Elliptical Trainers - anyone have one?

[caribbeansun]

We are looking at buying an elliptical trainer and have looked at 4 brands:

Precor, Life Fitness, Nautilus and a funky thing made by Symmetry Fitness called at HypoCycloidal Trainer[SIZE=-1].

The spread in prices is pretty surprising with Precor and Life Fitness being in the mid to upper $3,000 (last year's model is lower $3,000), Nautilus is low to mid $2,000 and the Symmetry is $2,200.

I've read some reviews and it seems obvious that Precor is tops, Life Fitness seems to be in second and Nautilus is arguably third. I can't find much on the the Symmetry.

If anyone has an elliptical trainer would you be so kind as to post your experiences as well as what brands you considered and why you selected what you did.

Thanks in advance.[/SIZE]

 

[Eric in McLean]

Precor and Life Fitness. We ended up with the Precor EFX 2.3 because the ramps are adjustable. Life Fitness has the advantage of offering moving arm bars for a slight upper body workout.

 

[geekette]

I don't own one, but our health club has an array of makes and models and I've tried them all. I think it's the Precors where my feet go to sleep, but the LF that has the ramp and is more of a stepping motion which does not make my feet numb. I think some of this has to do with my feet staying in the foot holds with the ramp setup vs having to really work on keeping my feet in the slots on a Precor. I could have the models reversed (it's the gray ones I don't like!).

If you can test them personally, do that. IMO 20 minutes can tell you a lot. Just be sure to do the same program on each so you get a true apples to apples comparison.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Costco has two right now for great deals. One has the television screen built in. I have been considering one but don't need the TV because I have a television in that room.

 

[silvib]

I can't remember the make of the machine we have, we bought it in Sears, but it was in the $hundreds not the $thousands, so what's the difference between the models you're talking about and ours? Ours has different readings for heart rate, calorie count, time, etc.etc., our arms move in a ski-ing motion so that part of your body works out too.
Either way, it's become like other keep fit things we've purchased in the past, collecting dust because we don't use it!

 

[3kids4me]

I have a Life Fitness which I love...but that's also because that's the one I used to use at the gym and also liked there. I'm sure a lot of it is personal preference. I like having the moving arm bars (which you don't have to use), and didn't need the ability to move/tilt the ramps which I think is sort of a trademark of the Precor.

I think it really also depends on which fits your stride best.

The other thing I like about the Life Fitness model I have (not sure if they all have this or not) is that it measures your heart rate on the handle of the arm bar...so you don't have to wear one of those chest straps, which I would never end up wearing.

Sharon

 

[Keitht]

Spending thousands of dollars for a single item of home exercise equipment sounds excessive to me, unless you have a large family and the kit will be heavily used. The 'pro' kit is expensive in part at least because it has to be able to handle constant use 7 days per week.
I'm currently looking but won't be spending more than the equivalent of 3 or 4 hundred dollars. It is worth buying decent kit, just not going overboard.

 

[silvib]

If we ever bought anything else of this type, which is highly unlikely, I would buy used, not new. We've moved ours around within the house, to encourage greater use, we even took it to our office and brought it back again. It's no lightweight either. At the moment it's in the laundry room, where it can be used, but I was sick of seeing it in a more visible place, to still not be used more than 5 mins a week....

 

[geekette]

Yeah, my 'at home' equipment is limited to videos, a ball that can be deflated, a mat that is also used when camping, a couple exercise bands, 3 sets of dumb bells and ankle weights, all very portable. and hideable.

I do prefer the health club, but, everyone has their own way of doing things. I have to have variety and would be unlikely to use a machine at home. Besides, the steam room is at the health club and I looovvve the steam room.

 

[Elan]

I just looked at Schwinn Ellipticals on Amazon. I saw 4 models ranging from $600 to $1K w/free shipping. All 4 models have 4* or higher reviews.

I agree with Keith. Unless there is extremely heavy usage or some pretty rigorous training, I can't see where spending more will be that beneficial. The less you spend, the less you're out if it ends up being a "high-tech clothes hanger". I'm not one to advocate buying junk, but the mark-up on fitness equipment is excessive, IMHO.

 

[lynne]

We purchased an Octane Elliptical three years ago and still use it at least 3 times a week. The pedal spacing is what sold us on the unit as it was the closest to a natural stance. The unit also has many preset or manual exercise options including uphill. It cost a little less than the Precor which we used at the gym. The overall footprint was also a deciding factor as it took up less space in the house. Since we were unable to find anything we liked as much, we ended up taking it with us in our move from NY to HI.

You may want to research this product as an option and find a local dealer where you can try it out. We do not regret our purchase. It never became a clothes hanger.

 

[Eric in McLean]

The moving ramp is for isolating muscle group. The higher the ramp, the more you work your glutes, which is a feature that my fiancee wanted. I was happy pumping my arms on the Life Fitness model. With Precor 2.3, you can measure heart-rate using the devices set into the handrail or use the chest strap that comes with it. It's alot of money but it's also very durable. I only do weights 2 or 3 times a week and I still go to the gym for that. The rest of the time, I can just work out at home on the Precor and save the time it takes to go to the gym. I'm on this machine 5 or 6 days a week.

 

[silvib]

Now I'm at home I've just checked the make of ours, it's a Pro-Form and has 6 programs/it gives you 6 different readings and of course you can adjust the level of movement or effort you need to put into it. I think it cost about $400 a couple of years' ago.

 

[mamiecarter]

The new issue of Consumer Reports has reviews of elypticals

Consumer Reports best Buy is a Nordic Track for $1000. Sears often has sales on this. The Schwin also gets good reviews from CR and costs about $600 on Amazon. I am debating buying one of these 2 brands but they are so BIG. Space Hogs.