Product Review: Bowflex Max Trainer M5 Cardio Machine

 

The M5 trainer is a cross between a stair stepper and an elliptical. I cannot say how easy it is to assemble because I paid to have it assembled, but it did take the person who assembled it about an hour. Of course, he assembles them all of the time, so it would take one or two people longer to get it put together. There are a ton of small parts and there are spots in the instructions that they are not entirely clear. Once it is together it does give you a good cardio workout, and it has a fairly small footprint. It worked well for me for a few years, basically until the warranty expired, then one of the pedal connections broke at a weld joint, so there was no fixing it. And, since it was outside the warranty period, there was really nothing I could do that would not end up costing a bunch of money. I used it once a day (sometimes twice a day) pretty consistently, but I was the only person using it, and did not abuse it at all. So, it just broke because of normal wear and tear. Thankfully, I did not fall off of it when it broke, but if you have one that breaks the same way, that could definitely happen. And, if you are using it in a basement with a concrete floor, that could definitely be bad. Bowflex definitely has a reputation for equipment that breaks. I have had a set of their adjustable dumbells for over a decade and have never had a problem with those, but this one definitely did not hold up. Therefore, I would not recommend this.

Product Review: Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells

 

These are, unlike some Bowflex products, mostly good. However, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind. First, and probably most importantly, they do have plastic parts, so you definitely do not want to drop them, especially on a hard floor. If you have relatively thick mats, like tumbling mats, it is possible they could be dropped safely, but most definitely not on concrete or some kind of hard flooring. I would be hesitant to even drop them on a carpeted surface. The inner mechanism could easily break in that situation, then you basically have a very heavy paperweight. Also, these are much bulkier than traditional free-weight dumbbells, which can be an issue if you have low ceilings and are doing shoulder-press type exercises standing up. I work out in my basement, which has seven-foot ceilings, and even though I am not extremely tall, I am tall enough that if I do standing shoulder presses with these I will easily hit the ceiling and put a nice gash in it. Finally, when you dial in a weight selection the locking mechanism does not always totally engage the plates so you may have to slightly turn the dial and/or jiggle the weights to get them out of the stack. The first two things are major, the other is relatively minor.

Overall, the ability to get 50lbs of dumbbell weight in a compact space is very nice. And for a lot of people, that is probably all the dumbbell weight they will ever need. The handle grip is much better than most dumbbells and they do not get slippery in your hands. I would highly suggest getting the stand that can hold them because constantly bending down to pick them up and put them back may be hard on some people's backs. They are also a lot cheaper than getting 50lbs of regular dumbbells, which is nice. I personally use these in conjunction with regular dumbbells, and for exercises where I am concerned about dropping them if I use max weight I use the regular dumbbells I use those, and for those, I am not concerned about it, I use these.

Overall, these are a pretty good option, but you do kind of have to treat them with kid gloves. Much more than you would ever have to with regular iron dumbbells. I have had these for years and never had an issue with them and do recommend them as long as you keep the things I mentioned in mind.

Product Review: Bowflex SelectTech 552 / 1090 Dumbbell Stand

 

This is the stand made to hold the Bowflex SelectTech dumbbell sets. I have the SelectTech 552 set (that goes up to 52.5 lbs, but this will also hold the 1090 set that goes up to 90 lbs. The stand is easy to put together and is very sturdy. It fits easily into a corner so it can be a bit out of the way in whatever room you have it in. Having the dumbbells up off the floor makes dialing in the resistance a lot easier, and saves you back not having to bend over to pick them up. I definitely recommend this if you have or are thinking of purchasing the SelectTech dumbbells.