Let me know your thoughts after a couple of weeks.
I've now logged 8 workouts and about 10 total hours on the Bio Force and feel I can now offer a pretty reasonable take on the machine.
The good: Excellent workout, feels very much like using a weight stack (e.g. Nautilus) machine. Way, way better than a Bowflex, Crossbow, Soloflex, etc, in terms of range of motion, smoothness and consistent positive and negative resistance through the range of the exercise, and change out between exercises. Resistance is ample, particularly if you're looking for toning rather than mass. (Serious bodybuilder types probably wouldn't be impressed.) Low enough resistance for the wife to use, and it increases in 2.5lb increments, rather than 5, which is nice. The included workouts are well structured, give a serious full body workout, and
will make you sweat. The machine is solidly constructed, fits decently in a small area, and is generally quiet*.
The bad: Some exercises are kind of awkward to perform, particularly some of the lower body exercises like squats, deadlifts, and leg curls; they remain effective, however, once you get used to how to do them. At 5'9" I max out the cable range on some of the standing exercises, which might be problematic for taller people, but most of these exercises can also be performed sitting. It doesn't stow or fold away, the size it is during the workout is the size it remains when you're not using it, and it's too heavy to easily roll out of the way, so you need a dedicated space for it. While generally quiet, some exercises seem to make the resistance pistons "hum," particularly those that require slow and controlled motion. (I'm considering a dry lubricant on them to see if it quiets it up at all.) The numeric resistant indicators are just silkscreened onto the metal arms and will probably wear off, I plan on eventually having to renumber it with a Sharpie or the like.
The ugly: The price tag and the sweaty fat guy after he's done using it.
Bottom line: A good home workout option as long as you have the space, don't mind spending the cash, and are okay with a little bit of quirkiness. Much more recommended than most other informercial workout systems I've seen or tried. That P90X is a serious sumbich, though.
