Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym Review – BEST Home Gym For Beginners?
For a home gym that doesn’t make use of weight stacks or a power rod system like other models in the Bowflex Home Gym series, one would think this home gym would be greatly limited.
While it doesn’t have the amazing features of advanced Bowflex Home Gyms, the Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym is incredibly versatile.
It’s a very sturdy and affordable power tower that incorporates multiple workout stations that lets you exercise different parts of your body.
But exactly how many exercises can you perform with the Bowflex BodyTower?
How sturdy and durable is it? Is this home gym the right equipment to help you get fit and build muscles?
I’ll attempt to answer all of these questions in this Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym review.
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Check the quick summary box just below the Table of Contents for a low-down of the Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym.
4.6 Stars Based on 5071 Reviews
Despite the lack of weights or rods, the Bowflex BodyTower offers the possibility of performing different workouts, including upright knee raises, pull-ups, crunches, supine rows, Tricep dips, and other exercises. It comes with handles and an adjustable dip bar that allow you to try out different muscle groups.
The Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym is also very affordable compared to most home gyms on the market today. So you won't have to break the bank before getting the Bowflex BodyTower – it's also the cheapest Bowflex home gym you can hope to get.
This home gym is designed for people with varying heights - you can customize the bars to your preference. However, users taller than 6'4" might find the Bowflex BodyTower uncomfortable for use.
Best of all, assembling this home gym is easy. Most users take between 30 and 45 minutes to set up the BodyTower. So you can start working out some hours after the BodyTower arrives at your home.
Pros
Cons
Takeaway
With over 20 exercises, quality steel frame construction, adjustable pull up bar, and accessories including handgrips and sling straps, the Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym is one of the best for beginners and intermediates. The fact that it is also very affordable makes it an excellent investment.
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About Bowflex
Bowflex is a leading manufacturer of quality gym equipment and has become one of the well-known names in the fitness industry alongside giants like Total Gym. You might have seen their late-night infomercials on TV.
They are known for their innovative home gym features that make working out and getting in shape less tedious and more comfortable.
While Bowflex are known for their Power Rod and SpiraFlex resistance system, the BodyTower doesn't come with either as it relies on the bodyweight of users for resistance.
Generally, Bowflex's fitness products such as treadmills, trainers, bikes, and home gyms have high ratings and a large percentage of users have nothing but praise for their equipment.
Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym Overview
The Bowflex BodyTower comes with handle grips and several other accessories you won't find in other low-priced models.
It has an EZ-adjust bar to allow you to customize your workout, adding versatility to your workout regimen.
The BodyTower is also designed to last and is relatively simple to set up and use. The variety of workouts you can perform is one of Bowflex BodyTower's main selling points.
In all, you should be able to do around twenty different exercises, 8 of which are pictured and explained in a placard attached to the machine's frame.
The Bowflex BodyTower is designed to last for a long time. It comes with a high-strength D-ring and carabiners for the hardware.
It can accommodate people that weigh up to 300 lb. The Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym is reasonably simple to set up, thanks to the included guide and exercise card.
This equipment also comes with an excellent warranty which means that the manufacturers have tremendous confidence in the quality of their product. The BodyTower's frame has a 5-years warranty, while the parts are backed by a one-year warranty.
One drawback, however, is that people taller than 6'4" might find it uncomfortable to use. Also, the rubberized feet are rigid and cannot be adjusted, meaning you'll need to set up a shim if your workout room isn't completely level.
Full Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym Review
Specifications
Dimensions | Unit Weight | Resistance Type | Max User Weight | Exercises | Foldable | Quick Change | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
50L" x 50W" x 77H" | 120 lb | Bodyweight | 300 lb | 20+ | No | No |
Features
- Quality steel frame construction.
- Excellent warranty – 5 years on the frame and 1-year on the parts.
- Maximum user weight of 300 lb for the lat tower and handgrips.
- Workstations and attachments such as sling straps and handgrips add variety to workouts.
- Workout placard shows how to perform 8 different exercises - squat, chin up, triceps dip, pushup, supine row, raised bridge, vertical knee raise, crunch.
Construction & Design
The Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym is a solid and sturdy home gym due to its high-quality steel that's designed to be resistant to corrosion.
With its massive A-shaped heavy-duty commercial-grade steel frame, there will be zero wobbling or movement while exercising with the Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym.
It might rock a bit when in use by very heavy users, but it definitely won't tip over. It has impressive rubber levelers at the bottom of the base for increased stabilization.
The Bowflex BodyTower weighs about 120 lb, which gives it stability. Its gross user weight capacity of 300 pounds/136 kg shows how stable the equipment is.
The Bowflex BodyTower is not a massive unit; in reality, it is a small system that can comfortably fit into most rooms without taking up much space. This home gym measures 50L x 50W x 77H inches when assembled.
While the size isn't large, you'll need space around the machine to workout comfortably. Bowflex recommends having a clearance of 36" around the machine.
With a height of 77" (6ft4"), the Bowflex BodyTower is not suitable for users taller than 6ft3inches. This also means the ceiling of your workout space must be higher than 6ft4".
The middle handles much similar to the J-Cups on squat rack uprights can be moved to achieve a higher or lower starting spot.
The upper handles are set, but there are many widths of padded handle grips available. The padding foam is both convenient and long-lasting. The back pad is also thickly padded, similar to the roller on a leg extension unit.
Accessories
The Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym comes with other parts and accessories that make it excellent for workout activities.
They include the adjustable horizontal bars, pull-up rope, adjustable handgrips, sling harness, and tower-mounted exercise placard.
E-Z Adjust Horizontal Bars
These customizable horizontal bars allow you to perform a range of exercises that increase the strength of your workouts and improve the results of your fitness program.
The non-absorbent padding back pad is also a component of the E-Z Adjust horizontal bars, which adjust in tandem.
The horizontal bars can be adjusted to seven different locations. These allow you to do exercises like dips, decline pushups, elevated bridges, and many others.
Adjustable Sling straps
Since they are fixed to the horizontal bar, the flexible sling straps move similarly to it. This allows for a variety of exercises and a stable, firm, and relaxed grip during workouts.
Pull-up Bar
The pull-up bar is commonly used for pull-ups or chin-ups. This movement is widely used to strengthen the spine, elbows, biceps, and upper bodies.
It makes the shoulders seem broader, and the upper back appears larger and longer. The pull-up bar is a normal and indispensable part of any power tower. The Bowflex Power Tower is no exception.
Tower- Mounted Workout Placard
The tower-mounted workout placard depicts the eight main exercises that can be performed with the power tower in an easy-to-understand manner, as well as ten additional exercises.
This means you won't have to try to figure out how to get the best out of the power tower, even though you're only starting out because you've got a great tutorial to take you through the drills.
Exercises
The Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym has a host of external features that massively expand the number of activities you can do with it and help it stand out from the competition.
The ability to change the height of the dip bars and the inclusion of handles that hang from the dip bars ensure you can get an excellent full-body exercise.
On the other hand, most other power towers only make for a decent upper body and core exercise.
The following are the key workouts you can perform, as well as the muscles they are designed to work:
Pull-ups/Chin-ups
Pull-ups and chin-ups on the pull-up bar will primarily work the biceps and latissimus dorsi (lats) and to a lesser degree, your abdominals, posterior deltoids, pectoralis muscles (pecs) and trapezius. You can switch between wide and average grip widths (shoulder width).
Triceps Dips
Your pecs, anterior deltoids, and triceps will be worked by the dip station. The degree to which the different muscles are exercised will often vary depending on the orientation of your dives.
The more you lean your body over, the more your pecs are worked. A straighter torso works the triceps harder.
Vertical Knee Raises
You can do vertical knee raises by hooking your arms into the slings that connect to the bottom of the pull-up rope. This can give the stomach muscles an excellent workout.
Crunches
You can also do crunches by lowering the dip bars all the way and sliding your feet beneath the back padding part that lies between them. These can offer you a decent ab exercise and are perfect for beginners who cannot do vertical knee raises.
Decline Pushups
You can do decline pushups by placing your foot on the padded backrest. Decline pushups are more complicated than regular pushups because they focus on the upper portion of the pectoral muscles (pecs). You can shift the difficulty level of the decline pushups by adjusting the height of the dip bars.
Supine rows
Supine rows (also known as "inverted rows") are performed on the Body Tower with the handles attached below the dip bars. Pull your body upward with your feet on the ground to complete the cycle. Supine rows primarily work the lats and trapezius muscles and the biceps to a more minor degree.
Single-leg squats
You can do single-leg squats by dropping the adjustable dip bars to the required height and using the padded backrest as a brace. This workout is excellent for strengthening the buttocks muscles, hamstrings, and thigh muscles.
If you run out of exercise ideas, there are 8 key workouts pictured on the placard attached to the frame of the BodyTower you can perform.
Ease of Use
Bowflex's Body Tower is, for the most part, straightforward to use. Aside from a few extra features, it's a relatively basic power tower that works in the same way as any other.
As previously said, the height of this power tower makes it ideal for some but not for others. If you're very tall and don't enjoy having to bend your knees much while doing pull-ups, this power tower isn't for you.
If you're shorter and don't like bending your knees a lot, even if you have shallow ceilings, the Body Tower is perfect.
The dip bars are of good quality and easy to use. A couple of points here are:
- Since the dip bars and pull bar are on the same foot, you must do the dips with your back to the station to avoid hitting your head on the pull-up bar. This is typical of single-sided control towers.
- The dip bars measure about 21 inches apart from center to center. As a result, they are among the narrower dip bars. This is ideal for most people because it helps you keep your elbows close against your body when dips, preventing undue shoulder strain. Nevertheless, it can feel a little cramped for those with vast shoulders.
The use of slings for the vertical knee raise station distinguishes the BodyTower from the majority of the competition. In commercial gym, majority use armrests on the dip bars and a backrest.
If you're used to this style, using slings can be a bit of a change, but really, the two models aren't that dissimilar.
In that regard, since they do not have to carry your body weight, slings decrease the amount of pressure exerted on your shoulders.
Warranty
The Bowflex BodyTower's frame is backed by a warranty period of five years while wear components are within the one year warranty window.
I must say that for a home gym this affordable, the Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym comes with a very great warranty.
Even some expensive home gyms have lesser warranties, so thumbs up to Bowflex for this.
Assembly
The Bowflex BodyTower is delivered in a box unassembled. The seller determines the delivery cost.
However, Amazon offers free shipping to the United States and ships within days of purchase. The power tower is relatively simple to assemble since it only has nine stages.
With diagrams and text, the manual provides straightforward guidance on how to put the various pieces together.
It doesn't take long to put together - about 30 - 40 minutes - and all of the appropriate resources are included.
Maintenance
Essentially, no upkeep is expected. You are only required to keep the machine free of dirt and sweat at all times.
Always ensure you inspect it before using it for any loose or damaged parts to avoid an accident and more damage to the device.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
Get The Bowflex PR1000 Home Gym If:
- You want a home gym with multiple workout stations.
- You are on a budget.
- You don't want to use weights.
- You want an affordable home gym that's very durable.
- You are not very tall.
- You want a home gym you can quickly assemble.
Final Thoughts
The Bowflex BodyTower Home Gym is one of Bowflex's cheapest home gyms, if not the cheapest.
Despite that, it is constructed using commercial-grade steel, making it sturdy and stable even while you're working out. The high-quality steel also prolongs its life span.
While its over 20 exercises isn't up to the 70, 80, or 100 exercises offered by some advanced home gyms, you can get full-body conditioning by being creative with the dip station and other accessories.
It also comes with a pull-up bar designed for people of various height. However, it might be uncomfortable for very tall people.
That said, the Bowflex BodyTower offers a lot of value for its price. If you're a beginner or at intermediate level, this home gym is worth the expense.
Have any question? Let us know in the comments section below!
