Bowflex shatters under load

My Bowflex PowerPro with Lat Tower failed dangerously this weekend as
I started my workout. The plastic rod box holding the flex rods broke
loose from the machine's vertical shaft and both ends of the box
shattered, scattering jagged shards of plastic in all directions. I
found pieces scattered as far as 15 feet away.

The rods also caused some minor damage to the drywall behind the
apparatus, and just missed hitting two windows. Both ends of the box,
each holding two 50# rods were broken open, and three of the six 50#
broke through the plastic where their bases are screwed into the box.
The box is not the original one bought six years ago, but a much more
recent replacement.

Since I follow SuperSlow protocol, my workouts are quite brief and
infrequent. I guesstimate the total time this box has been under load
of any kind is less than 50 hours total, and the total time under
maximum load less than 20% of that, or 10 hours.

The exercise I had begun was a seated calf raise using all of the rods
at once, preparatory to doing a leg press.

Since the PowerPro provides no suitable foot brace for using the full
power of the rods in either of these exercises (the resistance is
progressive, so you only get 410# resistance when all the rods are
pulled right down to the pulley), I've added a third (bolt-on) foot
rest, suitably reinforced, where the bench is bolted to the frame.
This is the only way anyone with an inside pant leg measurement less
than 43 inches can flex the rods fully using the waist belt (even so,
the resistance is insufficient for me, so I use the calf-raise to
pre-fatigue my calf muscles).

In accordance with SuperSlow protocol, I take great care to avoid any
sudden or explosive movements. To overcome the lack of leverage at the
beginning of my calf-raise and leg-press exercises (the only two out
of a total of 11 in which I use more than 200# resistance) I
pre-tension the rods and lock them in stages, using tie-down webbing
belts. This makes mounting and dismounting the apparatus much safer
and comfortable. I had just completed the last pre-tensioning stage,
and was half-way into position for my first positive calf raise (ie.
the rods were roughly at 80% flex), when the rod box shattered and the
entire rod bundle went flying until stopped by the tie-down straps
(without the tie-down straps, the rods would have had another two feet
of free travel, and could possibly have broken one or both of the two
windows on either side of the PowerPro, which faces into a corner of
my sun room).


All of the four screws that hold the rod box to the upright frame were
still in place. The sequence of breakage isn't obvious. There's an
almost straight vertical break line in the box where it sits between
the lat tower and the PowerPro's upright shaft. Perhaps this broke
first and set off a chain reaction on the back side. Or the box may
have cracked first all around the four screws that hold it to the back
of the upright. The latter area has always been the weakest spot on my
machine. Cracks there have appeared on every box I've ever had
immediately after first use, no matter how much care I've taken in
installation. This box was the fourth I've installed.

Aside from the complete destruction of the main rod box, the upgrade
sub-box (which slides into the main box to allow adding two 50# rods
at the far end) was also ruined, in that the holding screw of one of
the rods broke through the base. Looking at the pattern of box damage,
it appears likely that the initial break occurred on one side, as all
three of the 50# rods broke through the rod box base on the right
side, while no rods broke free on the left. The rubber sheathing on
the two front 50# rods and one of the 10# rods is also torn in a
couple of places.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this incident is that I had no
warning. As mentioned previously, the rod boxes always have cracks.
After four replacements, and taking every possible precaution
(replacing the stock phillips-head composite holding screws with cap
head screws of the same thread and dimensions, and making absolutely
sure they went it square and weren't overtightened), the cracks
continued to appear immediately, and I had to decide to either ignore
them or stop using the Bowflex altogether. The cracks are extremely
hard to see in the rodbox material, and there have been in suggestions
from the manufacturers to help the user decide when they've become
critical.

As it happens, I had done a full workout routine without any sign of
problems only a few days before, and so this incident took me entirely
by surprise. Happily, I had a functional spare box in my Bowflex parts
collection, so after taking a series of photos to document the affair,
I replaced the box and completed my exercise routine.

Since I have previously encourage others here to try the Bowflex
PowerPro, I now feel obliged to post this warning for anyone using
this machine or other Bowflex machines employing the same rod box.

As mentioned above, the effects of this breakage were likely limited
in this case by my use of tie-down straps which significantly reduced
the range of flight of the rods and box once they cut loose from the
frame. So a similar occurrence on a stock machine could be much more
dangerous.

It may be that this could never happen on an unmodified PowerPro
machine simply because it's impossible to flex the complete 410#
complement of rods to the maximum using the provided foot rests
(unless you're 7 feet tall!). However, although I've never had a
chance to inspect the later models, from the online pictures it
appears that one might be able to use the full resistance while doing
squats with some of them.

One precaution I strongly recommend, and intend to follow diligently
myself in view of this breakdown, is to ALLWAYS WEAR EYE-PROTECTION
when using the Bowflex.

This posting was my first priority, so I haven't contacted Bowflex
about this problem yet. If there's any expression of interest here,
I'll be happy to post follow-up information as I receive it.


--

Achim
_____/)
axethetax

"Achim Nolcken Lohse" <lohsea DeleteThis @3web.nettax> wrote in message
news:45ff1a25.16127132@news.telus.net...
> My Bowflex PowerPro with Lat Tower failed dangerously this weekend as
> I started my workout. The plastic rod box holding the flex rods broke
> loose from the machine's vertical shaft and both ends of the box
> shattered, scattering jagged shards of plastic in all directions. I
> found pieces scattered as far as 15 feet away.
>
> The rods also caused some minor damage to the drywall behind the
> apparatus, and just missed hitting two windows. Both ends of the box,
> each holding two 50# rods were broken open, and three of the six 50#
> broke through the plastic where their bases are screwed into the box.
> The box is not the original one bought six years ago, but a much more
> recent replacement.
>
> Since I follow SuperSlow protocol, my workouts are quite brief and
> infrequent. I guesstimate the total time this box has been under load
> of any kind is less than 50 hours total, and the total time under
> maximum load less than 20% of that, or 10 hours.
>
> The exercise I had begun was a seated calf raise using all of the rods
> at once, preparatory to doing a leg press.
>
> Since the PowerPro provides no suitable foot brace for using the full
> power of the rods in either of these exercises (the resistance is
> progressive, so you only get 410# resistance when all the rods are
> pulled right down to the pulley), I've added a third (bolt-on) foot
> rest, suitably reinforced, where the bench is bolted to the frame.
> This is the only way anyone with an inside pant leg measurement less
> than 43 inches can flex the rods fully using the waist belt (even so,
> the resistance is insufficient for me, so I use the calf-raise to
> pre-fatigue my calf muscles).
>
> In accordance with SuperSlow protocol, I take great care to avoid any
> sudden or explosive movements. To overcome the lack of leverage at the
> beginning of my calf-raise and leg-press exercises (the only two out
> of a total of 11 in which I use more than 200# resistance) I
> pre-tension the rods and lock them in stages, using tie-down webbing
> belts. This makes mounting and dismounting the apparatus much safer
> and comfortable. I had just completed the last pre-tensioning stage,
> and was half-way into position for my first positive calf raise (ie.
> the rods were roughly at 80% flex), when the rod box shattered and the
> entire rod bundle went flying until stopped by the tie-down straps
> (without the tie-down straps, the rods would have had another two feet
> of free travel, and could possibly have broken one or both of the two
> windows on either side of the PowerPro, which faces into a corner of
> my sun room).
>
>
> All of the four screws that hold the rod box to the upright frame were
> still in place. The sequence of breakage isn't obvious. There's an
> almost straight vertical break line in the box where it sits between
> the lat tower and the PowerPro's upright shaft. Perhaps this broke
> first and set off a chain reaction on the back side. Or the box may
> have cracked first all around the four screws that hold it to the back
> of the upright. The latter area has always been the weakest spot on my
> machine. Cracks there have appeared on every box I've ever had
> immediately after first use, no matter how much care I've taken in
> installation. This box was the fourth I've installed.
>
> Aside from the complete destruction of the main rod box, the upgrade
> sub-box (which slides into the main box to allow adding two 50# rods
> at the far end) was also ruined, in that the holding screw of one of
> the rods broke through the base. Looking at the pattern of box damage,
> it appears likely that the initial break occurred on one side, as all
> three of the 50# rods broke through the rod box base on the right
> side, while no rods broke free on the left. The rubber sheathing on
> the two front 50# rods and one of the 10# rods is also torn in a
> couple of places.
>
> Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this incident is that I had no
> warning. As mentioned previously, the rod boxes always have cracks.
> After four replacements, and taking every possible precaution
> (replacing the stock phillips-head composite holding screws with cap
> head screws of the same thread and dimensions, and making absolutely
> sure they went it square and weren't overtightened), the cracks
> continued to appear immediately, and I had to decide to either ignore
> them or stop using the Bowflex altogether. The cracks are extremely
> hard to see in the rodbox material, and there have been in suggestions
> from the manufacturers to help the user decide when they've become
> critical.
>
> As it happens, I had done a full workout routine without any sign of
> problems only a few days before, and so this incident took me entirely
> by surprise. Happily, I had a functional spare box in my Bowflex parts
> collection, so after taking a series of photos to document the affair,
> I replaced the box and completed my exercise routine.
>
> Since I have previously encourage others here to try the Bowflex
> PowerPro, I now feel obliged to post this warning for anyone using
> this machine or other Bowflex machines employing the same rod box.
>
> As mentioned above, the effects of this breakage were likely limited
> in this case by my use of tie-down straps which significantly reduced
> the range of flight of the rods and box once they cut loose from the
> frame. So a similar occurrence on a stock machine could be much more
> dangerous.
>
> It may be that this could never happen on an unmodified PowerPro
> machine simply because it's impossible to flex the complete 410#
> complement of rods to the maximum using the provided foot rests
> (unless you're 7 feet tall!). However, although I've never had a
> chance to inspect the later models, from the online pictures it
> appears that one might be able to use the full resistance while doing
> squats with some of them.
>
> One precaution I strongly recommend, and intend to follow diligently
> myself in view of this breakdown, is to ALLWAYS WEAR EYE-PROTECTION
> when using the Bowflex.
>
> This posting was my first priority, so I haven't contacted Bowflex
> about this problem yet. If there's any expression of interest here,
> I'll be happy to post follow-up information as I receive it.
>
>
Let's face it Achim, to make a very long story shorter, you bought a pile of
junk.