Life Fitness Club Series Elliptical Cross Trainer
We have been going to Gyms for many years, but found it more convenient and better for our schedule to buy some key machines for home use. Also at home, we're not faced with the lines and 30 minute time limit per machine in the Gym.

We did extensive research into all the reviews we could find, from every source - they were not a lot of help as most of them only reviewed the low end machines or read like they were written by shills (aka sock puppets). So we went to every gym, store and source to try them out and talk to the gym owners about maintenance requirements.

Most of the Gyms had either Life Fitness or Precor ellipticals. In our conversations with the gym owners, the Precors were reported to require a bit more maintenance due to their inclined ramp design. Life Fitness was the winner in the maintenance category.

We also tried out a variety of other manufacturers: Proform, Reebok, Bowflex, Bremshey, Pacemaster, Sole, Schwin and even found a store that carries the EVO Smooth Agile DMT Trainer. We found that many of these machines, even some of the high end models had a variety of shortcomings, including: uneven motion, flimsy construction and obvious maintenance issues.

We found we liked the construction and motion of the Life Fitness line the best. We liked the motion of many of the rear drive models, but we preferred the motion of all the Life Fitness models. Also, the all the Life Fitness model include handles to work out your arms/upper body. Many of the other machines only provide a lower body workout.

Many Elliptical Trainers also have pedals spaced too far apart for comfortable motion. The Life Fitness models have some of the closest, most natural and most comfortable pedal spacing.

Our regular Gym has the Life Fitness X75. We found it to be to our liking. The X75 however, is for commercial use and quite expensive and noisy. Also, that unit has a fixed stride length which is OK, but doesn't allow for variety in the workout.

Today's Life Fitness consumer line consists of 4 X models (in increasing cost/features: X1, X3, X5 and X7 - there are reports of an X9, but we couldn't find one) and the Club Series.

The Club series is a consumer version of their Gym model, but we found it to be quite noisy and has a fixed stride length.

Since we wanted an adjustable stride, that limited us to the X5 or X7. The X5 stride length can only be adjusted before you get on. The X7 is electrically adjustable and can change stride length during your workout.

You can also choose the Basic or Advanced computer console for any of the X models. The Advanced console provides more instrumentation with a heart rate monitor strap, more workout programs - including the ability to set up a custom programs based on goals, heart rate, etc.

What we especially like is the Leg Sculpting workout that changes the stride length by 2 inches every few minutes.

This is the only machine that we know of that lets you adjust the stride length during the workout from 18 to 24 inches.

I also have bad feet from doing high impact aerobics for too many years (I'm 59). The extra cushioning on the X7 food pads is especially welcome.

If you are looking for a good Elliptical Trainer, I think you should strongly consider any of the Life Fitness models. We think the X7 - which is about the same price as the Club Series model provides more features/functions, is quieter, has adjustable stride and is an all around great machine.

As a retired engineer, I've also looked at the construction of the X7 compared to the Club Series and feel it is as strongly built and likely to have few maintenance problems.

We have now owned our X7 with Advanced console for almost 3 months and it continues to meet or exceed our expectations. We've found that we usually use the Leg Sculpt feature on a manual program and work out on it for between 60 and 90 minutes per day. Our X7 is smooth and trouble free.

We don't have many dislikes about the machine, but they are:

The workout resistance goes up to 20. I'm currently running at 16 and worried about eventually topping out and wanting more. I guess if that happens, I'll just increase my pace.

The machine is BIG! 83 inches long, 26 inches wide and 63 inches high. Fortunately, we have the space. This is absolutely something you want the store to deliver and set up.

Life Fitness won't let you download their service manuals unless you are a Life Fitness Certified mechanic. As a retired geek engineer, I find this very annoying.

One final hint. We have our home Gym equipment set up with a TV/DVR setup so we can watch Food Network while we workout. It's a great incentive!

NOTE - My review concludes that the X7 is the best value for the money. I emailed the section moderator asking that he add the X7 specifically so I could review it. That was over a month ago and never heard back - so I thought this would be the best place to post this review.

Recommended:
Yes (Posted on 12/2/10)

My wife wanted the machine she used on our vacation. Because of how smooth and quite it was. We had a baby and needed something just like the CXS and Champion Fitness took us right to it! Thanks for making me look like it was all my idea, my wife loves it, me too... (Posted on 11/12/10)

We love the Life Fitness gym ellipticals but didn't have the time to make it to the gym. We went out and found the Life Fitness elliptical that was closet to the one at the gym. With the great help of Champion Fitness we found the perfect Elliptical and have loved it ever since. We just we we would have don this years ago! (Posted on 11/11/10)