( 68 reviews )
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Posted: Aug 3 2009
This machine earns its stars for being something to do while watching TV or browsing the internet. It's definitely better than doing nothing, but on the other hand it seems like like almost any exercise is more vigorous than this. This machine seems to use a more limited set of muscles than most exercises: at the gym I can get my heart rate up to 60-90% of maximum in a variety of ways and I feel slightly out of breath so I know I'm really exercising. On this machine, I sweat, but my heart rate doesn't go up much and I don't feel like I'm exercising. The day after working really hard on this mini-elliptical for 45 minutes, sweating up a storm, I feel it in my calf and butt muscles, but not in my quads and hamstrings, which I interpret to mean that these large muscles aren't being used much. The more muscles used in an exercise = the more heart rate increased = the more calories burned, and the limited set of muscles used by this machine may be why I don't feel like my heart rate increases much. A machine that uses more muscles such as the Gazelle or a treadmill is probably better exercise. It's not like I'm not in all that great shape. I'm 10 pounds overweight and just started exercising again after 2 years away from regular exercise. This machine's short stride length just seems not to use the big muscles much. When I was considering buying this machine, I thought about the short stride length as a preference issue. "I could get used to it," I decided. And I have. As an aesthetic issue, I don't mind, but as an exercise issue I wish it used more muscles.
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Posted: Jul 24 2009
I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I didn't have any problems balancing (I'm 5'6ish with a very short torso, and extremely uncoordinated by and large) and although the stride length is short, I did not find it to be uncomfortably so. My 6' tall significant other is not able to use it comfortably so far. I was able to work up a sweat. The only reason I am giving it 4 stars rather than 5 is that it starts squeaking after using it for a few minutes. I'm not really sure why, so I'm going to try a few things. It may have something to do with living in an old house where nothing is level, but nothing is *horribly* off level. Overall I'm very pleased, but I've only had it for 24 hours. I love that it fits in the corner unobtrusively. I've already used it for over an hour today, which is way more exercise than I would have gotten otherwise!
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jul 17 2009
assembled easily, as others have noted. but a pre-assembled part -- the axle -- fell apart as soon as I put my weight (165 pounds) on it. went for quite a tumble and glad I wasn't hurt. called their customer service and they said an internal part couldn't be fixed by me, so returned it and a new one is in the mail to me. it does SEEM like a good machine if it doesn't kill me. so looking forward to one more try once I get the replacement. but for now 2 stars is the best i can do -- be careful when you step on it!
