by James - This article may contain affiliate links.
Within this guide, I’m going to show some Bowflex home gym workouts. I’ll show beginner to advanced full body and split training plans. Plus, other ideas on how to workout at home to form your body and build strength.
All the Bowflex home gym models come with a different number of exercise options. PR1000 is the most basic with +30 exercises, while the Bowflex Revolution provides +100 ways to work out. But, here I suppose you own a Bowflex Blaze home gym, which is the best buy machine of all.
Before showing the workout routines, let’s start with the basics.
How can you use a Bowflex machine?
Full or split training?
A full body workout means that we work all the main muscle groups with one or two exercises on a given day. These are the legs, back, shoulders, arms, chest, and core. This sort of workout is recommended for beginners since it doesn’t put such a stress on the muscles. The plan includes 3 sessions per week, for example, on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Hence, we have enough time to recover.
A split workout means we strengthen multiple muscles on a given day. There is a 2,3 or even 4 and 5-day splits. For a particular muscle group, we perform 2-3 Bowflex exercises. That’s why such a routine is more recommended for somebody with a better fitness level.
Do you want to pack on muscles or get shaped and lean?
If the main goal is developing strength and size, then we should choose a resistance level from which we can do 6-12 repetitions. I have to mention, though, that if you want to grow big, using a Bowflex machine won’t be enough. Free weight strength training is required for building muscle.
For improving stamina, burn some body fat and shape the muscles, we need to increase the number of reps to 12-20. Hence, you need to use a lighter resistance for the moves.
No matter your fitness goal, it’s vital to perform the exercises with a correct form. I also recommend you to include bodyweight exercises in your routine such as push-ups, pull-ups, etc. to make your plan more versatile. Finally, at least once a week, do some cardiovascular exercise for fat loss and stamina.
Bowflex Workouts
3-Day Total Body Plan for beginners
The full body workout benefits are that we can go through all the muscles at one in 30-50 minutes, and we don’t have to be afraid of overtraining. This routine prepares you for more advanced strength exercises. There are 3 workout days, optimally Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Do it least for 2-3 months to learn the correct forms. As your muscle strength develops, you can gradually with small steps to increase the resistance.
Monday-Wednesday-Friday
| Body Part | Exercise | Sets/Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Leg | Bodyweight squat Leg curl |
2-3×12-15 2-3×12-15 |
| Chest | Bench press | 2-3×12-15 |
| Back | Lat pulldown | 2-3×12-15 |
| Biceps | Standing biceps curl | 2-3×12-15 |
| Triceps | standing triceps extension | 2-3×12-15 |
| Shoulders | Side lateral raise | 2-3×12-15 |
| Abs | Pank | 3-4×30-45 seconds |
Conditioning and weight loss
Most people start resistance training for building muscle because that is the sign of fitness in our era. However, being big everything. A good condition means more than size. Have you ever heard about high-intensity interval training (HIIT)? Generally, it’s a type of workout when you do the exercises one after another with a little rest. This technique improves stamina and increases metabolism, which leads to more effective weight loss.
Do each exercise one after another with 30-60 seconds rest between. Do 3-5 rounds. Between the rounds you can have 2 minutes rest.
Monday-Thursday
| Body Part | Exercise | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Chest | Chest press | 10-12 |
| Back | Wide lat pulldown | 10-12 |
| Core | Crunches Hyperextension on floor |
12-15 12-15 |
Tuesday-Friday
| Body Part | Exercise | Sets/Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Leg | Leg curl Leg extension |
10-12 10-12 |
| Shoulders | Rear deltoid raise | 10-12 |
| Biceps | standing biceps curl | 10-12 |
| Triceps | Triceps pushdown | 10-12 |
Upper and Lower Body Split
A simple yet effective workout routine. The Bowflex home gym machines are equipped with leg extension and leg curl, but I recommend including bodyweight squats or lunges.
Upper body: Monday & Thursday
| Body Part | Exercise | Sets/Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Chest | Bench press | 3×10-12 |
| Shoulders | Rear deltoid raise Lateral shoulder raise |
3×10-12 |
| Back | Wide grip pulldown | 3×10-12 |
| Triceps | Triceps pushdown | 3×10-12 |
| Biceps | Biceps curl | 3×10-12 |
Lower body: Tuesday & Friday
| Body Part | Exercise | Sets/Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Legs | Squat Leg curl Leg extension Standing calf raise |
3×10-12 3×10-12 3×10-12 3×15-20 |
| Core | Plank Side crunches Hyperextension |
3×45-60 seconds 3×15 3×15 |
3-day strength training/bodybuilding split
As we mentioned before, to improve strength, we need to lift heavy. That’s why we only do 6-8 reps for each Bowflex exercise.
Monday
| Body Part | Exercise | Sets/Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Chest | Bench press Push ups Chest flyes |
3-4×6-8 3-4×6-8 3-4×6-8 |
| Back | Wide lat pulldown Close lat pulldown Chin ups/pull ups |
3-4×6-8 3-4×6-8 3-4×6-8 |
Wednesday
| Body Part | Exercise | Sets/Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Legs | Squat Leg extension Leg curl Standing calf raise |
3-4×6-8 3-4×6-8 3-4×6-8 3-4×6-8 |
| Core | Back extension Side crunches Leg raise |
3-4×15 3-4×15 3-4×15 |
Friday
| Body Part | Exercise | Sets/Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Shoulders | Shoulder press Front deltoid raise Side deltoid raise |
3-4×6-8 3-4×6-8 3-4×6-8 |
| Biceps | Biceps curl Hammer curl |
3-4×6-8 3-4×6-8 |
| Triceps | Seated triceps extension Bench dips |
3-4×6-8 3-4×6-8 |
If you want to focus on muscle building, do the same exercises and sets, but increase the repetitions up to 10-12.
FAQ
Can I build big muscles with Bowflex like bodybuilders have?
No. Bowflex gyms have limited power rod resistance. This type of resistance technology isn’t bad, but not enough. If you want to grow big, you should do weight training with free weights. Without a weight lifting workout, you can’t provide enough load to your muscles for which they need to adapt to.
Is there a Bowflex workout app?
For a home workout, there are no apps yet.
How can I create my own Bowflex workout routine?
The routines above are just examples. There is nothing better than personalized workouts.
When you make your plan, focus on your weaknesses. Typically, people focus on muscles that are already better than the others. Do you have chicken legs? Include more leg exercises in your Bowflex workout.
Another typical mistake is to focus only on visible areas. People do bench press day in day out, but they neglect to strengthen their core. It’s crucial to enhance every part of your body.
Continuously test. If a Bowflex exercise doesn’t bring your results, switch to another. Also, don’t do only machine exercises. Include bodyweight or different exercises with dumbbells to make your workout program more complete and personalized.
To conclude
I’m sure now you have an idea of how to get the maximum from your Bowflex home gym. You’re ready to use it effectively—a few things to remember during planning.
- Set up fitness goals. (weight loss, strength development, gain)
- Keep your fitness level in mind (avoid overtraining)
- Don’t use only the workout machine. Utilize other equipment to make your program versatile.
That’s it.
