I am fed up. Newcomer.

I am not really to familliar with the workout programs for the bowflex, but grats on the purchase! and welcome to the forums.
 
Do you have gyms in your area? I only say this because it would be more beneficial to return the bowflex and join a gym. Gyms have more equipment.

However if you cannot do the above, I would start with a full body routine. The main problem is that the bowflex doesnt work the legs like they should be worked.

~*Dont follow the diets in the instruction manual*~
 
I am a fitness consultant and I think that the bowflex is a great piece of equipment. In fact, it was the first piece of equipment I purchased to help me get back into shape after a near fatal car accident. There are some good exercises illustrated in the user manual, and if you do them, they will work for a while. You really need someone to design a comprehensive workout and nutrition program for you. Have you ever considered working with a personal trainer? A trainer can custom design a balanced fitness program for you and progress it as needed to keep you moving toward your goals and avoid a plateau. If you do choose a trainer, look for someone certified my ACE, NCSF, or NASM. Those are the most prestigious certs. But for immediate advice... it takes 3500 calories to gain or lose 1lb. You need to achieve that deficit through a combination of diet and exercise. To lose 1lb per week, burn 200 calories per day in exercise and eliminate 300 calories per day from your diet. To lose two pounds... double the calories and work. The safest rate of weight loss is 1-2lbs per week. I would suggest walking/jogging for 30 minutes, 3 days per week and strength training 3 days per week, performing one exercise for each muscle group. I would also suggest giving up soda and sweets and taking a serious look at your nutrition. Choose fresh, healthy, low fat foods that will fuel your body with clean burning energy. LINK REMOVED hope that helps!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Congratulations on taking control!

I was the same as you when I was your age. I lost 50 pounds in about two years during college. The only thing that I can tell you that has not been said (definitely take the advice on the cardio/stregth training mix...you have to sweat some of it off :) ) is that you should do your best to cut out refined sugars and fast food.

I realized that when I started ordering salads and veggies, that they satisifed me just as well as a burger. Meaning that I was not hungry afterwards and actually felt less heavy after meals (and proud for not eating fatty foods), but it is the moment when you order that you must decide to order (or cook) the thing that looks less appealling and greasy.

Also, during my intense weight loss period I always had a huge bottle of water and little zip lock bags of veggies and fruits. The slip ups always happen when you have been running around all day, get hungry and then realize that it is easy to just pick up a sandwich or a plastic wrapped cake at the convenience store :) Keep yourself from being too hungry by snacking on sliced cucumbers, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, apples etc...Not too many bananas. Drink lots of water. It will keep you hydrated, flushed of toxins, make your skin glow and keep you satisfied...Many times when you feel hungry at wierd times, it is actually thirst.

Reward yourself once a week with a lunch of your choosing. Not fast food! But...one lunch a week, say, Sunday, after a good week of working out, eat something you love, but not too much. Serve yourself on your plate...do not leave huge bowls of food in front of you...it is tempting to have seconds and thirds. Eat your meal slowly and enjoy it (you will see how much pleasure you get from eating when you start controlling it). You deserve to be rewarded for good work. This is not all torture and after a while you will see that your body stops craving typical stuff you might eat now. Once you start excercising you will also notice that you will not feel as good and energetic without you regular workouts. The begining is the hardest part, so just keep on track and you will see that is gets easier with time.

The hardest part is deciding to start. I understand where you are, so wish you all the best!

:)
 
I don't know a single thing about the bowflex - never even saw one outside of the commercial...but I know they are a fairly expensive purchase for an 18 year-old, and if you saved up your money to buy one to help you get started in getting the pounds off, you obviously have the kind of motivation, determination and inner discipline that's going to help you in your journey to lose weight and become fit. So good for you!
 
eringraham said:
I am a fitness consultant and I think that the bowflex is a great piece of equipment. In fact, it was the first piece of equipment I purchased to help me get back into shape after a near fatal car accident. There are some good exercises illustrated in the user manual, and if you do them, they will work for a while. You really need someone to design a comprehensive workout and nutrition program for you. Have you ever considered working with a personal trainer? A trainer can custom design a balanced fitness program for you and progress it as needed to keep you moving toward your goals and avoid a plateau. If you do choose a trainer, look for someone certified my ACE, NCSF, or NASM. Those are the most prestigious certs. But for immediate advice... it takes 3500 calories to gain or lose 1lb. You need to achieve that deficit through a combination of diet and exercise. To lose 1lb per week, burn 200 calories per day in exercise and eliminate 300 calories per day from your diet. To lose two pounds... double the calories and work. The safest rate of weight loss is 1-2lbs per week. I would suggest walking/jogging for 30 minutes, 3 days per week and strength training 3 days per week, performing one exercise for each muscle group. I would also suggest giving up soda and sweets and taking a serious look at your nutrition. Choose fresh, healthy, low fat foods that will fuel your body with clean burning energy. LINK REMOVED hope that helps!
Click to expand...

This guy makes me suspicious. Don't listen to people who tell you that you have to drop a lot of money to lose weight.

Anyway, weight bearing exercises are all well and good, but you'll probably need some cardio on top of that to lose. That, and it's good for you, because even if you're skinny and out of shape, if you don't have a healthy heart, you might as well be overweight.

Jogging is free, so maybe try that. Eat fresh fruit and vegetables, drink skim milk, and you're going to do just fine ^^
 
Don't do what I did when I didn't know what I was doing and not eat for more than a day. It just makes you feel tired and sucks. What I did to lose weight that didn't suck was I ate only cornflakes and salads with very minimal dressings. That was good, but now I workout everyday and I'm eating more protein. But yeah, find a really low-calorie food that you can stand, add some frosted flakes or something to the cornflakes, and really just avoid eating out by all means. Eating out and fast food is almost always unhealthier than making something at home. Also don't drink sodas and things like that, it really adds up the calories, replace with water.
 
You should just follow the diet that comes in the manual that was included with your bowflex. I recently purchased a bowflex too and have been following the diet with absolutely no cheating. I'm already down 10 lbs and it's only been a little over 3 weeks. Drink lots of water and stick to the plan and work out 3-4 times a week on it and you'll start seeing results. Don't worry about others in here saying you need to use only free weights. My Bowflex is working just fine for me.
 
If a bowflex has you working up a sweat when otherwise you would be laying around eating processed junk food then I say a bowflex is the best piece of equipment you can invest in. I have never used a bowflex but I would imagine the instructions can give you some direction. It is less important that you do it perfectly than it is that you simply just do it. Your body is amazingly resilient and can compensate many imbalances but you need to give it something to work with.

All the exercise in the world will not be able to compensate for an unhealthful diet. You know which foods are good and bad from you. Remove junk food from your grasp and find foods to replace your trigger foods. I personally found beneficial trying to find ideas of what foods to safely use to substitute for my favorites.

Keep things in moderation, do what you know is right, and stay on track is the best advice I can offer.

Good luck!
 
JugHeadAL said:
You should just follow the diet that comes in the manual that was included with your bowflex. I recently purchased a bowflex too and have been following the diet with absolutely no cheating. I'm already down 10 lbs and it's only been a little over 3 weeks. Drink lots of water and stick to the plan and work out 3-4 times a week on it and you'll start seeing results. Don't worry about others in here saying you need to use only free weights. My Bowflex is working just fine for me.
Click to expand...

I owned a Bowflex and used it for awhile. However a bowflex cannot provide you with squats and deadlifts, the two most beneficial exercises. Now if you have already bought it, then by all means use it. You can always supplement it later with some free weights.

The manual I had showed a sample diet that was 1250 calories. Thats too low for anyone, which diet are you following?
 
I have a bowflex and I enjoy having a piece of equipment in my home that is so versatile. I agree with Tony that the leg workouts are not great. I have some additional hand weights and an excercise ball (for squats in particular) and I find I can do a well rounded workout in my home. Good luck with your goals.
 
I'm following the diet outlined in the manual that came with the Bowflex and working out with it every other day. It's actually not that bad of a diet if you follow how it's outlined in the manual. It's 1500 calories a day for the first 2 weeks, 1400 calories a day for the second 2 weeks, and 1300 calories a day for the last 2 weeks. It's also broken down into what types of calories you should consume which should be 60% carbohydrates, 20% fat, and 20% Protein according to the plan. I'm eating breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and a small evening snack. I haven't been feeling very hungry and have lost some weight thus far. It might not be the plan for everyone but i'm gonna stick with it and see what kind of results I can get.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top