Finding A Great Elliptical For Your Home Gym

We’ve discussed what can be achieved by using an elliptical machine in our past article here. As the holidays approach and the temperature begins to drop for many of us, it can be hard to stay on track with a workout regimen. One great way to maintain your fitness goals while still enjoying this time of year is by adding an elliptical to your home gym. Considering the financial investment this can be and the wide variety of machines on the market, it’s important to ensure you’re choosing something that truly fits your needs. The team at Reviews.com recently released a guide to finding an elliptical that can help to navigate the options. Their team determined a few key factors to pay attention to in your search:

Drive Location

The drive is the guts of the elliptical and where much of its important machinery is. The location will determine the size of the machine and how ergonomically comfortable it is for your workout. Drives can be at several different locations:

• Front drive: this drive is located up front for more of a stair-stepping motion. These tend to be more compact and less expensive. Keep in mind that this design tends to require more long-term maintenance costs.
• Rear drive: this location is, you guessed it, placed behind the pedals. Rear drive machines are typically mid-range in price and bigger than other options, but they allow for a huge range of motion and tend to be more of a natural stride.
• Center drive: these drives are in the center of the pedals. They tend to be more luxurious and offer the maximum range of motion for your feet, but also come at a higher price.

Resistance Mechanism

The mechanism by which the elliptical offers resistance to your workout can be two different styles and thus, offer two very different experiences.

• Air resistance: pedaling on these machines turns a weighted fan, which is an easy way to add resistance the more you pedal. These machines are easiest to repair and perform maintenance on, but it’s an inexact way to add resistance. Because these machines are hard to control, the workout tends to be less comfortable.
• Magnetic resistance: magnets on the inside of the machine weight down the flywheel, making more or less resistance depending on your preferences. It’s very easy to control the intensity of these workouts, so magnetic machines tend to be the best option for most people. Keep in mind that they are a more complex design, so they can be more expensive to repair.

Pedal Layout

• Wheel-track: these ellipticals use tracks on the bottom and anchor your feet to the pedals during your workout. Since your body is anchored to the machine, these are usually less ergonomically optimal, but you can typically make adjustments to the incline or stride. These are usually the less expensive options.
• Suspension ellipticals: these don’t utilize tracks, but rather suspend feet in the air as you move. This is the most ergonomic design of all of your options because of their adjustability, and they are typically quieter. Along with better design comes a higher price point, so suspension ellipticals tend to be on the expensive side.

After choosing what options work best for your workout and budget, the decision is down to personal preference and rider experience. Ellipticals can come with a variety of additional features like TV and other entertainment, and there are many different styles of handlebars. To learn more about your elliptical options and find out which machines worked the best, you can see the full article here: www.reviews.com/elliptical-machines

Author: Lauren Thomas

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