BowFlex Ultimate - Anyone use one??

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

DW and I found a Bowflex Ultimate on Craigslist for $300. We pick it up on Saturday. Does anyone use one for regular physical workouts??

[GoatsRus]

We have one, and that's a great deal. We got ours in October and love it. My DH uses it about 4 times a week. I was using it until I pull a muscle in my shoulder. At first it was a pain to adjust tension bars etc.....now it's a breeze. Great piece of equipment.

[oregon woodsmok]

The only trick is to discipline yourself to use it.

I've got a TV set up in front of my treadmill and it is still boring as heck. But I do it and I really feel better when I use it, so I make myself use it.

Use it and you will be able to tell a big difference in how you feel.

[HermitJohn]

All those fancy exercise machines make great coat racks..... Nice and shiney and usually pretty cheap at yard sales. Cant get a coat rack any cheaper.....

[Tom VH]

I haven't used one of those but I've got a baleflex, shoveltoner, long dog walker, xcountry ski machine and bicycle machine (well I like to think of my self as a machine), I also do log scwats twice a day; nothing in front of a tv though. "move it or lose it", or is it "move some and lose some", "mambo them hip bones", "chacha whacha gach ya", do what works and work it.

[norcalfarm]

I've used one many times and they take a lot of time and effort to switch over from one work out to another. Well, probably not that much time but when you are already looking for an excuse to cancel your work out, it helps influence your decision. Nothing beats good old prison-style workouts using just your body and maybe a few weights.

[Cabin Fever]

Are they really homesteaders out there who don't get enough exercise keeping up their homesteads?

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Yeah - my DW. Her idea of homesteading is the sewing part. Cut apart perfectly good fabric into small pieces and then sew it back together into a larger piece. Go figure how you could explain that to a space alien. No seriously, the Bowflex will allow both of us to target some exercises on areas of the body that need help, like my back or the muscles that help support it.

We picked it up today and I almost feel guilty for paying only $300 for it. It looks brand new.

[Horseyrider]

We had a Bowflex and about a year ago I gave it to my horses' chiropractor. Nobody was using it and it was a huge waste of space. Most organizers will tell you that they end up being clothes hangers. It was true of ours.

I read something really interesting not long ago. Some researchers wanted to learn more about the habits, health, and lifestyle of North American people 150 years ago, so they studied the Amish. They found that the Amish have only about a 4% obesity rate, compared with the population of "English" with an overweight/obesity rate of almost 66%. The Amish studied wore pedometers everywhere. They found that the average Amish man gets almost 20,000 steps in each day doing farmwork and chores, and the average Amish woman gets almost 15,000 doing her chores, gardening, and child care. One man logged an amazing 51,000 steps, because he was walking behind a plow. These are a people who eat a lot of animal fat and baked goods; yet their high level of activity (six times higher than the average "English" person) overrode any genetic predisposition for obesity or diabetes.

Tom VH makes a lot of sense. A baleflex/shoveltoner setup accomplishes fitness for the operator, in addition to doing some needed chores.

YuccaFlatsRanch, I hope you're one of the rare birds that actually gets some use out of your Bowflex. That'd be great. Being stronger to do the things you love is a good feeling.

[frogmammy]

If you're bored on the bike/treadmill, check these out...DVD's to exercise by (I kid you not!) http://www.vitadvds.com/ . Actually DOES make time pass faster.

Oh, and the Amish are kind of a "closed society", so not surprising that ALL would tend one way. The exercise they get is ONE reason for the low obesity rate, as is genetics.

Mon

[oregon woodsmok]

[[[......Are they really homesteaders out there who don't get enough exercise keeping up their homesteads?....]]]]

Judging by the number of beer bellies I see at the farm auctions and feed store, I would say that yes, there are plenty of homestead types who are not getting enough exercise.

Honestly, there is not a huge amount of work to be done here in the winter. All the farm work I have here has been carefully organized to be as little work and as efficient as I can possibly make it.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Being disabled I need the Bowflex to help target certain muscle groups that my work around here does not target. For instance I need to work on stomach muscles to help support bad discs in my back. Yes I get some exercise doing chores, but not enough to help my back.

[Halfway]

I needed to replace some weights, so I bought the Bowflex Extreme. It does what it is supposed to do and does it well.

I bought it to use it, so it is not a coat rack.

As with all things, lifestyle is what you choose it to be.

[plowjockey]

Originally Posted by YuccaFlatsRanch

Being disabled I need the Bowflex to help target certain muscle groups that my work around here does not target. For instance I need to work on stomach muscles to help support bad discs in my back. Yes I get some exercise doing chores, but not enough to help my back.

Don't let the naysayers fool you.

Thinking one is fit and actually BEING fit, are usually two different things.

I threw 80 bales of hay up into the barn a month ago. No big deal, with a little Tylenol.

Just got off 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer, after a year absence. I might as well be 80 years old, cardiovascularly.

I admire your inititive. Good luck.

[ChristyACB]

I use the elliptical like a religion. I get plenty of exercise doing things, but I don't get sustained cardio and that is what tends to kill. The old ticker not getting it's due, I mean.

I'm jealous that you got it for that price!

I've been wanting one for the slow seasons here when I need more strength training.

Just be diligent, no matter how slow you start, be diligent.