BowFlex vs Dumbells: What’s The Better Choice?
A reader asked me what I thought about BowFlex machines. Here was my response.
“Hey there Bird,
Really good question. I trained on a BowFlex for about a month by necessity. I found it adequate for maintaining muscle mass but not so hot at adding any. That was my experience as an advanced trainee. An intermediate or novice trainee may have a different experience.
What I “do” like are the Nautilus adjustable dumbbells. Take a pair of those, an adjustable bench, and you’re off to the races with a really high-quality workout that’s less expensive than a BowFlex machine.”
Bottom line: given a pair of adjustable dumbbells and a high-quality adjustable bench (preferably one that goes to decline, flat and incline levels) you can do just about everything needed to build your body using a standard workout… or much faster using my 7 Minute Muscle training method (Click Here To Read More). We have an In-Home Version of the workout that’s all band and bodyweight-based as well, but I prefer the dumbbells and bench routine by far.
What’s cool about this approach is that you actually save money AND room over the BowFlex option while losing none of the flexibility and options. It just requires a bit of creativity.
Plus, to be frank, a BowFlex cannot compete with a dumbbell press, dumbbell curls, etc. for muscular development.
[ jB ]
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Comments (10)
Greg said:
Maybe so, but you can hang an awful lot of laundry on a BowFlex.
Posted on Feb 16, 2009 08:51 AM
Heather said:
I’m not kidding…I’ve hung a lot of hand washable lingerie on my bench barbell! My husband just rolls his eyes! And speaking of adjustable dumbbells, is the Nautilus brand better than Powerblock? I’m interested in a set and would love some solid advice.
Posted on Feb 16, 2009 09:31 AM
Don said:
Right on, again, Jon.
I work out at home. Half of my garage is my gym (Florida). I have a fairly good set of solid hex dumbbells (15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 35s, 40s, 65s); a pair of adjustable dumbbells (5 - 50 lb); a good adjustable flat, incline and decline bench; a Weider three station gym and a good quality treadmill. The only bar I have is an ez curl bar that attaches to the pulldown cable on the three station gym. I rarely use it. I am a firm believer that dumbbells give a much better workout than barbells do. One loses a lot of balancing effort when using a barbell versus dumbbells.
Posted on Feb 16, 2009 09:39 AM
pam said:
Over the years as a personal trainer I’ve had clients who owned bowflex and were pretty happy with it. When they came to me for training with free weights they always expressed amazement at how much more quickly they progress with the free weights. The secret is in being required to stabiize the weight.
Posted on Feb 16, 2009 10:20 AM
Jon Benson said:
Yeah, I agree with the laundry hanging aspect of the BowFlex. However, Pam is correct — for the few who use the machine it can do more.
Of course people progress faster — it’s easier. I had no issues with stabilization of the weight, and dumbbells are far more difficult to stabilize than a BowFlex… but that’s my two cents.
Bottom line is “whatever works, works.”
As for DBs… Nautilus is my preference. But both brands of adjustable DBs are great.
Posted on Feb 16, 2009 11:29 AM
Greg said:
Hey Jon,
It is harder to stabilize a freeweight, but isn’t that one of the advantages of using dumbbells and barbells rather than a machine that’s bolted down to the floor?
Also, what is your take on yoga? I’ve been doing it for about a month and it’s a lot harder than it looks.
-Greg
Posted on Feb 18, 2009 10:28 AM
Jon Benson said:
More like “disadvantage” if you’re looking for maximum muscle mass. Stabilizer muscles and tendons play a huge part in the process of overall muscle growth.
Dumbbells are my favorite as they require the most control, stimulate muscle mass effectively, and can be used to prevent common shoulder injury.
Machines are fine for advanced trainees or to break things up a bit.
And yes, yoga is hard and wonderful to do.
Posted on Feb 18, 2009 12:34 PM
Greg said:
I went to the 24Hr this morning and picked up a cable fly machine and carried it around the room, got a great upper body workout.
Also, I gave the 5/15 dumbell/barbell routine a shot (thrice this week) and can report a solid, painful burn, something I was not getting any more with my usual routine. (Can’t wait to get a job so I can buy 7MM and try out the rest!)
Posted on Feb 19, 2009 11:26 AM
Shahryar said:
I purchased a bowflex in winter 2005 and used it until I got some workout pieces and built a nice collection of dumbbells. Now I barely use it except for a few workouts here and there. I was wondering if there might be any workouts in particular that the bowflex might be just as good at or maybe even better. I have dumbells that go from 3lbs to 45lbs, a decline bench, a flat bench (on my bowflex) and a VKR machine from northern lights where I can do my dips, pull ups, knee raises, etc.
Posted on Aug 17, 2009 02:10 PM
Jon Benson said:
Shahryar,
You can use 7 Minute Muscle and get a KILLER Bowflex workout. Our coaches can help you modify the program to fit the Bowflex.
I’ll give you 30 days free coaching if you want to try it:
http://budurl.com/30DaysFreeCoaching
Posted on Aug 18, 2009 12:56 PM