I'm looking at putting a Treadmill and Elliptical in the up stairs of my building for the cooler months. Any suggestions on Type/Brand/Must haves etc. Not looking to break the bank, just looking for something that will handle 2-5 miles a day 4-5 months/year. I will more than likely buy off Craigslist as there are ton out there for sale. Thanks for the help.
Tradmills, I like the Life Fitness. And for ellipticals, I actually prefer the Cybex Arc Trainer, but they are $$. Better workout, more options and better on your joints. Check them out: http://www.cybexintl.com/products/cardio/ArcTrainers.aspxOtherwise, Life Fitness is pretty solid all the way around. You may be able to find something through local gyms/fitness clubs that have recently ordered new machines or have just put new ones in their clubs. Play It Again Sports may have something as well. Good luck!!
If $$ aren't a major factor, I too would recommend an arc trainer (Cybex is definitely gym quality). Life Fitness is a good brand as well, and we had considered them since my wife get's a discount through work on Life Fitness brand equipment. After a lot of research, and stumbling on a great year end deal, we walked away with two Sole machines. They get GREAT reviews, have solid warranties, and aren't quite as pricey as Cybex equipment. We bought the Sole F80 treadmill and the E35 elliptical. While I prefer the movement of an arc trainer to the elliptical, I'm happy with both. Just be sure to consider the flywheel weight on the elliptical. Heavier is better. The E35 has a 25lb flywheel, and I will have a LOT of room to grow into it resistance wise. Both machines have onboard fans, headphone and MP3 jacks with built in speakers. The display on the F80 is a little more sophisticated than the E35 elliptical, but they both offer a lot of great options (Interval, Strength, Cardio, Manual, Hills, Fatburn, Track Mode, etc, etc). I would definitely take a look at them.
My experience with elipticals is that they have to feel right. Sometimes they feel awkward to run so I would suggest trying out anything before you buy it.
lol. My son rode his bike outside for 2 1/2 hours on Sunday and the high for the day was 17 degrees! Surely someone in NC can run outside.
It's not so much the temperature, Carnac. It's dark when we need to run in the winter. And, we work for a living. Now....do you have a recommendation for a treadmill or not?
With two girls in sports and 50+ hour work weeks it doesn't leave alot of daylight for activities. I also have asthma, the cold triggers attacks. MGH - Thanks for the recommendations. Money is always a factor. My fiancée is having hip surgery the 9th of Feb. so the elliptical is going to be for her to get back up to speed when she's able.
For treadmills we have both Startrac and Precor at work...I like them both, and both are heavy duty and can take a beating by big guys...I prefer the Precor models for some reason...seem a little more solid to me when running higher speeds. We have at least 3 models of ellipticals - but no opinion here as I have never stepped on one in 5 years here...just don't look right to me. I like the feeling of running. My favorite piece of equip is the new Stairmills...that's a workout like no other...these things are about 8ft tall though so don't see how they'd ever work in a home gym unless you have high ceilings. Good Luck!
