Health

Elliptical & Treadmill Reviews: Freemotion vs Nordictrack vs Proform vs Weslo vs Horizon

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Person running on treadmill: Elliptical and Treadmill Reviews

Whether your goal is to drop some pounds or stay in shape, treadmills and ellipticals can help you reach your goals. Our treadmill reviews has some of the top equipment brands to bring you the best of each category so you can find the best “fit” for your goals and needs.

We understand that these pieces of equipment are not spur-of-the-moment purchases, which is why we want to give you the most information we can in an unbiased, easy to understand way before making a decision.

What Should I Look For In A Treadmill?

Treadmills and ellipticals seem pretty straightforward, but as you will learn, there are a lot of features to take into consideration. We suggest before (or after) reading to the reviews, you make a list of “must haves” to help you narrow down which is suitable for your lifestyle and budget.

Best Treadmill For Home: Horizon Fitness 7.0 Treadmill Review

 Horizon Fitness 7.0 Treadmill

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We’ve chosen the Horizon Fitness 7.0 Treadmill as the Best Home Treadmill. It is designed to connect with your favorite fitness app to control and track your workout.

From the built-in device holder, bluetooth connectivity and USB port, this machine is designed to be interactive. The deck is 60″ long and has 3-Zones.

Pros

Cons

  • Lifetime warranty on frame and motor, 5 years on parts, 1 year on labor
  • Device holder with Bluetooth connectivity and USB port
  • Connect and control your workout from you favorite fitness app
  • Built in fan
  • Folds up
  • Quiet
  • Heart rate monitor
  • No LCD screen

Pricing & Tech Specs

  • Price:
  • Length: 41″ folded, 76.5″ assembled
  • Width: 36″ folded, 36″ assembled
  • Height: 70″ folded, 59″ assembled
  • Running Area: 60″ x 20″
  • Incline Range: 0% to 15%
  • Speed: Up To 12 mph
  • User Weight Capacity: 325 lbs
  • Treadmill Weight: 253 lbs

Best Cheap Treadmill: Sunny Health & Fitness Treadmill Review

 Sunny Health & Fitness Treadmill

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Looking for cheap treadmills? The Sunny Healthy & Fitness Treadmill is our pick for Best Cheap Treadmill. There are 9 preset workouts for you to choose from based on the type of exercise you’d like for that day.

The handrails include controls to change speed, start and stop. There are 3 different incline levels to choose from and the LCD screen displays speed, calories burned and elapsed time.

Pros

Cons

  • 1 year limited warranty and 90 days on parts and labor
  • LCD displays speed, calories burned, distance and elapsed time
  • Folds up
  • Handrail controls
  • Body Mass Index capability
  • Quiet
  • Heart rate monitor
  • Must lubricate the treadmill before your first use

Pricing & Tech Specs

  • Price:  $298.00
  • Length: 34.5 folded, 62″ assembled
  • Width: 27 folded, 27″ assembled
  • Height: 58″ folded, 50″ assembled
  • Running Area: 15.75″ x 48.82″
  • Speed: 0.5 mph – 9 mph
  • User Weight Capacity: 220 lbs
  • Treadmill Weight: 103 lbs

Best Folding Treadmill: NordicTrack C 990 Treadmill Review

 NordicTrack C 990 Treadmill

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The Best Folding Treadmill is the NordicTrack C 990 Treadmill. There are 32 preloaded workouts for you to choose from designed by certified personal trainers. Workout programs include calorie, heart rate control, incline and speed. The 7-inch touchscreen lets you surf the web, tracks your stats and allows you to use Google maps to design training routes.

This treadmill has a space saver design so you can fold it up and have more floor space. It has EasyLife shock assistance so you don’t have to do all the heavy lifting.

Pros

Cons

  • Lifetime warranty on frame and motor, 3 years for parts and 1 year for labor
  • Displays speed, time, distance, calories burned, heart rate, incline and decline
  • Tread belt is designed to reduce noise and friction
  • Built-in speaker and fan
  • Folds up
  • Heart rate monitor
  • Not sure if you need to lubricate this one (let us know if you know!)

Pricing & Tech Specs

  • Price:  Check Amazon for availability
  • Length: 78.3″ assembled
  • Width: 35.75″ assembled
  • Height: 56.4″ assembled
  • Running Area: 20″ x 60″
  • Incline Range: 0% to 12%
  • Speed: 12 mph
  • User Weight Capacity: 300 lbs
  • Treadmill Weight: 215 lbs

Best Incline Treadmill: FreeMotion 860 Treadmill Review

 FreeMotion 860 Treadmill

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Our pick for Best Incline Treadmill is the FreeMotion 860 Treadmill. You are able to incline and decline the treadmill to get the precise workout you need. The ability to incline to decline allows you to intensify your workout and engage other muscles in your body.

The treadmill has a built-in Android browser so you can surf the web and check out your stats. There are 34 workouts to choose from designed by a certified personal trainer.

Pros

Cons

  • Lifetime frame and motor warranty, 5 year parts and 2 year labor
  • Heart rate monitor
  • Not as much tech specs info and details online
  • Not sure if it needs to be lubricated or not (let us know if you know the answer!)

Pricing & Tech Specs

  • Price: 
  • Length: 72″ assembled
  • Width: 34″ assembled
  • Running Area: 22″ x 60″
  • Incline Range: -3% to 15%
  • Speed: 0-12 mph
  • User Weight Capacity: 289 lbs
  • Treadmill Weight: 375 lbs

Best Treadmill For Running: ProForm Pro 2000 Treadmill Review

ProForm Pro 2000 Treadmill

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The Best Treadmill for Running is the ProForm Pro 2000 Treadmill. There are 18 preset workouts to choose from. The treadmill has EasyLife Assist to help take some of the weight off of you when you fold it up. There is a fan to help keep you cool and speakers to connect your iPod or iPad to it.

Pros

Cons

  • Lifetime warranty on frame and motor, 5 years on parts and 2 years on labor
  • LCD display shows time, distance and speed
  • Includes a fan and speakers
  • Folds up
  • Heart rate monitor
  • Some customers state the assembly is difficult
  • Not sure if you need to lubricate this treadmill (do you know?)

Pricing & Tech Specs

  • Price: 
  • Length: 72.22″ assembled
  • Width: 33.87″ assembled
  • Height: 57.1″ assembled
  • Running Area: 22″ x 66″
  • Incline Range: -3% to 15%
  • Speed: 12 mph
  • User Weight Capacity: 350 lbs
  • Treadmill Weight: 230 lbs

Best Treadmill For Walking: Confidence Power Plus Motorized Electric Treadmill Review

 Confidence Power Plus Motorized Electric Treadmill

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The Confidence Power Plus Motorized Electric Treadmill is our pick for Best Treadmill for Walking. This is ideal for walkers but it does not incline. It can go up to 6.2 mph and folds up for easy storage.

It’s relatively inexpensive compared to other treadmills. So for those of you wanting to do some walking when the weather isn’t great, this is a great pick for you.

Pros

Cons

  • 1 year warranty
  • Displays speed, time, distance and calories
  • Folds up
  • No incline
  • Must lubricate the belt
  • No heart rate monitor

Pricing & Tech Specs

  • Price:  Check Amazon for availability
  • Length: 49″ assembled
  • Width: 24″ assembled
  • Height: 11″ assembled
  • Running Area: 38.5″ x 14″
  • Speed: Up To 6.2 mph
  • User Weight Capacity: 250 lbs
  • Treadmill Weight: 49 lbs

Best Treadmill For The Money: Weslo Cadence G 5.9 Treadmill Review

 Weslo Cadence G 5.9 Treadmill

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Looking to save some dollars? The Weslo Cadence G 5.9 Treadmill is our pick for Best Treadmill for the Money. It has 6 workouts created by personal trainers and two incline positions for you to choose from. It can also fold up for easy storing. There is also a thumb sensor which reads the heart rate.

Pros

Cons

  • 1 year motor warranty and 90 days on parts and labor
  • LCD display shows speed, time, distance, pulse and calories burned
  • Heart rate monitor
  • Folds up
  • Must lubricate the treadmill

Pricing & Tech Specs

  • Price:  Check Amazon for availability
  • Length: 64.5″ assembled
  • Width: 29″ assembled
  • Height: 55.5″ assembled
  • Running Area: 16″ x 50″
  • Incline Range: 1.5% and 6%
  • Speed: 1-10 mph
  • User Weight Capacity: 250 lbs
  • Treadmill Weight: 117 lbs

Best Home Elliptical: Sole Fitness E35 Elliptical Machine Review

Sole Fitness E35 Elliptical Machine

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The Sole Fitness E35 Elliptical Machine is our pick for Best Elliptical for Home. The pedals and stride are adjustable to give you a comfortable workout. You can choose from 6 standard programs, 2 custom programs or 2 heart rate programs to get the perfect workout you’re looking for.

Ultimately you can customize the fit of this elliptical and the workout to get the most out of your strides.

Pros

Cons

  • Lifetime warranty on frame, 5 years on electronics and parts and 2 years on labor
  • Built-in fans and speakers
  • Water bottle holder
  • Functions in both forward and reverse motions
  • Quiet
  • Heart rate monitor
  • None found

Pricing & Tech Specs

  • Price:  $1,599.99
  • Length: 83″
  • Width: 27″
  • Height: 58″
  • Resistance Levels: 20
  • Stride Length: 20-22″ maximum
  • Pedals: 15″
  • User Weight Capacity: 375 lbs
  • Elliptical Weight: 215 lbs

Best Compact Elliptical: Sunny Health & Fitness Twister Stepper Review

Sunny Health & Fitness Twister Stepper

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Our pick for Best Compact Elliptical is the Sunny Health & Fitness Twister Stepper. Its compact style makes it versatile for your home fitness needs and can be moved easily. It has built-in resistance training too to add more to your workout.

The twist action helps tone your thighs and tooshy too. You can get a full workout going with the resistance bands on this elliptical. (Be sure to purchase AAA batteries so you can use this machine right when you get it!)

Pros

Cons

  • LCD display shows total count, time, calories burned and rep count
  • Up/down and side to side movement
  • Can only be used for 15 minutes at a time because the hydraulics may overheat
  • No warranty info listed
  • No heart rate monitor

Pricing & Tech Specs

Best Elliptical For The Money: Sunny Magnetic Elliptical Trainer Review

Sunny Magnetic Elliptical Trainer

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If you’re looking to save money, we suggest the Sunny Magnetic Elliptical Trainer, our pick for Best Elliptical for the Money. It is a basic elliptical but can definitely give you the workout you’re looking for. For less than $200 you can workout and track your progress.

Pros

Cons

  • Screen displays time, speed, distance, calories and pulse
  • Heart rate monitor
  • Forward and reverse motion
  • No warranty information found online

Pricing & Tech Specs

  • Price:  $249.99
  • Length: 37.8″
  • Width: 26.6″
  • Height: 60″
  • Resistance Levels: 8
  • User Weight Capacity: 220 lbs
  • Elliptical Weight: 68 lbs

Video: Treadmill Fail

Below is a video compilation of treadmill fails. Although you may laugh while watching, these people most likely had some type of injury after impact. You can get seriously hurt if you do not use your treadmill correctly and carefully. So please use your equipment with extreme caution and don’t attempt any of these stunts at home.

Let’s Get Physical

Running and elliptical machines are great for your cardio physical health, but you might also consider adding a yoga practice to add to your workout routine. It has additional spiritual and mental benefits in addition to improving your flexibility and strength. Learn more about namaste in our yoga poses for back pain article. Speaking of back pain, check out these inversion tables which help relieve your aches in that area.

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Kimberly Alt

Kimberly received her Bachelor of Arts from Simpson College with a major in multimedia journalism and a minor in marketing. She has been writing about business solutions since 2014, covering subjects such as tax software, email marketing, office equipment and more. Her work has appeared in many notable brands, including The New York Times' Wirecutter, Reader's Digest, Forbes, People, Woman's World, and Huffington Post. In 2015, she started her own business and continues to learn how to run it more efficiently thanks to her work on We Rock Your Web. Her natural curiosity helps her research as she seeks the truth when learning about, comparing and personally testing products and services. With every piece she writes, her goal is to help our readers find the best fit for their unique needs.
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