****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I received the product in a timely manner. The delivery people were very thorough and professional in making contact and ensuring it was delivered at a time when I was available. I've been studying different home gyms for about two months before deciding on this one. A couple factors I used was space, simplicity of use, durability, and how much of the body can be worked out effectively. I have been in fitness since the age of 16. I'm 45 now. So while I am not an official expert I have a lot of practical knowledge from reading, experience, and listening to others who know more than I do.Assembly was pretty straight forward. The gym comes in several large pieces and the manual was easy to follow for assembly. The manual suggests using two adjustable wrenches to attach the bolts and nuts. And while that will certainly work I think its better to use a socket and a combination wrench of the correct size. You don't need many. Two maybe three different sized. Can't remember specifically. Its just with using a combination wrench the possibility of it sliding off and slightly stripping the corners is a possibility. I put it together by myself with occasional assistance from my 9 year old (holding something while screwing it in) in about two and a half hours. The instructions are illustrated so you can see what goes where. The only thing i would add is a real size chart for the bolts because it is easy to get a couple of them mixed up. I would suggest reading the length of the bolt used and measuring it with a tape measure to ensure you have the right one. There are two sets of bolts that are very close in length and its easy to get them switched. Assembling the cables can be a little confusing especially since the directions let you figure out that there is a floating pulley. It shows the routing of the cable in a picture that is easy to understand and the pulleys themselves are numbered so you know you get the right order. Its really done well. Other than these few minor improvements that can be made, I was quite pleased.The users manual is what I think is the gem of this package. Someone put a lot of thought into this. If you are an experienced gym rat who lifts for years then just figure out the exercises and do your thing. But say you have never really worked out much in your life, it has really well thought out fitness plans for you to follow that are great and will help you meet your goals. Follow them. You don't need to reinvent the wheel.Now in order to be happy with your purchase and get people to not purchase something they don't need I must explain what this gym isn't. If you are a professional body builder or an extreme fitness person, this really isn't the product for you. On Day one without having lifted in six years, I put on every single band of resistance it had and I pushed it out with ease on the bench press. Obviously I will need to purchase the additional bands to meet my fitness goal. Most men looking to build mass will be better served with free weights. Free weights are better....but they take up a lot of space. Free weights build secondary stabilizer muscles that track workouts don't. And that is ok. That doesn't make this unit bad. I'm just pointing out what it isn't. This unit is for every day people who want to be fit from some light resistance training. Most people are not hard core fitness people or professional body builders. This gym is for you. Now there is another bowflex product similar to this one but this one is superior for one major reason. You don't have to switch out the cables when you change exercises. When doing stamina strength training, rest periods become crucial between sets. You want to keep your heart rate up and you don't want to be taking time switching cables out and cooling off. I super set and I kill it. Less than 15 seconds between sets.So to summarize, great product, easy to assemble, will work for the majority of people's fitness goals, manuals are wonderfully thought out. I would buy this gym again. I am completely satisfied. Even though its not as effective as free weights, you don't need to devote an entire room to the unit. It fits in a 4 x 6 space and 8 foot ceiling. If you are a man and want to do a little mass training, you will need to include the extra resistance package unless you just want to do 25 reps per set and burn out. Its not enough weight for larger men.
