Does anyone think this would be good for martial arts training? strength training that is I practice taekwondo and it seems like it is helping me/will help more Ive just been doing it for a week and already noticed results so is a bowflex good for martial arts training? and if so.......high weight low reps or low weight high reps
lol, my bf is a black belt in TKD and his bowflex is covered in like 2 inches of dust. Seriously, with all those infomercial gadgets, people use them for a while and then they become dust collectors! ..but if you have excessive cash, then by all means...
Well we own one already my parents bought it..... Im just wondering if its a good exersice program for me to use
If you use it regularly, then it's good. A sturdy pair of dumbbells is just as good, though. We had one once, but it just sat idly in the corner after a while.
4 times a week and Ill up that in a few weeks what exercises are good for improving punching and kicking I have a few but im not sure if they are the best
A good pair of dumbells is far better. Freeweights just far exceed the potential of any kind of machine. Check out various other threads on the subject for easy answers, I really can't be bothered because I feel a little drunk.
^LOL! Posting while drunk, isn't that against the rules or something? First off, it's better than nothing IMO. Secondly, don't do it 4 times a week. That's probably overkill. Try 3 times a week, and go from there. At least that's what I've been taught.
Who cares about rules when you've had a beer?!? Incidentally, Jack has joined the evening It's definitely better than nothing. However, I still see machine as something that develops strength discrepancies when used by people with even an average knowledge base on "weight training" ie. the average chimp at the gym. You would be better off doing bodyweight stuff, check out www.trainforstrength.com, as referenced a gazillion times on this site, for some damn good workouts.
Strength training will indeed aid your martial arts practice and i highly recommend that you begin. Sell your bowflex immediately and use the money to buy a good olympic barbell set and a bench - as Adam mentioned freeweights are far superior than any machine when it comes to strength training. Focus on big compound lifts such as those on the Yoda list (squats, deadlifts, dips, pullups, bench presses, military presses) for best martial arts oriented results.
I definitely agree with you about the machines thing. The only machine i actually use is the leg press when i have no one to spot for a good squatting session. What else you been mixin together adam? Beer and jack, ick!
OK, I'll have to differ from the masses here. For those of you bashing the bowflex and jumping on the free weights over machines band wagon, have you ever seriously worked out on one? I'm guessing no. I've owned a Bowflex for the last 10 years. Mine doesn't have any dust on it. I use it at least three times a week. Most weeks five times. I'm usually one to encourage free weights over machines. But the bowflex isn't your run of the millmachine. One thing I hate about machines is that they structure your reps so you almost can't do a motion in poor form. Thats great when your learning to lift, but if your form is already good, machines just end up taking the pressure off your supportig muscle groups and hampering pre-exhaustion. The bowflex doesn't do that. You can certainly perform exercises in bad form a d you'll feel it if you do. It does nothing to hamper your supporting muscles. I could go on for awhile here if I wanted, but to keepthis short and sweet, the main thing I love about the bowflex... I've belonged to my fair share of gyms and lifted free weights for years. Currently, I commute almost 2 hours one way to and from work. My gym opened at 5:30am. I have to be on the road by 6:00am. Theres no way I can get a good workout, eat, shower, dress, take care of the dogs, and get out of the house in 30 minutes. So work out in the evening you'd say? No can do... First off, I'm a morning person. Secondly, my gym closes at 9:30pm. By the time I'm getting home at 7:30-8:00, I'm too wiped out and need to fuel my body before I could lift. So, workout at home for me. So the thing I love about the bowflex,,, you can lift HEAVY without worrying about a spotter. Would you do 220lb squats and 310lb single leg presses alone at home without a spotter? I can with a bowflex. I'm 5' 10" and got pretty out of shape after a year and a half of no excercise and lots of poor food choices. 6 months ago, I tipped the scale at 215lbs. With my bowflex for resistance training, a treadmill for interval cardio, and a good diet, I'm now at 180lbs and based on definition I'm showing in quads, upper arms, shoulders, and chest, I'd say I'm probably 5-10lbs away from getting my 6-pack back. I don't use the provided workout routines from bowflex, but drew on my own experience to devise a "comeback" routine for myself, but I think any strength training you do on a bowflex would be a benefit to your TKD training. Especially building leg and forearm strength for kicking and blocking power. Don't forget to stretch out your muscles as well so your striking speed stays quick.
I've used a bowflex before. It's a decent machine, and it'll work great, especially if you can get more resistance majiggers. But some people just prefer weights. I personally like resistance bands!
http://www.bowflex.com/flash/index.html Don't know if anyof you caught the infomercial with the 50 yr old grandmother who claims to use the Bowflex....I think she has it confused with liposuction! But heck... if it works THAT good... heck I'd try it! For a lookie go to the site and click on the 6 week challenge to find Donna, age 50!
Hehe.. Yeah, some of the informercials are pretty funny. Half of that is probably bunk. But in all seriousness, I do see the Bowflex as a viable conditioning machine. With the right diet and excercise regimine and being in relatively good health, you can achieve whatever you want. It's still resistance training. Coupled with a good cardio routine and then sticking with it... you can't go wrong.
from what i've seen, the following 3 machines do not hamper supporting muscles: 1. bowflex 2. crossbow (now called crossbar) 3. total gym now, owning a total gym, i can say, its a great machine, has a great range of motion that isn't limiting like a standard machine. its only flaw is it lacks sufficient resistance unless you pay a ridiculous amount of money. the crossbow and bowflex are about even. the crossbow is cheaper, but i'm not so sure i like the idea of a computerized motor controlling the resistance level. so, overall, kudos to bowflex for being a good machine. but i've seen the way people squat in those informercials. that's the one exercise where i question the machine's ability, i don't like the back alignment in the squats they do in those infomercials. but the bowflex is a good enough machine that if you have one, don't waste money completely replacing it with free weights. but unless you can keep your back better aligned than the squatters in those commercials, you might want to get a seperate squat rack.
Let's clear up all this crap about any kind of machine, including bowflex. Yes, you might look good in the mirror, yes you might feel strong, yes that 50 year old woman on the bowflex ad is hot. However, the point with machines like this is - they're still machines! They restrict you, because they aren't totally free, which takes stabilisers out to some extent. You also sit down for a fair amount of the movements, taking more stabilisers out. You can build a very good body on these things. However, if you put just as much effort into lifting freeweights with the basic compound lifts, you would get much better results muscle and strength wise. A squatter for 220lbs? I would do it without if I knew that I had the bars to rest it on behind me. With the space that a bowflex takes up and the vast sum of money people pay for them, you could get a power rack (I know a very good 1000lb capacity one for 200quid with pull up bar included), with a good bench, a large olympic set with bumper plates for deadlifts etc in case you drop it, and a dip extension for the power rack. You could build incredible strength and an equally amazing body just with those tools, heck you can do it with bodyweight stuff but it tends to take longer! It would cost you less to buy all that gear actually, and who needs a spotter when you've got a power rack? Not me, until I get about a 600lbs squat. Point is, that with a little knowledge you could save money and build a better body and strength capacity than if you used a bowflex. They should be kept solely for people interested in aesthetics, unless it's your only option that you haven't paid for.
But the bowflex gives you a complete range of movement, its not like the standard machine because it has the whole string type thing pulling on resistance but it gives you a full range of movement, I can lie down on my back and do curls, or sit straight up and do a punching like motion or put my arms far apart and pull them together, but the motion is not restricted along a certain path, you probally know more about this than I do just my 2 cents
The movement of a cable is totally different to the movement of a freeweight. If you push the shoulder-high cable straight out infront of you, it is different to pushing 2 dumbells in front of you. Imagine it. Cables can be ok for the odd movement, but free weights are far superior. It's a combination of physics and kinesiology.
Hmm Ill have to buy some freeweights then, maybe use them on the 3 days I dont do my bowflex in addition to my bikeriding
