The Band Flex™ is a piece of home gym equipment that aims to provide a complete body workout. Unlike most home gyms that use a system of weights and pulleys to provide resistance, the Band Flex™ uses a system of adjustable bungee chords to vary the resistance of each exercise. This allows an athlete to work out safely without the help of a spotter, but it limits the total amount of weight that the athlete can lift at any given time. The Band Flex™ is less expensive than its immediate competitors, including the Bowflex machine.
The primary goal of the Band Flex™ is to provide its users with a complete body workout at home. Its design allows for exercises that will build muscle, but it also can be useful for burning fat and performing cardiovascular exercises. The machine offers an adjustable bench that allows athletes to perform various bench presses and shoulder exercises. At one end, it has a setup for leg extensions and leg curls. At the other end is a setup for a pull-down bar, and there is an attachment that allows for preacher curls as well.
The Band Flex™ claims that its users can perform 67 different exercises by using various configurations of the machine, although some people believe that this number is an exaggeration. The different attachments allow for a variety of upper and lower body exercises, including weight training mainstays such as bench presses, leg curls and extensions, biceps curls, lat pulldowns and abdominal crunches. It is also possible to perform seated rows, and the rowing feature can provide an extended cardiovascular workout.
The pulley system that the Band Flex™ employs provides several benefits. First, it does not require a spotter, because the athlete is never lifting heavy weights above his or her body. Also, it enables an athlete to adjust the amount of resistance without needing a complete set of free weights. The machine is able to provide up to 260 pounds (118 kg) of resistance for arm and leg curls and 130 pounds (59 kg) for most other exercises. The machine uses a "quick snap" system to adjust the resistance of the bands, although some claim that making these adjustments can be difficult.
Another benefit of the pulley system is that is allows the machine to be smaller than a comparable free weight setup. The weight adjustments require a change to the bands rather than a completely different set of weights, so the Band Flex™ eliminates the need for multiple weights and machines, thus saving a lot of space. The maximum amount of resistance is less than what most athletes can find in more elaborate gym setups, but the trade-off in space is one that will appeal to many athletes who are interested in a home gym.
