Attributes of a Home Elliptical

An elliptical trainer for the home must possess certain attributes. Attributes basically distinguish high quality models from low quality models or home trainers from commercial ones. These are attributes like a built-in heart rate monitor, LCD display and adjustable stride length. Any good home elliptical trainer should possess a number of attributes and if interested in adding one to your home gym, you should know what those attributes are. You will find them all below.

Ergonomic Design

Elliptical trainers must offer a comfortable stride. This means that the pedals follow a natural path, they are not too far apart and the hand grips are comfortable.

Dependent Upper Body Motion

Without a dependent upper body motion, that entire portion of the body is neglected meaning users are not utilizing their full potential. In addition to being present, the upper body motion should be intuitive with the lower body motion.

Quiet Operation

A noisy machine isn’t a good fit for the home for obvious reasons. Smooth, quiet operation also reflects quality and improves user experience.

Ease of Use

Home elliptical trainers are best kept straight and to the point. Unlike gyms, there is no one there to break down all functions of the machine. All you have is what you learned at the dealer/retailer and what you read in the manual (always read the manual).

Safety Features

A safe workout experience is an effective one. Safety features to look for in a home elliptical trainer are handrails to prevent falls, additional traction on pedals and warm up/cool down periods on models with electronic programming.

Pedal Arm Safety Pin

This falls under the category of safety features but deserves a mention of its own. A pedal arm safety pin is often overlooked but is extremely important, especially if there are children in the home. It prevents unintentional use of the machine by locking the pedals in place.

LED/LCD Display

A clear, easy to read electronic display is a must. Users can greatly benefit from useful workout statistics like calorie burn and heart rate being clearly displayed throughout the duration of their workout.

Heart Rate Monitor

An elliptical with a heart rate monitor is so convenient and makes workouts more effective by providing users with the most useful workout statistic. Heart rate monitoring allows users to exercise to their full potential in the comfort of their own home. It also doubles as a safety feature since heart rate monitoring avoids overtraining.

Adjustability

An elliptical is a one size fits all machine. The option to make little tweaks improves efficiency. People vary in height, strength, they stride differently and some are not challenged by workouts performed on a flat plane. These are the reasons why most models can be adjusted. This means an adjustable stride length, a variety of tension levels and the very popular adjustable incline feature.

Warranty

Although not technically an attribute, warranties matter. Chances are, home users have no idea how to fix a trainer if functionality goes awry so having that protection is wise. Settle for no less than 1-2 years of coverage on parts and a minimum of 1-year coverage for labor.