Bowflex Xtreme XTLU Home Gym

by Bowflex

Product Features

• Get a gym-quality workout in your home
• Provides as little as 5 or as many as 210 pounds of resistance via Bowflex Power Rods (can be upgraded to 310 or 410 pounds)
• Integrated lat tower with angled lat bar helps to build back and shoulder muscles quickly
• Leg extension/leg curl attachment can be removed for squats
• 7-year warranty

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Get serious about your strength training at home with the Bowflex Xtreme XTLU home gym, which includes a lat tower, squat station, leg attachment and adjustable pulley system for over 65 gym-quality exercises. It comes standard with 210 pounds of real Power Rod resistance (which can be upgraded to 310 or 410 pounds with optional additional Power Rods). The integrated lat tower with angled lat bar helps to build back and shoulder muscles quickly. The upper and lower pulley/squat station enables you to do squats and build your gluts, hamstrings, and quads. The XTLU also has multiple cable/pulley positions for custom workouts.

The leg extension/leg curl attachment rivals specialized leg equipment found in gyms, and will help you develop strong, muscular legs. Efficient and easy to use, the leg attachment connects easily, and can be removed in seconds for using the squat station.

The Xtreme XTLU utilizes Bowflex's patented Power Rods, which provide resistance, or weight, that feels as good as or better than free weights--but without the inertia or risk of joint pain usually associated with free weights. You can hook one, two, three, four or all of your Power Rod units to the cable pulley system and go from as little as 5 pounds all the way up to 210 pounds of resistance.

They're precisely manufactured from a high-tech composite material under the highest quality control measures, then sheathed and tested 4 separate times to ensure quality and durability. The Power Rod units are so strong, you can flex them repeatedly but you won't be able to wear them out. In fact, they're so strong, Bowflex backs them with its No-Time-Limit Warranty free replacement offer.

Feature Detail:

• Gym-style vertical workout position
• Adjustable, quick release seat with Polyurethane cushion
• Reinforced "X"-shaped base for maximum stability
• Compact size for smaller workout spaces
• Triple function hand-grip/ankle cuffs
• Workout area: 7 by 6 feet
• Dimensions: 6'11" by 4'8" by 4'2" (H x L x W)
• High density padding with vinyl cover
• Powder-coated heavy-duty steel frame

Manufacturer's Warranty
Seven-year limited warranty on materials and workmanship

About Home Gyms
While offering the convenience of working out in the comfort and privacy of your own home, home gyms also allow you to focus on specific routines without having to wait in line or switch between a complex array of machines. In addition to improving strength, power, coordination, and muscular endurance, weight training can enhance weight reduction, enhance the immune and cardiovascular systems, and help prevent injuries. In general, home gym machines are compact units designed to strengthen and exercise many parts of the body. While no single home gym can provide a complete strength training solution, they are a convenient way to combine many exercises into a single unit. Some home gyms focus exclusively on upper-body workouts, while other, more advanced units focus on upper- and lower-body conditioning.

Product Description

Bowflex Xtreme XTLU Home Gym Bowflex Xtreme XTLU includes standard Lat and Squat Stations, plus a Leg Attachment for serious full-body workouts. Adjustable upper and lower pulleys offer an incredible range of options for building chest, shoulders, back an

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 158 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000E199UW
• Item model number: Xtreme
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #177,699 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An underappreciated gem, September 2, 2006

By 

Andrew Weis (Northfield, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bowflex Xtreme XTLU Home Gym (Sports)

I assume the Extreme is underappreciated because I can't find reviews on it. I've wanted a Bowflex for a decade but have been too cheap and too busy to seriously consider buying one. I finally pitched all the cheap substitutes and got the real thing. I chose the Extreme because of it's smaller footprint and the ability to do all my exercises upright (lying down on a bench at 5:00 a.m. doesn't do much for my motivation). Putting it together was tedious and the instructions were a bit hard to follow because the pictures didn't always fit the process but basic reading and mechanical skills will get you through it. The training video is pretty good, Tom Purvis knows his stuff. I was surprised that some exercises included in the basic program on the poster were not included in the DVD. Lame, but not an issue with my personal trainer background. What I like most about the Extreme is that I can remove the seat and do several exercises sitting on a large exercise ball to add a stabilization challenge to my workout. I have also found that I can use the Extreme like a rowing machine when I use an exercise ball. It looks like the Extreme 2, which is set up so you don't have to (and thus cannot if you want to) change cable settings, probably wouldn't work with an exercise ball. Not sure about that, but that's my guess.
LONG STORY SHORT: Excellent construction and design, great if your workout space is limited, pretty fast switching between exercises, leg attachment is worth the extra bucks but watch for specials because you can sometimes get it added for free. Great overall deal!
DOWNSIDES: Short-term: tedious assembly, dvd doesn't cover all exercises. Long-term: 210 lbs resistance isn't going to cut it if you're a serious strength trainer which means an extra $100 for two more 50lb rods.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good concept with small flaws., April 6, 2008

By 

MR (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bowflex Xtreme XTLU Home Gym (Sports)

I'm a 42 yr old male, in good shape and experienced with working out and weight training. I lift weights to tone up, and to balance the running portion of my workouts. I'm not looking for size or "gains". My goal in purchasing a Bowflex was to save time and space. I purchased the Bowflex Extreme with the 310 "lb" resistance upgrade. To date I have not purchased the leg attachment option. I have used this machine for six weeks.

Overall - I'm happy with this purchase. This machine is a good concept, and produces good results. In my opinion, it offers several advantages over free weights. It's well constructed, but has some minor flaws (described later). While not the top-of-the-line model, this machine allows me to do more exercises than I could ever possibly need.

The resistance feels different than free weights, and takes some getting used to. First, the poundage listed on the rods does not correspond to free weights - it doesn't need to. The goal is to provide a repeatable, controlled resistance. Second, the resistance increases through the range of motion, unlike weights which require you to overcome inertia. Initially, this makes the exercise feel too easy, but I've found that if I work through the complete range of motion in a controlled manner, I get a good workout.

In my opinion, because resistance increases through the range of motion, the Bowflex works stabilizer muscles better than free weights. In addition, since you're not limited to working against gravity, you can exercise through ranges of motion not possible with free weights. Free weights do offer some advantages, but I'm happy with my results to date.
The actual size of the Extreme is pretty much what I had anticipated. It requires a 7ft wide x 9ft deep x 8ft high workout area. You'll not want to move it once setup, but it can be used in a second bedroom. I like how the bench is set up in a vertical position to save space.

One flaw is that some of the components seem cheap. Overall, the system is solid and well-constructed. However, my rod binding strap split into two after a couple of uses. Also, the plastic covering on one of my cables started flaking off after a few workouts. Another flaw is that the 210 "lb" standard resistance is insufficient. The machine should come with 300 "lbs" of standard resistance - Bowflex should ditch the useless 5 lb rods, and add two more 50s.

A couple words of advice - Read the ENTIRE manual before assembling or working out. I read the assembly portion of the manual, and easily set the system up in an hour. However, thinking I was experienced, I jumped into my workouts without reading (or watching the DVD) on how to use the machine. I later found out that I was doing several of the exercises, and using several of the attachments, incorrectly. Perhaps this contributed to the flaking cable covering. Finally, I've found that grouping exercises by pulley location (high, middle, or low pulleys), shortens my workouts.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Piece of crap! (Not necessarily but...), August 27, 2007

By 

JCMF "Julio" (Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bowflex Xtreme XTLU Home Gym (Sports)

I just assembled my bowflex and let me tell you that it looks and feels strong. But I didn't like it. The reason? Here are a few:

- You have to change a lof of cables and settings from one excercise to the other.
- The pulleys are a little cheap, they don't rotate easily and sometimes kind of get stuck and the excercise isn't very smooth.
- A little pricey for what you get.

Overall, if you want to buy this machine, first try it and then buy it, otherwise you will regret. Or just buy it from the TV and return it if you don't like it! Oh, and don't buy it from ebay!!

UPDATE:
Well, it's been more than a month since I've been using the bowflex and I kind of like it. As I said before, if feels and looks strong, and the excercises are good, you feel the muscles working as you excercise. I haven't been following any diet, so I haven't lost any weight, or at least haven't weighed myself, but I feel stronger and when I'm done excercising I can see some changes in my body (A little more volume and definition.)

What I still don't like about the bowflex is that the rods don't represent the weight they are supposed to. I can't believe that I'm able to "pull" 300 pounds (150 each side) on the bench press excercise, while at a free weight machine I could barely lift 200. A little different if compared to a free weight machine but still does the job.

Complains? Well, lately I keep hearing a click on one of the pulleys, but since I bought it on ebay and I live in Mexico there's no way I can get free replacement pulleys from Bowflex. And the seller is not responsible of the parts, so I have nowhere to complain.

One thing I don't know is if muscles actually grow using the bowflex or if they just get shaped.

Overall is a good piece of equipment, but still I recommend you to buy it from the TV, evaluate it for the 6 weeks and make a decision based on that.

Recommend it? Mmmhhh.. first give it a try and decide by yourself after using it.

May 2009 Update
After using it probably for 6 continuous months for the last "cycle" I have come to the conclusion that this thing doesn't help you to add volume. I have been taking whey protein, so it should have helped to achieve that goal, but it hasn't. My conclusion is that the Bowflex gyms are good if you want to increase your strength, then this gym is for you. On the other hand, if your intention is to increase volume, then stay away from this, because it won't help you to achieve your goal.

I'm actually looking for somebody interested in buying this thing...