I just jumped right in and would give it a good hard ten minutes. Finally, I put in the DVD and found out I was doing everything WRONG. Go slow, build muscle that burns fat, etc. Also, properly maintaing your machine gives it a super-long life. The RODS are safe for kids to be around - and you can even put very low weight on it and allow school aged children to use it.

I thought, at first that it didn't come with enough weight (there ARE expansion packs) but when I actually did the instructional video workouts - I found that I used far less weight.

Now, we are still paying the thing off - it seems that they do have a high interest rate and there are really high late fees. We made one late payment! But, if you paid for this the way you would pay for a fitness membership - you'd have the thing owned in no time.

Bowflex will send you regular reading material on health and fitness and you do usually get a "free personal trainer" if you have access to the internet. Basically, it gives you instructions on exercises to do. But, this has been more beneficial that I had originally thought.

Don't overlook the importance of reading and viewing the educational materials. They are very informative and encouraging. It feels like Bowflex is supporting you on your mission to build muscle and lose fat, etc.