The Bowflex home gym is one of the best home gyms on the market. There’s a different Bowflex home gym for different needs, and each model offers something unique.
If you’re a bodybuilder or strength athlete, the Bowflex Xceed could be the model for you.
Our Bowflex Xceed Home Gym Review will dive into the details of this home gym and tell you how it stacks up for size and strength training.
Bowflex Xceed Overview
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Pros
- Designed For Size & Strength Training
- Offers Over 65 Exercises
- Includes A Squat Station
- Provides up to 410lbs of available Power Rod resistance
- Features A Multi Angle Pulley & Cable System For Dumbbell-Like Exercises
- Space Saving Design
Cons
- Does Not Fold Up
- Assembly May Be Time Consuming
The Bowflex Xceed lets you perform over 65 exercises and provides up to 410lbs of available Power Rod resistance. It features a compact, space-saving design.
Bowflex is owned by Nautilus, a company founded by Arthur Jones back in the ’70s. Jones is the man famous for promoting the “training to failure” concept that became popular in the late 70s and early 80s.
Bowflex is the best-known rod-style home gym and the first to bring Power Rod resistance to the market.
Things To Consider Before Buying A Compact Home Gym
Whether you live too far away from a commercial gym or just prefer to train in the comfort of your own home, there’s a lot of good home gym choices available. There’s a home gym for virtually every training goal and space requirement. Here are the things you should consider before buying a home gym:
Space – No matter how compact a home gym is, you still have to have enough space for it. That includes height. Most home gyms are about 7 feet tall. If you’re considering one, make sure it’s going to fit.
Price – There are quite a few good home gyms available. Before you make your choice, make sure you can afford it. Some home gyms are overpriced for what you’re getting. Make sure the gym fits your needs at a price that makes sense.
Warranty – Quality is determined by the warranty. Always check the warranty before you make your purchase. Some home gyms may offer a lifetime warranty on the frame with a good warranty on parts. In comparison, others may offer just a 90 day warranty.
Does It Have The Features I Want – Don’t buy a gym that falls short on features. Make sure it meets your needs. How much resistance do you need? What about exercise versatility? Can you do all the exercises you’ve planned on doing? How hard is it to move from exercise to exercise? These are the questions you should be asking before you make your choice.
Features & Benefits
Power Rod Resistance
Bowflex Xceed features the Power Rod Resistance similar to other Bowflex Home Gyms such as Bowflex Xtreme 2SE or Bowflex Blaze.
Bowflex is the company that introduced Power Rod technology. The Bowflex Xceed’s rods are made from a special elastic material. They are then coated with a layer of thin rubber. All of this allows them to bend as you perform the exercises.
The Power Rods provide relatively smooth resistance but some users feel that they are weak at the start and stronger near the end of an exercise.
The Bowflex Xceed Home Gym comes with 310lbs of resistance standard. Another 100lbs is available at extra cost. This makes Bowflex Xceed a strength and size-based home gym.
To change the weight, you simply attach the cables to the rods as needed. You can choose from 5lbs all the way to 310lbs of available Power Rod resistance (410lbs if you upgrade).
Frame Design
The Bowflex Xceed Home Gym is made using a heavy duty steel frame. It’s a vertical design, there’s no bench provided. This makes it more compact. It also makes it a little easier to move from exercise to exercise. The base of the machine uses a reinforced X shape for stability.
The Bowflex Xceed requires a 7’ x 6’ workout area and measures 82.7” H x 55.1” L x 51.2” W. It can hold a user weight of up to 300lbs.
This machine is a compact design but you’ll want to be sure it will fit in your space before you buy one. Make sure you check the height of your space as this is where many people have a problem.
Bowflex Xceed is a gym designed for strength and size training so it has a built-in platform for squats. It also has a leg extension/leg curl station. Even though it’s a vertical design, you can still do chest presses.
The Bowflex Xceed Home Gym is designed using a low, mid and upper pulley system, so you can do virtually any exercise you want.
Ultimately, Bowflex Xceed is a well built and well designed machine. Some users would prefer a bench yet the vertical design makes the Xceed one of the best compact home gyms on the market.
Exercises
Bowflex claims you can do over 65 exercises on the Xceed. Since this unit is meant for strength and size, the Big 3 are there: squat, deadlift and bench press (vertical).
You can also do shoulder presses – another key strength move, and all the ab and arm exercises you want. Of course, you can do a variety of different chest, back and leg moves also.
While some exercises such as crunches require an extra accessory, the important thing is that you can do all the primary moves you could do in a regular gym if you were training for size and strength.
The seat is height adjustable and designed for quick release, so you can move from seated to standing exercises quickly. The height adjustment allows for taller users. It should be noted that anyone taller than 6’ 5” may have a tough time using this machine.
The hand grips can also be used as ankle cuffs and the lat bar can be used for arm as well as back exercises. The leg unit removes quickly for squats or calf raises, and boasts a feel as smooth as you’d find in a commercial gym. While chest work is somewhat limited, you can do regular and incline chest presses. You can also do regular and incline flys.
The lateral bars feature four pulley connection points each. Also, there’s a small bar attached to the back of the frame above the backrest. This is where you attach the pulleys for mid-pulley exercises.
The Bowflex Xceed has a total of 8 pulleys. They’re all made using a special fiberglass reinforced material. They move in all directions so you can do virtually any exercise. Two of the pulleys are adjustable. They can be attached to the lateral bars for seated fly presses or front presses. They can also attach to the smaller bar for crunches.
When you buy a Bowflex Xceed, you’ll get two D handles that have rubber grips. You’ll use these for most exercises. You also get the leg unit, a straight squat bar, ab strap and a 50” bent lat bar.
See the Bowflex Xceed in action here
Warranty
As we noted above, the warranty tends to reflect build quality. In the case of the Bowflex Xceed Home Gym, you’ll get a 7 year limited warranty on materials and workmanship.
This is the most recent warranty. We have seen other warranties on the Xceed, mainly a 1 year warranty.
The Power Rods have a no-time limit warranty. Should one of them break, it can be replaced free of charge. That’s important since the Rods are the source of resistance.
Assembly
You’ll have to put the Bowflex Xceed Home Gym together and while you get an instruction manual, some users find it time consuming to assemble. It’ll take a few hours and you may need some of your own tools.
Once you have it assembled, there’s not a lot of maintenance involved. Bowflex suggests keeping the Power Rods unhooked and straight when not in use.
The Power Rod Rejuvenator is an extra cost option that helps keep the rods straight. Other than making sure all the nuts and bolts are tight, that’s it for maintenance.
What are customers saying?
We did an extensive online search and found most users are happy with the Bowflex Xceed Home Gym.
The reviews suggest that it’s not hard to assemble. Most users find it easy to use.
One of the most important user points about the Bowflex Xceed is that it’s not hard to change the resistance. That’s huge when you’re in the middle of a workout.
Nothing is worse than getting hung up trying to change the amount of weight you’re using. It says a lot about an exercise machine when users say they’re not only happy with the purchase but feel like they will be using it for years to come.
Check out the reviews here.
Alternatives To Bowflex Xceed
1. Marcy Diamond Elite Smith Cage
The Marcy Diamond Elite is a Smith machine-based home gym. The Marcy consists of a Smith machine, a pec deck station, a leg developer, high pulley, low pulley and a bench.
There’s also safety catches on the outside of the cage so you can perform free weight exercises such as squats. It’s a durable unit that features all-steel construction.
The Diamond Elite is a good choice for someone who wants to train for mass and strength in complete safety. It’s a compact design because everything you need is part of the cage.
If you don’t want a Bowflex home gym or stack-style home gym, this is a great option. The Smith bar holds 300lbs, but if you train outside the cage the only limit is your own strength.
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2. Body Solid GLGS100
This is a leverage gym, which is a style of home gym that uses pulleys and pivot-point handles that provide a free weight-like feel. This is a very compact home gym. This type of gym is plate loaded and completely safe.
The GLGS100 has 3 stations, a lat pulldown, a press/squat arm and a low pulley. It uses Olympic plates as the means of resistance. While the Olympic plates cost extra, you can pile them on, all the way up to a total weight capacity of 600lbs.
You can use the multi-purpose press arms for squats, back work and shoulder presses. There’s a high/low pulley that includes a lat bar.
One drawback is that the bench is sold separately. However, with the bench, you can do flat, incline and decline bench presses.
One of the selling points of a leverage gym is that you can train to your limit without fear. It’s impossible to get stuck in an exercise. If you’re interested in a home gym like this, the GLGS100 is a great choice.
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Conclusion
We hope you find our Bowflex Xceed Home Gym review helpful.
The Bowflex Xceed is a great choice if you’re serious about size and strength training and need a compact home gym. You can’t go wrong with up to 410lbs of Power Rod resistance and 65 exercises.
What’s important is that those exercises include the Big 3: squats, deadlifts, and chest presses. You can move from exercise to exercise quickly and you can increase the resistance easily.
The Bowflex Xceed is a well-built machine and it has a good warranty. It’s a little time consuming to assemble but provides easy to follow instructions.
If you’ve been thinking about a Bowflex Home Gym, it’s worth giving the Bowflex Xceed a try and find out what a Bowflex is like.
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FAQs
Q: What is the best Bowflex home gym to buy?
- A: It depends on your fitness goal, space, and budget. There are several Bowflex home gym models such as Xtreme 2SE, Blaze, PR1000, PR3000. Each model offers something unique. You can check out our Best Home Gyms Review, where we look at a number of Bowflex home gym models.
Q: Are Bowflex machines any good?
- A: If your goal is to maintain the general level of muscular fitness and need a compact home gym, Bowflex machines could be a good choice for you. They are compact and easy to use. You can change the resistance and the exercises easily.
Q: How do you use a Bowflex Xceed?
- It’s easy to use. Bowflex Xceed comes with a manual and fitness guide. You can see some examples here.
Q: Can you bulk up with a Bowflex Xceed?
- A: Yes, you can totally do strength training effectively with up to 410lbs of Power Rod resistance and 65 exercises. What’s important is that those exercises include: squats, deadlifts, and chest presses. Still not sure how you can bulk up with a Bowflex? Check out this article: How to use a Bowflex for bodybuilding.
Q: Does the Bowflex Xceed fold up?
- A: Unfortunately, no.
Q: What’s the difference between Bowflex Xceed and Bowflex Xtreme 2SE?
- A: Bowflex Xtreme 2SE offers 75 exercises. It lets you change exercises more quickly without adjusting the pulley system.
Q: What are Bowflex Power rods made of?
- A: The Bowflex power rods are made from a special elastic material. They are then coated with a layer of thin rubber.
Q: Can you replace Bowflex Xceed Power rods?
- A: Yes. If you break one, Bowflex will replace it for you for free. Moreover, the power rods have a no-time limit warranty.
Q: Is Bowflex or Total Gym better?
- A: Bowflex and Total Gym offer different benefits depending on your training goals. While Total Gym utilizes your bodyweight, Bowflex uses power rods resistance.
