Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I'm really getting a great workout on this machine. I can feel the results in places the rest of my exercise routine never affects. It's easy enough, unless you want to make it intense, which is an option, a little bit fun, not grueling at all for me, even when I start `feeling' the results, and I get results in a very short amount of time, 10-15 minutes. I could do more, but I think I would be very sore the next day and I am using other equipment as part of my workout as well. The 15 minutes is making a lot of difference in my legs and arms.
By varying the position of your feet (and arms), you work on different muscles. I could definitely tell the difference later, especially the next day. I can actually feel muscles that normally don't get much attention, upper and lower hips, thighs (inner and outer), and calf muscles in particular. By pushing and pulling yourself using the handlebars, you can even get an excellent upper-body workout. I think this would do very well to get rid of flab on the back, midsection, and arms. In fact, people have mentioned that my arms are looking good.
After several weeks, I am still finding that I get a really good workout in about 15 minutes. I don't usually want to do more than that at one time. I may go back in several times during the day, or use some other exercise along with it, but it doesn't take much time to make a difference.
Someone with serious training goals will want to spend more time and with a higher intensity. The machine is flexible enough to meet different kinds of needs. I like that about it.
LATERAL MOTION: While the treadmill and elliptical are great at the forward and/or up and down motion, I wanted lateral movement as well. This machine provides side-to-side motion. I added another piece of very VERY expensive equipment recently, this is still the ONLY one that provides me with the lateral movement I was looking for. I've now been averaging 15-20 minutes per workout and it is always a pleasure to spend time on this machine, never grueling, much like a walk or skate. I wouldn't call it a `glide' because it takes pressure. If I could only have one piece of exercise equipment, I'd probably go with an elliptical, but this does things the elliptical doesn't do, particularly the lateral motion.
INTENSITY: You can make your workout as challenging as you prefer, and it's no problem to just use it 'lightly' to improve your range of motion. It doesn't 'force' you into a workout that is harder than you want on any particular day. I would say that it fits whatever my exercise goal is for the day. I can set the resistance higher or lower without stopping.
ARMS: I am taking advantage of the arm rails exercise my arms. I was surprised when people started mentioning that my arms are getting buff. I spend part of my workout, just a couple of minutes on each side, pushing and pulling, almost like rowing There are all sorts of ways to get your arms into a workout with this machine. That's very important added benefit to me.
ABS: It gets the abs too, and I'm seeing results there as well.
CALF MUSCLES: My calf muscles could write a book. They didn't know what hit them! The change is dramatic.
HOW IT WORKS: The machine does not move the user. When you work out, power you generate is transferred through the belt to drive the flywheel movement. You choose the program you want and the machine automatically changes the resistance, making it seem sometimes as if the machine is gaining momentum or you are going faster, but it's actually because the resistance goes lower or higher as you work out, depending on the program you select. You can always override it to make it easier or more intense without stopping to adjust it.
There is limited warranty of 3 years on the main frame and 1 year on the magnetic system and computer display. They recommend a large mat to protect the floor under your machine.
I WON'T BE READING WHILE ON THIS MACHINE: The movement of the machine would make it very difficult to read while you work out, if you like to do that, but it's operation is quiet enough to easily be able to watch television or listen to music. It's a little hard, at least for me at 5'2" to look 'over' the display monitor and see the TV, but I find myself bobbing to the left and then the right, catching a look at the television briefly on each side. I don't find it a problem not to be able to see a computer or television screen for 15-20 minutes/day.
A handy, fairly large tray with cup holder and a section appropriate for a remote control, etc., comes with the machine. The cup holder tray is bigger than most and should be able to hold anything you need while you work out.
SET-UP & INSTALLATION: When the machine arrived, I had professionals set it up for me, because it weighs about 306 lbs and my gym is upstairs. There appears to be 116 parts. The monitor initially had a problem, but one telephone call got a new monitor sent to me immediately! Even as I was waiting for it, I was able to use the machine just fine without the electronics. The only difference was, I wasn't able to change the resistance level or choose from the variety of programs.
INITIAL WORKOUT: The monitor is working and I just had my first workout on it. I rarely ever manage to bother to work out hard enough to sweat, but this did it for me, even though I decided to start out very slowly the first time. I set it for 'Weight Loss' and only for 10 minutes. The Default setting counts down from 30 minutes, but you can set it for anything you want, up to 99 minutes. The pulse monitor worked great! [edited to say that I find the monitor a little hard to understand even after reading the manual. I occasionally see the pulse monitor kick in, but I have no idea how to make that happen, or get the `FITNESS TEST' started. I thought I was doing what the manual said to do, but I've only been able to get the `FITNESS TEST' to work a couple of times, by sheer luck I think. Same with the pulse monitor. If it happens, it happens, but it sure isn't because I selected the right keys or buttons. I still have no idea how to do those functions. ]
I came back an hour later to add that I'm glad I didn't do more than I did today. My muscles rarely get sore and they are. There is a 'Fitness Test' and an 'Aerobic' setting, and more that I haven't explored yet. That very simple, plain monitor has more going for it than it first appeared. I like it!
I want to read the instructions more carefully before I go at it again tomorrow, then I'll come back and update. I do know already that I got a good workout in a short amount of time, without feeling like it was drudgery.
I've watched the instructional DVD in which the demonstrator shows how to work out changing foot positions and even turning around backwards, which you'll want to do very carefully. Once you're there and holding on to the handlebars, it feels very comfortable and stable, for even more variety. The woman demonstrating most of the functions (a man demonstrates one short segment on speed skating I think) seems to be more than a hired model. She appears to have used the machine, from the way she talks about it and from looking at her leg muscles. I'll bet she has a very strong kick after looking at her calf muscles in particular. I believe it's the same person who is in the video that I saw here before purchasing the machine, but the training DVD is a helpful, detailed demonstration that I intend to watch again now that I have a little experience using the machine. I can relate more now to some of her suggestions that didn't make sense to me when I watched before using the machine.
SECOND DAY: I'm back the next morning. I can tell that I will get a good workout on this machine, even though it looks so simple that I had my doubts at first. There are 8 workout training selections. MANUAL, RACING (where you race against the machine and get a 'You Win' or 'You Lose' at the end. There are also 5 Training Programs: Rolling Hill, Weight Loss, Aerobic Training, Stress Relief, and Random. You can also switch to "Lap Profile" during any program. Every .25 mile completes one circle and the number of circles is displayed in the middle. There is a "Heart Rate Control Training" (HRC) program where you contact the metal pulse sensors, which are placed where they need to be on the handlebars. There is a "Fitness test" function which enables you to measure your recovery pulse at the end of training. You put your hands on the pulse sensors on the handlebars, press FITNESS TEST, and it measures your pulse for one minute before giving you a "fitness mark" with value ranging from 1 to 6, 1 being excellent and 6 being unsatisfactory, so you can see how your fitness improves over time.
All-in-all, I appreciate the simplicity of the machine. I like to keep things simple, but at the same time, I like my electronics to have all the bells and whistles to keep me entertained. This model costs a little more for the bells and whistles, which will be worth it to some users and others can do without the larger control panel provided in this model, to save a little money. Before I bought this machine, I read the only review available at that time, which was for the other model, with a smaller monitor display. That user seemed very pleased with the purchase, as I am with mine.
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