Q: hey mike, i just notcied your new recommendations for things to try... why are you endorsing the bowflex? machines are inferior to free weights since you dont get the same type of movement, am i right? and at that price your could afford a several year gym membership.. also, have you ever read arnolds encyclopedia? that has tons of good exercises, and otehr good stuff

A: Bowflex and other machines do have something to be said for them, though in general freeweights are superior, as you said. What a beginner gets with machines is greater safety and ease of you for home as well as lack of the 'gym' intimidation factor. Some people would rather just not go to the gym and/or use freeweights. Given that, machines are the next best thing. There's also less of a chance of injury with machines so beginners may feel more comfortable using them, especially without supervision of a trainer. Those are all reasons for my recommendation, not their value for the money. That's why I also say that it's more appropriate for beginner or intermediate lifters. There's nothing superior or inferior about Bowflex compared to many other machines, I just chose it as one of the best known ones.

For advanced lifters and, in general, for people who have no inhibitions or safety worries when it comes to freeweights, I completely agree with you -- freeweight are the superior choice.

As far as Arnold's Encyclopedia it is a classic and it has a ton of useful and inspirational info and pictures, but his recommended training methods would lead to overtraining for most people sooner or later. For somebody who has some experience lifting and who knows how to recognize and avoid overtraining, it's a very good reference, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.