Get serious about your strength training at home with the Bowflex Xtreme XTLU home gym, which includes a lat tower, squat station, leg attachment and adjustable pulley system for over 65 gym-quality exercises. It comes standard with 210 pounds of real Power Rod resistance (which can be upgraded to 310 or 410 pounds with optional additional Power Rods). The integrated lat tower with angled lat bar helps to build back and shoulder muscles quickly. The upper and lower pulley/squat station enables you to do squats and build your gluts, hamstrings, and quads. The XTLU also has multiple cable/pulley positions for custom workouts. The leg extension/leg curl attachment rivals specialized leg equipment found in gyms, and will help y [Read More...]
Buy Bowflex Xtreme XTLU Home Gym at Amazon
Question: How do you download songs onto an ipod nano? Do you know the answer? I found it.
September 30th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I assume the Extreme is underappreciated because I can’t find reviews on it. I’ve wanted a Bowflex for a decade but have been too cheap and too busy to seriously consider buying one. I finally pitched all the cheap substitutes and got the real thing. I chose the Extreme because of it’s smaller footprint and the ability to do all my exercises upright (lying down on a bench at 5:00 a.m. doesn’t do much for my motivation). Putting it together was tedious and the instructions were a bit hard to follow because the pictures didn’t always fit the process but basic reading and mechanical skills will get you through it. The training video is pretty good, Tom Purvis knows his stuff. I was surprised that some exercises included in the basic program on the poster were not included in the DVD. Lame, but not an issue with my personal trainer background. What I like most about the Extreme is that I can remove the seat and do several exercises sitting on a large exercise ball to add a stabilization challenge to my workout. I have also found that I can use the Extreme like a rowing machine when I use an exercise ball. It looks like the Extreme 2, which is set up so you don’t have to (and thus cannot if you want to) change cable settings, probably wouldn’t work with an exercise ball. Not sure about that, but that’s my guess.
LONG STORY SHORT: Excellent construction and design, great if your workout space is limited, pretty fast switching between exercises, leg attachment is worth the extra bucks but watch for specials because you can sometimes get it added for free. Great overall deal!
DOWNSIDES: Short-term: tedious assembly, dvd doesn’t cover all exercises. Long-term: 210 lbs resistance isn’t going to cut it if you’re a serious strength trainer which means an extra $100 for two more 50lb rods.
September 30th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
I just got my Xtreme 2 about 3 weeks ago…why did I wait so long to get it??? My first impression was how heavy duty this thing is built. Going from one exercise is very easy and quick. Assembly only took a couple of hours (give or take) and is fairly easy to do when following the directions.
The only problems I have run into is:
1) With lower weights (under 40 lbs) the power rods have hung up on the “arms”. Not really a big deal.
2) Even though it sits upright, it still requires a fair amount of space…about 5×5 ft square.
3) The workouts might be difficult to follow because there isn’t always a picture or description of an exercise that is recommended in a “routine”.
In the 3 weeks I have had the Xtreme 2 I have lost 8 pounds (following the 1500 calorie diet mentioned in the manual) and have started firming up, especially in my arms and legs. I would also highly recommend getting the Bowflex Interactive DVD-ROM. It helps design workouts (that can be adjusted week by week for increased strength), as well as providing a small video of someone doing the exercises (each one) to help learn how to do the exercises.
You may find other things out there similar, but for me buying the best leads to no regrets. Bowflex machines are definately worth it. I recommend the Xtreme 2 for anyone wanting to get into better shape.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I’m a 42 yr old male, in good shape and experienced with working out and weight training. I lift weights to tone up, and to balance the running portion of my workouts. I’m not looking for size or “gains”. My goal in purchasing a Bowflex was to save time and space. I purchased the Bowflex Extreme with the 310 “lb” resistance upgrade. To date I have not purchased the leg attachment option. I have used this machine for six weeks.
Overall - I’m happy with this purchase. This machine is a good concept, and produces good results. In my opinion, it offers several advantages over free weights. It’s well constructed, but has some minor flaws (described later). While not the top-of-the-line model, this machine allows me to do more exercises than I could ever possibly need.
The resistance feels different than free weights, and takes some getting used to. First, the poundage listed on the rods does not correspond to free weights - it doesn’t need to. The goal is to provide a repeatable, controlled resistance. Second, the resistance increases through the range of motion, unlike weights which require you to overcome inertia. Initially, this makes the exercise feel too easy, but I’ve found that if I work through the complete range of motion in a controlled manner, I get a good workout.
In my opinion, because resistance increases through the range of motion, the Bowflex works stabilizer muscles better than free weights. In addition, since you’re not limited to working against gravity, you can exercise through ranges of motion not possible with free weights. Free weights do offer some advantages, but I’m happy with my results to date.
The actual size of the Extreme is pretty much what I had anticipated. It requires a 7ft wide x 9ft deep x 8ft high workout area. You’ll not want to move it once setup, but it can be used in a second bedroom. I like how the bench is set up in a vertical position to save space.
One flaw is that some of the components seem cheap. Overall, the system is solid and well-constructed. However, my rod binding strap split into two after a couple of uses. Also, the plastic covering on one of my cables started flaking off after a few workouts. Another flaw is that the 210 “lb” standard resistance is insufficient. The machine should come with 300 “lbs” of standard resistance - Bowflex should ditch the useless 5 lb rods, and add two more 50s.
A couple words of advice - Read the ENTIRE manual before assembling or working out. I read the assembly portion of the manual, and easily set the system up in an hour. However, thinking I was experienced, I jumped into my workouts without reading (or watching the DVD) on how to use the machine. I later found out that I was doing several of the exercises, and using several of the attachments, incorrectly. Perhaps this contributed to the flaking cable covering. Finally, I’ve found that grouping exercises by pulley location (high, middle, or low pulleys), shortens my workouts.