Where to buy a good, inexensive elliptical?

[photon]

So I've lost about 75lbs through diet alone, and am at the point now I feel good enough to start adding some exercise into things.

My doctor wants me to start with cardio stuff before I start any weight training.

Anyway, by inexpensive I mean not super expensive, but it should still be of good quality. I've tried a few department store ones and they feel like they'll fall apart after a few weeks of use.

The Sole E35 or E55 are what I'm thinking of, but not sure if I really want (need?) to spend that much.

http://www.soletreadmills.com/produc...pe=ellipticals

Anyone know of any good place to get one? There's a super good deal in the bargain finder for a Precor one but it doesn't have the moving handles.

[4X4]

Are you talking about those things that are kind of like stand up bicycles (sans seat) with the arm posts attached to the foot pedals? The resulting motion is like cross country skiing?

If yes, I'll ask my sister. She's been addicted to those things for years and has gone through a couple of them.

[photon]

Yeah those are ellipticals. Much nicer to use than a stationary bike, and I don't like the idea of a treadmill.

[Got Miikka?]

I might suggest canvassing the folks at the Talisman Center to see if there's anything they can do for you - I say this because they seem to go through a lot of eliptical machines there and I am not sure what they do with the old ones. Maybe someone could hook you up (granted that those machines that are replaced are still in some kind of working order and that you'd be willing to take some sweat-laden, beat-up eliptical into your home).

[Crazy Flamer]

My recommendation would be to get a gym membership. For the price of one of those things, you can get a gym membership for the next 2-3 years. People also have a hard time working out at home. Going to a place designated for workouts may keep you more focused and away from potential distractions.

[Got Miikka?]

^ Plus there's also more 'scenery' at the gym - no better motivating factor than that as far as I am concerned...

[photon]

Originally Posted by Crazy Flamer

My recommendation would be to get a gym membership. For the price of one of those things, you can get a gym membership for the next 2-3 years. People also have a hard time working out at home. Going to a place designated for workouts may keep you more focused and away from potential distractions.

Yeah, that was a consideration but my wife wants one as well, and she's more home bound than I am (work-from-home mom). She can't get to the gym, plus that's two memberships.

[peter12]

I think that you can get an elliptical at Costco for around $800. That's pretty bare-bones, as far as I know. A YMCA membership costs something like $600 per year and they deduct monthly payments. You get a much larger variety of equipment to use and it's all fairly top-of-the-line.

I also have a terrible time trying to exercise at home, but I can fit in the gym into my routine quite easily.

[4X4]

Ah, but the gym you have to go to. An in home machine gets used. My sister loves her elliptical. She has hers by her TV so she can do it and watch a show. She says that once she gets going and with a show on, she almost forgets that she's on it and does the whole hour or whatever.
And judging by the amount of attention she gets from my buddies, I'd say it works.

[Crazy Flamer]

Originally Posted by photon

Yeah, that was a consideration but my wife wants one as well, and she's more home bound than I am (work-from-home mom). She can't get to the gym, plus that's two memberships.

But even with two memberships paid in full for a year would equate to the price of one of those machines. Most gyms also have daycare service for the kids. And at a gym, you have SSOOO many more options than just one machine. What if you get sick of it and want to try something else? You're SOL cuz you've only got one machine.

One more thing. If your wife is too busy to go to the gym, how is she going to exercise at home? Not saying she's lazy or anything, just reiterating the point that its so easy to get distracted away from a workout at home.

[return to the red]

Originally Posted by photon

So I've lost about 75lbs through diet alone, and am at the point now I feel good enough to start adding some exercise into things.

My doctor wants me to start with cardio stuff before I start any weight training.

Anyway, by inexpensive I mean not super expensive, but it should still be of good quality. I've tried a few department store ones and they feel like they'll fall apart after a few weeks of use.

The Sole E35 or E55 are what I'm thinking of, but not sure if I really want (need?) to spend that much.

http://www.soletreadmills.com/produc...pe=ellipticals

Anyone know of any good place to get one? There's a super good deal in the bargain finder for a Precor one but it doesn't have the moving handles.

Is there a Flaman in Calgary? We purchased one from them for about $800 and according to my wife it's fairly good. Of course it's not as good as the ones at the gym that cost like $3000 a piece but it serves it's purpose

http://www.flaman.com/fitness/f_index.php/id2/3

[Got Miikka?]

Here's the one I like: http://www.fitnessdepot.ca/shop/stor...30-P654C8.aspx

Like I said though, TC seems to go through a lot of them so I dunno about the overall value of the machine. Depends on your budget too I guess and what sorts of bells and whistles you want with the machine - this one has sensors on the handpieces that record your HR and you can customize it for either cardiovascular training (ie., medium-to-long duration, high intensity) or fat-burning (ie., long duration, lower intensity). I imagine a lot of models have similar features but this one is my personal choice.

[tvp2003]

There's a big difference between the "industrial" models you see in the gym, and those that you can buy for home use (especially the cheaper ones). The high end gym quality stuff probably goes for $2-5K -- however, those are designed to be used constantly, every day by multiple users.

As you mentioned, if you go too cheap the thing is likely not going to last (or else you won't want to use it). You can try places like Fitness Depot and Apple Fitness; IMO Costco usually has pretty decent prices and quality.

[Dion]

The problem with any cardio program is that if you do the same exercise all the time, your body gets used to it and you plateau. I belong to a gym, Photon, and it's recommended that you vary your cardio workout to by using different machines. You might want to look at buying a stationary bike to use along with the eliptical. It would help to prevent your body from reaching that plateau.

Congrats on losing all that weight btw!

[photon]

We've got a recumbent bike already, though I hate using it. My wife likes it though. It's a pretty cheap bike.

The one I found in the bargain finder has an incline feature to it as well (it's a $2700 unit), and that's supposed to help with varying the exercise.

[Got Miikka?]

Originally Posted by photon

The one I found in the bargain finder has an incline feature to it as well (it's a $2700 unit), and that's supposed to help with varying the exercise.

Variation of duration/intensity of exercise as well as resistance levels should also help you avoid the dreaded 'plateau' - as an individual who is only looking to maintain an active, healthy lifestyle this it shouldn't really be a concern to begin with, however, although changing things up helps keep your regimen fresh, which is the key to beating the attrition factor.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by photon

We've got a recumbent bike already, though I hate using it. My wife likes it though. It's a pretty cheap bike.

The one I found in the bargain finder has an incline feature to it as well (it's a $2700 unit), and that's supposed to help with varying the exercise.

The incline will help raise your heart rate - which is what you strive for in any workout.. Treadmills work on much the same principle. Varying the incline during a workout prevents the body from getting used to what you are doing. Also varying the speed helps in this matter also.

I seem to remember Bingo have a treadmill for sale a while back. You may want to look into that also.

[calculoso]

If you're looking for cheap, try:

http://www.thane.ca/products/fitness...e/orbitrek.php



I bought one, had to return it because it squeeked just enough to be annoying, and just received my replacement. It was good for the cheap price...

[BerubeHater]

Originally Posted by photon

We've got a recumbent bike already, though I hate using it. My wife likes it though. It's a pretty cheap bike.

The one I found in the bargain finder has an incline feature to it as well (it's a $2700 unit), and that's supposed to help with varying the exercise.

I just bought one at Fitness Depot last weekend that cost $3000, and was $1000 off.

[Got Miikka?]

Originally Posted by Dion

The incline will help raise your heart rate - which is what you strive for in any workout.. Treadmills work on much the same principle. Varying the incline during a workout prevents the body from getting used to what you are doing. Also varying the speed helps in this matter also.

For someone who is just moving into an exercise regimen it is essential that they don't jump right into a high intensity program. Even for elite athletes, the most effective - and more importantly, the safest - route is to begin with a program based on lower intensities and shorter durations, and gradually upping the duration. For athletes this is referred to as developing a training "base", and you have to imagine the system like a triangle, with your top performance at the peak - the longer you can go at ~60% MaxHR the bigger your base, and therefore, the higher your peak (obviously it is a little more complicated in the sense that other factors come into play in actually reaching said peak, not the least of which is getting the athlete to hit their peak at the right time - ie. during competition - but I digress).

The other benefit to working towards a long duration/moderate intensity workout is that your body starts to burn fat as fuel to supplement a carbohydrate source as duration increases. Your body has two metabolic pathways for energy utlization in exercise - an aerobic pathway and an anaerobic pathway. The sources of energy, catalysts, and products of these metabolic pathways differ depending on what type of exercise you are doing. I'm a bit rusty on my exercise prescription and I don't have any of my literature handy here in the office, but for a starting program I would probably recommend working at about 50-60% of your max HR (your max HR = 220-your age in years) for as long as you are comfortable, and work on increasing that duration at about the same intensity.

Not sure if that makes any sense. Let me know.