Bowflex 3 Series Owner's Manual page 6

avoid a hernia during installation. Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2009 Nice
machine. Good feel. Heavy. Solid. Falls a little flat. Not quite enough follow through in design and
programming. The users manual is almost useless.
It doesnt explain how to use the preset workout programs, or HOW to perform the machines routine
maintenance. How critical is the tension. Worst of all, the manual seems to be a general guide
regardless of which machine you have, so you are never sure or you have to read Really carefully
whether the particular feature it references even APPLIES to the Series 3. A nice feature is that the
installation hardware arrived neatly packaged in plastic shrunk to a piece of cardboard that made it
easy to identify everything and ensure you have everything you need before starting. Unfortunately I
was supposed to have 22 of a particular type of screw, but I only had 20 of it. Unfortunately during
my ten mile walk yesterday I got static electric zaps 50 or 60 times. Maybe if I wore the safety clip I
wouldnt build up a charge, but I wont wear the safety clip because when I accidentally pulled the
safety key out twice! yesterday the machine wouldnt restart my program from where it had left off. I
had to power down, power up, and reenter my weight, desired program, etc. The static electric zaps
are NOT because my receptacle isnt grounded; it is definitely grounded. The heart rate monitor is
unreliable enough to be dismissed as worthless. Heart rate can be an excellent workout guide, but if
I were serious about using it Id get a stand alone system that I could link up to my computer, so this
worthless feature doesnt bother me too much. The area where you should be able to place your
books or magazines is NOT shaped right for placing your reading materials there. Whatta fail! How
hard would it have been for them to make a nice ledge. Instead the ledge has no lip and everything
is curved plastic. You can sort of balance your magazine there, but I keep thinking its going to fall
underfoot and Ill sprain my ankle. Im not the most intense runner in the world, but I do like to walk
or jog 1015 miles at a time at about 5mph.
Since I am so slow I end up having to break up my workout into a couple sessions because the
machine wont let me simply enter my desired DISTANCE. I have to enter how much TIME I want to
work out. And it maxes out at 90 minutes. Or maybe it lets you enter 99 minutes, but I go with a
couple of 90 minute workouts for easier math. It would be nice if I didnt have to break up my routine
and keep track of my stats and add them together later. That seems silly for what could be such a
nice machine. It would be nice if the workout keys were labled, but they arent. You have to either
simply remember which programs are which, label the buttons yourself, or turn the machine on and
off while you select each program to see what it is, then turn it off and on again if that wasnt the
program you wanted, and try the next program. Im talking about the kind of program that lets you
rest a minute then kicks up the speed and incline for a minute or two then lets you rest, then kicks it
up higher, then lets you rest, then kicks it up til you think youre going to die, etc. THAT is a great
workout. This machine doesnt really have anything like that. Here is a description of the programs
and the led icons for each program 1. CARDIO oval track you basically adjust the speed and incline
manually throughout your workout 2. CARDIO 2 litle hills 3. RUNNING 6 little hills 4. FAT BURN 6
little hills 5. SPEED INTERVAL 8 little hills 6. HILL INTERVAL 2 big hills Bascially Running, fat
burn, and speed interval look like pretty much the same program, just with slightly different speeds
and inclines. The cardio and hill interval programs also look pretty similar to each other, except the
hill interval raises the incline a lot more. Bottom line this is a good, basic, solid machine. It could
have been a great machine but Bowflex was more interested in the bells and whistles they gave their
series 5 and series 7 customers.
That wont stop me from getting the most out of my new treadmill, but it will stop me from buying
from this company again. Please try again later. R. Roberts 5.0 out of 5 stars I became interested in
Bowflex treadmills after Consumer Reports rated the Bowflex 7 series as one if its best folding
models. Glad I managed to avoid a hernia during installation.Please try again later. Please try again
later. Happy Face 3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite enough follow through in design and programming.