Ohiyo!

The readers on here really surprise the Treadmill Sensei sometimes, and not in a bad way at all. I recently had a reader in the area ask if he could bring by the elliptical he just purchased for me to review. The request was a bit unusual and even tho the week was more than a little hectic, I told the reader to bring it down and I’d give it the full review as soon as I could. However, I mentioned that I had no idea how long it would take me to get around to it and that the review process would take 1-2 weeks beyond that. The reader (a pleasant man by the name of Greg W.) was so in love with this machine and wanted to share it with my readers that he agreed to give up his Lifecore LC990 Elliptical for God only knew how long…and, knowing me, if was probably going to take a while.

Surprisingly, it only took me 2 weeks to clear up enough time to do the review, so Greg was able to reclaim his Lifecore LC990 after about 3 weeks. Greg said he missed his work out but that having me review his machine was worth it, and that he just knew I’d absolutely love it.

Well, Greg wasn’t completely right. I didn’t absolutely love the LC990 elliptical, but it wasn’t a bad machine by any means and was a bit better than average.

The Lifecore LC990 is a very solid rear-drive elliptical very much in the mold of the older style Tunturi machines. I tend to be a bit hard on those style of rear-drive ellipticals for a couple of reasons:

First, they tend to be a bit less sturdy up front, especially for a larger user. When you work out on an elliptical you are generally throwing all of your weight forward and on a machine like the Lifecore LC990, there isn’t quite enough there to balance you out. So what you get is a slightly wobbly feel to it. That feeling wasn’t as bad on the LC990, but it was still there. If this unit was a bit heavier duty it might have recovered from that, but 150 lbs just wasn’t enough.

Second, the stride length just isn’t what it should be at thie $1100 price point of the Lifecore LC990. 17.5 inches was fine for the 5’5″ Greg, but for average sized users it is going to feel a bit short and stunted.

Everyting else on the machine performed well during my week long of 1-hour work outs. I’m not a big guy by any means, but I rode the Lifecore LC990 hard and put it away wet…and it kept up with me the entire time. The flywheel is a decent sized and ran very smooth. It also had a solid number of programs and resistance levels — I prefer the 16 levels on this machine to the 20 you’ll see on others. The reason for that is because when you’re actually working with 20 levels it seems a little more like micromanaging than I like to deal with during a workout.

All-in-all, the Lifecore LC990 was a decent performing machine with a couple of major problems. For being better than a Tunturi, the Treadmill Sensei gives the Lifecore LC-990 Elliptical 3.5 out of 5 golden buddahs.

The LC990 Elliptical by LifeCore Fitness gets 3.5 gold buddahs out of 5.

Compare the LifeCore LC-990 Elliptical.

Lifecore LC990 Elliptical Specifications
Stride: 17.5″
Flywheel: 17lbs
Programs: 12
Resistance: 16 levels
Heart Rate Monitor: Pulse grip
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Display: LCD
Readouts: Distance, speed, calories, time, heart rate, watts and RPM
Max User Weight: 350lbs
Elliptical Weight: 150lbs

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

I want to tell a little story right now but check back later today for the new review. As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes the Treadmill Sensei leaves the protection of the DOJO and visits local fitness retailers. Generally I just show up unannounced and don’t tell the store manager or sales people that I am the Treadmill Sensei…not that most of them would even know what a Treadmill Sensei was, which is unfortunate because a lot of the sales they make were researched on this site.

One of the things I like to do is go in to what we call “big box” stores (large chain stores) to play with their employees a bit. If you’ve ever been in to a chain store then you’ve seen how poorly trained and uninterested their “sales people” tend to be. The sad thing is, even some of the smaller stores tend to have uncaring or untrained sales reps on their floor — as was shown in my recent SportsArt review where the salesman who was helping me was unsure about a number of features on the treadmill I was looking at. Anyway, while in these chain stores you will here some very funny stuff.

Which brings me to what happened this past week while at a local Sports Authority. I went in looking for a fold up poker table and noticed 4 Sports Authority employees standing near the fitness section of the store. I also noticed 5 or 6 customers wandering nearby them who were not being serviced. As I watched, I saw the customers repeatedly try to get the attention of the employees, to no avail. Upon further observance, I realized that the store manager and someone who was obviously of higher rank than him (maybe a regional manager) were having the other two staff members cleaning some of the equipment which had gotten dusty or dirty. They were all very intent on their tasks. Surprisingly enough, none of the staff, not the sales people, not the manager and not the regional manager, seemed to think that assisting customers was more important than polishing a couple of low-priced recumbent bikes.

Being the troublemaker I am, I decided to head over and see what it would take to get someone’s attention. It ended up taking nearly 10 minutes for the staff to finish their cleaning and walk over to ask if I needed help. In the meantime, I was jumping up and down on treadmills, banging on consoles and even opening up the motor shrouds of a couple of the floor treadmills. The only thing I didn’t do was grab two other ignored customers and do a treadmill dance. Eventually a teenaged staff member walked over and asked if I had any questions about the treadmill I was on (a Proform 650E Treadmill).

The Treadmill Sensei…hard at work

That’s when the fun began. I asked her if it was a good treadmill. She replied that it was because it had continuous duty. That comment surprised me because I didn’t think anyone on the staff would even know what that meant, so I probed further and asked what that was. She then let me know continuous duty was something they programmed in to make treadmills better and only higher end treadmills had it…like the Proform I was standing on.

I had to bite my lip to keep from chuckling.

The very nice young lady then proceeded to walk me through the features of the Proform 650e. I say “walk through” but what I really mean is “she read the little info sticker on the treadmill’s console.” Seein that it wasn’t mentioned on the info label, I asked the girl about the treadmill’s incline. What emerged from her lips is something that will remain with me until the day I die. You see, she scrunched up her face a bit and say, “Oh, no…you don’t want that. It will make your workout too hard.”

At that point I had to excuse myself in order to keep from laughing in this poor girl’s face. That was easily one of the funniest things I’d ever heard and is a prime example of why shopping on the internet is the way to go. Get your research done online or you’ll wind up not buying a treadmill that “will make your workout too hard.”

So what did I learn from my trip to Sports Authority?

• Cleaning equipment is more important than selling it.
• Continus Duty is a good program.
• Incline is bad.

I love chain fitness stores!

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

Your Treadmill Sensei has some exciting news. To go along with the new Online Assistant & Equipment Choosers, we’ve also put together a pair of cool new comparison charts for ellipticals and treadmills. I’ll be updating both charts every weekend to include all new equipment from the previous week. These should be the most accurate treadmill and elliptical comparison charts online. Never again wonder what the horsepower, running area, max speed or anything other feature comes on the treadmill you are looking at.

Check them out!

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

Every so often the Treadmill Sensei likes to venture out from the DOJO on a quest to find equipment he hasn’t been able to get a hold of. This past week I took one such adventure, this time out to the wonderous land call Thousand Oaks to try out the SportsArt TR32 treadmill…actually, I took two adventures out in order to get a couple of one-hour work out sessions on the machine at a local fitness specialy shop.

In a quick bit of disclosure, I dropped by the aforementioned shop unannounced and didn’t tell them I was the Treadmill Sensei. I did this so I wouldn’t be bombarded with questions. To sales reps I met I was just another incredibly attractive, middle-aged Asian man interested in a high-end treadmill.

The first thing you notice when you walk up to the SportsArt TR32 Treadmill is the beautiful design work. The thing looks every bit as slick as a BH, BodyGuard or Matrix Treadmill, which is great company to be in. The next thing most people will notice is the price tag at right around $3700. The sticker shock may scare away most people, but the TR32 is very much worth the price if you can afford to pay for it. If Matrix is a Lexus and Landice is a BMW, then SportsArt is a sleek Infiniti.

The next two things, which are some of the most important for a treadmill, are the frame and the motor. On the SportsArt TR32 both of these features are top-notch. The frame is every bit as solid and steady as a higher-end commercial treadmill. And the 3.2 horsepower motor runs cool at low RPMS and is big enough to strap wheels to and drive down to Tiajuana. SportsArt built their TR32 treadmill motor to last a lifetime.

During my work outs, I found the console on the SportsArt TR32 to be one of the most user-friendly I’ve come across. Everything is very intuitive and easy to use, and even a treadmill novice will be able to start their workout within a couple of seconds. I was a little surprised to only find 9 workout programs and a 12 mph top speed on a high end unit like this. With everything else being above and beyond the call of duty, it was a bit of a let down in those two departments. Not a major problem but worth mentioning…most other units in this range have a similar top speed, but with the unit being so outstanding otherwise I expected the 15mph speed.

The feature which makes the SportsArt TR32 Treadmill a fantastic unit in my book is the Adjustable Cushioning System (imagine a little “trademark” sign after that combination of words, please). What that fancy phrase does is allow the user to manually adjust the amount of shock absorbtion on the deck.

Anyone who has read this site before will know how much I really hate when a manufacturer comes up with a fancy, but meaningless, term describing something that every other treadmill out there has too (Proform, I’m talking to YOU!). However, in this case the ACS is a very cool piece of technology that will actually help your workout in a way unique to SportsArt. During my workouts I could really feel the difference when I altered the ACS settings on the SportsArt TR32. I don’t know if it reduces impact by the 90% the salesman told me, but the reduction was significant and, more important, comfortable. If you have problems with your feet or joints then this is a solid feature.

The last thing which was very nice on the treadmill was the warranty package: lifetime on the motor and mechanical parts, 7 years on electronics and 1 year on labor. Bumping that up to a more competitive 2 years for labor would have made this a homerun for SportsArt.

For my pair of workouts, the SportsArt TR32 Treadmill performed like a dream — huge motor, rock-solid frame, nice sized running area and the ACS give users a commercial quality workout at just under $3700. The TR32 Treadmill is a fine example of why SportsArt is one of the leading treadmill manufacturers in the industry today. For being an excellent piece of engineering, the Treadmill Sensei gives the SportsArt TR32 Treadmill 4.5 out of 5 golden buddahs…It would have ranked higher, but my limited time on the machine kept me from doing a more extensive review.

The SportsArt TR32 gets 4.5 gold buddahs out of 5.

Find out more about the SportsArt TR32 and get the lowest price online.

SportsArt TR32 Treadmill Specifications
Motor: 3.2 hp
Max Speed: 12mph
Max Incline: 15%
Running Area: 22″ x 61″
Programs: 9
Heart Rate Monitor: Pulse grip and wireless
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Display: Dot Matrix
Readouts: Calories, Speed, Incline, Time, Disatance, Heart Rate, Mets, Pace
Max User Weight: 450lbs
Treadmill Weight: 330lbs

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

Sometimes fitness manufacturers completely confuse the Treadmill Sensei. It seems like more and more, some manufacturers are making decisions on product design with little or no regard to logic. You’ll see manufacturers completely drop their top selling model, or paint them weird colors, or lie about specs, or try to sell the exact same model under different names and at different prices. It’s enough to give me a Bowflex-sized headache while I’m working at the DOJO.

Sad to say, but one of my favorite manufacturers has been guilty of doing this. Horizon Fitness, maker of some of the best ellipticals under $1000, has expanded its product line this past year…expanded it a bit beyond reason by renaming and slightly retooling units, giving them a different name and “tweaking” the specs a little for different retail outlets. And, unfortunately, some “review” sites who have never actually touched or worked with the equipment they supposedly review fall for this ploy.

One of the units in question, the Horizon CSE4.6 Elliptical, came in to the DOJO last week. This unit is just a Horizon EX75 frame with a new console and handgrips stuck on to it. The bummer is that the new console has fewer features than the Horizon EX75 while being priced about $100 more.

The Horizon CSE 4.6 itself is very solid and works really well for an elliptical priced under $1000…however, I am downgrading the unit from the 4 golden buddahs of the Horizon EX75 because of it’s $100 more expensive price. Why Horizon thinks they can charge more money for a slightly downgraded elliptical is beyond me.

For being a bit of a let down, but still an ok unit, the Treadmill Sensei gives the Horizon CSE4.6 Elliptical 3.5 out of 5 golden buddahs.

I wish Horizon would get back to producing just a few solid ellipticals instead of just retooling units over and over again.

Horizon CSE 4.6 Elliptical Specifications
Stride: 18″
Flywheel: 17.6lbs (I believe it is actually the same flywheel 14.5lb as the EX75)
Display: LED
Resistance Levels: 20
Programs: 8
Heart Rate Monitor: Pulse grip and wireless
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Max User Weight: 300lbs
Unit Weight: 150lbs

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

One of the things the Treadmill Sensei hates about treadmill manufacturers is when they create (and trademark) new terms to confuse buyers. Terms like “Whisper deck,” “impuse drive” and “comfort cell cushioning” all grate at my nerves because they really mean absolutely nothing at all. They are all just buzz words and do nothing to make your workout better or more comfortable. One of the biggest perpetrators of the meaningless trademarked buzzword is Icon Health & Fitness, and their Weslo Cadence C44 Treadmill is one of the units they do it on. Can you tell I’m about to go on a rant?

The Treadmill Sensei is in a bit of an annoyed moode today because my wife’s relatives think they can bring in their cheap, broken-down treadmills to fix after they’ve been trashed. Today, one of Athena’s aunts (who wishes to remain nameless…unfortunately, it’s my blog and I can name names!), Aunt Nikki, brought in a burned out Welso Cadence C44 treadmill. Aunt Nikki said she bought the Weslo C44 because it had a maximum user capacity of 250 pounds and she had intended to work her way down to that quickly (Aunt Nikki currently weighs about 285 pounds). She never listens to me.

Let me repeat this again in case anyone missed it before, when you are looking at a treadmill, make sure the maximum user weight is at least 50 pounds OVER what you weight. Manufacturers generally over state the weight capacity on their machines and, if you want your treadmill to last, you need to factor that in. Meaning, Aunt Nikki should have purchased a treadmill with at least a 325 pound max user weight. She didn’t and she burned out her motor.

Speaking of the motor, Icon bills the Weslo C44 Treadmill as having a 2.25 THP horsepower motor. Regular readers of this site know that THP is a completely worthless rating…it stands for peak horse power (or total) and doesn’t do anyone any good. The actual horsepower rating of the Weslo Cadence C44 Treadmill is really around 1 to 1.25 horsepower…and it is the size of a soup can. This is not a motor that was ever meant to be hauling 250 pounds. I’d have given it a ranking of 200 lbs at the maximum, and said 175 lbs as a safer bet.

As I told Aunt Nikki earlier today, even at the “bargain” price of $399 the Weslo C44 treadmill is not worth buying — $99 MAYBE. This unit has a flimsy frame, weak manual incline set up, tiny motor, very small deck/running area and no programs. Even the pulse grip seems to have been poorly designed and calibrated.

In my opinion, the Weslo C44 treadmill did more for Aunt Nikki’s health as a broken unit than as a working one…at least she got a good workout carrying it down to the DOJO. For being a flimsy waste of money, the Treadmill Sensei gives the Weslo Cadence C44 Treadmill 1 out of 5 Golden Buddahs…and I think I’m being overly generous with that!

Move along, at 1 gold buddah out of 5 there is absolutely nothing to see here.


Compare the Weslo C44 Treadmill

Weslo Cadence C44 Treadmill Specifications
Motor: 1.25 hp
Max Speed: 10mph
Max Incline: 9%
Running Area: 16″ x 47″
Display: LCD
Programs: 0
Heart Rate Monitor: Pulse grip
Heart Rate Control: No
Max User Weight: 250 lbs (don’t believe it!)
Unit Weight: 90lbs
Folding: Yes

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

The Treadmill Sensei is on his way out for a meeting in San Diego, but I wanted to make sure to post before I left the DOJO. Don’t worry, I’ll be back later in the day to put up a new review as well. Today’s question is from Michelle here in Souther California. Michelle wants to know about elliptical mats. Let’s see what she has to say. Take it away, Michelle!

Oh Wise and Helpful Sensei,

Thank you again for your efforts. I’m in Southern California as well, so if I fail miserably with setting it up, I might be ringing up the DOJO for some help…Michelle

Michelle:

Thanks for your note and you’ve asked a question a lot of people send me notes about. While treadmills do need a mat under them to help protect the motor, ellipticals really don’t. Unless you have a carpet or floor to worry about getting damaged, the only real benefit you’d get from the mat is as a sweat catcher. That’s really it. It is much more important to keep your elliptical’s track/rails (depending upon which it has) and its cleaned and lubricated. A lot of crud can build up on the wheels from sweat and dust, and keep them cleaned will help smooth out your ride. Same goes for the rails/track.

Thanks again for your note, Michelle. Take care and stay fit!

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

Just a quick note to announce a new feature here on treadmillsensei.com. I just put up an online assistant program for those of you who are looking for a treadmill or elliptical but have no idea which one or where to start.

I call them my Online Chooser’s and you can now find the links at the top of every page. Direct links can be found below:

Check them out if you need help…and always feel free to email me with any questions!

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

One of the cooler new trends the Treadmill Sensei really enjoys is what people are calling “interactive fitness.” Now, I could have sworn all fitness was interactive or it wouldn’t work, but marketing people love their buzz words. What they mean by “interactive fitness” is usually a piece of fitness equipment which hooks up to a video game. There have been quite a few “interactive fitness” items on the market for a while now, such as the Game Bike and DDR Dance Pads, but what I’ve always wanted was a Game Elliptical which hooked up to my computer to play MechWarrior/Giant Robot type games. Now that would be awesome!

Well, an interesting thing happened to me recently while my wife and I were over at her Uncle Chris’ house (you may remember my Uncle Chris story from my Proform 1500 Treadmill Review) for his wife’s birthday. I was rambling on and on about how cool a MechWarrior Elliptical would be and that I wished some brilliant manufacturer would create one when Uncle Chris mentioned that he saw a game elliptical on sale at a specialty fitness shop he visited while in Las Vegas. Needless to say I replied that there was no way such a thing would exist without my knowing it because I am the Treadmill Sensei and I know all and see all.

Right?

Uncle Chris promptly went in to his home office and came back a few minutes later with a print out from Proform’s website showing off their 20.0 Elliptical. To rub things in further he highlighted a portion of the print out detailing the two video games built in to the Proform 20.0 Elliptical. Then, to rub salt in to my wounded ego even further by suggesting I didn’t know about the game elliptical because I wasn’t the “elliptical sensei.”

I hate it when Uncle Chris is right.

In order to save face, and with visions of battling giant robots in my head, I hopped online and ordered myself a Proform 20.0 Elliptical. What arrived wasn’t what I expected, but was something cool for kids nonetheless. I’m going to review the elliptical side of the 20.0 Elliptical first and then follow up with the interactive fitness stuff second.

The unit itself is a very lightweight elliptical. No unit weight, flywheel weight or maximum user capacity were listed in the thin booklet which came with the Proform 20.0, but I estimate the maximum user weight to be no more than 175 pounds. I think my own svelte 170 pound body was testing the limits of its frame. The lightweight flywheel, which I’d guess was 10-14 pounds tops, doesn’t produce the greatest elliptical motion for workouts. It is more of the “D” shape most lower end ellipticals produce.

With 9 programs and about 8 levels of resistance, the Proform 20.0 elliptical really isn’t meant to be a heavy duty workout machine, or even a machine to do a light, regular workout. What it is meant for is as a way to get your kids interested in fitness by tricking them in to enjoying it. While there weren’t giant robots or MechWarrior battles, the Proform 20.0 did have a couple of simple, fairly addictive video games which are tied to the user’s workout. Proform even placed the controls at the top of the elliptical handlebars to make them more accessible to game players.

Even though the Proform 20.0 Elliptical isn’t the sturdiest of machines I do recommend it for parents who want their kids to get some exercise while playing their video games. My one wish is that someone would produce one of these machines for big kids (like me) and let us hook it up to a good mech/giant robot combat game. I’d never get off a MechWarrior Elliptical!

For being a decent machine for kids, the Treadmill Sensei gives the Proform 20.0 Elliptical 3 out of 5 golden buddahs.

3 gold buddahs out of 5 for the Proform 20.0 Elliptical


Compare the Proform 20.0 Elliptical

Proform 20.0 Elliptical Specifications
Stride: 18″
Flywheel: Approximately 12 lbs
Max User Weight: Approximately 175 lbs
Unit Weight: Approximately 110 lbs
Heart Rate Monitor: Pulse grip
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Levels of Resistance: 8
Display: LCD
Programs: 9
Price: $799

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com

Ohiyo!

Today is the 1 year anniversary of www.treadmillsensei.com. One year ago today I posted my very first time thanks to some urging from the guys in the DOJO. Since then I’ve put up almost 170 posts, averaging a new one 3-4 days a week. My goal is to get that average up to at least 4-5 per week. Wish me luck!

Now, for what you all have been waiting for, the Elliptical Give Away! I had an astounding 347 people sign up for the mailing list over the past couple of weeks and I wish I could give everyone a free piece of equipment. Unfortunately, I’ve just got the one. However, I do want to announce that I will be giving away a new piece of fitness equipment every month. Anyone who is signed up for the newsletter and hasn’t won yet or signs up for the newsletter will be elligible.

So…drumroll please…our winner is…keep the drum rolling…Jared Cravens from Houston, TX. The Quantum Q210H Elliptical will be crated up and sent out to Mr. Cravens early next week. I’ll be pestering him over the next couple of months to see how he likes the unit and if his review matches what I saw.

Thanks again everyone and I’ll see you for a new review on Monday!

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com