What to Wear
Toning Major Muscle GroupsBandflex
Stamina
home gym uses bands for resistance
Most people have heard of home gyms such as the Bowflex, which use methods other than the traditional weight stacks for resistance. But less well-known are home gyms that use resistance bands. The Bandflex is one such home gym.
Pros
- Small but mighty - Even with a small machine size and weight some versions of this home gym still offer up to 260 lbs. of resistance.
- Quiet - If you accidentally let go of stretched bands it makes a lot less noise than weight stacks smashing together.
- Cheap - For women who want the convenience of doing their entire strength training workout at home but don’t wan to spend a small fortune, the Bandflex is one of the lowest priced home gyms on the market. But be warned, many reviewers who like the fact that Bandflex is so economical also point out that it’s cheap for a reason - the machine is a lower quality than its more costly competitors.
- Rowing machine - The option to use some Bandflex machines for rowing means you can get your strength training and cardio workouts done at the same station.
- Lat bar and leg press - These two exercises aren’t possible to do on all home gyms and many offer them only at an extra cost, which makes it pretty impressive that such a low cost version includes them (although the belt used in place of a back rest during leg presses leaves something to be desired).
- Short warranty - There’s 10 years on the frame but only 90 days on parts, which makes you wonder what’s going to happen to them after three months.
- Band wear - One reason for the limited parts warranty may be that the bands will stretch out of shape over time and have to be replaced. The good news is they only cost about $5 each. It might be a good idea to buy an extra set of bands when you purchase the machine.
A basic seated version of the Bandflex (the XS) costs as little as $200, while the more versatile model with moveable bench and extra features is still only about $400.