Buying an Elliptical

Hi C.,
I bought one two years ago at 2nd Wind Fitness. I later found out I have arthritis in my back and it hurt to use it. The other day I went to 2nd Wind and they game me almost what I paid for it as trade in on a new type of elliptical that has a chair. Sounds strange but you should take a look. I don't have it yet, but looking forward to a painless workout. It's suppose to be a better workout on the glutes than the standard elliptical.
I highly recommend 2nd Wind.
C.

I have a Precor at home, and I work out on a life fitness at work. Both of these models are very good. Precor is the company that invented the elliptical. Its motion is more of a circle, and I think it is a little more comfortable. The life fitness is great, too, but it is more of a cross country skiing motion and the balls of my feet sometimes burn a teeny bit with the friction. Very minor complaint, though.

I bought mine from Fitness Showcase because they were very helpful and NOT pushy. Not on commission, whereas the 2nd wind people were on commission and a bit pushy. True Advantage fitness was pretty good, and those machines are great, too. (I think they changed ownership, though)

I don't recommend the machines with the arm thingy. It doesn't help the cardio very much and keeps you from focusing on your legs. I just find it is better to swing your arms freely.

Good luck! The elliptical machine has been a wonderful advantage for my fitness routine. The best investment!!

Hi C.,
As a HUGE fan of the elliptical machine I would say that there are a few things to consider. If you're looking to tone up your legs, look into the LifeFitness models. They're a little bit harder to pedal & I feel they get your heart rate up quicker than any other model. This helps in the weight loss as well as cardio fitness. An easier model that has more programs and an incline feature would be the Precor models. You can set these to the incline you like (to work different muscles) and also the resistance. The only thing I don't like about on this one is that it takes longer to get my heart rate up no matter what resistence I put on it. The programs and the incline make up for this though. Both of these models are found at the Club Fitness gym on 5th Street in St. charles & they may let you do a trial if you want to go check it out. Good luck!

I love the elliptical. I don't find the fan necessary. I do like one with some type of programmable workout program for variation in resistance & intensity. Do not get one that has wheels that run on a track. These have a tendency to crack & fall off the track while you are using it. Other than that I don't feel you can go wrong with one.

Hi C.! I dont know the brand but the ones at the Rexplex in St. Peters were amazing to me. I was on that thing for an hour, sweated my butt off but didnt really feel tired or winded. You could call them and ask what kind they have. Also I noticed stores in our area called 2nd Wind Exercise equipment, its resale, I thought about going in there and checking out some tredmills. I wanted one, I didnt want to buy a cheap new one but cant afford an expensive new one either. I thought about buying on off craigs list for cheap but I want to see a lot of them and compare. Anyways good luck! I hope you find a good one!