Bowflex Users

drunkhnmunky

New User
I have the very first model without the Purvis Pec Bar. . . and for some reason, I can never get a good chest workout. Do any of you have these problems. If not, what exercises should I do? Right now, I have been doing bench press, incline, and chest flies, but the only one I feel at all is the chest fly. I get tired, but I never get that feeling.
 

canajun4

New User
i would suggest doing much lighter weight and really trying to isolate your chest. you may have a body build like mine where everything i do goes to my arms and not my chest. so use lighter weight until you can build the chest muscles up more and then work on isolating them with heavier weights
 

Kevin T

Hall of Fame
A trick a lot of trainers use (and that I use) is to "flare the lats" when doing chest work. I try to imagine that my arms are basically useless pegs and use a squeezing type motion while spreading the lats to lift the weight. Also try and focus on that squeeze at the top of the contraction. Hold for a count of 2-5 seconds and release slowly. I really like to use slow reps (2-3 seconds up, hold 2-3 seconds, 2-3 seconds on the eccentric (negative/down) phase) with a weight heavy enough to fatigue me in 8-12 reps. If the Bowflex is good for anything, it's the chest exercises. I get better chest definition when using the Bowflex than with free weights. Power/strength are another matter, though.
 
slow down when lowering the weight. What I would do is buy a power rack barbells and a bench.....you will be set your life
 

raftermania

Banned
Yeah man we talked about the bowflex machine before and concluded the bowflex grandmother is hott. That's the only bowflex related information I can provide, sorry!
 

canajun4

New User
i would agree with KevniT about the arm thing, you definitely want to use your arms as little as possible and relax them like they aren't there. then sqeeze your chest and lats in order to lift the weight, but obviously like i said, in order to do this you will need to drop the weight. just drop it until you can successfully do one rep without using your arms and go from there. also most of power comes from legs so don't worry too much about you upper body unless your just trying to look good. look at federer.
 

Kevin T

Hall of Fame
Drunk,

The only way I can explain it is to imagine spreading your back as much as possible. Kind of like you are trying to press your back through the bench you are laying on. Literally try to imagine the bench press movement as blasting your back through the bench, rather than pressing the weight up with your arms. A lot of people tend to arch their back to get more weight up. Don't do that. Keep that back flat. Good luck.
 
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