Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym Review: Features and Pros and Cons

The Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym is one of the home gym equipment used today. The Bowflex home gym equipment was introduced in the market in the 1980s. Its polymer resistance rod is a familiar tool for both professional and beginner bodybuilders.

Meanwhile, the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym is an older model of the brand that has been replaced by newer models with various features to cater the needs of the consumers.

The Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym enhances the major muscle group in the body safely and allows you to do cardio training as well.

In this article, we will discuss the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym, what are its features, benefits offered, and pros and cons.

The Bowflex Brand

The Bowflex Brand has been established in 1986 and since then, the brand became popular with its various fitness training equipment.

They offer a wide range of products like the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym, Max Trainer M5, M7, Blaze, and Dumbbells.

The Nautilus Incorporated sells and manufactures the Bowflex products. They accommodate clients from the United States and other parts of the world.

If you want to learn more about Bowflex, check out our other articles:(Bowflex Revolution Home Gym: Your Newest Home Gym Equipment, PR1000 Home Gym of Bowflex: Evaluation of its Pros and Cons, and Bowflex Xtreme 2SE: Is it Worth the Purchase?)

The Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym Features

The Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym features a total-body workout solution and it offers 95 various exercises to its client. You can enhance your back, chest, shoulders, abdominals, arms, and legs through this equipment. Check out its features below:

Ankle Cuffs or Five-Way Hand-Grip

The equipment includes unique handgrip which can add flexibility to challenge the user of the equipment. With this feature, you can do the non-grip cuff, regular grip, foot cuff, ankle cuff, and shoulder cuff.

Integrated Squat Station

The equipment has an integrated squat station which will allow users to tone and build their quadriceps, glutes, calves, hamstrings, and Maximus.

Lat Tower plus the Angled Lat Bar

The Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym also includes an integrated tower which will enable users to build the muscles in their back and shoulder quickly.

Leg Extension and Leg Press Belt

The equipment has a leg extension that offers space for your legs. With this, you can develop strong and muscular legs in a given time.

Apart from the leg extension, it also includes a leg press belt. The belt can help users to keep the spine maintain good posture while doing leg exercises to avoid injuries and improve back health.

No-Change Cable Pulley System

With the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym, there is no need to change cables if you wish to switch from lats, squats, and leg workouts.

This can enable you to save your time, maximize your time to lose weight, and keep your heart rate up.

Power Rod Resistance

Instead of free weights, the Bowflex products use power rod resistance. This resistance rod can reduce inertia plus the risk of having joint pains.

The Ultimate 2 is available in standard 310 pounds of rod resistance however you can upgrade it up to 410 pounds.

Preacher Curl Attachment

The equipment has a preacher attachment too. With this, you can rest your elbows and grasp the inner handles of the leg or ab attachment through underhand grip.

Through this exercise, you can tone your arms especially your biceps and strengthen it effectively.

Foldable Unit

The Bowflex Ultimate 2 is also foldable, just like other products. When you are finished working out, you can fold it and store at any part of your home.

The Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym Specifications

Apart from the features, let us also discuss the specifications of the product.

The Ultimate 2 includes 310 pounds of Power Rods which can be upgraded to 410 pounds. The product measures 46″ x 82″ x 92″ (W x H x D) but it measures about 44″ x 46″ (W x D) when folded).

It requires 92″ ceiling height for assembly and 78″ x 112″ (W x D) workout space. Its weight is about 470 pounds while its maximum weight capacity is up to 300 pounds.

The product includes an instructional workout in DVD to guide beginners in their workout, plus a manual too.

It also includes a free eBook of the Bowflex Body Leanness Program authored by Dr. Ellington Darden. This is a 6-week program which can help one lose body fat using the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym.

Meanwhile, the company includes manufacturers warranties for the equipment.

The Power Rods has 12 years warranty. The gym has six-week ‘Fitness Results Guarantee’. With this, the customers can return the product and the company will refund its full cost if the customers are not happy with the product after purchase.

Pros of Using the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym

Now that we have learned the features and specifications of the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym, it’s time to determine it’s pros and cons. Let’s start with its advantages below:

Allows User to do Cardio Exercises

The Ultimate 2 comes with a built-in cardio rowing machine which enables you to do cardio at any time of the day.

Users can combine weightlifting with cardio exercises and build their body better.

Comfortable to Use 

The Ultimate 2 is made of high-quality materials thus it is comfortable to use. For example, the bench is adjustable and it will allow you to perform various angled body exercises.

The bench is designed for comfort, it is well-padded, and it aims to provide you with a good level of support.

Finally, the bench of the Ultimate 2 is not too wide unlike other brands, which won’t limit your natural range of motion on exercises like chest flys.

Compact and Easy to Assemble 

The Ultimate 2 is a compact unit which can provide complete workout without consuming lots of space inside your house. It can be folded into 44″ x 46″ when not in use while the recommended workout area is only 9′ 4″ x 6’6″.

In addition, it is easy to assemble, unlike the conventional gym equipment which uses a weight stack. The parts of the Ultimate 2 is lightweight versus the bulky metal frames of other brands.

It includes a manual plus assembly instruction with clear illustrations. Users can have a complete guide to the tools, parts, and assembly steps of the product.

Constant Tension

Whenever you exercise your muscles using dumbbells or barbells, your muscles do the strength curve. As you get near to the top movement, the exercise gets easier. With this, the movement is not as effective at bodybuilding that the rest of exercise.

However, when you use the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym, the working muscle will experience constant tension. This is an effective muscle builder exercise and it is tougher versus using barbells or dumbbells.

With the constant tension by using the Ultimate 2, you can have a chance to increase your training intensity and provide you with great muscle pump. Thus, the muscles in your body will be able to respond faster.

Full Range of Motion

The rod resistance of the Bowflex Ultimate 2 is made of polymer and it provides a natural feel in each exercise.

It enables one to perform a full range of motion in each exercise. Thus, you can do a full flex plus contraction with every repetition.

Good Resistance Level

The Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym provides 310 pounds of rod resistance. This is just right for beginners and professional athletes.

However, if you wish to use more resistance, then you can upgrade it up to 410 pounds any time.

Good Support

This equipment also comes with an instructional DVD that guides the user on how to assemble the unit as one. It also includes various workout based on your body goals.

The company also offers a limited warranty on the users.  With this, you will absolutely get what you’ve paid for and it is a good investment.

Safe to Use 

The product uses Bowflex’s patented polymer rods which is lightweight and safe to use than the metal weights that are available in the gym.

You can reduce the risk of falling a metal weight on your foot or at any part of your body.

Resistance rods are safer to use even without a spotter and you can do bench press or squats with this tool. Finally, it is a safer option for those who usually experience pains in their joints.

Wide Exercise Range 

The Bowflex Ultimate 2 offers more than 95 exercises to its users. You can have a versatile resistance training which you can access even inside your home.

The equipment includes a leg extension, Lat tower, preacher curl attachment, leg curl station, built-in rowing machine and squat station.

With this, you can work every area of your body and be able to execute compound movements like the deadlifts, bench press, and squats.

Moreover, transitioning from one exercise to another is quick and easy and you don’t have to lose the momentum in exercising just to adjust the equipment. You don’t have to worry about the weights and cables or the pulleys.

Cons of Using the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym

Even if the Bowflex Ultimate 2 has various advantages, it also includes few disadvantages. Here are some of them:

Rod Integrity

Some of the customers who availed the product reported that the polymer resistance rods of the Ultimate 2 were separating. This incident which was recorded sometime in 2007 resulted in injured including a sore back, bruised arms, and sore elbows.

But the company has responded to those customers immediately. They send a repair kit and changed the products since they offer a guarantee for the Ultimate 2 Home Gym.

Size

Though the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym can be folded into a compact size, some customers claim that it still requires lots of space when in operation.

Also, the product has a limited height which could be a problem for the tall user. Its rod resistance is also limited (although could be upgraded) which might not be enough for advanced bodybuilders.

Bowflex Ultimate 2 Sample Workout Routine

Workout variation through Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym is not a problem since you can perform over 95 exercises with this equipment.

If you wish to enhance the mass of your muscle, and tone and strengthen your upper body muscle groups, then you could start first with the bench press.

After doing the bench press, you can do the pec fly. Thereafter, do the incline cable presses plus the pullovers to have an overall chest workout.

Meanwhile, if you are aiming for great legs, you can do the leg extensions with the Ultimate 2. To do this, put the bench down, target your quads and do some leg exercises. To train your hamstrings, you can also do the lying curls.

Fold the bench up and you can do the cable hip abductions, squats, calf raises, and half squats.

If you target to train your back, you can try the seated rows, lat pulldowns, and other lower back extension exercises. Vary your grip and enhance your major muscles in the back plus the traps and the lats.

For the triceps and other muscles of the arms, you can try a variety of cable pushdowns. Perform as well the preacher and cable curls to develop your biceps.

Finally, to strengthen the core and tone your abs, you can do the weighted crunches and kneeling cable crunches.

Tips on How to Use the Bowflex Ultimate 2 

In using the Ultimate 2, make sure that you read the manual first. Familiarize yourself with the equipment’s individual parts so you can assemble it properly.

When you are not using the Bowflex Ultimate 2, bind all the rods together using the binding strap included in the product. Thereafter, set aside the gym equipment.

If you wish to clean the Ultimate 2, you can use a non-abrasive household cleaner to remove its dirt. Replace the parts which are damaged so you can prolong the lifespan of the gym equipment. The parts are available with the official site of Bowflex.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym is a complete equipment that can provide you with various exercises even inside your home.

Through the years, the rod resistance of Bowflex which from the polymer is a good substitute to traditional free weights. Unlike the dumbbells and the barbells, resistance rods can provide constant tension for the working muscles.

The Ultimate 2 can have disadvantages too, but its advantages outweigh all the cons with the right handling of the product.

Latest Price of the Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym on Amazon