What are the pro and cons to owning a treadmill vs an Elliptical?
I've packed on quite a few pounds over the last year since I stopped going to the gym and was contemplating getting a device that I could use in my apartment that would allow me to burn some calories and get my cardio back. When I had my gym membership I almost exclusively used the ellipticals for my cardio. They were very nice Life Fitness machines and after getting a feel for them it quickly became a way for me to burn off 500 calories during a workout. I've spent my share of time on treadmills as well and thought I liked them until I used the life fitness ellipticals.
I've got a llittle arthritis in my knees and I like the thought of the low impact elliptical.
Heres my problem though. I have a very limited budget <$600 and I've been waiting for a few months doing research and waiting for a hot deal to come around. I know most equipment in that range is very basic and low quality. I was hoping that there would be a black friday sale where I could get a decent one within my budget. So after looking at the BF deals there appears to be a couple of options in my price range. Dicks Sporintg Goods has the Fuel FE46 Elliptical and FT96 Treadmill on sale for $499. Regularly around $1000. Their specs are actually quite good when comparing them to some of the junky proform models that are priced in that range. The Elliptical has a 21 pound flywheel and the treadmill has a 2.5 chp commercial moter. Both units have lifetime warranties on the frame and motors and 1 year replacement on parts. Both buch better deals than the 90 day proform warranties. And reading some of the review sites it looks like the Fuel treadmills are made by Sole which makes very good exercise equipment. I went and looked at them today at Dicks and both seemed pretty well built. Their drawbacks are their consoles don't appear to be super high tech and full of options. But most of the time I never used all the advanced programming of the life fitness machines anyway. I just want something that is as good of quality that I can get for that price.
The other options are at Sears. They have some Nordic Track models that are on sale for around $650. What I found out about these models though is that they are made by Icon which also makes Proform and don't generally get as positive reviews. They are sellign the name apparently.
I thought about getting one of the fuel models at Dicks and using my Amex Blue card to increase the warranty even more. But I can't decide weather I should get an elliptical or a treadmill.
Seems to me that a treadmill would probably last longer and have fewer problems. And I could also maybe use it for my dog as well. The downside to the treadmill is that I don't feel like I get quite as good a workout and it is a little higher impact on my joints.
Whats your take on TM vs E and are you familiar with the fuel models at dicks?
Fuel FE46 Elliptical Website
Review of Fuel FE46
Fuel FT96 Treadmill Website
Review of Fuel FT96
I've packed on quite a few pounds over the last year since I stopped going to the gym and was contemplating getting a device that I could use in my apartment that would allow me to burn some calories and get my cardio back. When I had my gym membership I almost exclusively used the ellipticals for my cardio. They were very nice Life Fitness machines and after getting a feel for them it quickly became a way for me to burn off 500 calories during a workout. I've spent my share of time on treadmills as well and thought I liked them until I used the life fitness ellipticals.
I've got a llittle arthritis in my knees and I like the thought of the low impact elliptical.
Heres my problem though. I have a very limited budget <$600 and I've been waiting for a few months doing research and waiting for a hot deal to come around. I know most equipment in that range is very basic and low quality. I was hoping that there would be a black friday sale where I could get a decent one within my budget. So after looking at the BF deals there appears to be a couple of options in my price range. Dicks Sporintg Goods has the Fuel FE46 Elliptical and FT96 Treadmill on sale for $499. Regularly around $1000. Their specs are actually quite good when comparing them to some of the junky proform models that are priced in that range. The Elliptical has a 21 pound flywheel and the treadmill has a 2.5 chp commercial moter. Both units have lifetime warranties on the frame and motors and 1 year replacement on parts. Both buch better deals than the 90 day proform warranties. And reading some of the review sites it looks like the Fuel treadmills are made by Sole which makes very good exercise equipment. I went and looked at them today at Dicks and both seemed pretty well built. Their drawbacks are their consoles don't appear to be super high tech and full of options. But most of the time I never used all the advanced programming of the life fitness machines anyway. I just want something that is as good of quality that I can get for that price.
The other options are at Sears. They have some Nordic Track models that are on sale for around $650. What I found out about these models though is that they are made by Icon which also makes Proform and don't generally get as positive reviews. They are sellign the name apparently.
I thought about getting one of the fuel models at Dicks and using my Amex Blue card to increase the warranty even more. But I can't decide weather I should get an elliptical or a treadmill.
Seems to me that a treadmill would probably last longer and have fewer problems. And I could also maybe use it for my dog as well. The downside to the treadmill is that I don't feel like I get quite as good a workout and it is a little higher impact on my joints.
Whats your take on TM vs E and are you familiar with the fuel models at dicks?
Fuel FE46 Elliptical Website
Review of Fuel FE46
Fuel FT96 Treadmill Website
Review of Fuel FT96
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