how do i strength train with bowflex???

Question

i have a bowflex sport, and i don't feel that my muscles are getting any better...for example, when i'm doing bicep curls, i do 30 reps at 40 pounds (about 18.18 KG) and i haven't noticed any difference in my bicep size...they're currently 13 inches when flexed. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

If you can do the exercise easily, you won't get any benefit other than maintaining your current strength level. 30 reps is more than the bowflex manual recommends--I believe it's 12-15. When you can do 15 easily, go up in resistance until you can only do about 5 or 6 reps and build up from there. Every 3-4 workouts you should be going up on your resistance.
High resistance + low reps = bigger muscles. Low resistance + high reps = sleek muscles (not bulky).
Also you should not work out any body part more often than every 48 hours. If you are working out every day, your muscles never get a chance to heal and rebuild. It's during the healing & rebuilding that muscle size increases. The act of working out causes small tears in the fibers (thus the burn and soreness later). When the tears are repaired, the muscle is slightly larger. But if you tear every day and never heal, you're doing more harm than good.

Answer 2

I love my Bowflex, which is currently on loan to someone (I needed the space in my house).

Did you get a video with your machine? Mine came with a video and a sizeable manual that included circuit training suggestions. Each exercise in the manual gives photo instructions on how to perform the exercise and also identifies which muscle group will benefit.

You say 40 pounds... is that on each rod or 20 pounds per side? If you've been doing 30x for a week or so, add a 5 to each side and go another week. Remember to skip a day in between. The exercise breaks down the muscle tissue, and the rest day in between serves as the healing period. This is where the increase takes place .. the regenerative tissue has more bulk, but you have to give it a chance to rebuild.

The manual will tell you to work the upper body one day, and the lower body the next. This way you're always getting a workout, but giving each group a rest in between.

Good luck...

Answer 3

Whats the question?