Before buying an elliptical for in-home use, you need to read up on which brand best suits your needs, and think about how much you plan to spend. But sometimes wading through the elliptical reviews themselves requires just as much effort, so here are a few suggestions to evaluating an elliptical review.
First of all, keep your own interests and needs in mind when you’re skimming over the charts and reviews comparing elliptical machines. Everybody has their own personal method for exercising, and even if all the experts acclaim certain features, you might find that particular features wouldn’t benefit you. Go in with an open mind, but also make sure your priorities remain at the top of your list when reading an elliptical review.
Because the elliptical has such a wide variety of uses, a wide variety of people find that they can use it to suit their own exercise needs. The elliptical serves as a cross between an exercise bike and ski machine, and also includes features of a treadmill and a stairclimber, with the option of handlebars. That seems great – you get a little bit of everything. However, the complexity also means that people use the elliptical for different reasons; that means you have to make sure the elliptical review you’re reading has your same reasons in mind.
You can find many an elliptical review online, by both experts and consumers. Reading what other people say about the elliptical you’re thinking about might help you decide, but remember that everyone will use their elliptical differently and will have different expectations of it.
An elliptical review will often cover characteristics of the elliptical, including durability, stability, and mobility, or whether or not the elliptical folds up or has wheels. Usually, an elliptical review will tell you that an elliptical either has strong stability, or has mobility, but not both. So you have to decide which characteristic best suits your needs. Where will you put the elliptical in your house? Would you compromise durability for a smaller elliptical that won’t take up as much space?
Other factors an elliptical review covers include the following (think about some of these questions when you’re deciding on what you need):
- Noise level – Will you use the elliptical in a busy room with a TV, or will you have it down in the basement? An elliptical review will compare the noise levels of different ellipticals.
- Adjustable resistance – How much do calculating intervals mean to you? Make sure you can adjust the resistance easily, but also think about how important different levels are to you. An elliptical review will probably rate the most levels as the best, but maybe you don’t need them all.
- Pedal and handlebar comfort and quality – For some people, comfort means whether or not they will decide to get on the elliptical that day, but to other people, different factors assume more importance. So even though an elliptical review will give the most comfortable elliptical the highest rating, it’s up to you to decide how comfort rates on your own scale.
- Cost – Be cautious, but not stingy. An elliptical review will tell you that you can’t buy a home elliptical that can compete with the quality of a commercial elliptical, which can cost more than $5,000. But remember that you’re not going to be using your elliptical for 16 hours a day, either.
By Lisa Zyga