Ala. blacksnake

Does anyone here have experience with the Weider Crossbow? It has gotten good reviews online, and a body builder friend told me it is a very effective machine and can be a replacement for a gym. At $600, its cheaper than getting a membership at most gyms around here for a year. So what do you guys think of it?

Willravel

I worked in a gym for 3 years and I worked at Sears in the fitness dept. for several years, and one of our products was the Crossbow by Weider. It is a similar design to the bowflex and several other newer exercise machines. The machine approximates weight by lines attached to bars, a system called a compound resistance system (CRS).
After using it several times and getting some customer feedback, I think I can give a good review.

1) The machine does not give consistant resistance over its range of movement. At all. If you were, for example, using the wide set cables to work the chest and tricepts (bench press motion) with about 240 lbs., it would be very easy at first, probably starting at less than 35 lbs. It would only reach the 240 lb. worth at its peak. I would guess that less than 12% of the movement has the full weight worth. This is not functional for someone who wants to uild or maintain consistant muscle mass.

2) If you bend the bars, and you will pretty quickly, trying to order new ones, even under the warantee, is very hard. The customer service for Weider is notorius for being one of the worst in the fitness world. I had to call them as customers waited next to the register with broken crap on many occasions.

3) As far as other CRSs, like BowFlex, this system IS a good bargin. It offers very similar options and performance for a much better price.

Bottom line, if you need something that can work most of your body that has to fold away into a corner, it's not the worst. Personally, I think a bench with a lat pulldown and some freeweights can fold away just as well, and you won't be calling customer service to replace the iron plates. This seems like a gimmick. Just like the abdominal electric 'stimulation' (shock) belts that were so popular. They were junk. This is pretty much junk.

Ala. blacksnake

The person I asked about it told me that the only reason he doesn't use it is because the amount of resistance he needs is too high for the machine (he weighs about 230-240). But I guess mixed reviews are a bad sign...

winsecure

spend the money on a bench & free weights instead. you'll be glad you did.

SiNai

^^ I'll second that. Look around for garage sales, ebay's, etc.. Seems it doesn't take long for most people to turn around and sell their equip off again. If you have a bar you can hang from, a bench, some dumbells.. You could have an entire workout.

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Willravel

This guy knows what he's talking about. And he's a sexy bitch.

coash

there shouldn't be any mixed reviews...free weights will always be better overall. i'm not sure there'd be a positive review that's decent

hannukah harry

one of my buddies bought the bowflex about a year ago. he was using it pretty consistantly during that time, making improvements in the resistance he used, but when he went back to the gym earlier this summer he found he couldn't lift any more than he used to be able to... so it doesn't seem to necessarily transfer any strength gains to real world work and weight lifting based on my buddies results.

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apeman

you could get a very nice set of weights for 600 bucks ...

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Bobaphat

I agree with pretty much everyone else here. Don't bother. get free weights.

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