A leetle background first. The Blaze is one of Bowflex's lower end models, which uses their older "Power Rod" technology, unlike some (or at least one) models which use a newer technology not involving Power Rods. The Bowflex I got was bought used (which was a surprise to me, it was advertised on eBay as "Brand New"; at least I did get a partial refund from the seller; final cost $405 USD picked up semi-local from seller), and so there was some wear on the Power Rods, so... here goes:
Construction/sturdiness. 4 stars (or planets, asteroids, whatever
) (out of 5)Well, its not commercial quality, but it is sturdy enough that I don't think I will break anything on the unit ever. The bench is well padded and not cheaply made. The unit wiggles a little when you use the lat tower.
Design. 4 stars
The use of Power Rods for providing resistance is not totally optimal. For those of you not familiar with the units, the Power Rods are bent by cables hooked to them when you are doing an exercise. There are a few negatives for the power rods, although I consider none of these major negatives: (1) There is less resistance at the beginning of a rep than at the end of the rep. This difference is fairly significant and slightly annoying; (2) The Power Rods age. That is, they lose resistance with age. I have bought one new pair of Power Rods (50 lbs. ; ~$100 shipped from Bowflex with an online coupon), and they were noticeably stiffer than the 50 pounders that were already on unit. OTOH, the Power Rods do have a lifetime warranty, so supposedly Bowflex will replace them if they wear out; (3) The Power Rods are temperature-sensitive. Bowflex is kept in the garage. On cold days, the Power Rods get stiffer, so you "can't do as much weight" as usual.
On the plus side, it is easy to change the weight between reps with the Power Rods, easier than lugging 50 lb weight plates around.
There are pulleys and cables on the system positioned such that you can do a variety of different exercises such that a whole body workout is possible. A variety of attachements (straight bar, lat bar, hand holds, waist strap) also adds to the versatility. These things make the unit quite versatile and I think pretty well designed in that respect. In the six months I've had the unit, I have changed workout regimen a few times, mainly to accommodate some back health issues I have, and I found that the unit provides enough variety to satisfy particular needs.
On the negative side, when doing flat bench press, the cables tend to slightly rub the back of the forearms, although this issue is addressed which some of Bowflex's higher end models which allow repositioning of the pulleys, such that this problem is removed.
I am relatively tall (6 ft, 2 in), and on a lot of home systems (and even some commercial ones), the lat pull down feature is less useful because arms won't fully extend at the top of the rep. I can fully extend arms on the Bowflex, but just barely. I think I am at the maximum height for a fully functional lat pull down on this model.
The unit also is able to provide some cardio work, as it has a sliding seat capability that allows it to be used as a rowing machine, although I've never done that.
The footprint of the unit is relatively small, and it portability of the unit is a plus.
Value. 2 stars
I think Bowflex's are a little pricey. I rate 2 stars for a new Bowflex price, which for a new Blaze costs ~$900 USD, so I got a pretty decent deal on used one at $405. There are several other home gym systems which can be had cheaper than that $900, although I can't say anything about whether they are worth it or not.
Company. 2.5 stars
Since I bought unit off eBay, I didn't deal with them directly in the beginning. I did talk to them on the phone before I bought the additional Power Rods, and found the representative to be polite and knowledgeable.
The claims for the results to be expected in advertisements for the units on TV are total BS, as anyone who works out would know. No one is going to go from pre-Subway Jared
to Hulk Hogan in 6 weeks (or whatever their claim is). The main rub there is that they imply that the Bowflex will trim you down in a flash. The hidden caveat is that that is IF you also follow their suggested diet plan, which most of us here know has much more effect on weight loss in the short run than resistance training does.I also think there is deception in that I believe the units are designed in such a way that you will need to--quicker than you'd think--upgrade with additional Power Rods. This is because the Power Rods don't give you the stated weight-resistance equivalent until you get to the end of a rep (as mentioned above). Therefore, if you buy a unit with 210 lbs maximum resistance, you might think that will last you quite a while before you would need to add more Power Rods to provide more resistance. However, with regard to how much resistance you are capable of for a given exercise in real life, "210 lbs" of Power Rod resistance is much less than 210 lbs of real weight you'd be lifting with free weights. For example, I weigh about 220 lbs, yet I can do "310 lbs" of Power Rod resistance on the lat pull down, and it doesn't raise me off seat, meaning it's not really like 310 lbs. Therefore, you are actually getting a unit with less useful life (i.e., before a Power Rod upgrade is necessary) than you expect.
Results. 5 stars
I am happy with the results from the unit. I only take measurements of chest and , and the former has increased and the latter as decreased over the 6 months I've used the unit. The increase by sight in the bulk of chest, shoulders, lats and biceps has been obvious and quite pleasing. chest seems to have particularly responded to the workouts, which is especially satisfactory, since pecs have always been a weak point (literally and figuratively) for me. I attribute this to the ability with the Bowflex to be able to really pound the chest with heavy resistance in bench press (flat and incline) without having to be concerned with dropping a bar on neck, which has been an issue in the past working out with free weight in garage without a spotter. results have been achieved working out on average 4 to 5 times a week with an approximately 30 minute workout. Just yesterday I got a compliment from a brother-in-law who is visiting from out of town, and hasn't seen me in several months, and he asked me if I'd been working out, and this was with shirt on. I'm still too big around the , but I can't blame Bowflex for that, its due mostly to a weakness for sweets.
Overall. 4 stars
Overall I am happy with this unit. If I had it to do over again, would I buy this unit? I think so. It would be nice to have a unit with adjustable pulley positions, like some of the more expensive Bowflex models, and I also suspect the Bowflex Revolution, which uses a later resistance technology than Power Rods, would be an improvement. However, I am happy with results, and... I'm still using it.