Elliptical Buying Guide: A Proper Guideline to Choose The Best Elliptical
Choosing the best elliptical isn’t so easy. There are a lot of options for buying an elliptical, this is why you may get confused. This elliptical buying guide might help you so much to buy the right elliptical fitness trainer for you.
I’m going to tell you how to choose the right elliptical. I’ve tried to include all the factors about the best elliptical buying guide.
What to Do Before Purchasing an Elliptical?
Consider your Budget
First of all, you need to consider the budget. It’s one of the biggest factors for most people before choosing a fitness machine. For sure, it’s so much important to analyze your budget first because money determines the quality and features of the product.
Best Ellipticals under $2000
Best Ellipticals under $1500
Best Ellipticals under $500
Best Ellipticals under $200
Fix Your Goals
Another important thing is to fix your goals. Think about the reasons for purchasing an elliptical. Different users choose ellipticals for different reasons like losing weight, tone muscle, physical rehabilitation, etc. Determine your goals first, then you’ll understand which elliptical trainer is perfect for you.
Consider Space
Space is an important factor to find out the best fitness equipment. People having a dedicated home gym space may choose the ellipticals given below.
But most people need to move the equipment around. If you look for such types of ellipticals you may choose any one from the list below.
Familiar With Different Type of Ellipticals
Rear-drive elliptical
The rear-drive elliptical is one of the traditional ellipticals and still very popular. This elliptical features a flywheel in its back. The position of the flywheel gives a very stable and smooth motion range.
The rear-drive elliptical provides natural and a longer stride. This machine is more effective for workouts with minimal stress.
The user of this type of ellipticals may need to maintain an upright position. Some users find this position uncomfortable.
Front-drive elliptical
The front-drive elliptical machine places the flywheel in its front and the roller tracks behind. This elliptical trainer’s pedals give a more vertical motion range. These elliptical users may find workouts like a stair climber.
This type of elliptical machine is a little bit lower to the ground. So, the exercisers with limited mobility range may find this elliptical suitable.
Center drive elliptical
The center drive elliptical is the latest addition to the elliptical fitness trainer. This type of elliptical features flywheel on either side of its pedals.
Center drive ellipticals provide vertical motion like the front drives. During the workout with this elliptical, the user needs to remain more upright.
The flywheel of this elliptical is parallel to its pedal this is why they can be considered as more compact than others. The center drive ellipticals are most popular for the home gym.
What Are The Must-Haves On The Best Elliptical
Workout Programs
Some people overlook the workout programs. But it’s so important to consider it because workout programs provide you more effective, different, and joyful exercise.
There are two kinds of workout programs in an elliptical fitness trainer- basic programs and custom programs. The basic programs are preset by the manufacturer. You’ll be able to make your resistance profile with the custom programs.
Resistance
At the very first, you should focus on the elliptical’s resistance, as most experts consider resistance as the heart of an elliptical.
So, you should give priority to the machine which uses magnetic resistance. The magnetic resistance gives super reliability and quiet operation. It requires very low or even zero maintenance costs.
Some ellipticals come with adjustable resistance. These ellipticals adjust the resistance according to your heart rate. This kind of elliptical trainers requires wearing a chest strap heart rate monitor or placing your hands on sensor grips over some time.
This adjustable resistance is really useful for your cardiovascular health. For this, it would be much better to purchase an elliptical having adjustable resistance. Probably, you need to choose a bit expensive elliptical machine for getting this feature.
Console
Another important thing is to look for the electronic console. Most quality elliptical machines have one or more screens. You can see your time you’re spending on your workout, difficulty level, your speed, and heart rate.
If you invest a bit more money on an elliptical, you will get a high-quality machine with a backlit screen. With this backlit screen, you can see the information on the screen with no problem.
Some ellipticals come with an LED display that provides you with a generally orange or red light on the display. You may not feel good with this type of display.
Almost, all expensive ellipticals include an LCD monitor. This display is really good. You can see all the necessary workout data on the display.
Some latest models come with dual displays. You may keep a book, mobile phone, tablet, or i-pad on its rack. If you want, you’ll read the lower display as well.
Stride Length
The stride length of an elliptical is one of the vital factors to choose the right elliptical for you. If you choose an elliptical stride length that isn’t fit for you, you’ll feel uncomfortable during a workout.
All stride length is not suitable for everyone. It varies depending on the person’s height. The people under 5′ should choose an elliptical with 14″-16″ stride length. They need 16″-20″ stride length who’s 5’3″-5’7″ taller. The 20″-22″ stride is suitable for the people who’re over 6′.
Easy to use
Many elliptical users find trouble with the elliptical which has a lot of features and the buttons. This is a barrier to the regular workout for most users, especially for the new users.
Most high-quality ellipticals offer an easy to use features with one or two buttons.
Delivery
Be sure about the delivery of your equipment because it’s heavy. It would be a wise thing to check the assembly process. Some manufacturers provide you free assembly.
If your product doesn’t have such an offer, you should assemble your elliptical by an expert spending few money.
But remember, all types of ellipticals don’t require an expert to assemble. You may assemble most primary and midrange elliptical. Reading the manual will help you get the job done easily.
Return Policy
Whether you purchase the elliptical online or not, you need to know well about the return policy of the store. Will they charge and how much to send back the purchased item?
Warranties
Warranty is also a factor in choosing a fitness trainer. You should look for at least 3 years on parts and 1year on labor warranty.
Safety Features
One worth noting is that elliptical machines might be dangerous for children as the moving parts may injure them. So, make sure of keeping away your beloved children from the elliptical while you’re exercising.