Eliptical trainers

[daniel49]

Well you finally sprung for that $1000-1500 dollar trainer so you could stay in shape.
did it work? or did you use it 10 times and it sits neglected in the corner forevermore.
Im thinking about the smooth 3.6
http://www.smoothfitness.com/ellipticals-machines/smooth-ce-36.htm

seems to be a well built brand, not fraught with horror stories of falling apart 2 weeks after buying it,
whats your thoughts?

 

[Leros]

It'll take over 2 years of $50 gym payments to pay for that one device. Why not go to a gym and get access to all the devices?

 

[Red Squirrel]

I never understood why those things are so freaken expensive. I'd love to get one so I can use it from the convenience of my house, but no way I want to pay more then a few hundred for one.

 

[MovingTarget]

We had one that recently broke. It is cheaper to simply go for a gym membership, but many people simply are not comfortable exercising in front of others.

 

[TheUnk]

my gym is 20m away. So that's 40m of driving for an hour workout. Sooo much better to own the machines.

 

[HannibalX]

That's what you need, a machine that uses mostly your momentum to keep itself going, accomplishing almost nothing.

 

[sdifox]

craigs list... there must be crap loads of ellipticals for sale.

 

[Chaotic42]

I broke mine by going too fast. I used to get on it and play PS3. Not bad.

 

[Hacp]

Why elliptical when you can go treadmill?

 

[HannibalX]

Why elliptical when you can go treadmill?

They require almost no effort, so people who don't like exercising like them. It's exercising for lazy people.

 

[Skillet49]

Check online and newspaper adds. My parents found some nearly new equipment for a great price through newspaper adds.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Go for a run.

 

[daniel49]

Check online and newspaper adds. My parents found some nearly new equipment for a great price through newspaper adds.

yeah have looked at craigslist locally and the ones I see have a reputation for falling apart abd crappy customer service.

 

[brblx]

They require almost no effort, so people who don't like exercising like them. It's exercising for lazy people.

'it's low impact' is the excuse.

if you ran, your damn bones and joints wouldn't be so weak in the first place...

 

[daniel49]

Go for a run.

uggh..hate running and its always raining. not to mention dogs chasing you and inhaling carbon monoxide as cars race by you.

 

[daniel49]

Why elliptical when you can go treadmill?

originally thought that also but my son seems to think elipticals are the way to go and they do seem to do more and have a smaller footprint?

 

[Leros]

uggh..hate running and its always raining. not to mention dogs chasing you and inhaling carbon monoxide as cars race by you.

Do you have a park within a few miles of you? Just go there and run on the path or grass. I prefer to run on grass myself.

 

[Kaido]

Yeah, I have an elliptical. Honestly it's my favorite indoor cardio machine - it will kick your rear, but also keeps you in great shape and is not too bad on the joints. I have a trick knee and jogging will make it give out after a quarter mile, but I can go for an hour on my elliptical with no problem. I have a ProForm SpaceSaver model:

http://www.proform.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category_-1_14201_16002_29510_Y

It's a bit wobbly, so put it on a hard surface or mat if you're on carpet, but it's nice because I can shove it in the corner to free up space when I'm done. There are 2 problems that prevent most people from either using it or getting the most out of it:

1. Huge, ridiculous goals
2. Poor diet

Don't do an hour a day. Don't do 30 minutes a day. Commit to 15 minutes a day - if you feel like doing more, great, but that way it's not such a barrier on days you don't feel good. We all get really super excited when a new toy comes in, then after a few days the emotional motivation wears off and your commitment for 45 minutes a day suddenly disappears.

That and people still eat like crap, and food = fatness or non-fatness. Unless you use the elliptical for like 2 hours a day and burn off all that junk food you ate, you have to eat right on a consistent basis. There's some good information here on food for getting in shape:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=162171

So pretty much, commit to 10 or 15 or even 5 minutes a day and DO THAT NO MATTER WHAT, and eat decently well. That's all. Also put it in front of a TV, because it gets really boring

 

[daniel49]

It'll take over 2 years of $50 gym payments to pay for that one device. Why not go to a gym and get access to all the devices?

convienece i suppose..and I think they cost 40/month here may be a good option for seeing if you will stick too it and familarizing yourself with equipment.

 

[HannibalX]

Get one of these if you don't want a treadmill.

Elliptical machines are junk, they use the weight of your body to keep you in motion. So you are exerting almost no effort to stay in motion once you're in motion. You might as well take diet pills, they'll accomplish the same thing, which is most likely nothing.

 

[radioouman]

We have an elliptical. It isn't a gym-quality machine, but it fits us both well. We have one room dedicated to exercise equipment with a stereo and LCD TV, and the elliptical gets used pretty often.

 

[lxskllr]

yeah have looked at craigslist locally and the ones I see have a reputation for falling apart abd crappy customer service.

If they're significantly cheaper, you can consider them disposable. If it costs half as much as new, it only has to last half as long as new to be even money. You can do any other interpolated math as necessary....

 

[alkemyst]

I never understood why those things are so freaken expensive. I'd love to get one so I can use it from the convenience of my house, but no way I want to pay more then a few hundred for one.

hot bodies tend to spend a few hundred a day. Price keeps up with demand.

Ellipticals are fun, but I like just straight running.

 

[alkemyst]

We have an elliptical. It isn't a gym-quality machine, but it fits us both well. We have one room dedicated to exercise equipment with a stereo and LCD TV, and the elliptical gets used pretty often.

most will never need a professional model. It's like the idiot that buys a $4000 gaming machine to check email.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

If you really wanted to run you could just go outside. I like using the elliptical for interval training when I'm short on time.