Introduction
If you don’t particularly like going to the gym, but still want to build muscle, one of the best solutions is to buy yourself a multi-functional home gym because this will enable you to perform many different exercises using a single machine.
There are quite of a few of these home gyms that you can buy nowadays, but one of the most impressive ones is the Bowflex Blaze Home Gym because this enables you to perform more than 60 different exercises, and can accommodate even the strongest of bodybuilders because the resistance can be upgraded to 310 or 410 pounds if required.
It’s primary function is to help you tone up and strengthen all of your main muscle groups, but this machine also includes a cardio row option if you want to get a cardio workout as well.
Features And Benefits
- multiple cable pulley system with adjustable angles
- 210 lbs of Power Rod resistance
- can be upgraded to 310 lbs and 410 lbs
- perform 60+ different muscle-building exercises
- strengthen arms, abs, chest, shoulders, back and legs
- includes lat bar and squat station
- horizontal bench press
- space-saving foldable bench
- sliding seat rail and row station for cardio workouts
- can be folded away when not being used
- suitable for users up to 300 pounds
Product Dimensions / Weight
As you might imagine, this is a serious piece of equipment that will take up quite a lot of space in your home. The exact dimensions of this particular home gym (in inches) are 90 (L) x 38 (W) x 83 (H), and you will require a total workout area of 100 (L) x 78 (W), according to the user manual.
In addition, it is also a really strong and solid machine because it has a total weight of 195 pounds, so you will obviously want to assemble it wherever it is going to be used.
Positives
The key feature of the Blaze home gym is that there are so many different muscle-building exercises available that will help to give you a complete full-body workout.
Whereas some of the other home gyms will enable you to perform around 20-30 different exercises in total, such as the Bowflex PR1000, for example, this one has twice as many because there are a total of 65 different exercises listed in the user manual.
These include:
- 5 abs exercises
- 16 arm exercises
- 14 shoulder exercises
- 8 chest exercises
- 9 back exercises
- 13 leg exercises
As you can see, it doesn’t just include arm exercises either because there are plenty of exercises that will develop your abs, chest, shoulders and back, and unlike some of the other home gyms that only have a few different leg exercises available, this one offers 13 different leg exercises for you to perform.
So you really will be able to tone up all of your major muscle groups, and another key benefit is that you won’t have to worry about outgrowing this machine as you start to become stronger because if you do find that the 210 pounds of Power Rod resistance is no longer enough, you can easily upgrade to 310 or 410 pounds of resistance if required.
You can see from the photos that this machine has an angled lat bar to help you target your back and shoulders, and has leg curl and leg extension attachments and a squat station to help you work your legs.
In addition, it also has a large bench to help you perform (horizontal) bench presses for your arms and chest (and many other exercises), and has a sliding seat rail and a built-in cardio row station should you wish to perform a cardio workout at any time.
It is also worth pointing out that this Blaze home gym uses a multiple cable pulley system, and so because you can adjust the angle and position of these cables and pulleys (as well as the angle of the bench), there are many different exercises that you can perform. Indeed you could even come up with your own custom exercises if you wanted to.
Plus the good thing about using a home gym such as this one is that you are far less likely to get injured when you perform any of these exercises, particularly as the manual has clear illustrations for each exercise and tells you how to perform each one safely and effectively.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the Power Rods that provide the resistance have been manufactured under the highest quality control measures and tested for quality and durability so they won’t experience any wear and tear. Subsequently, these individual Power Rod units come with a lifetime warranty, and the machine itself is backed by a 5-year warranty should anything go wrong.
Negatives
As you might be able to tell from looking at the photos, this machine has a lot of different parts. Therefore it will almost certainly take a long time to assemble when you take delivery of this item.
The instructions are clear and easy to follow, but it might still be a good idea to ask someone to help you put it together.
It should also be emphasized once again that this is a large and heavy piece of equipment that will take up a lot of space in your home, and even when it is folded away, it will still take up a fair bit of space. So it is not exactly ideal for small apartments, for example.
Another drawback of this home gym, as is often the case with these machines, is that you won’t be able to go through your workouts smoothly and efficiently. You will need to keep stopping to adjust the resistance for each exercise, which can get a little bit annoying after a while.
Apart from this, the only other thing to say is that the rowing station will not give you a good a workout as a conventional rowing machine, but that’s only to be expected to be fair. It is still sufficient enough to get your heart pumping and improve your fitness if that is one of your goals.
Final Thoughts
If you are looking to build muscle and strengthen your whole body from the comfort of your own home, and have enough space in your home to accommodate a large home gym, the Bowflex Blaze Home Gym really would be an excellent choice.
This machine provides you with more exercises than many other home gyms, and will help you to develop your abs, arms, chest, shoulders, back and legs in equal measure, whilst also helping you to improve your fitness and burn fat with the built-in rowing station.
The real benefit, however, is that you can upgrade the resistance from 210 lbs to 310 or 410 pounds as you get stronger, which means that you are never likely to outgrow this machine, and can use this machine for many years to come because of the overall strength and durability of the frame and the Power Rod units.