Bowflex Max Trainers are well known for their ability to deliver High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts to your living room. I’ve come to see the Bowflex Max Trainer M9 as a very stable offering from the brand, as it was once their top unit in terms of quality. This year it’s offered just a notch below the Bowflex Max Trainer M16, and is priced at $1,999, which does put it somewhere in the middle of the pack this year. But if you like oversized pedals and a solid 10-inch high-definition screen that can suit a variety of needs, the M9 is certainly worth a look.

As someone who likes to focus on my quad and hamstring muscular development while engaging cardio training, the M9 is certainly a great pick. By combining the motion of the elliptical with that of a stair stepper, the Max Trainer takes the joint and tendon stress out of hard-pumping cardio. Folks with knee or hip concerns that keep them off the treadmill come to mind when I think of this machine. But that doesn’t negate the intensity of the workout offered here. You’re getting 20 full levels of silent magnetic resistance here, with seems to be the gold standard these days. The value to magnetic resistance is the smooth manner in which you’ll transition from one level to the next. In addition, the 4-way handlebars are weighted sufficient to give your upper body a workout too, and they do come equipped with embedded heart rate sensors. Purchase does come with an included Bluetooth heart rate monitor for your arm, and another big plug is the Bowflex JRNY Fitness App, and a two-month free trial. The JRNY subscription is $19.99 per month or $149 per year if you opt to keep it, and I have to say, it’s a great deal. In addition to workout routines and personalized fitness assessments, you’ll get trainer-led on-demand programs, as well as compatibility with entertainment apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Bowflex JRNY is unique in that you can use your own subscriptions to these programs to watch on the machine’s screen without having to bring your own tablet.

Machine-wise, this is a nice sized unit for most homes. It also weighs 148 pounds, which in my experience, is enough to make it solid, but not so much as to prevent you from moving it about the house. Measuring 49.2″ x 30.5″ x 65.1″ it offers a 300-pound user weight maximum, oversized pedals, Bluetooth speakers, and a premium media rack to help personalize it.

Priced at $1,999, it represents a good alternative to models such as the NordicTrack FreeStride Trainer FS10i at $2,499 and the Horizon 7.0 AE Ellipitcal at $999. One thing that I’m not particularly cracked up with is the warranty of only three years on frame and parts, with a year for electronics and 90 days for labor. Lower-priced models are offering much better warranties this year.

Why You Should Trust Our Review Of The Bowflex Max Trainer M9

At EllipticalReviews.com, we bring you comprehensive reviews of exercise equipment so you can decide which one is right for you. Our staff thoroughly test all the ellipticals we review. We install them, ride them, and try out all of the features. We get to know each and every elliptical we review extremely well. Our reviewers log miles riding. We listen and record the sound of the machine, try out all aspects of the console and try the machine’s features.

Every elliptical we review undergoes the same rigorous process. That way we can compare and contrast them and give you an honest review of what we think.

Our reviewers are fitness experts. Brian, the author of this review, is a competitive bodybuilder, and is a 7-time national qualifier in both men’s bodybuilding and classic physique within the NPC competitions. He has coached and been coached on cardiovascular training, HIIT, and nutrition, particularly as it pertains to weight loss for competitions. He is an expert when it comes to ellipticals, has been on this elliptical, and you can trust his opinion on all of the machines he reviews.

In Brief

The Bowflex Max Trainer M9 is the second from top unit offered by the brand this year, with a great 10″ high-definition touchscreen that works with the JRNY Fitness App and it’s associated programming. With 20 levels of silent magnetic resistance, built-in heart rate sensors, and a Bluetooth armband that comes with the purchase, there’s little you can’t do here from HIIT to slower jogs. Measuring 49.2″ x 30.5″ x 65.1″ with a machine weight of 148 pounds, the unit sports up to 300 pounds, quite easily, and fits nicely even inside apartments. When placed in my living room I had no space issues whatsoever. Priced at $1,999, it’s somewhere in the middle of the pack, but when it comes to actual performance, it’s nearly impossible to think you’ll outgrow the machine’s workout capabilities.

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Bowflex Max Trainer M9 (2024) - Notable Specs:

Overall Rating:	4-stars
Compact / Folding:	no
Incline:	n/a
Stride Length:	n/a
Flywheel:	magnetic and fan based
Programs:	JRNY
Fan:	no
Weight Capacity:	300 lb
Dimensions:	49.2" L x 30.5" W x 65.1" H

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In-Depth Review of the Max Trainer M9

Why We Like It

If you like interactive training with a paid app, and don’t want to pay the Cadillac pricing, then the M9 might be just fine for you. It’s a great mid-size trainer which mixes the motion of an elliptical with a stair stepper for a comfortable burn unlike other pieces of exercise equipment. If your knees and hips have you afraid of treadmills and bikes, these Trainers are a great option.

It Has A “Goldilocks” Console

As I’ve said before, you’re either into attached high-definition touchscreens or you’d rather bring your own tablet. If you do like attached screens, then 10″ is a great size. It’ doesn’t dominate your scope of vision like larger models but it is indeed large enough to interact with global-style workouts that include maps and videos. The screen is designed to work with JRNY, but if you do opt out of that paid app, you’ll still be able to use the screen in more of a manual/demo mode and place a tablet or phone on the media shelf beneath it.

Speaking of JRNY…

The JRNY Fitness App is the proprietary app built to go with Bowflex and Schwinn machines. Priced at $19.99 per month, or $149 per year, it brings a virtual library of on-demand workouts numbering thousands. In addition to trainer-led workouts, you can also access global workouts designed to take you by video anywhere on Earth, not to mention JRNY Radio and music catalogues with any genre. The JRNY program does communicate with the machine’s heart rate monitors built into the handlebars, as well as the Bluetooth armband that comes with purchase. In my experience using it, the only thing potentially missing is live trainer-led workouts, but other than that it’s perfect. It works with the motion sensors in Bowflex dumbbells and of course offers more than cardio, strength, yoga, and just about any category of workouts you can want, downloadable onto nearly any device. What’s really unique is you can access your subscriptions to programs like Hulu and Disney on this screen as well. I’ve not seen many programs that work like that. For more information, check out this link here.

20 Levels of SMR

Irrespective of your fitness level, it’s tough think you’d ever outgrown 20 levels of magnetic resistance. The total body dynamic of these combination stepper/ellipticals make for a hard workout both in terms of resistance as well as cardio. I know numbers matter to people and some are inclined to think 100 levels of resistance is better than 20, but when you’re fully in motion here even one or two will do the trick. The value to magnetic resistance is that it’s just so much smoother and quieter than other forms, your rommates will never know you’re here. My own dog sleeps through my workouts while lying on the couch next to the machine.

Bowflex Max Trainer M9 Dimensions

The dimensions of the Bowflex Max Trainer M9 are 49.2″ x 30.5″ 65.1″ and one should add 20.7″ to their own user height to estimate ceiling needs.

Bowflex Max Trainer M9 Weight

The Bowflex Max Trainer weighs 148 pounds and can support up to 300 pounds.

What We Like:

• Dynamic Exercise Programming

  Built to work with the JRNY Fitness App, you won’t run out of options when it comes to working out anywhere, anytime. Whether you’re into HIIT or slower workouts, the program has pretty much anything you could want.

• Media Shelf

  If you do opt out of the JRNY Fitness App, you can always set a tablet or smartphone on the handy media shelf beneath the screen.

• Great Resistance

  With 20 levels of resistance, there’s no question you’ll never outgrow this trainer. Personally, I can get myself pretty worn out with even a few levels of magnetic resistance.

• Bluetooth Speakers and Connectivity

  I had no problem syncing my devices with this machine in a matter of seconds.

What We Don’t Like:

• In-Home Assembly Costs

  Bowflex offers in-home assembly for $189. Depending on whether or not you have help, this might be necessary. Assembly of this unit is simple enough, but it is relatively large and help is needed.

• Short Warranty

  Considering the $1,999 price, I’d expect more than three years for the frame and parts.

• App-Dependent Screen

  Like most machines equipped with touchscreens, the M9 is designed to work with JRNY. Yes, it does work in a default manual mode without the app, but frankly you lose a lot of features.

This Elliptical Could Be For You If You Want:

• A mid-sized elliptical
• A dynamic 10″ touchscreen
• To use the JRNY Fitness App
• 20 levels of silent magnetic resistance

Our Verdict:

The Bowflex Max Trainer M9 is a mainstay of the brand, and I think there’s indeed value here. But I’d recommend checking out the Horizon 7.0 AE at a price of $999 just for reference. Priced at $1,999 the M9 really comes in at the mid-point here across the markets, and yet it’s three-year frame warranty is noteworthy when compared to other models’ lifetime guarantees. The other point to consider is that with the M9, the screen is very JRNY-dependent. Yes, you can always ditch it after the free two-month trial, but if you’re not going to use that program, I’d advise continuing the search because there are a lot of ellipticals out there with 20 levels of silent magnetic resistance.