I'm going to exercise on the Bowflex!
- Thread starter digitalwanderer
- Start date
The Ultimate 2 is a pretty impressive piece of machinery. Damn solid (I am not a little fellow). I was never up close to the original Ultimate, but looking at the pics this one seems sturdier in most regards. Feels like commercial gym equipment solid to me. Not inexpensive tho (saved a coupld hundred from a reputable ebay place). The apartment complex we were at just before we left California had about 7 pieces of new equipment (it was a new complex), plus aerobic equipment. The one thing this doesn't have that those did is a thigh machine. Well, you have to do crunches a little differently, but you can also get a regular crunch attachment too (tho it is not included in the base package).
Cartoon Corpse
Veteran
geo said:I was having mental pictures of a gym teacher being lead away in handcuffs.
Glad to hear for your sake it ain't so.
i have to say that those sorts of thoughts weren't even part of the 'feeling'. just odd being naked in front of other folks i guess. after being raised to that point, showering alone?
not that i couldn't 'live' with it, if there were no choice, but i wouldn't choose it.
anyway, the spotters are a requirement for serious strength training (i suppose you could play it ultra conservative up to a point). i like solitary stuff like the bowflex. and i used to run (got up to 10K 5days a week at one point).
i think i hate winning as much as losing, so i just do the solitary sports... after i got out of high school and was no longer 'forced' to 'compete'.
nelg said:
Good god, who the hell can get a good leg workout with only 220 lbs of resistance? That's not enough for my chest, let alone legs. And that beast is going to be $3k after shipping and taxes.
Bowflexes are more for toning than building.John Reynolds said:
Gotta exercise tonight.
geo said:
That was my point, only 220 lbs of resistance for $3k. Ouch.
P.S. Only my wife is allowed to call me that.
Aw, c'mon studmuffin...can't your "special friends" call you that too?John Reynolds said:
digitalwanderer said:
Well, maybe LB, PJ, or Natoma, but not you. I've seen recent pics and it's not pretty.
John Reynolds said:
There was this guy at my gym a while ago who would talk to anyone, and occasionally "dry" "himself" while doing so. Whilst of course talking in a macho voice about building, sports and suchlike. I respect a guy who can be camp in small town west yorkshire, north england... but someone who dresses up as macho while fiddling his man peice in the gym... Just has no soul.
Speaking of the best way to work out though. This week I was lucky enough to have a few friends who are a bit bigger than me help me out (spot me etc). They also pushed me harder that I could go on my own. The chest soreness is beautiful.
Mintmaster
Veteran
Stop taunting me!sytaylor said:
I loved working out my chest. It was my primary motivation, and I just kept getting stronger. I'm pretty skinny at 5'9, 140lbs, but was pressing 85's and benching near 200. I even did 60lb weighted dips. I think the Iron Cross was within reach...
...but alas, I messed up my shoulder last Christmas. I couldn't complete a rep and the bar came down to my chest. This happened many times before, but it was different this time. I think it's my tendon, because I can do everything else with my shoulder (chinups, pulldowns, shoulder press, lateral raises), but even when seemingly healed it goes out again whenever I do a light chest exercise (bench, flyes, dips, etc). It hurts in the region where the pec meets the humerus, though it's hard to isolate.
Anyone have advice? What's the best way to heal/strengthen the tendon's connection to the bone? I heard partial reps are good for stengthening connective tissue, but I don't want to re-injure it again.
Anyway, I agree with you that having a good workout partner that pushes you is awesome. It really makes a big difference.
I tore my shoulder (rotator cuff) while snowboarding in January (I hurt it again at the gym in June doing inclined bench and flies) and I'm still trying to strengthen it up. You should take a couple of weeks off from all activities before you do anything. After that, be sure to stretch it a few times every day. Spend at least 15 minutes stretching each time. Eventually you'll be confident enough to start lifting a little. Start out with really light weights. 5-10lbs. It should hurt a little bit when working them, but not too much. Don't over do it and go really slow. I've been doing this for the last 9 months and I'm still only doing 10lbs dumbell lat raises on shoulder days.Mintmaster said:Stop taunting me!
I loved working out my chest. It was my primary motivation, and I just kept getting stronger. I'm pretty skinny at 5'9, 140lbs, but was pressing 85's and benching near 200. I even did 60lb weighted dips. I think the Iron Cross was within reach...
...but alas, I messed up my shoulder last Christmas. I couldn't complete a rep and the bar came down to my chest. This happened many times before, but it was different this time. I think it's my tendon, because I can do everything else with my shoulder (chinups, pulldowns, shoulder press, lateral raises), but even when seemingly healed it goes out again whenever I do a light chest exercise (bench, flyes, dips, etc). It hurts in the region where the pec meets the humerus, though it's hard to isolate.
Anyone have advice? What's the best way to heal/strengthen the tendon's connection to the bone? I heard partial reps are good for stengthening connective tissue, but I don't want to re-injure it again.
Anyway, I agree with you that having a good workout partner that pushes you is awesome. It really makes a big difference.
Benching works out the rear delts, so be careful not to over do the benching. Incline bench is even harder on your delts than flat. I completely took inclined bench out of my workout until I make much more progress on my shoulders.
I didn't bowflex yesterday, but I did put in 45 minutes of cardio workout. (Dancing, I love dancing. )
(Dancing, I love dancing. )Any special variety? (Me becoming more and more of a Salsa freak.)digitalwanderer said:I didn't bowflex yesterday, but I did put in 45 minutes of cardio workout.
Btw, what does non-Swedes think of when someone says they're doing Aerobics?
Is it a generic word for stuff that makes your pulse go up, or is it something specific.
(In Swedish it's a special kind of exercise.)
