For both the person that wants to work out at home and the person who is happier at the gym or health center, the elliptical trainer is increasingly popular for its low impact but great cardiovascular workout. Whether old or young, injured or fit, an elliptical trainer suits everyone because it low impact nature means no pain and no further injury. You can workout both lower and upper bodies making them a great fitness machine for people who are trying to improve fitness and stamina, as well as those new to exercise who want to lose weight. Having your own at home is a great investment but you need to know what to look for.
Due to its popularity there are now a lot of brands and models on the market today to choose from. Prices start around $500 and go all the way up to $5000. Though the less expensive models may be more tempting to your wallet, do consider that a cheap price probably means cheap components that may go wrong sooner rather than later. The flywheel is key to an elliptical trainer – it generates the circling motion and the resistance for your workouts.
If you choose a machine just on how cheap it is you are likely to get something that comes with cheap parts. Cheap ellipticals also have cheap flywheels that are designed with belts to create the resistance and these belts do not have a long life span. On the other hand the more expensive machines use a magnetic system that is for more sophisticated as it alternates electrical current to create the resistance levels.
Where the flywheel is on the trainer is also something to pay attention to. Usually models have one big flywheel that is places at the back of the model. The drawback to this design is the machine is long and big. Lately more modern designers have created shorter fatter models by putting on 2 smaller flywheels side by side. The benefit to this change they claim is the model becomes more stable and the motion is even smoother.
Finally but very importantly you need to make sure the flywheel mechanism on the machine you are considering has a warranty, as this is the thing most likely to break. Good brands will offer at least 12 months whereas others will go as high as 5 years. Buy a brand that is known and can be trusted to back up its warranty.
Elliptical fitness equipment and accessories. Today’s special: Kettler Elliptical Cross Trainer
