Bowflex: The truth about the home exercise machine.

Home exercise machines are bad because they are expensive and offer less options than a health club. Your local health club will have personal trainers, free weights, a variety of cardio-machines, aerobics classes, and possibly a pool or a basketball court. Bowflex may protect you from embarrassment, but that pressure can be a powerful factor in maintaining your motivation.

The biggest problem with home exercise machines as well as health club-style workouts in general is that they are pure exercise. Most people lose their motivation in time. For weight loss and general fitness we are much bigger fans of lifestyle exercise activities such as tennis, hiking, walking, cycling, dancing, climbing, etcetera... These are the type of activities that you don’t think of as exercise and sustain themselves in the long-term. Add a basic food program or one of the simple and inexpensive online programs for structure and support, and you have the best possible option for success.