Day 2
Did a 1/2 hour workout today. Warmed up with squats and calf exercises, focused mainly on arms and shoulders, alternated curls and shoulder shrugs and then switched between triceps and military presses.
Fast easy workout during which I watched an episode of The King of Queens. Having the Bowflex in a room with a TV is pretty nice. The feeling on day two – same as day one, mustering motivation. I’m looking forward to about the 2 week point when the workout becomes more energizing and less tiring.
Tags: Bowlfex, challenge, exercise, fitness, gym, work out
After a 4 hour round trip, a little up-the-stairs lugging with awkwardly shaped pieces and then some minor assemblly, Jess and I now own a Bowflex (which has now replaced the couch in the former TV room). A couple days later I came up with the idea for the Bowflex Challenge. This is a good point to mention that if you haven’t read the Bowflex page which outlines my experiment, now would be a good time to do so.
Day 1
It took a few minutes to get used to the cable system. The previous Bowflex I had used was the Xtreme 2, which allowed you to use all the of the different attachments without chaning connections. The Xtreme requires you to change the cable connections for different exercises. It’s not difficult, just needed to get used to the setup.
I did a general workout, trying out 1/2 a dozen different exercises for about 40 minutes. The Bowflex is a few years old and has been used, but it works like a brand new machine. The ability to switch between exercises like bench press and chest fly… on the fly, is fantastic. Switching between pull downs, curls or squats is just as easy. I didn’t use a lot of weight, 180lbs for squats, 45lbs a side for everything else. As I start to target muscle groups specifically I’ll vary the weight more.
And so it begins. The photos are of me on day 1. From here on, I will continue to post more photos that outline my progress through the coming weeks and months. By 6 weeks (day 42) there should be a noticeable difference, which is probably about the point that these Bowflex posts will start to become interesting… reality in real time is just plain boring.
Tags: Bowlfex, challenge, exercise, fitness, gym, work out
