Bowflex Workouts - What's Behind Them?

Workout Details and Tips

Loosing weight or gaining muscles really doesn't have to be frustrating or time taking. Bowflex workout plan with simple home gym equipment is very effective and not too intensive. You could compare the intensity to aerobic exercise. In this article you'll find out what results can you expect in 6 weeks, and how to achieve them. Athletes could benefit, but more importantly, an average person not interested in bodybuilding can change completely during the first 6 weeks only. You could have a healthy, functional body and continue to lead a comfortably active life after 6 weeks. Forget the fact that it has been developed by well known fat loss experts. I'll show you what and how can this work for you and change your life, plain and simple.

In order to make it work, you need a plan and to stick to it. So what is the plan and what is the goal after all?

A realistic goal could be to loose about 20 pounds in 6 weeks, and feel every minute of happiness of the new rhythm of your life. You'll achieve this by working only 20 minutes per day, three times a week. But, you have to work each planned day and really work for those 20 minutes to make it happen. If you do, you'll be awarded by looking another person in the mirror. It sounds easy, and it in fact it is, but 6 weeks is not short and many people give up. No matter how great and motivated you feel about your decision now you should plan to bring in some additional motivation, to make everything last for 6 weeks: you should make sure you have the time, reschedule things now if needed. You'll need 20 minutes plus the time for the shower. You should tell your friends and family that you are serious about it and ask them to check up on you. If you start telling about your decision right now, when this is still hot, you'll be even more aware of your decision, and there's no way back!

You can reward yourself after each successful week - plan to buy yourself something inexpensive that will make you feel good. (Don't reward yourself by food by any chance!!).

Okay, now that we've talked about the motivational stuff (which is where most people fail!) let's talk about the program itself.

Success is based on three practices:
- Reduced-calorie eating
- Bowflex workout exercises (short and hard)
- Drink more water, liquid.

Eating is very important for this plan, and don't worry, you'll not feel hungry or bad. You just need to be aware of your eating habits and stick to the plan. The best way for the body is to eat often but not much calories. For example, you could eat every three hours. With calories, you simply need to burn more then you eat. You don't have to become a food scientist. The Bowflex manual comes with a menu that is acceptable for most people.

A good plan is to be eating slightly below 2,000 calories a day. This number is not too low or high and efficient in loosing weight. A good diet would contain about 59-percent carbohydrates, 16-percent fats, and 25-percent proteins. These numbers are just for informational purposes, to show you what this kind of diet needs to be, you'll find out about the exact Bowflex diet in your manual. So, the concept is to eat smaller meals and more often then usual.

Here is a short overview of the Bowflex training routine. It may consist of those kinds of Bowflex exercises:

Leg Curl
Leg Extension
Bench Press
Standing Bicep curl
Shoulder Press
Ab crunches.

After the first week you'll add more exercises (they change every two weeks), like:

Seated Row
Laying Shoulder Pullover
Leg Press

You may have noticed that these are strength exercises. While eating less you may loose muscle weight and you cannot allow this to happen. By doing these you'll loose only fat and not make yourself any weaker (on the contrary!). Proper strength cardio training is not about reckless use of an exercise machine. Here is what to do:

Typically, people tend to cheat, lift in a fast style. This is not only not bringing results but is dangerous for the muscles. Do it slow, like, count to three during each lift. Always remember this, it is crucial for the progress.

The workout routine should not be repeated for more then three times per week, because the recovery is as important part of the cycle as training.

It must be intense! You should do the repetitions until you cannot do additional ones in a normal way. This stimulates the muscle to add more muscle tissue. This is the same principle as in pumping muscles with weight lifting.

The resistance. You should set the resistance to allow you about 10 repetitions. Don't ever let the number (10 or 8 or whatever) hold you back. You should always try to do more to stimulate the muscles. When you can't, you can't you stop and call it a day.

Last but not least, you must drink more water throughout the whole day, drink 1-1/2 gallons every day, not just when you exercise. This helps the whole body and metabolism, not just the muscles. Find out more about that in The Bowflex Body Plan. Drinking cold water burns more calories. Drinking more water helps your kidneys to turn fat into energy. A tip: don't drink the water in the late afternoon or you'll have to get up at night.

Edit: Some people asked if Soloflex is related to Bowflex. No, it's a different company. Bowflex is pronounced like "Bo Flex". Haven't heard of "Bowlex", must be a misspelling.

Now that you know all the principles behind the Bowflex workout exercises, you can understand why is possible to do wonders in such a short time. From my experience, loosing 20 pounds in 6 weeks is even a conservative number! But, whatever you do with this program, do it regularly, don't stop and the results will come sooner then you think. They easily offer a money back guarantee as it really changes your life in 6 weeks, if you're an average Joe or Jane. Should you buy the exercise machine now? No. You should buy the fitness equipment when you're ready for your 6 weeks challenge, and told all your friends you're going after it and asked them for their support. But start working on the 6 week motivation plan right now!