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17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
 Bowflex Xtreme 2 SE Home Gym Mar 05, 2009
By J. Jones
I have seen those Bowflex infomercials for 20 years now and was the first to say "Yeah right". I believed there was no way it can be as easy as they say it was. I couldn't be MORE wrong. I've owned the Bowflex for 1 month now and cannot believe how easy, fun and fast results have happened. Its simply AMAZING! I love it!
Let me start with the quality. As I was putting it together I was shocked at how well its built. Very study, heavy duty. No cheesy parts.
Second, the DVD that came with it explained everything to me on how each exercise should be preformed safely and to get the best results.
Third, it tells you that you have to commit to a complete healthy life style. You can workout on it as much as you want but if you don't eat right, your NOT going to see the results your looking for.
So, I did just what they told me too.... 1 month, dropped 13 pounds. I can actually SEE the results too! Pants are not staying up, shirts are not as tight and I feel GREAT! Its SO easy if you commit and now that I am actually seeing and feeling the results I am excited to see what happens at the end of 2 months, 4 months, 6 months.
If you have joint problems like I do, this machine is awesome. I struggled with free weights. My joints would ache while working out. With the Bowflex... NOT ONE ISSIUE!
If you're tired of looking like a marshmallow and feeling like a piece of balsa wood, I strongly recommend the Bowflex. It WORKS! Worth every penny I spent on it.
If I had to say anything negative it would be this. It took me about 5 hours to put together but I was able to do it by myself. It wasn't that it was hard or confusing to put together, just took a little while. Still, I am PRO Bowflex. Love it, Love it, LOVE IT!
18 of 19 found the following review helpful:
Boeflex Xtreme2 Home Gym Feb 24, 2009
By J. D. Bates
We purchase the refurbished model by Nautilis. Note that Bowflex is made by Nautilis. The refurbished gym we bought looked brand spanking new. I primarily got this for the family since they don't like weight-lifting in our unheated garage in the winter. Postive aspects of the gym are;
1) fits a small space in the house.
2) easy to assemble and only took a couple hours.
3) has a wealth of different exercises.
4) very good machine for most kids and women.
5) operates smoothly and thus far appears to be pretty stout.
6) easy to switch apparatus when changing the exercise.
7) beats having to pay gym fees for a family when you pencil it out. This assumes you have plenty of outside areas to get cardiovascular exercise in.
Downside of the gym;
1) For those in good shape and/or lift a lot of weight your going to find the exercises are very easy. I'm just guessing but the bench press at 210 lbs on the machine feels like about 130-140 lbs for free weights. So we intend to upgrade with another 100 lbs for the machine which will add a little to the final cost.
2) For smaller kids, less than about 5 ft, some of the basic exercises won't provide a full range of motion (e.g. overhead press). We solved that by placing a 8 inch piece of wood on the seat when out youngest is using the gym.
3) We didn't like doing squats with the machine, all prefered using our squat rack and free weights.
Overall - Nice system despite some of the drawbacks. The machine has and will get much use in our house.
13 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Workouts made easy Mar 23, 2009
By H. Moody
The Bowflex Extreme 2SE, which I purchased came in 5 cartens bound together on a single pallet, in one delivery. Putting it together took about 3 hours and does require some tools.
The Bowflex 2SE is pullied to eliminate changes in cables, which makes it easier to operate. I found the construction of the Bowflex to be sturdy, and with the normal 210lbs of resistance, it seems enough for the average person. I would recommend this piece of equipment for anyone with limited space.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Great Workout When You Set It Up My Way Nov 17, 2010
By West Texas St0ner
"Voracious Reader"
Most of the previous reviews have covered the construction and setup of the Xtreme 2 SE, so I will provide some hints on how to get the most from your machine; a major complaint seems to be that the exercises are too easy. This is true if you only follow the cable setups given by Bowflex. The power rods are never moved to their most "xtreme" (sorry, couldn't resist) positions; in other words, the rods don't move to their limits, which is where the maximum simulated weight occurs. What I do is experiment with different cable connections and combinations; for maximum benching, I will slide the top pins to the holes nearest the tower, and criss-cross the cables, connecting them to the hooks used to support the lat bar when it is not in use. I connect the bottom cables to each other, and slide the pins to the third hole away from the tower. The middle is set to the second holes away from the tower, with individual grips. I set the seat to the lowest position; I call this "5", since I am using the 5th and lowest seat position (by the way, I am 54 years old,5'10" and weigh around 210 pounds; you will need to experiment to find the combination of cable connections and pin positions which best suits you). This setup makes using the 210 lbs provided very difficult (of course, this is also because I pre-exhaust my chest doing incline and decline presses, and cable crossovers first; I am ready to purchase another 100 lbs. of rod). Watch out when attaching the rods, they will be "loaded" because the cables they hook to will now be much shorter. Experiment with your other exercises, always looking to require that the rods use up almost all of their possible range of motion; when you have fully flexed or extended, the rods should be fully flexed too. Also, don't be limited by the exercises given by Bowflex; you can attack your muscles from every angle because the machine is so versatile. Make up your own. I have been using my Xtreme for just over a year religiously, and people think I have lost weight; I haven't, I just swapped muscle for the fat I was carrying. One note: some exercises, when done through a complete range of motion, are too easy at the beginning, even after these adjustments; you will need to break them down, performing partial reps which comprise about 60% of the movement, do your three sets, then change the setup so that you can perform rest of the movement, with a little overlap from the previous movement, under a similar heavy load. I also have gone to a rotating workout: Day 1 Biceps/triceps, Day 2 Shoulders (both pressing and raising exercises), Day 3 Abs, Quads, and Hams, Day 4 Chest and Back. I don't really believe that you can work out all body parts 20 minutes a day and get great results...I spend about 45 minutes to an hour working out, and that's with the ability to set up different exercises quickly. I take a day off whenever I feel I need to, but I will tell you, with this Bowflex Xtreme 2 SE in the house, I want to exercise, and get a little depressed when I miss a workout for uncontrollable reasons. One Caveat: Bowflex does not endorse using the cables this way, and injury/breakage is always possible when loading rods to their limits; I, however, know that the Xtreme 2 SE is very well engineered, and has held up to a year's "abuse" without missing a beat. Be sure to occasionally re-tighten all connections and replace any fraying cable, too. Safety first!
Hopefully, after this explanation, you will go back to your Bowflex and find that it is more of a challenge than you thought. True, it is not the same as free weights, but it takes less room, you can change exercises quickly, and you don't need a spotter even when using extreme "poundages". If you are looking for a Bowflex, check Craigslist; I got mine for $300. At that price, there is no contest. Finally, let me say: I LOVE MY BOWFLEX!
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 Good choice for a work out Apr 22, 2010
By Jeremy Krall
I waited over a month to write this review so I would have some time using the machine.
The refurbished machine saves you money, but it might not be completely worth it. Mine was missing pieces. Amazon could only send another full machine, and they didn't have any at the time. I was directed to Bowflex and they sent out the pieces for no charge, after verifying the purchase. But it took over a week to get them.
The rods really do seem used. When I bought the machine I bought the 310 and 410 resistance upgrades. Those rods are straighter than the ones that came with this. After being tied together with the included strap they straighten up, but only for the first few exercises. Then they stay bowed. And just the weight of the cables and pulleys will pull two 10 pound rods almost halfway down.
The machine is very sturdy and seems to give a good workout, despite the bowing rods. The resistance is not the same as actual weights. But for someone who is just trying to get in shape, that really doesn't matter. As long as you can feel your muscles working, and keep improving you are doing good.
The included workout poster is good. It has two groups of exercises so you can grow with the machine from the start.
If I was to do it again, and had the money, I would buy new over refurbished. But I would buy this machine again. When I miss a workout, I feel bad that I didn't spend time with the machine. In the month I have been using the machine three times a week with the beginning exercises I have lost about 10 pounds. My waist has also shrunk 1-1.5 inches, and I "seem" to have more energy.
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