Bowflex workouts done using Bowflex home gyms are a great option for those who do not have time or interest in going to a gym and pumping iron every day. Bowflex has been making compact yet versatile home gyms for about three decades now. These machines are great for small homes and apartments. Bowflex workout machines do not occupy much floor space. But, they can provide enough challenge to even an otherwise fit and active person. If you have already bought a Bowflex home gym and don’t know what to do with it, the below-mentioned Bowflex workout program should help you. The exercise plan that I have mentioned below is based on the PPL i.e. Push-Pull-Leg model so you can uniformly target different muscle groups. Keep reading to find out what these PPL Bowflex workouts are and how they can help you build strength and endurance.
💡 Quick Tip: If you don’t already have an all-in-one home gym machine, I strongly recommend Bowflex Blaze Home Gym. It uses the company’s patented rod resistance mechanism, which makes it suitable for beginners to intermediate trainers. Advanced athletes can upgrade its existing resistance level.
Bowflex Blaze Home Gym
What's so unique about Bowflex workouts using Bowflex home gyms?
If you want to build visibly bigger abs, chest, and leg muscles like bodybuilders and athletes, you have to stick to strength training for at least thrice a week. But, if you are just a fitness enthusiast, resistance training using Bowflex home gyms should be more than enough to help you get a well-toned body.
The Bowflex home gym uses power rods for resistance. You can remove or add more rods to the pulleys to adjust the resistance. Different models have different levels of resistance. The most affordable one has 200 lbs of resistance and the advanced ones can be upgraded to have as high as 500 lbs of resistance. The machines are compact, lightweight, and can be used to do more than 60 different exercises targeting almost every muscle group in your body. These rods are more powerful and versatile than resistance bands. They almost replicate free weights. So, with this one machine, you can do as many exercises as you can with free weights such as dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, LAT machines, etc.
📖 Related Article: If you are an advanced trainer looking for a challenging yet satisfying workout plan, I highly recommend the Insanity Cardio, Power, and Resistance Workouts.
What are PPL Bowflex workouts?
Push-Pull-Leg is a very simple yet effective training method in which you divide your muscle groups into three types; the push muscles, the pull muscles, and the leg muscles.
The push muscles are the ones that you train by pushing exercises. The chest, shoulders, and triceps are push muscles. Similarly, the biceps, lats, back muscles, and traps are the pull muscles because they can be trained by pulling exercises. In the PPL training model, the leg muscles also involve the abdominals.
To achieve better results, you need to keep altering these workouts. For example; Monday and Thursday can be pull, Tuesday and Friday can be push, and Wednesday and Saturday can be legs.
💡 Quick Tip: If you have a limited budget or aren’t convinced enough to buy an $800 machine, you may go with Total Gym APEX. It is also a full-body workout machine that can help you target almost all muscle groups. It is only suitable for intermediate-level trainers.
Total Gym APEX
PPL-based bowflex workouts
Bowflex has already created a few workout programs. The videos are available on YouTube and its website has a detailed program schedule.
But, most of these Bowflex workouts are very generic. They are great for beginners and casual trainers. But, if you take your workout rather seriously and want to achieve the maximum possible results, you must try the Push-Pull-Leg split method. It helps exert a specific muscle group to its maximum possible level and then gives it two days of rest during which the exerted muscle recovers and gets stronger for the next session.
If you are looking for PPL-based Bowflex workouts here is a sequence you can try-
For push days you can try these Bowflex workouts-
- Chest press
- Chest fly
- Decline chest fly
- Shoulder press
- Lateral raise
- Decline Pushups
- Tricep dip
For targeting your back and bicep muscles here are some pull-based Bowflex workouts-
- Lateral pulls
- Seated rows
- Bicep curls
- Seated abdominal crunch
- Stiff arm pulldowns
- Bench press
- Chipups
Here are some Bowflex workouts for legs day-
- Single leg squats
- Vertical knee raises
- Leg extension
- Leg press
- Leg curls
- Hip thrusts
📖 Related Article: Trying to lose weight and gain optimum body fat? We have created many body fat calculators to help you evaluate your training needs. One of the most accurate ones is The Navy Method Body Fat Calculator.
Bowflex workouts FAQs
How often can you do Bowflex workouts?
As many times a week as you want!
As I said above, Bowflex home gyms have a rod-based resistance mechanism which is safer and less stressful than free weights. You can do Bowflex workouts as many times as you want in a week. But, you need to do two things; make sure you give ample rest to your muscles and you increase the resistance progressively.
Is there a Bowflex workout app?
Yes, there is but it is poorly rated. Bowflex has, however, created numerous YouTube workout videos. These videos are usually for intermediate to advanced trainers.
Can you build muscles by doing Bowflex workouts?
Strength training can provide you faster results but if you do not have access to a gym or a home gym, Bowflex workouts are a good alternative. However, please note that they may not be enough to gain competition-level fitness.
Wrap up
Bowflex home gym systems are all-in-one workout machines recommended for beginners and intermediate-level trainers. They may not replace free weights but if you do not really wish to have a bodybuilder-type physique, Bowflex workouts should be enough to help you stay in shape. I hope this article helps you get started. Keep reading our how-to guides, product reviews, tips and tricks, etc. to learn how you can stay fit without necessarily going to a nearby gym.
