So if you're on the thing for just 14 minutes, who needs a tablet anyway? (Even the water bottle feels optional.) On the other hand, the M5's claim to fame is its 14-minute workout, which Bowflex claims will burn 2.5 times the calories of an elliptical and roughly 1.5 times what you're burning on a treadmill. Perhaps this arrangement was a necessary concession to the M5's svelte footprint, but why didn't Bowflex combine the control panel and display into a single unit? That would have left room for a dedicated tablet stand that wouldn't obscure the display. Meanwhile, the display has a protruding lip for resting a tablet, but doing so blocks all the information you need to see during your workout. There's a cup-holder, but it's even further back-in other words, way out toward the front of the machine. The M5's control panel sits front and center, as you'd expect, but its digital display-cum-speedometer resides behind it. Motors control the resistance, but not the motion, so there's no startup assist. Bowflex supplies admirably large steppers, but I found the machine difficult to get started unless I leaned heavily on the outer edge of the highest one. At either pedal's apex, you're a good 15 inches from the floor. But you'll have to hug a wall unless you run an extension cord to the M5's annoyingly short power cord.Ĭlimbing atop the machine feels like, well, climbing atop a machine. When you're done, you can stick it nearly anywhere thanks to its measly 46-inch-long footprint.

Conveniently labeled parts and a well-written manual make for a fairly painless build, but it's gonna take an hour, minimum. That's once you get it assembled, of course. Turns out it's a fan-one that produces less noise than a jet, but definitely drowns out the TV as you pedal faster. It's definitely a beaut, a monolithic slab of arms and pistons decked out with striking red trim and what looks like a jet turbine at its base. But certain aspects of the design will leave you wondering if anyone at Bowflex actually tested the machine before sending the CAD files to the factory.

Plus, it's smartphone-savvy, syncing your workouts to a tracking app or Apple's Health Kit. It's definitely one of the most attractive home-exercise machines you'll ever see, and there's no question it can give you a solid workout. The Bowflex Max Trainer M5 is about 70 percent stair-stepper, 25 percent elliptical, and five percent torture-but mostly in a good way. Then came the stair-stepper and elliptical, machines born of man's desire to keep from ripping his knees to shreds on the treadmill. The treadmill was born of man's desire to keep his lazy carcass in shape when the elements won't permit.

Bowflex max 6