Customer Reviews

Schwinn Force Home Gym by Bowflex

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was an extremely well considered purchase on my part and I am pleased with the outcome. I have thought about buying a Bowflex machine for years, but have always been a little off put by the prices: (Would I really use it enough to justify that price tag?) So, when I saw the Force (by Bowflex) for under $500, I decided to risk the purchase since it claims to use the same technology as the Bowflex Sport. I do believe this is just about the same machine as the Bowflex Sport. Anyway, turns out this is a great machine. The fact that I can do so many different exercises on the same machine makes it hard to get bored. I have been using it for a month, and while I look nothing like the guy in the bowflex commercials, it's not because of the machine!

My bowflex came after a week I ordered it. The nuts that came with the product can only be tighten to a point. Therefore, ALL of the screws are very loose. I ended up buying 9 nuts from Home Depot for $.72 and then I assembled it with no further problem. Other than this flaw(could only be my package), Bowflex works great. The motions are fluid and you can work almost every part of your muscle (though I still prefer doing sit-up for working ab). For $400 + $.72, it is definitely worth buying.

I bought this during a Friday Sale ($349) and received the free Bowflex mat & free shipping.

This home gym is easy to set up. It should take you about an hour.

My wife & I both use the gym. For the money, this is a very nice piece of equipment.

Buy this instead of the Bowflex Sport and save yourself hundreds of dollars. They are basically the same machine.

The Schwinn Force Home Gym by Bowflex is a very good value for the money and I am glad that I purchased it. The shipping was very fast, also, not to mention FREE, which was awesome. The free floor mat looks cool, also. The machine is easy to assemble and use. The tension is smooth, which I really like, and good for muscle contraction. As previously mentioned by others, the only drawback to this machine is the bolts that came with it. Do yourself a HUGE favor and go to your local hardware store and replace ALL of them with hex nuts and bolts, which will cost $2.00 dollars and are easier to tighten. The bolts that come with the machine cannot be tightened properly with the supplied tool. Spend the $2.00 and save your hands and wrists a severe beating which will lasts for days

I'm a 22 year old college student that used to be active in sports in high school, but put on a bit of weight in college. I ordered this just for that reason, and I feel that it was pretty much worth the 350 it cost. All of the exercises I remember doing in my high school gym are available on it and I can really feel a workout comparable to free weights after a couple of days of working on it.

Some things that I felt were a little off were that the bolts require a wrench to be tightened completely and although the kit does come with allen wrenches, it was missing a wrench to hold down the bolts while tightening them. It shouldn't be a problem if you already have a wrench set, but it was a little bit of a hassle digging through to find the right wrench when you'd expect one to be included in the kit. Also the benchpress workout they have isn't exactly like the normal benchpress, the seat has to be set into its incline position and you use the handle attachment not the bar. The bar only seems to work on the upper part of the machine for doing lats and such, and the leg workout part of the machine seems to only be for leg extensions.

That's about it, everything else is great. The mat comes in a seperate shipment. The actual machine came shipped fedexed with a weight of 146lbs (I had my brother lift it in with me and it was pretty rough). If you want to avoid hauling a 146lb box into your house, you may opt to open the box outside and carry in the 3 seperate boxes that the parts are packaged in to reduce the load. Putting the machine together should be fine if you've ever put anything together from ikea. Also the fold up feature is very nice for saving space. I leave the machine out in the living room, and when guests come over we fold it up and put it in a corner as it does take up quite a bit of space. You actually need quote a wide space for the rods to bend without hitting a wall. When I first saw the machine I thought the rods were going to bend out of shape right away. I noticed that the go outwards a little more than usual after a workout, but they seem to go back to the way they were as long I wrap them back up each time.

All in all, the rods are a pretty great alternative for use at home since it saves so much space, but there really is no perfect substitute for free weights.

We just received this last night and so far we really like it. It was surprisingly easy to put together and easier to use than I expected. We got it with the free mat and free shipping so so saved a good deal. It comes with a poster of about 30 different exercises that seem to cover everything. We are very pleased so far!

Very pleased with the quality of this Home Gym. Took almost 2 hours to assemble ... its not a toy but a solid exercise platform.
Lots of exercise routines, some are great, some just OK. All in all, great value.

After owning and using a real Bowflex for years, this item pales in comparison. Cheap construction (the seat pad is already falling apart), poor design (the seat will not adjust to a good position to do upper body exercices) and limited function (only one exercise for the legs). For $400.00 you do not get much. I would recomend finding a used Bowflex.

I just got this product 2wks ago. It came via Eagle which was very quick shipping. The amount of exercise it gives you is good if your looking for a nice machine to keep you in shape and toned. (which is what I wanted it for) Hard core trainers should not get this, stick to free weights instead.
The rods take some time to get used to, but once your familiar with it, your breezing through your workout.
Setup would have been relatively simple had I not run into a mfr defect. A really weird defect. When it came time to attach the upper lat bar to the main assembly, the holes were on the wrong side. Basically I was supposed to put in 6 screws 2 on left side, 2 right side, and 2 back. However, there were no holes in the back only in the front. There was no other way to put the pieces, so I knew this was a defect. Luckily, I had my drill with titanium 3/8th drill bit. 5 minutes later I had my hole and was able to tighten my screws. The nuts were a little tight, but i believe this was by design, lifting the weight you dont want those guys wiggling loose. Wife loves leg attachment feature.
Had it not been for me having to drill, this would be a five star.

I spent a lot of time thinking of this purchase (a Friday sale won me over the top). I am looking to add some strength training to my workout and the Schwinn Force seems to have everything I need..

While I struggle with most assembly instructions, I was able to put this together myself in an evening (I did call hubby twice when I needed a second pair of hands for a sec..).

Very pleased with this purchase, I also added the book Bowflex body plan that had been recommended.