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

Precor Elliptical Trainer

The Precor elliptical trainer - widely used and wildly popular. While we had Rick Allen, the owner of Midwest Commercial Fitness on the phone, we thought we'd ask him about Precor elliptical trainers. What goes into Precor ellipticals and more importantly, do they live up to expectations? Are these the best cardio machines to buy?

Rick: Hi Paul. Thanks. And I should probably clarify - there are a number of Precor elliptical trainers on the market, the Precor EX5 home ellipticals line and the commercal Precor 544,546, and 556- each with different features and price points. Just in terms of some general buying tips, when you're shopping for cardio machines, the manufacturer is extremely important to consider- their reputation for building quality equipment, their warranty, etcetera. So it's worth digging a little bit into a company like Precor to get an idea about what you might be buying.

You'll be glad to know that this is a very, very solid company, which has been around for about twenty years and is very well respected.  They actually came out with the first Precor elliptical trainer in the mid 1990's and have won a number of fitness industry awards for their cardio workout equipment- I think Training Magazine was a recent one.  So they've done very well in the market and are currently the largest manufacturer of elliptical fitness equipment in the world.

So you can either take all that with a grain of salt or use that information to inform your buying choices, which is what I would do. And if you were to ask me my unbiased opinion on Precor elliptical trainers, which is what I think you want, I'd tell you flat-out that they're simply wonderful products.

That's a subjective judgment to be sure, but in my remanufactured fitness equipment business, we routinely tear Precor elliptical trainers down to the frame, and at that level you see the engineering that goes into them. And I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that Precor elliptical machines are quality products.  Also, if it's important to you to have an elliptical fitness machine with an adjustable ramp, Precor holds a patent on an adjustable ramp design that you're not going to get anywhere else, so if you need adjustability, Precor may be your brand.

Which isn't to say that the Precor elliptical trainer is the only game in town. Life Fitness elliptical machines are very good too, as are Star Trac ellipticals and the Octane elliptical trainer. Cybex has also come out with a solid hybrid elliptical trainer called the Arc Trainer.

But the main point I want to make is that when you buy an elliptical workout machine, you're buying the brand as much as the equipment itself, so yes, if you're looking at Precor elliptical trainers, which are considered to be among the best cardio machines out there, not just by me, but throughout the fitness industry, you're shopping in a very intelligent way. So long as you're not paying too much - and you won't if you go for a remanufactured Precor which is what I sell (about $2,000 remanufactured vs. $5,000 new), it's very hard to go wrong with a Precor elliptical trainer.

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