Smooth Fitness 9.45ST Treadmill Review

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(More customer reviews)At 6'3 270lbs I've found that there are not a lot of consumer treadmills that I can use. The Smooth 9.45st seems to be a winner for me. With a maximum weight of 400lbs and 300lbs on it's fastest speed, the machine was designed to hold up. It does. I can run at 10mph without the belt slipping on me. Anyone with a little weight knows exactly what I'm talking about and how annoying it is.
The deck on this machine is LONG. At 6'3 I've got a long stride. No more running on top of the dashboard with the 9.45st. It feels weird running in the middle of the deck and still having plenty of room available so as not to slide off the back.
Some of the other features include the hydra deck. I'm not 100% sold on it, but I bought the treadmill to run on. The hand sensors (to increase and decrease the speed) are great. Simply hold your hands over the sensors in the arms and the speed will increase and decrease without touching the console. VERY COOL and useful feature. The computer programs are nice too but again I use mine to simply run using the HIIT style of aerobic activity (as advocated by Shawn and Bill Phillips.) The incline works very well too.
It's a little pricey but worth the money if you're a bigger person. When you factor in a lifetime warranty on the whole machine (belt, frame, motor, electronics, etc..) it helps make the 9.45st a smart investment!

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Xiser Commercial Portable Stepper Review

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(More customer reviews)I was a little worried when I first ordered this little machine. Five hundred bucks is a lot of money for such a small item, and I had read a few reviews that stated the machine was in fact too small to comfortably fit your feet on the pedals, especially if you were of a heavy build.
My first impression upon opening the box the Xiser came in was how small, light and simplistic in design the machine is. I am a truck driver and bought the Xiser specifically for use in my truck, so small and light is a very good thing. In my opinion, the simplicity of the Xiser only contributes its genius and durability. It is constructed of very heavy cast aluminum and has absolutely no frills whatsoever. The Xiser comes in two pieces, the pedals and pedestal are connected and the pistons simply set on two nipples cast on the pedestal, and cables connect the pedals to the pistons via slip-on aluminum connecters. One reviewer complained that there should be bolts holding the pistons on, but I think the designers wanted the Xiser to be as portable as possible and this design allows it to be disassembled and stored literally in seconds.
After reading through the documentation, I set the Xiser on the floor, connected the pistons and hopped on. I'm not just heavy, I'm admittedly fat (muscular, but still 5'9", 320lbs), and I have no problem placing and keeping my feet on the pedals. The pedals move in a very smooth motion, and the resistance of the pedals can easily be adjusted by turning the adjustment screw located on the base of the pistons. The machine held up well to my immense weight and I found I actually enjoyed the workout I got.
In summary, I think for me anyway, this device will be well worth the money spent. If you are looking for a cheaply constructed portable stepper with lots of electronics, the Xiser is definitely not for you. If you are looking for a heavy-duty workout machine that will offer you years of tough workouts without breaking, then the Xiser is just what you are looking for.


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Cathe Friedrich's STS Shock Cardio: HiiT (High Intensity Interval Training) DVD Review

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(More customer reviews)Cathe F. is one of my favorite video instructors, and these three HIIT workouts are among the hardest workouts she has put out. HIIT workouts are designed to give you an amazing cardio workout, without catabolizing (eating away) your muscle. Don't let the shortness of these HIIT workouts (or of any HIIT workouts) fool you: these are VERY tough!
According to Cathe's website, the 30/30 workout (30 seconds of work, 30 seconds of rest) is the easiest, the Double Wave Pyramid (interval lengths build up in time, and then build back down) is the middle one, and the 40/20 (40 seconds of work, 20 seconds of rest) workout is the hardest. I definitely agree! While the 30/30 and Double Pyramid weren't crazy, I thought I was going to die when I did the 40/20 workout for the first time!
Two of the three workouts on this disk also require a step bench, along with extra risers (for a total of four on each side). While you can probably modify the workout if you don't have a step bench, you'll definitely get more out of the workouts if you have a step.
I have a tendency towards tendonitis in one of my knees, and, so far, these workouts have not aggravated it. If you have bad knees, though, you might want to preview the workouts on-line since they do require a lot of plyometric jumping.
Another nice feature is that there is a countdown clock for each workout, so you know exactly how much time is left in each work and rest segment. Somehow, it makes it more bearable if you know how many seconds are left in the work sections! Each workout comes in at just under 30 minutes, including a warm-up and cool down stretch.
In my opinion, these are the hardest workouts in Cathe's new STS Cardio series. They are GREAT!

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