Fitness Deal of the Week..scratch that...Deal of the Month!

Ohiyo!

I don't know about you, but the Treadmill Sensei absolutely loves to save money. My wife tells me it's because I'm cheap. That may be true but I do spend a lot of time shopping online to get the best deals possible. I know that you, my loyal readers, love to save money on fitness equipment from the countless letters we receive here at the DOJO asking about how to get the lowest prices around for treadmills and ellipticals.

Today I have an answer for you that was sent in by a reader from the wilds of Lake Arrowhead here in Southern California. Margaret seems to have spent a lot of time online digging up the absolute best prices during her own search for fitness and she emailed me yesterday to share what she found. Take it away, Margaret!

Dear Sensei;

I have spent most of the past month examining your website trying to find the perfect treadmill for my husband and I. You see we are a retired couple who live here in the mountains near Lake Arrowhead California. We moved here recently and have missed being able to run on more reasonable flatter ground. After seeing an infomercial on the Bowflex I decided we had to get a new treadmill to keep ourselves in shape for our golden years...and to make sure we had a lot of golden years to enjoy! After a month of headaches and far too many treadmill types we decided on the Lifespan TR1000 TV treadmill based on your reviews and wonderful insight. From there we tried to find the best price around and discovered something we wanted to pass along to others enjoying your website.

Amazon.com is currently having a huge sale on fitness equipment for the month of March and you can get back as much as $300 on select units in addition to free shipping! Im not sure about your other readers but as a retired couple my husband and I need to save money where ever we can!!!

We heartily thank you for the wonderful service you provide to those looking for treadmills. - Margaret and Dan

Margaret:

First off, thanks for your kind words and great note. You are the first to email me with information on the Amazon.Com Fitness sale, so a lot of people might not realize it is going on. Here is a rundown of what they are offering now through March 31, 2008:

"Don't miss our special offers for March below and enjoy great deals from Bowflex, Schwinn Fitness, StairMaster, LifeSpan Fitness, and more. Plus, get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25 from Amazon.com.

1. Save an additional $100 at checkout when you purchase select Bowflex or Schwinn fitness products sold by Amazon.com.
2. Buy a select StairMaster or Nautilus product sold by Amazon.com and $200 will be discounted at checkout.
3. Save an additional $300 at checkout on select LifeSpan Fitness equipment sold by Amazon.com.
4. Save 30% or more on select Slendertone products sold by Amazon.com.
5. Save up to 50% on Mio heart rate watches sold by Amazon.com.
6. Save 20% or more on select Strength Trainer equipment sold by Amazon.com.
7. Save 25% on HealthTrainer equipment sold by Amazon.com.
8. Save up to 50% on fitness closeouts sold by Amazon.com.
9. Save an additional $100 at checkout when you purchase the LifeSpan Fitness VP-1000 Vibration Plate sold by Amazon.com."

It looks like Margaret saved $300 on the Lifespan TR1000 TV Treadmill and got herself a killer treadmill with a built in TV screen for about $999! That is one of the best deals around for a commercial quality tv treadmill.

So, if you're out looking to purchase fitness equipment in the month of March then Amazon.com and its fitness sale are looking like the place to be.

Thanks again for the great tip, Margaret. Oh, and if any of you, my loyal readers, have other tips to help other readers save money feel free to email them in to me here at TreadmillSensei.com. Take care!

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

Elliptical Deal of the Week: The Esprit EL3 Elliptical by Spirit for Under $899

Ohiyo!

Yes, I know I was hoping to have a new "Deal of the Week" here on TreadmillSensei.com every week and I've failed miserably at updating the deals. Luckily, the Z500 Treadmill is still available as the best treadmill deal around -- where else can you get a version of the Sole F83 for under $1300? This week, a reader has sent in a fantastic elliptical deal from Amazon.com. Let's see what Steve from San Diego has to say. Take it away, Steve!

Yo, Sensei, we just ordered a Esprit EL-3 elliptical from Amazon for $895 and i wanted to make sure anyone else reading your pages knew about it too. We had the option to buy one from the shady retailer you mentioned for almost $1200 but a little searching and we found a lower price on Amazon. Thanx for the great information and keep telling it like it is. - Steve from San Diego

Steve:

Thanks for the note and your update on the great sale price for the Esprit EL-3 Elliptical from Spirit Fitness. The new $895-$899 price for the Esprit EL3 Elliptical is a fantastic chance for readers to pick up a repainted version of the old 2006 E35 Elliptical for an incredible budget price. If you poke around on some of the less than reliable retailer sites you'll see the same unit listed at $1150 or higher! Worse yet, some buyers are being conned into "converting" (I think that's what they are calling it - in the old days we called it "bait and switch") to an EL3 from a Sole E35 and still are being forced to pay that higher price. It's crazy!!

I'm assuming the reason for the sale is because Spirit Fitness (the manufacturer) has been hit pretty hard this year by fitness experts. They went from being a top rated company on every expert's list to a company at the bottom of the list with BEWARE written all over their units from what we've seen online. With the major drop in quality in the main Spirit XE lines (the Spirit XE100, Spirit XE200, Spirit XE300, Spirit XE400, Spirit XE500 and XE700 ellipticals are all getting reader complaints here at the DOJO every week), you'll probably be seeing a lot of similar price drops in the Spirit equipment. Luckily, I think savvy readers will be able to pick up the Esprit EL3 elliptical for this great price because of Spirit's current issues...and, even luckier, the Esprit line is made up of repainted 2006 Sole ellipticals and don't suffer from those same problem we've been hearing about.

I'm not sure how long this sale is going to go on or what Amazon's current stock in the Esprit EL3 Ellipticals is, so now is a great time to save as much as $300 off of retail on the Esprit version of the award-winning and best buy rated 2006 Sole E35 elliptical (and almost $1000 off the MSRP of the equivilent Spirit XE300 elliptical!).

Spirit Esprit EL3 Elliptical Specifications
Stride: 20"
Flywheel: 25 lbs
Programs: 8
Resistance: 16 Levels
Display: LCD
Heart Rate Monitor: Pulse grip and wireless
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Max Weight Capacity: 300 lbs
Elliptical Weight: 190 lbs
Price: Under $1200

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

Treadmill Deal of the Week: The Sole F80 Treadmill for $1299

Ohiyo!

We've been sent in a new "Deal of the Week" by you, the Treadmill Sensei's loyal readers. This week StevenJ1978 sends in this:

Sensei, I know ya'll are always on the look out for new sales going on and I wanted to make sure everyone knew about the Sole treadmill deals going on at Amazon. The 2008 Sole F80 treadmill is on sale right now for $1299.99!!! I ordered one a couple of days and can't wait for it to get here so I can work off some of my holiday fat. By the way I love your website. I read it for a couple of weeks before making my decision. Thanks for the great advice and the unbiased reporting. -SteveJ1978

Thanks for the tip, SteveJ1978!

For those of you who, like those of us here at the DOJO, absolutely love the Sole Treadmills in general and the best buy award winning Sole F80 Treadmill in specific, this is a fantastic deal. Normally the top rated Sole F80 goes for just under $1500 so this Amazon.com sale is a great way to save $200.

The Sole F80 treadmill took top awards in the Treadmill Sensei's Ichi-Ban Best Buy Awards for Best Treadmill Under $1500, so this price drop just makes it even sweeter. The F80 features a large 3 horsepower motor, solid 2.75" precision machined rollers and a steel-welded frame with a 20"x55" running area.

In addition it comes with 6 preset programs, 2 heart rate control programs, heart rate monitoring, an 11mph top speed and incline up to 15%. Pound for pound, the Sole F80 is one of the best treadmills on the market today. If you are looking to purchase a treadmill in the $1000-$2000 range, drop by and check out the Sole F80 at $1299.99 to save yourself a bit of cash.

As with any sale, we have no idea how long this one will last or what kind of stock Amazon has on the units.

I have no idea how long this great sale will last, but check out the Sole F80 and save $200 now!

2008 Sole F80 Treadmill Specifications
Motor: 3 HP
Speed: 11 mph
Incline: 15%
Unit Weight: 250 lbs.
Max User Weight: 350 lbs.
Running Surface: 20" X 55
Rollers: 2 3/4 inches
Folding: Yes
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
Display: LED
Programs: 6
User Defined Programs: 2
Heart Rate Programs: 2
Cooling Fans: Yes
Sale Price: Under $1299.99

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

Elliptical Deal of the Week: The Fitnex E70 Elliptical for $1599

Ohiyo!

You know, I'm really not sure what goes on in the heads of the fine folks at Amazon.com. Don't get me wrong, I love them and shop on their site all the time. But sometimes they knock prices down to some almost insane levels. I guess the power of their website and the sheer volume of sales they do allows them to get the lowest prices around and they want to make sure their customers get to take advantage of that power...but still, sometimes they drop prices down a bit too low! Of course, the 10 or so readers who wrote in with this particual elliptical sale had no problem with the ultra low price for a commercial elliptical machine.

In this case, I'm talking about what has to be one of the best deals of all time for a commercial grade elliptical. The Fitnex E70 elliptical. The Fitnex equipment comes out of the same factory which produces the Body Solid gyms, which gives the same lifetime parts warranty on all the Body Solid equipment and has been producing fitness equipment for more than 30 years now.

I reviewed the original Fitnex E70 Elliptical about 2 years ago, back when I first started writing for this website. I have to say that even after two years I am still completely blown away by this machine. Especially now that it is priced at the amazing price of $1599. If the Fitnex had been priced this low back when I was putting together the 2007/2008 Ichi-Ban Best Buy Awards for Ellipticals then it would have received the top award and recommendation, hands down. If my wife's Uncle Chris wasn't so stubborn, this would be the elliptical I'd be telling him to pick up now...instead, he's stuck with a malfunctioning Nordic Track!

If you've ever wanted to buy a commercial elliptical and get the same quality work outs you get at the gym on machines from Precor and Life Fitness, then you absolutely need to check out the Fitnex E70. Up until recently, the E70 has been priced anywhere from $1999 to $2299, and it was worth it at those higher prices.

With its longer frame and heavier weight, the Fitnex E70 gives you the smoothest elliptical workout this side of a Matrix E5X. Getting on an E70 elliptical is like ice skating...well, without all the falling down. Unfortunately for the comepetitors of Fitnex, with the E70 priced at under $1600, there is absolutely nothing else out there that even comes close in terms of quality, stability, stride or natural, comfortable elliptical feels. Fitnex allowing Amazon to drop the price down this low, even for a short period, is sort of like having the chance to buy a Mercedes S-Class for $10,000.

In fact, I haven't even mentioned the best part about the Fitnex E70 Elliptical. Not only is it the best elliptical now priced at under $2000 (and under $1600). Not only is it the best feeling elliptical under $2000. Not only does it look snazzy. But it is also the only quality elliptical with a lifetime parts warranty for in home use. That's right, since this is actually a commercial quality elliptical, Fitnex gives residential customers a lifetime parts warranty for in home use.

Almost as cool as the lifetime parts warranty is that Amazon is also offering free shipping and No Sales Tax on the Fitnex E70 elliptical.

The Fitnex E70 Elliptical is the perfect and only choice for those of you who have been spoiled by the smooth, sturdy and wonderful workouts you get at your local gym on Precor or Life Fitness ellipticals...and right now you can also save more than 50% off of those Precor prices. I have no clue how long the sale is going to be going on, so check it out now before it is too late.

If you're looking for a Precor or Life Fitness quality commercial elliptical for an unbelievably low price, then check out the Fitnex E70 priced at under $1600. Click here for more information.

Fitnex E70 Elliptical Specifications
Stride: 19"
Flywheel: 30lbs
Display: Dot Matrix/LCD
Readouts: Time, distance, speed, calories, and pulse rate
Programs: 8
Resistance: 16 levels
Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Max User Weight: 400 lbs
Unit Weight: 220 lbs
Warrany: Lifetime on parts
Sale Price: $1599

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

Treadmill Deal of the Week: The Spirit Z500 Treadmill for $1299

Ohiyo!

The end-of-the-year holiday season can be a great time to pick up a treadmill at a great price. Everyday the Treadmill Sensei gets in emails from readers talking about great deals they've found online for equipment and I'm going to try and pass those notes along to you, my loyal readers.

Today's offering comes from Amazon and is a great deal if you're looking for a high end treadmill for a rock bottom price. Amazon.com is running a special on the Spirit Z500 Treadmill from last year. Since Spirit is one of the lesser known companies out there, you're probably asking yourself "what the heck is the Spirit Z500 treadmill?" Well, if you've been searching around online then you are probably more familiar with the Spirit Z500 by its more common name, the Sole F83 Treadmill. That's right, the 2006/2007 Spirit Z500 Treadmill is almost identical to the 2006/2007 Sole F83, with just a different paint job separating them.

The Spirit Z500/Sole F83 is a Best Buy Award Winning Treadmill at its regular price of $1747, and is an absolute steal at $1299 on Amazon.

Now, be warned, the Spirit Z500 is no longer being made under that name (it is still available as the Sole F83) so I'm not sure how much stock Amazon actually has. In other words, their sale could end at any time...so, if you're looking for a fantastic treadmill at a $500 discount, then check out the best buy award-winning Spirit Z500 treadmill from Amazon.

Spirit Z500 Treadmill Specifications
Horsepower: 3.0
Maximum Weight Capacity: 375 lbs
Folding: Yes
Running Area: 20"x58"
Max Speed: 12 MPH
Max Incline: 15%
Heart Rate Monitoring: Yes, Pulse grip and chest strap
Heart Rate Control: Yes
Programs: 10: Standard (6), User Defined (2), and Heart Rate (2)

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