In this section: Elliptical Fitness Equipment | Elliptical Fitness Equipment Comes Of Age |  An Easier Trainer | Elliptical Fitness Equipment | Elliptical Fitness Equipment | Trainer Cardio Tips | Exercise Equipment | Gym Cardio Compared | Abdominal Fitness Equipment | Precor Elliptical Trainer

Elliptical Fitness Equipment | Trainer Cardio Tips

With  a handful of top elliptical fitness equipment trainer manufacturers and scores of others that make lower grade  equipment, what should someone in the market for decent elliptical cardio equipment be looking for?  We interviewed Rick Allen, whose company MIdwest Commercial Fitness, sells remanufactured fitness equipment, and asked him for the straight scoop on what a potential buyer of an elliptical fitness equipment trainer needs to consider.

Rick: I expect that for most people, bang for the buck is what they're looking for. When it comes to fitness elliptical trainers, you need to consider the same elements as you would with other cardio equipment, but also one more thing: The elliptical's pattern -  the motion that makes this cardio exercise so different. Each manufacturers is going to differ in the way they provide that pattern, and there are definitely differences in how well some of them do it, really wide differences among fitness industry manufacturers. So let's take a look at that unique cardio equipment pattern and what you're likely to find when you actually go out and buy.

Every elliptical fitness equipment trainer will share this basic pattern: flat at the top where you're foot is level, angled on the downswing as you step down, flat again at the bottom of the movement and then angled again as your foot moves through the upswing. Picture that in your mind and you'll see the pattern that's behind the elliptical sports phenomenon, the reason the elliptical fitness equipment trainer delivers such a smooth and continuous movement, and the reason they're so satisfying to use.

So that's a very basic description, because in actual hands-on, day-to-day use and training, elliptical cardio equipment varies widely, and so does the quality of the pattern. Sorry to say, but like so many other things in life, you get what you pay for, and the elliptical fitness equipment trainer is no different. The better, more expensive elliptical cardio equipment will have a better elliptical pattern because it's better engineered.

What happens with the cheap elliptical cardio exercise equipment is that inferior materials or inferior design will produce a poorly engineered pattern. There will be sticking points, sometimes barely perceptible sticking points in a cheap elliptical fitness equipment trainer that you just won't find in a better piece of equipment. And while you may not actually feel those sticking points - or maybe you will - the quality of your workouts begins to suffer, because the fluidity of motion - which is really the whole reason to buy an elliptical fitness equipment trainer - has been compromised.

Something even more insidious are cheap ellipticals that seem at first to have that fluid movement, but which only lasts to the end of the warranty period.  The fact is that if you spend a couple hundred bucks on cheap elliptical sports equipment, you just shouldn't expect  the same durability that you'll find in quality elliptical sports equipment that simply can't be produced and sold for less than about $1,000. 

And yes, $1000 is a lot of money to the average Joe who walks into [a major department store] and sees a $199 elliptical workout machine and thinks to himself that he's found a bargain. But it's not a bargain when the components break down in three months and he has to either give up on elliptical sports or  go out and buy another elliptical fitness equipment trainer.

My business really offers a "best of both worlds" type of product because we're able to sell a remanufactured elliptical fitness machine at $1,000 that may have cost $2,000 to $3,000 new, and at that level - the commercial level, the quality that's engineered into this type of cardio equipment is nothing short of phenomenal - you can feel the difference instantly. It's like buying a Rolls Royce - with what you set aside for a Corolla.

So when buying ellipticals, you really want to keep in mind the reason you're considering one- which is essentially the smoothness of the movement, the fluidity of the pattern. Get on the machine, get a feeling for it, and then give some thought to the engineering that you're going to be living with for the next two, three, five years, in your elliptical fitness equipment trainer.

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