Bowflex
The first Bowflex product was launched back in 1986, and since then, the brand has come a long way. Bowflex offers a range of fitness training equipment, and currently doing very well with its Max Trainer series.
The Max Trainers are compact devices that provide its users a unique blend of benefits that can be obtained from an elliptical and stepper together. Bowflex, based on this, goes on to claim that the final results are improved calorie burning, greater upper body engagement and reduced impact on your joints during workouts.
The brand gained much popularity via its Tread Climber machines, and the advent of the more wallet-friendly Max Trainers has increased the brand’s reach even further, with its users warming up to the Max Interval 14 Minute Workout.
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The Max Trainer Series
Bowflex has currently deployed three Max Trainer models on the market- the M3, M5, and the latest entrant, the M7. What we loved about the models is how they all looked. If an elliptical and a Tron bike had a baby, they might look like these trainers. The style could be hit-or-miss with many, but all three models are almost half the length of an average elliptical trainer.
The Max Trainer M3 is entirely black with red highlights. It has 2 workout programs and comes with 8 resistance levels. It is also equipped with a chest strap for monitoring your heart rate, can store up to 2 user profiles, and is the cheapest in the Max Trainer line.
The Max Trainer M5 sits pretty in the middle and is the most popular model. It has a bit of silver to go with the black and red highlights and comes with 9 workout programs, and 16 resistance levels. The M5 prefers a contact grip heart monitor and has Bluetooth capability meaning that you can sync it in with the Max Trainer app on your phone. Like the M3, It can store up to 2 user profiles.
The Max Trainer M7 is the latest addition to the Max Trainer family and certainly feels more refined due to a better build quality. The M7 loses the red accents of its predecessors and comes in strictly silver and black. It boasts 11 workout programs and a whopping 20 resistance levels. It can also store up to 4 user profiles, and more importantly, is a learning machine. This ability allows the M7 to suggest new targets based on your workouts and serves as an interesting tool to get you to that fitness goal you just set.
While the M3 is great for novice trainers, the M5 and M7 offers a wider range of resistance levels, more workout programs to keep your workouts interesting, and can sync in with the Max Trainer app. The M5 and M7 versions also come with a better warranty.
Overall, these are excellent machines which look good, and at the same time, doesn’t take much of space. All of them come with a Burn Rate Meter which shows how many calories are burned per minute, as well as the target levels desired, which makes for an engaging workout experience.
Of claims and results.
Bowflex has some interesting claims making the rounds. The company conducted an independent study which yielded results that indicate that you can burn up to 1.2 times more calories when compared against traditional steppers, 1.6 times more when compared to traditional treadmills, and up to 2.5 times when compared to elliptical machines.
The unique selling proposition for the brand is that you can burn more calories in a relatively short timespan, and Bowflex always puts the focus on the results you can obtain from using their products instead of the devices themselves. The 14 Minute Max Interval Workout combines both high and low-intensity exercises that promises all of the cardiovascular benefits of a much longer session in a shorter time. The M7 also comes with a 7-minute version for people with less time on their hands.
Additionally, for the Max Trainer series, Bowflex additionally claims 80% added upper body engagement and 200% reduced impact for cardio exercises, with the added promise that the users will keep on burning calories post-workout.
We cannot, even with our best intentions, myth bust the claims that are being made, but one thing is for certain- with these breed of cross-trainers, you can enjoy a good session of cardio workout and still burn a significant amount of calories with them.
The M3 is around $999, and the M5 is around $1599, and are right on the money. The more expensive M7, priced at around $2199 on sale, is still a good option. Experts have generally positive reviews about the Max Trainers, and it is easy to see why.
Final Thoughts
With the Max Trainer series, Bowflex has made a strong impression with workout enthusiasts with its sleek design and interesting range of features. These machines can significantly improve your workout experience and ensure results. Regular usage will tone your lower body muscles, and the max interval workouts are great busy people with limited time.
