BowFlex files for bankruptcy
Updated: 11:31 AM CST Mar 5, 2024
- This seems like a very load implement, this seems like something where, if I'm in front of the TV I can easily see myself just like trying to get diesel. - [Narrator] This is Best Fit, each episode, two people discuss and test out two top fitness products to decide which is the best fit for them. Today we're looking at two of your top options for home adjustable dumbbells, the Bowflex SelectTech 552's and the PowerBlock Pro Series dumbbells. (air whooshing) (energetic upbeat music) - Not everybody can have a full rack of dumbbells behind them, and we know that because we train at home. - Not in my apartment, no way. - And when you're in that situation, you need to have a pair of adjustable dumbbells that can start light, because there are light exercises we wanna do. At the same time we wanna go heavy, so we're tryna sort out the better fit between the Bowflex SelectTech 552's and - the PowerBlock Pro Series. And this is the expandable one so you can bring that range out with heavier weights. - Yeah it's interesting 'cause they're very structurally different, right? Like the Bowflexes all we do, they go up to 52.5 pounds, as low as 5 and it's a dial turn. So that's how we can change the weights and pick them up, except we can't pick that up. - Turn on both sides there up, come on now. - There we go. See that, I'm just right off the bat, that's like way too complicated for me. I just wanted... I want one thing and I wanna lift my weights, right. - And that's what you get here, let's put this whole package right here. All right, so it's pretty easy, just pull out, this is attached here and let's see. Let's go up to white, so that's gonna be 30 pounds easy. - Exactly, and there's some adjustment over there 'cause obviously this goes up in 10 pound increments when you work it that way, but if you pull that clip out again Brett, and pull out the center of it, and now you hit that little red tab. - Ah okay, show me how it's done. - So when you hit that tab, we can pull out two, 2.5 extensions. So I can go now five pounds, 2.5 or 7.5, I can't do math, 10. So that gives us a lot more versatility with the weight. Although this again, is gonna go up to 52.5 pounds, the PowerBlocks we have here go up to 50, although you can buy expansion packs for it to get it up to 90 pounds, which is critical for anyone who really wants to move a larger load. One other thing too I've kind of like about the PowerBlocks, is they look like they can take a little bit of a pounding. And I feel like anytime you have 60, 70, 80, 90 pounds, and you're going to a failure, there's a chance you're going to drop the dumbbells, and you shouldn't and these look very droppable. - Yeah, so what is this? It's pretty rugged, looks like treated rubber, some type of rubberized material. Here we're working with more a kind of a plastic. It's definitely finished, it's not like it's cheaper, it looks like it's gonna break if it hits the ground. But this, I think I would feel a little bit more secure with dropping down or having an accident happen. - Not that you ever want to drop anything in your living room, ever. - Definitely not your living room, no. - That's the PowerBlocks , the Bowflex definitely feels a little bit more homey. I kind of like the handle, it's got like a nice rubbery feel, I feel like I can grip this. - Is that textured, is that kind of like, it's not knurled obviously but. - It's got a little bit of texture, I can grip it pretty aggressively. And I like that it's a little bit like convex, right? I can see this feeling really good to curl, which is actually one thing I'm a little bit concerned with about the PowerBlocks, because the structure and distribution of the weight is not like a traditional dumbbell. So I'm not anticipating getting that really good rotation when I'm doing some of my motions with the PowerBlocks. This seems like a very load implement, this seems like something where, if I'm in front of the TV I can easily see myself just like trying to get diesel. - It's very smooth. (dumbbell assembling) - Yeah - And I mean that setting that you're talking about in front of the TV in the living room, that's kind of closer to how I do some of my training at home. I have a very small apartment, very small space, and what I like doing is pulling out the weights and kind of you know, figuring out circuits that I can do as I'm watching a show or just trying to kill time. What's your home training situation look like generally? - Yeah, so my home training situation is very different. Yes I'll occasionally do curls in front of the TV, or kind of in that quick situation, but I definitely wanna go a lot heavier with my training, train a lot more aggressively and I have a garage gym. So one thing I like about the PowerBlocks I think, is that I can go heavier with that and I can get up to 90 pounds. 52.5 at some point, becomes just not enough of a challenge for some of the exercise that I'm doing because I'm doing a lot less accessory motions. I'm not doing bicep curls all the time, but I'm doing the heavy presses, the deadlifts, and at some point when you're training at home, I think you want more load, and you need more load for those bigger motion exercises. Okay so we've talked about them, now I think we should just test them out, see what we think and then get back to you. (air whooshing) (energetic upbeat music) So we curled, we bench pressed, we did some deadlifts, and I think now we're ready to make our decisions and choose the dumbbell that fits best for us. I'm gonna let you go first, which one do you like? - Yeah I mean, I don't think you can go wrong with either of these to be clear, but for my situation and what I'm training for especially, I think the Bowflex is the better call. You know, just because I'm not working with as heavy a weight when I'm lifting inside, you know it's a smooth transition, I really like the mechanism there. And honestly, I wanna be careful with these because they're a bit more drop averse. You know, you don't wanna necessarily be tossing these around just because of the mechanism and the way that they work. And that's actually a good help for when I'm training inside and I don't want to mess up my floor or go out of control. We've all seen those videos, people you know having workout fails inside, so I think that actually design there can help me a little bit stay under control. So that, you know I think the Bowflex is a good call for me. - Awesome. That's perfect because, I'm gonna choose the PowerBlocks mostly because one, they can grow with me, because they start at 50 pounds but I can eventually get the expansion packs to get them up to 90s, and I wanna be able to move that heavy weight. Two, they are super durable, I can drop those things, I can pound those things and I like the quick switch of the weights. And three, because of the weight distribution, I know that when I'm gonna deadlift or when I'm going to bench press it's nice and even. These are not great curling dumbbells, I solve that problem by having an assortment of lighter dumbbells that I can use, but just to be able to do all that heavy weight work, that's exactly what I want in a dumbbell. So the PowerBlocks are perfect for me. - It's the privilege of having a garage gym and having all that space. - I mean, you gotta train somehow. - All right, so to sum it up, the best fit for the Bowflex here is gonna be someone who is looking to be a little bit more cautious with their at-home workouts inside, but you still want the smooth transitions from weight to weight and you do want to save space. Again, because you don't have room for an entire wall's worth of dumbbells like we have behind us here. - And the PowerBlocks are perfect for anybody who wants to go really, really heavy, and if you have that garage gym freedom, then you wanna think about the PowerBlocks That's all we have from here, if you want us to compare any other devices on Best Fit, make sure to drop something in the comments below and let us know what you think.
BowFlex files for bankruptcy
Updated: 11:31 AM CST Mar 5, 2024
Peloton isn't the only at-home exercise equipment company feeling the pain: BowFlex is too, announcing Tuesday that it has filed for bankruptcy.The nearly four-decade-old company, best known for commercials that were a staple of late-night television in the 1990s, filed for Chapter 11 and said Johnson Health Tech, a Taiwan-based company, would "acquire substantially all of the assets" for $37.5 million in cash.BowFlex blamed its bankruptcy on the "post-pandemic environment and persistent macroeconomic headwinds" and said it received interest from "multiple" companies but chose Johnson Health Tech because it will "maximize value for our stakeholders through this process."A $25 million debtor-in-possession financing will allow BowFlex (BFX) to operate normally and keep its employees paid. Shares of the penny stock fell 5% in premarket trading.Johnson Health Tech makes similar exercise equipment under the Matrix, Horizon Fitness and Vision Fitness brands. It also has nearly 500 global locations of its retail store using the Johnson name.Washington-based BowFlex makes several products, including treadmills, ellipticals and its well-known home-gym contraption that lets people do more than 70 weight-based exercises. In November, parent company Nautilus rebranded itself with the BowFlex name in hopes of attracting new users to an identity "synonymous with home fitness."Makers of home-based fitness equipment have struggled following the pandemic, as Americans rushed back to the gym; along with the increasing popularity of weight-loss drugs. Peloton said last month that its turnaround plan isn't going as planned and NordicTrack-owner iFit scrapped its plans to go public in 2022.
Peloton isn't the only at-home exercise equipment company feeling the pain: BowFlex is too, announcing Tuesday that it has filed for bankruptcy.
The nearly four-decade-old company, best known for commercials that were a staple of late-night television in the 1990s, filed for Chapter 11 and said Johnson Health Tech, a Taiwan-based company, would "acquire substantially all of the assets" for $37.5 million in cash.
BowFlex blamed its bankruptcy on the "post-pandemic environment and persistent macroeconomic headwinds" and said it received interest from "multiple" companies but chose Johnson Health Tech because it will "maximize value for our stakeholders through this process."
A $25 million debtor-in-possession financing will allow BowFlex () to operate normally and keep its employees paid. Shares of the penny stock fell 5% in premarket trading.
Johnson Health Tech makes similar exercise equipment under the Matrix, Horizon Fitness and Vision Fitness brands. It also has nearly 500 global locations of its retail store using the Johnson name.
Washington-based BowFlex makes several products, including treadmills, ellipticals and its well-known that lets people do more than 70 weight-based exercises. In November, parent company Nautilus rebranded itself with the BowFlex name in hopes of attracting new users to an identity "synonymous with home fitness."
Makers of home-based fitness equipment have struggled following the pandemic, as Americans rushed back to the gym; along with the increasing popularity of weight-loss drugs. Peloton said last month that its turnaround plan isn't going as planned and NordicTrack-owner iFit scrapped its plans to go public in 2022.