Review by Warpspeed:

This just arrived today. Took about 2 hours to assemble, but it’s pretty easy. I almost bought this from another site, because they were going to assemble it (would’ve been 200 extra dollars for that) and I am very glad I did it myself.

This unit is extremely sturdy and well put together. I was a bit nervous to buy this because I have young kids I did not want to trash it. Believe me, they couldn’t! This is far too well-designed and durable.

Worked out for about an hour, and I love it. Lots of exercises you can do (both muscular and cardio) and you can really feel it.

As others have noted on other models, I can see how the weights (200 lbs) might not be enough, but I am not looking to become the Incredible Hulk. This unit is perfect to stay fit and not let those holiday meals get the upper hand.

I really recommend this to anyone who wants to work at home and does not want to be bored with the same old routine (treadmill, stationary bike, etc.)

Great job, Bowflex!

Review by Intrepyd:

I assembled this Bowflex in less than two hours without any difficulty. The build quality is very good, and the manual is rich with information for configuring a work-out. After one week of use, however, I regret my purchase. This unit’s maximum resistance cannot be upgraded. It’s rated for 210 lbs, but it doesn’t even come close to that free-weight equivalent. The resistance numbers are arbitrary. For example, the resistance of a combination of a 30 lb and a 20 lb rod feels half as heavy as a 50lb rod. I am athletic but not massive, and I could bench the entire “210 lbs”. Biceps curls and triceps pushdowns are fine. For leg exercises, the weight is inadequate, period.

This machine offers aerobic activity in addition to strength training. It just doesn’t offer the resistance for body building. That said, using this machine has convinced me that Bowflex and resistance technology could offer a good strength workout, just not in this limited configuration. I recommend the PR3000.

Review by Patti Cake:

Brief story – months ago, I was in the market for a home gym that uses free weights, but I happened to try out the PR3000 at Sports Authority, and I really liked it. We bought another unit, but it didn’t turn out to be exactly what we needed, and eventually I found myself remembering the PR3000 fondly.

When we finally decided to go with a Bowflex for a couple reasons – less weight on our floor and not having to move weights around our apartment. I thought I’d go for one of the long ones that let you do rowing and – I thought – leg curls. But after I tried the units with rowing, I didn’t actually care for the slightly loose feeling in the seat when it was locked in place, and I also discovered that some Blowflex don’t do leg curls and others have a complicated way of doing them.

So I went back and tried out the PR3000 again – and it was as much fun to use as I remembered it, plus it has a no-cable-changes design that made switching exercises easier. So I tried a workaround someone reviewing a different Bowflex on Amazon recommended for another unit, which was basically do the leg curls while standing and facing the unit. I tried that on the PR3000 at the store and it worked fine for me, so I finally got it and I love using it.

The pluses:

* It doesn’t take much floor space

* I don’t have to move heavy weights around during my workout

* It’s very quiet

* No cable changes keeps workouts moving along

* Motion is smooth (smoother than the Weider Platinum)

* Very good assembly directions

* A lot of things adjust for different sized people

* Top pulleys are on hook-and-eyes so that they swivel

* Can be upgraded to 310 pounds

* Very well-made, more attention to detail than other equipment we’ve had

The minuses:

* Doesn’t come with a lat bar, although you can do pulldowns with the hand grips

* The manual isn’t as detailed as other Bowflex units, although still better than most other home gyms.

* Very short warranty on smaller parts. I got an extended warranty.

* Bows resistance isn’t the weight specified (I measured and it’s lighter) but there was still more than enough resistance to give me a burn. Larger men and very fit people should probably get the 310 lb upgrade pretty quickly.

Review by Michael LaBossiere:

Like most people, I had seen the Bowflex commercials on TV and was skeptical of just how such a machine would produce the gods and goddesses shown in the ads. However, the idea of an all-in-one resistance machine was appealing and I often considered buying one. I finally took the plunge after undergoing quadriceps tendon repair surgery. Since my usual exercise was out of the question (running and martial arts) I decided to give the Bowflex a try. After all, I don’t want to become psychotic and fat while I’m recovering. While I cannot do the leg exercises yet, my experience has been positive.

Pros: On the plus side, the machine provides a wide range of exercises that enable you to work almost all of the muscle groups. It was easy to assemble and comes with fairly clear directions. It also includes a basic workout book, although you will probably want to supplement this with additional information about working out. Properly assembled, the machine seems very solid and as long as you maintain it, it should provide a safe workout.

As you can see from the pictures, it has three sets of handles: one high, one middle and one low. This allows you to get a wide range of workouts and replicate most traditional free weight training moves. It also has the attachment for doing leg lifts. The seat can be easily removed to allow you to safely do standing exercises.

A major plus for this machine is that the power rods connect to all the handles. In other words, you do not need to constantly switch cable connections for your workout. Some lower end models lack this feature, which would be a bit annoying.

Cons: While the machine allows you to do a large range of exercises, it does have clear limits. For example, you can only do leg lifts with the leg exercise attachment (although you can do leg exercises using the handles). Also, it suffers the inherent limitations of a rod based machine relative to free weights. For example, the weight on the resistance rods seem rather optimistic (I suspect the weight is based on the resistance offered at maximum bend). To compare the machine with free weights, I did curls with the 50 pound rod and with a 35 pound free weight. The free weight provided far more resistance (in the form of weight). This is because the weight always weighs 35 pounds and the rod’s resistance increases as it is pulled.

You will also want to spring for the 100 pound upgrade-this consists of two 50 rods. I think the rods should have been included, but I suppose that some people would be fine with the stock rods.

I’d suggest getting them when you get the machine, otherwise you’ll have to take the “rod box” off the machine so as to put in the rods. Mine didn’t come with instructions (just two rods and two screws in a cardboard box), but this is what I did: carefully lean the machine to one side, preferably with someone trustworthy holding it (make sure that they are not the beneficiary of your life insurance). Unscrew the three screws holding the box in place. Remove the box and take out the plugs (two of them, just ahead of the installed 50 rods). Insert the rods and screw the included screws into the rods (at the bottom). Put the rod box back in place and then screw the screws back in. Carefully test the rods to make sure they are secure, and then you are ready to go.

Review by Thomas J. Happ:

First of all, I have the Bowflex Sport, which is the same as the Blaze just with different trim and labels, but which is being discontinued to Bowflex (however if you can find one they are cheaper than the Blaze).

Before I get into my tips, I’ll give a brief review. I’ve had this machine for 10 months now and I am mostly pleased with it. I started out as a computer desk nerd with no strength and I’ve worked up to about average guy strength – I can bench about 200 bowflex pounds now, more than twice what I started at. So it works – just don’t expect the miracles they advertise. The best thing about it is that is uses a pully system which makes it extremely versatile. The worst thing is the bows, which are elastic. If you can find a machine that uses pulleys like the Bowflex but has a weight stack instead of bows, that would be best, but I don’t think there is one in this price range.

Now for the tips.

1. The bows work by stretching, and can get stretched out of shape like a rubber band. So make sure you tie them back with the included strap after every workout. If you mess up and stretch them out, you *could* try connecting them to the opposite hook and leaving them like that for a couple of days. I did this and it seemed to fix the issue.

2. By the same token, the resistance varies with temperature. I found this out by accident when my AC stopped working. The temp went up by 10 degrees and I was suddenly able to lift about 10% more.

3. The bows are not like physical weights. The resistance changes from easy at the beginning of the motion to hard at the end. Also I believe they are overall lighter than physical weights.

4. The weight labels on the bows don’t add up mathematically. For example, 30lbs + 10lbs + 10lbs is much “lighter” than the 50lb bow. So while you are making gains you should actually increase from 45 to 30 + 10 + 10 to 30 + 10 + 10 + 5 to 50 instead of jumping directly from 45 to 50. Another way to think of it in your head is that the 50lb is actually 60-ish in Bowflex units. This is also true for the jump from 25 to 30. Since there are only 2 10lbs weights I get around this by doing extra reps at 25 until I can finally do a full set at 30. You could also try raising the room temperature by about 5 degrees which should soften them up to start, and gradually increase it with each workout.

4. Despite what Dr. Bowflex says, the machine just isn’t made for a cardio. I got a schwinn exercise bike to compensate for this. I immediately noticed being able to have longer workouts due to my increasing cardiovascular endurance.

5. The manual also states not to rest more than a minute between each exercise. I did this at first, but then (anecdotally) I discovered that if I rested longer in order to catch my breath, I could do more reps and make faster gains.

6. Certain exercises just don’t work that well – basically anything involving legs, feet, or cardio. The supposed rows are not even worth it. Also the leg curls are very awkward. The manual does not even describe how to do them but according to an old manual I found on the net, you need to lie halfway on the leg station seat and halfway on the bench (the opposite exercise – I forget the name – let’s call it “leg raise” – does work rather well though). Finally the leg press might be worth it after you upgrade to 310 or 410 pounds, but at 210 even someone completely out of shape might find them wanting – mainly because your legs are the strongest part of your body, even on a sedentary person. On top of this it is hard to get the leg press strap to stay in place when you are first getting into position.

7. In my case there were some exercises that hurt my joints. I’ve never had joint injuries that I know if, so it may just be my body shape. I’m pretty sure I did them correctly. However, in the manual it lists the muscle groups of each motion. Instead of trying exercises that hurt, I picked others that would exercise the same groups.

Review by Hard Maple:

Overall I am enjoying this equipment. I used a gym and personal trainer for some time a few years ago and did great. But time wasted on travel and using the locker room helped me to quit. My body’s hunger to do something drove me to try a Bowflex. And I’m glad I did. This machine takes up a lot of room. I found that I am only so motivated (like many people even if they won’t admit to it). The first time I folded this up and moved it out of the way, I ignored it for 1 1/2 weeks. So if you are honest with yourself and realize your motivation is questionable, make sure you have room to keep it down.

These are my issues. But I have 2 complaints with the Bowflex Blaze. First, when folded up the Lat Bar does not rest on its mountings, so it likes to fall when moving the machine. Second, I am 6-4 and due to the limits of the cables and bench there are a couple of exercises I can’t do properly. These include Any Lying exercise (Lying Leg Extension, Resisted Reverse Crunch, etc) and Overhead exercises that begin at the Chest Bar Pulley (French Press and Seated Shoulder Press). This is not a deal breaker though since there are many other exercises that will work these same muscles, just not from that angle.

And I agree that the Power Rods do not seem to meet their advertised resistances. But that would only matter if you switch between the Bowflex and free weights. If the Bowflex is your only weight training machine then it really doesn’t matter because you will still make gains and increase your workouts.

Review by Christopher Marland:

This home gym is small and compact. Designed really for general fitness and strength training, not for huge body-building. It needs assembly but that only took me about 4hrs by myself. The only thing I would say is don’t follow the pulley installation instructions. Place the cable and pulley on the machine in order of feeding the cable, then tighten the pulley bolts to the machine.

This machine does just what you need as a home-fitness gym. It is compact and both my wife and I find it great to maintain tone without wanting huge bulk. It has 150lb in stacked weight which is fine for your general fitness needs. If you want larger weights then I would buy some free-weights but if you want a decent, well put together home gym that works arms, legs & chest then you can’t go wrong with this machine.

Review by Matthew K. Merkel:

I have been using this gym for about three days now and so far i am very pleased. This is a great gym for someone just starting out. the cables are quiet , the only sound i really hear is from the plates moving up and down. Took about four hours to put together with only two tools and the directions are great. Just lay out all the hardware (bolts, washers ect.) before you start , it makes things easier. Make sure your phone number is correct when ordering since a delivery service will contact you for a date of delivery.