So the wife has been looking for an elliptical. She’s mentioned the ProForm 520e.
I’m not happy with the reviews. We’re looking at between $350 and $500. Any suggestions?
I have some kind of Nordic track elliptical. I don’t have any shopping advice, just advice that you take care of it better than I have. WIPE IT DOWN. After every workout. Mild soapy water or something and then dry it.
Otherwise that sweat will start rusting things.
Good ones are pretty expensive. We tried a few cheaper units at stores, friend houses etc and didn’t think they’d hold up over time at all.
Ended up buying an Octane Q37 unit because it was large, heavy, tough, gym-ready. These or the Precor gym units are well-reviewed but they are all between $2000 and $3000!
On the plus side, they last and can be serviced instead of thrown out when needed. We’ve had ours 6 years and haven’t had an issue beyond needing to occasionally clean the rails, oil the wheel, etc.
Diego
My gf bought an inexpensive one approximately 6 years ago as well, and it’s still like new!
Can you guess why?
You got it. Still in the box at her apartment.
Heh. That’s funny.
Ours gets around 2 hours of use per day by 2 people, so somewhere between 600 and 700 hours per year total. That sounds like a lot but should be fine for a machine designed and sized for gyms (where the hours would be crazy high).
I DID fall off the exercise wagon for a year or so and in that time the machine was occasionally used as a clothes hanger by my wife 🤷🏻♂️
Diego
I got a used octane on Craigslist for like $300. It’s worth it but bring a bunch of strong friends along to move it, they are heavy as shit.
Also, try it out. I have a long stride length and most machines built for the home have crazy short strides.
The day we sold our elliptical on Craigslist was the happiest day of my life. My advice? Get your wife a gym membership instead. She’ll be using $4000 elliptical machines that don’t suck.
Yeah but that gym membership will cost her forever and, more to the point, some of us nerds would rather sweat at home 😳
Do you have a Planet Fitness nearby? It’s only $10/mo.
Some workouts I do at home, like lifting weights, but when it comes to using heavy machinery like ellipticals and treadmills, $10/mo is well worth it to use someone else’s.
To each his own of course, but having a machine in the home gets me as close to zero excuses as possible for not exercising. I don’t have to worry about time of day, any added travel time to/from the gym, whether my iPad is charged and loaded with something to watch while I exercise, etc.
I have one that I have a love/hate relationship with. It’s an older model now:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008PQIKNU
I think I paid about $800 for it when new. I ended up going back and taking the advice of some reviewers and getting the following items which were VERY needed.
Lithium Grease - needed to lube a lot of the moving parts. It’s a foaming spray so it really penetrates and helps with metal-to-metal and metal-to-plastic moving parts.
Non-slip Equipment Mat - People are heavy. Workout machines are also heavy. As we move, and they move, they slowly move around, especially on carpet. Because everything is so heavy it can pull and tear. This mat solves all that. It’s padded to prevent carpet and flooring divots, and its non-slip so it will stay in place and keep your equipment in place.
I have a love/hate with the elliptical because it squeaks and clicks and feels like the assembled and shipped item it is, not like the more solid and commercial feeling of ones at the gym. I get a good workout on it, but as a whole, if I had to do it over again, I would have actually paid MORE and gone for something I’d either used before or tried out in person. Or, as others mentioned, I would just leverage a cheaper gym membership. Around here they are as cheap as $15 a month.
Think long and hard about one of these and if possible, go somewhere to try one out.