Pump up your *muscles*, reduce your volume!
Written: Jun 15 '00 (Updated Jun 15 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Quiet, easy to use, excellent exercise selections
Cons: Seat adjustment is difficult, vinyl bench cover gets slippery when you sweat on it
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| caradoc's Full Review: Bowflex Motivator Xtl |
I'm a geek - I'll be the first to admit it. I spend more than sixty hours per week sitting in front of a computer, either working, studying, or "playing."
When I got rear-ended back in November, one of the recommendations from my physical therapist was to get back in *some* kind of shape. So I started shopping around for home gyms. I've never been fond of the whole "health club" scene, so I knew that any gym membership I bought into would be a waste of money.
With the settlement from the insurance, my fiancee and I decided to go with the Bowflex Motivator XTL. This is the base Motivator, with the lat pull/squat attachment as well as the leg attachment.
The assembly requires a 9/16" wrench, a Philips-head screwdriver, and an adjustable crescent wrench (to hold the bolts while you tighten the nuts.)
I'd also recommend keeping a sharp knife handy during the assembly, as some of the parts are cable-tied to each other with 1/2" nylon straps. If you can break those with your bare hands, you don't need the Bowflex!
It took me about an hour and a half to get all five boxes opened and the parts assembled. The instructions are easy to follow, and there's a chart of parts so you don't confuse a 2 1/4" lag bolt with a 2 1/2" lag bolt.
With four basic cable positions (normal, lat pull, squat, and leg attachment) you can do any of the exercises in the manual. You can change the cable positions from any one to another in less than a minute, once you know where they're going.
The seat/bench can be placed in three different positions, but the set screw comes all the way out of its mount before releasing - it takes a minute or so to get the screw out, adjust the bench, and put the screw back in. If the screw were slightly shorter, it could be maintained in its mount and let you adjust the bench without totally removing it.
The leg attachment is easy to install or remove, with a single cotter-style pin holding it in place during use. The Motivator cannot be folded up with the leg attachment in place.
The lat attachment is *not* easily removed, and increases your storage space requirements by about three feet vertically, and about four feet horizontally. It doesn't add anything to the depth requirements, but the whole assembly gets a little top-heavy if you're trying to roll it anywhere.
Unlike the Bowflex Power Pro, the Motivator does not have a sliding seat for an aerobic rowing workout. This doesn't bother me - I rely on my dogs for an aerobic workout!
The basic set of 210 pounds of resistance should be enough for most people who are just trying to tone up. If you're trying for bulk, I'd recommend getting the extra 100 or 200 pounds of rods, which are simply extra 50 pound rods that install to the back of the current rod set.
The manual that comes with the Bowflex has an excellent set of guides for the various exercises, although they're grouped strangely. The listing for the "workouts" lists the exercises, but not what pages they're on, so you have to hunt a little bit to find the exercise you're looking for.
I would have liked to see a large poster included, showing all of the exercises on one large page.
I love how *quiet* the Bowflex is. Aside from the occasional rattle as the "power rods" move and the loose ones touch each other, the Bowflex is dead silent. The pulleys are well-made, and the cables have large rubber "stop-knots" on them to keep them from pulling entirely through the pulleys.
Overall, I'd recommend anyone to take a close look at the Bowflex machines if they're looking for a good home workout.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
caradoc
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: John Groseclose
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Reviews written: 182
Trusted by: 133 members
About Me:
System admin, technology addict, knife thrower, and dog "caregiver."
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