Bowflex Blaze Review – Replace A Full Home Gym Setup?

The Bowflex Blaze home gym is one heck of a machine. 

Combining the benefits of it's older brother, the PR3000, the Blaze packs features the old model was missing. 

No wonder it's one the most sought out home gyms on the market. 

Yet, in this Bowflex Blaze review, we wanted to find out how it stacks against it's predecessor, and to see if it can replace an entire home gym setup.

And of course, can it help you get the max out of your gym exercises.

Power Rods Resistance System

The special thing about home gyms from Bowflex is that they don't use weight plates as a resistance system. 

They use their own system called "Power Rods".

In the past the rods were made from polymer, but now Bowflex is not clear on what material the rods are made from.

They are though, extremely flexible, and they are the source of the brands name.

What I love about the Power Rods system is that it enables even users who're recovering from injury of suffering from joint pain to workout.

The rods system works in a way that builds the tension during the exercise. 

Meaning when you just starting to flex, the tension is light and is building up as long as you keep flexing.

This way you can control the tension you put on your joints to not hurt yourself. 

Another great thing about the rods is that you don't need to stack or unload weight plates. 

Each power rods is marked with it weight rating on the top of the rod cap. 

The rods are divided into 5 sets of:

• 5 lb
• 10 lb
• 10 lb
• 30 lb
• 50 lb

What's not so great is the fact to you need take good care of the rods.

And in any way you will have to replace them every couple of years, since they will lose their tension over time. Depends on your usage.

P.S

• The standard resistance weight is 210 lbs, which I think is not fair to someone who's a trained lifter. if that's you, you'll need to upgrade your unit with another 100 or 200 lbs.
• The warranty on the Rods only covers breakage, not normal wear and tear.

our Bowflex Blaze home gym Review

In this Bowflex Blaze review we'll be looking at:

• Usability
• Versatility
• Cool Features
• Ease Of Use
• Pros
• Cons

We're looking for concrete facts and features. Things that we would like our home gym to have.

Hopefully the Blaze can pass the test.

Bowflex Blaze Workouts

With over 60 exercises you can do on the Bowflex Blaze, you'll be able to workout your entire body.

Before you jump in and start pumping you should know what it is you want to achieve.

With this home gym you can expect to strengthen your muscles and boost their endurance, as well as improve your cardio and flexibility.

All you need to know is that this home gym is truly versatile.

The amount of exercises you can perform will help you achieve what ever it is you're after.

For obvious reasons I won't list the whole list, but here is a quick rundown:

• Chest: Chest fly, Bench Press, Decline/Incline Bench Press.
• Shoulders: Rear Deltoid Rows, Standing Lateral Shoulder Raise, Seated Shoulder Press.
• Back: Pulldowns, Lying Lat Fly, Lying Narrow Lat Pulldowns.
• Arms: Triceps Pushdown, French Press, Standing Biceps Curl.
• Abs: Reverse Crunch, Trunk Rotation, Resisted Reverse Crunch.
• Legs: Leg Extension, Squats, Standing Hip Extension.

The bottom line is, this machine deliverers a full body workout. 

Choose your goal, decide on your workout days, the intensity of your workouts, and set the number of reps and sets.

I can say without a doubt that the Bowflex Blaze is a versatile home gym, that can be used to achieve various fitness goals.

Workout Plan

With your unit you will receive 7 workout plans. Nothing wrong with that, just as I always like to say, build your own specific plan. 

The plans you'll get with this home gym are general and meant to target as many users.

Consult a professional trainer or get help on one of the many fitness forums online.

Bowflex Blaze Manual

The manual is very detailed to make sure that anyone, mostly beginners will not get lost while using this machine. 

In addition to instructions on how to perform each and every exercise, you will also get nutritional info and tips to help you get the max out of your workouts.

Furthermore you'll also find a detailed muscle map, along with measurements tips, menus, recommendation of calorie intake for both men and women, and more. 

This is in addition to the 7 trainer workouts that you'll also get.

All these make the Blaze very user friendly.

Bowflex Blaze Vs PR3000

When two similar products costs the same, and one has a little bit more to offer, I generally go with the better one. 

In this case, the Bowflex Blaze is the better home gym between the two. 

The PR3000 had a great run over the years, and could have been found in many, many households.

Bowflex didn't reinvent the wheel when they made the Blaze, they just took something that works, and improved it.

However, I feel that a higher standard resistance weight would have made even greater impact. 

I'm sorry, but a 210 lbs resistance is like telling a lot fit users "You need to pay extra to get the max out of your unit".

On the other hand, you do get a squat bar, a sliding seat for aerobic rowing and an horizontal bench press.

Personally I do a lot of research before buying anything, but the answer here is pretty much clear.

The Blaze is more versatile and offers more exercises, in addition to some extra handy features.

Furthermore it has a folding bench that will allow you to do supine movements, which you are not able to do on the PR3000.

Finally, the Blaze can support up to 410 lbs of resistance while the PR3000 can only last you till you reach the 310 lbs. 

And in which point you will need to look for a new home gym.

Other Considerable Features 

So we already mentioned the sliding seat rail, and the folding bench.

But what other cool features this home gym has to offer?

Well first of all the bench has a couple more sitting positions. 

You can adjust it straight flat facing forward or backward, and you can set a 45° incline

You could also remove the bench completely and leave just the seat. 

The leg extension that come with this home gym will allow you to work more effectively on your legs, hips, thighs, calves, etc.

The lat cross bar will allow you to work your back, shoulders and triceps, using the upper pulley station.

Unlike the PR3000, the Blaze features a squat platform on which you can perform squats with a squat bar. This wasn't an option on the PR3000, so Bowflex get extra points for including this in this model.

We can see that Bowflex upgraded the feature list for this model, but at the same time they kept the price in the same level, which is great.

bowflex blaze dimensions

In the spirit of comparison, let's continue with the Blaze's older brother and see how the two stack against each other.

• Blaze In Use Dimensions: 90" L x 38" W x 83" H (229 cm L x 97 cm W x 211 cm H)
  
• Folded Dimensions: 52" L x 38" W x 83" H (132 cm L x 97 cm W x 211 cm H)
• Workout area: 100" L x 78" W (254 cm L x 198 cm W)
• PR3000 In Use Dimensions: 76" L x  86" W x H 82" (193 cm L x 219 cm W x 208 cm H)
• Unused Dimensions: 63" L x  86" W x H 82" (160 cm L x 219 cm W x 208 cm H)
• Workout area: 90" L x 100" W (229 cm L x 254 cm W)

At first it might seems that you'll need a bigger place for the Blaze. 

But the workout area you'll need is pretty much the same for both of these home gyms.

In addition, when not in use, the Blaze takes even less space which makes it more of a compact home gym.

bowflex blaze assembly

Unlike home gyms that come ready to use from the box, like the Total Gym XLS, the Bowflex Blaze Home Gym will require a "bit" of work on your side.

It's not the hardest to assemble home gym out there, but if you've never done anything like this before, most chances you're gonna have a hard time. 

Not impossible, just hard.

First of all the instructions are super easy to follow, which is great. 

I can't count the times where I looked at a manual and didn't had a clue what to do or where to start. 

This doesn't happen with any of Bowflex models.

Bowflex really did a good job explaining what to do and how.

Finally, I would suggest using your own tools rather than the ones that come with the unit. Regular wrench and ratchet will do.

Bottom line, you can definitely assemble the Blaze by yourself, just read and follow the instructions carefully.

The pros list for this home gym can take a while.

Not cause I want to suck up to Bowflex for making this "incredible" home gym. 

Cause It's not.

It's just a really versatile all in one home gym, that packs a lot of features, and in a reasonable price. 

So for this pros list I will only focus on the pin points this model offers.

• You can do over 60 exercises on one machine. 
  
• The tension on the muscle is built during the exercise.
  Which is what makes this a great workout solution for people who suffer from joint pain, or that are recovering from injury. 
  
  
• The footprint is not that high compared to other home gyms. And when you fold it it's even smaller.
  
• It support aerobic rowing by removing the bench and leaving the seat on the rail. This is great for warming up sessions. 
  
• It's a complete home gym that will enable you to do squats and pulleys, and you don't have to pay extra for a squat bar and a lat bar.
  
• Because of the Power Rods system there is no noise of weight plates hitting each other. Working out on this thing won't disturb any one else in the house.

Side Effect pros

• In addition of being super quite, the rod system also reduces the risk of injury caused by strain or stumbling on a weight plate or a dumbbell.
  
  
• This versatile home gym will be great for those who want to pack up muscle and build up a strong core, as well as for users who want to get fit and even lose weight.
  
• You can workout in your own home, when ever you want, how you want, and for how long you want. For a lot of people that just might make the difference in achieving their goal, or failing.

Like with everything in life, nothing is perfect. 

Especially when there's a more expensive model from the same brand. 

The cons of this model are pretty much the same as with the rest of the models from this brand. 

• First of all, it's price. Even when we consider all that we get with this home gym, there is still a lot of money to say goodbye too. Not everyone can afford it. 
• In addition, the fact that fit users will probably need to upgrade their unit with another 100 or 200 lbs, make the deal even less attractive. 
• And if that's not enough, even if you take good care of the rods, even then, you will eventually have to replace them with new rods. 
• Did I mentioned you will have maintain the rods in good shape?
• You can't really tell how much you're lifting. The weight mark on the rod cap is just a reference and not the actual weight you're lifting.
• It might take you some time to get used to the rods system, and you might not even like it at all. 
• Assembling this home gym can be quite hard for some.