bowflex treadclimber

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erylie
erylie Posts: 34
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone use one regularly? pros/cons...

How many calories do you burn, on average??

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  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Does anyone use one regularly? pros/cons...

    How many calories do you burn, on average??

    The calories you burn with exercise depends on your workout intensity X weight. It doesn't make any difference what type of machine you are working on.

    If you like the movement of the treadclimber and it motivates you to work out harder or more consistently, then it should be effective for you.

    However, there is nothing "magic" about the movement that burns more calories than any other type of exercise. I can't stress that enough. Any claims to the contrary by the manufacturer are pure fabrication.
  • marciebrian
    marciebrian Posts: 853 Member
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    Does anyone use one regularly? pros/cons...

    How many calories do you burn, on average??

    The calories you burn with exercise depends on your workout intensity X weight. It doesn't make any difference what type of machine you are working on.

    If you like the movement of the treadclimber and it motivates you to work out harder or more consistently, then it should be effective for you.
    However, there is nothing "magic" about the movement that burns more calories than any other type of exercise. I can't stress that enough. Any claims to the contrary by the manufacturer are pure fabrication.

    True but it does burn a LOT more than walking a treadmill. I have the 3.0 model that was given as a XMas present and LOVE IT! 20 minutes and I am completely drenched. I doubt the calorie count is accurate but I know it is 2-3 x more than a 4.0 walk on the treadmill. Try it before you buy it if you can cuz they are $$$
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Options
    Does anyone use one regularly? pros/cons...

    How many calories do you burn, on average??

    The calories you burn with exercise depends on your workout intensity X weight. It doesn't make any difference what type of machine you are working on.

    If you like the movement of the treadclimber and it motivates you to work out harder or more consistently, then it should be effective for you.
    However, there is nothing "magic" about the movement that burns more calories than any other type of exercise. I can't stress that enough. Any claims to the contrary by the manufacturer are pure fabrication.

    True but it does burn a LOT more than walking a treadmill. I have the 3.0 model that was given as a XMas present and LOVE IT! 20 minutes and I am completely drenched. I doubt the calorie count is accurate but I know it is 2-3 x more than a 4.0 walk on the treadmill. Try it before you buy it if you can cuz they are $$$

    Except that it doesn't. You are comparing apples to oranges. It burns more than walking FLAT on a treadmill because you are working at a higher intensity. You could walk up an incline on a treadmill and achieve the same workload. Or use any other cardio modality. That's the whole point. 'The laws of physics and physiology do not cease to exist when you step on a treadclimber.

    Again, if someone likes the movement, doesn't care about overpaying for an infomercial product, doesn't want to walk up an incline or run, then a treadclimber might be a great choice. I am not dismissing it, just pointing out that the advertising for it is intellectually dishonest.

    The treadclimber is basically a gimmick. The manufacturers know that and they also need to attract attention--and they know that the best way to attract attention to a gullible audience is to promise some variation of the weight loss "magic bullet"--a unique solution that doesn't require much effort but will succeed where everything else has failed.

    Do you really think anyone would look at the infomercial and think: "wow, that is such an amazing movement! I would really look forward to walking like that every day". No--they are attracted to it because of the claims that it is "unique" and "burns 3x more fat than a treadmill". My job is to point out the dishonesty and cynicism behind such claims, so that someone can make up their mind based on facts, not lies.

    If someone has the facts and decides it's the best choice to fit their needs, then that is fantastic. They have a machine they like and they can feel secure knowing they got it based on its true merits and weren't duped by false claims.
  • erylie
    erylie Posts: 34
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    Thanks Azdak, I understand your point... it's not magic... but, for me, I can look at it and I burn a lot more calories on the arc machine thing then the elliptical, and a lot more on the elliptical then the treadmill... If I jacked the treadmill up as steep as it can go, and as fast as I can handle... then, sure, I can hit the equivalent... but... I'm much more comfortable, therefore much more apt to use an elliptical, and I know that I can get a good work out on the elliptical.. better (for me) then the treadmill since I'm not really a runner... so I do see your point...

    and Marcie.. Thanks!! I haven't gotten to use one yet, which was why I was asking... I found some on craigslist relatively decent 700-ish... but trying to decide if it's worth more then an elliptical which I can get for 250/300 on craigslist :-)... I can only compare it to the arc (which is WAY too much money, but I love it)... and the elliptical which I also like... thanks for the input!
  • marciebrian
    marciebrian Posts: 853 Member
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    should have mentioned that we had them at my gym for a few years (we were a test facility) and absolutely loved it. they stopped using them commercially because they broke down too often from all the heavy useage. The posting of course is right, but I love mine and would not have gotten it based on a commercial but from using it for over 2 years and missed it a LOT when it was gone. Its a call only you can decide. I hope you will be able to try one before buying either since its all pricey if you don't like it or use it. Good luck!:flowerforyou:
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,708 Member
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    Does anyone use one regularly? pros/cons...

    How many calories do you burn, on average??

    The calories you burn with exercise depends on your workout intensity X weight. It doesn't make any difference what type of machine you are working on.

    If you like the movement of the treadclimber and it motivates you to work out harder or more consistently, then it should be effective for you.

    However, there is nothing "magic" about the movement that burns more calories than any other type of exercise. I can't stress that enough. Any claims to the contrary by the manufacturer are pure fabrication.
    I especially liked how they did a comparison against a regular treadmill at 3.0 speed and no incline. Had the incline been the same as well as the speed, then the burn would have been comparable.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • dondimitri
    dondimitri Posts: 245 Member
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    My wife was interested in one several years ago. I looked into it and the feedback was just not that positive. Both from a users perspective and from a product reliability perspective.

    Read this, it's very interesting: http://www.nwfitnessportland.com/blog/cardio-equipment/bowflex-treadclimber-de-bunked/

    Since then I've read about too many problems with Bowflex equipment, whatever the actual device, to ever consider buying one of their products.

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