The Body Rider Elliptical arrived, and I am super pleased with it. When we first moved I considered getting a machine five times as expensive. I am so glad I cheaped out!

It took about two hours to get the machine together. I was impressed by how sturdy and heavy duty it is, even though it was only $105 at the time of purchase. I couldn’t help but compare it to the Suncast Deck Storage Box, purchased for the same price at the end of summer. This machine is definitely worth so.much.more.

Aside, now I have a new trick to save money. Whenever I’m considering a purchase I’ll ask myself if it’s worth as much as a comparable sized purchase I’ve already made. That over priced deck box would not have passed that test!

The machine is compact, light weight and still super sturdy and super quite. I love that it doesn’t take up space and that it’s easy to move it around. One of the reasons we opted not to go for a more expensive unit is they can be close to 200 lbs! This one is only 56, but when you’re on it it doesn’t feel that way. We also needed a machine that Domingo could use when the kids were asleep and we wouldn’t be worried about waking them up. This is definitely that machine. I wouldn’t use it with someone sleeping in the same room, but it’s quite enough that you can’t hear it with the door shut.

The biggest con for this device it that the display sucks. It’s attached to the base near the front wheel and not back lit which makes it hard to read when you’re on it. It doesn’t always reset when you tell it too. And, most importantly, I question it’s accuracy. I have been on the machine for an hour and it says I’ve gone 10 miles and only burned 200 calories. At that distance and speed every online calculator I try says I should burn at least twice that if not more.

I don’t care that much about the poor display. I keep the machine close to the window and my phone on the window sill. I use my phone for timing since I can read it better. I don’t sweat the calorie count since it doesn’t matter what the machine (or the internet) says. I’m feeling better about myself, and that’s the important thing. I would have preferred a machine with an easier to read display, sure, but not enough to pay and extra couple of hundred dollars for it.

After a couple weeks of gang buster weight loss, the weight loss has stalled a bit. I’m sure it’s partially the new muscle mass. I no longer feel like my legs have turned to jello when I finish exercising.

Posted in Healthy Living | Tags: Exercise