LifeSpan Fitness EL3000i Elliptical Trainer
January 27, 2010 by admin
Filed under 6 Pack Abs
| Brand: | LifeSpan Fitness | ||
| Average Rating |
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The 2009 Symbol of Excellence award winning EL3000i Natural FIT Elliptical gives you a smooth feel and fluid motion. The 20 stride and closely spaced pedals simulate your natural walking stride. The converging handlebars let your arms move naturally and with a greater range of motion as your arms extend forward. The large, multi-color console is loaded with meaningful features like an audio center, motivating readouts including your step count and heart rate, and engaging workout programs grouped for weight loss, sports training and healthy living. Our patented Intelli-Key™ lighting indicates which button to press next and Intelli-Step™ counts your steps. A blue gel pad in each pedal absorbs the impact from your heel. The pads provide enough cushioning to make your elliptical exercise more comfortable, yet safe for your hips, knees, feet and joints. Converging handlebars let your arms flow naturally as you exercise. The space between the handlebars narrows as your arms extend forward, giving you increased range of motion and simulating your natural arm movement. The EL3000i Elliptical Trainer has a 20 stride, smooth and fluid stride pattern, and closely spaced pedals to simulate your natural walking motion. The low 8 step-up height makes it easy to get on and off.Best of all, the EL3000i is the first elliptical to connect your exercise equipment with a comprehensive online health management program, accessed through your membership in the LifeSpan Fitness Club. more info
Sneaky on Sun, 24th Jan 2010 5:32 am
Great value at $850!
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I was fortunate enough to snatch this one up when Amazon ran the $850 special including free shipping. Like other reviewers have recently mentioned, it wasn’t terribly difficult to unpack as long as you have some patience and some room to work with. You’ll need two strong people to get the box up a flight of stairs, though. I was very pleased to find that there wasn’t a blister pack full of varying screw sizes coupled with an esoteric assembly guide. In fact, the assembly was quite straight-forward. Every single screw was already installed in its final location – you just need to unscrew it, attach whatever component needs attaching, and tighten with the included tools. I took my time with assembly and it took me about an hour start to finish.
The unit did not come with a user’s manual for some reason, however I was able to quickly download and print one from the manufacturer’s website. The assembly instructions referred to a hardware pack with four screws in it, however that was missing, too. After emailing customer service, I had a response within 24 hours stating that the manual was incorrect and that the screws were already installed in their final location just like the rest of the screws (and they were!). They also promised to send over a copy of the user’s manual as well as the “missing” screws just in case.
This elliptical does weigh quite a bit so be sure to get a protective rubber mat to ensure that you don’t damage your flooring. We have ours on carpet – we picked up a 7′ x 3′ mat on Amazon for another $30 shipped to ensure that we don’t rip through our carpet! Luckily this elliptical has a very small footprint.
The performance of the machine itself is impressive. Aside from a few of the plastic snap-on joints which seem a little flimsy, the bulk of the machine seems very well-built. It has a smooth, fluid motion and doesn’t feel cheap at all. My wife exercises on gym-quality elliptical machines and even she was impressed with our new one. I don’t have a lot of experience with them, but this one feels substantially nicer than what I expected at the $850 price point. The included programs seem simple yet sufficient. The embedded heart rate monitor is nice – just grip the handles and within 5-10 seconds you get an instant read on your heart rate. Depending on your exercise goals (sports training, weight loss, etc) it’s nice to keep track of what heart-rate “band” you’re in to maximize your workout. I understand this elliptical will also link up with a wireless heart rate monitor sold separately if you’re into that sort of thing.
The only negative that I’ve found is that the control panel is on all of the time (even that is a minor complaint). The main LCD will go out after you get off the machine for a few minutes, but the main buttons are backlit and they cycle on/off constantly. As this unit is in our bedroom it can get a little annoying watching it illuminate the ceiling at night. We just threw a towel over it, but I’ve since read that you should unplug it when not in use so that’s what we do now. I do wish that the control panel had a sleep function that would cause it to go completely off after a few minutes of idle time. It also came with a little triangular piece of plastic which appears to “belong” somewhere but I’ve not seen it referenced anywhere in the manual. If anyone who has purchased this machine knows where this piece goes, please comment!
Bottom line, at $850 I feel it was an absolute steal. With a list price of twice that, I don’t think I’d be so enthusiastic if it were selling near the list price. LifeSpan apparently has a good reputation for treadmills but is trying to make a name for itself in the elliptical market. I rolled the dice a bit on this one but so far I feel like it was a winning gamble.
Tony in Texas on Sun, 24th Jan 2010 8:11 am
Cool USB feature helps my health
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Bought my LifeSpan elliptical over a month ago. Delivered timely. Had a small leveling issue during assembly but now feels solid, no problems at all. Very smooth and fluid motion, and arm and leg movement is comfortable. Comes with a cool USB feature and LifeSpan Fitness Club membership. I save my workout data then upload it to my online account. On any given day or week I can see how long I exercised, how far I went, how many calories I burned and what my heart rate was doing. I also manually enter data from exercise I do outdoors, as well as track some vital stats like my weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure all in my account. I feel better and my account data shows it. A few more options would be great and LifeSpan said they’re working on adding some new features (as you’d expect with any software program).
Overall, I’m pleased with my elliptical purchase and with the performance of the machine.
Mary Keener on Mon, 25th Jan 2010 6:04 am
Great elliptical, great features!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I absolutely love my elliptical! It has everything I wanted AND more.
PRO’s:
#1 – The USB feature with the free USB drive and membership is awesome! I read this in the text but it was not clear to me exactly what it was BUT you insert the USB drive into the console and the elliptical saves my exercise information and then lets it upload to my personalized account…REALLY cool to track your exercises and progress and it has other cool tools to keep me motivated!
#2 – The handlebars don’t just go front to back in a straight line like the others do…this one goes in on an angle—they call it converging path—either way I feel like it works my arms better and feels better versus just a pulling and pushing motion.
#3 – The cushion built into the pedal is really nice and helps with the pain in my knees
CON’s:
#1 – There are a couple of covers that snap together to cover bolts. The idea is very good because I did not have to use tools to assemble that part but the one tab broke and did not stay tight. I did call Amazon customer service and it was handled promptly
I could not be happier with my purchase and would recommend this to anyone!
Kent on Tue, 26th Jan 2010 1:02 am
Why go to the gym
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I’ve had my LifeSpan EL 3000i for almost a month now. Don’t need my gym membership anymore! I can exercise whenever I want and with the Fitness Club membership it is just like having my own personal trainer. For under $1500 you will not find anything better, trust me I have been looking for elliptical since Christmas! The stride length is perfect and the pedals are spaced just right. I REALLY like the handlebar motion is GREAT I am not sure if anyone else has this feature or not but it is SOOO much better than others with a straight front to back motion. I waited for a while to make this purchase and without a doubt this one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.
Richard French on Tue, 26th Jan 2010 1:45 am
LifeSpan Fitness EL3000i Elliptical Trainer
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Just got this in 1-13-10.
It’s packed very well, unpacking and putting it together was easy. One person can easily do this within an hour. It’s practically already together, you just have to connect some components and snap some frame parts on. It also comes with all the tools necessary to put it together.
This elliptical is smooth, really smooth and very quite. I have been going to the gym now for 6mo. This elliptical is up there in quality and smoothness. Now, some of the gym ellipicals have what I would call it, more motion, the steps seem a bit larger so you tend to work the hipsupper legs more. This elliptical has a very natural stepping motion, not as big as a gym unit. I noticed this with all the non-gym ellipicals though I tried. Yes the GYM units are nicer but for home this one does the trick and more.
I tried out Sole,pre-core and some Schwinns this one was better then the Sole 25, and I would say equal to the E95. There is no comparison at the $850 price point, which I got on a 1 day sale. In the $1,200 price point the Sole95 would equal it. the Sole 25 wouldn’t.
The console is amazing, loads of features, or as simple as you want it. It’s bright, easy to read and VERY easy to learn and figure out. It’s tall, I was worried about becuase but my wife is short, 4′ 9″ and it works just fine for here. This thing is also very heavy, be prepared to have a place ready to set it up and leave it. My stats: 5’10″ 223 and this unit is solid very little to no rocking.
*note on the foot pegs, they say there is a bag wscrews, those screws are already in the pegs you just have to take them out and secure them in the holes. This is the way everything else is on this unit, everything lines up perfectly.
Overall, I am very pleased and happy with the purchase. Had I paid around $1,200 I would still
be very pleased.
Bethany Ann Macrina on Tue, 26th Jan 2010 2:26 am
LifeSpan EL3000i Elliptical
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I bought this elliptical at the beginning of June and took advantage of the special offers from Amazon. This is my first big (physically and money) purchase but I was very impressed with the Elliptical machine and Amazon delivery team. I ordered it on Sunday and got a call from Eaqle the delivery company on Thursday and it was delivered on Friday. The Elliptical Machine was pretty easy to assemble my husband said and is simple to use. Cool feature is the buttons blink telling you what to push next to either do a program or start, VERY simple! It is very well built and comfortable. I am 5’3″ and my husband is 6’1″ (he tried it when I first got it and says he will use it but I doubt it!) but it feels good for both of us. I am/was a runner but the discomfort in my knees led me to research elliptical trainers to lessen the impact. I came across this model because of the pedal suspension, I have noticed a difference in the lack of pain after my workouts and am able to cross train about 25 minutes at a time 4 days a week…I typically would go for an hour run but have not worked up to that duration on the elliptical yet. I have only owned / used this for about 3 weeks so I can’t speak to the long term durability but so far so good. I would recommend this product and Amazon for making this and other large appliance purchases based on my experience so far.
David on Tue, 26th Jan 2010 7:41 am
Great value for the price
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Our budget was $1000-$2000 range. We needed something that was not as big as some of the units at health clubs but wanted something solid (not a Gazelle type product), and this one fit the bill for me (6’1″) and my wife (5’7″). I would say that we are moderate users and our anticipated usage is 6-8 hours per week.
It took me about an hour to assemble by myself and was simple and straightforward. We are very impressed with the machine. It is very simple to use (GREAT CONSOLE), very smooth, and extremely quiet!
The built-in pre-programmed routines offer a nice range and the Fitness Club has been nice for my wife and I to monitor and track our programs. Our daughter is now home from college and she is using it as well and plugs her iPod into the console and listens to music thru the USB port.
We both really enjoy the arm motion and it feels very natural compared to pushing / pulling motion of the other units that we tried at The Sports Authority. We are very pleased with our purchase and decision to commit to a healthier lifestyle.
John Lucido on Tue, 26th Jan 2010 12:54 pm
Good Solid Elliptical Unit – Very Quiet
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Recieved this product from Amazon today. The box was nicely packed and everything was found except there was no instructor manual included in the box. I had to download the manual from the Lifespan web site. Don’t know if this ommision was an exception or the norm.
This elliptical is a very solid unit and extremely quiet. The workout it provides is very very good workout. The USB and Lifespan Health Club membership are a big plus.
The console doesn’t seem to have a power off switch. When you plug it in, it lights up and operates quite impressive; but when you are finished exercising the console stays powered up with it’s buttons flashing awaiting the next workout settings. I thought maybe leaving the unit in idle state for a while would automatically shut the console off, but it was still lit after an hour. I’ve been unplugging it each time after use to stop the blinking lights. Don’t know if this is a flaw or its intended design. Regardless, don’t let this console issue prevent you from purchasing this very quality unit.
M. Beiler on Tue, 26th Jan 2010 4:19 pm
The Fitness Club feature is excellent!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
My physical therapist recommended that I look at an elliptical as I am starting to have some knee joint pain and he felt that this woudl be better for me than a treadmill which I was originally looking to buy. This is an excellent value with the features you get. The display is large and easy to read and use with all the direct buttons you push one button instead of scrolling.
The pedals have a built in suspensoin and I am thankful that my PT recommended an elliptical for me as I have noticed ALOT less pain after working out! The motion is smooth and the machine is very quiet and easy to hear your music thru the console speakers or when you are wearing your headphones. The handlebars are really nice. I am not sure what they call it but the handlebars go towards the center of the elliptical instead of front to back and it feels more natural.
My favorite feature is the Fitness Club that comes with the elliptical. The USB thumb drive plugs into the console and stores my workout information and then it is uploaded onto my own site and stores and tracks my information. There is ALOT that you can do with this feature to monitor, in fact i print off my sheets and take into my PT to review.
I would recommend this to anyone and everyone especially if you are looking for a little extra motivation to stick with your routine, the Fitness Club should help.
R. Pritchard on Tue, 26th Jan 2010 9:35 pm
LifeSpan EL3000i reviewed in February (current) Consumers Report
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
This LifeSpan EL3000i machine was reviewed in the current (February 2010) Consumers Report. It’s rated as 13th out of 19 units reviewed. A bit below average. The discounted price is certainly attractive but if you’re going to make heavy use of such a device, it’s better to test drive them in the stores and purchase a higher end machine. I purchased a Precor (~ 2500) about 4 years ago. It’s used ~ 5 times a week and has worked flawlessly since new. That was an effective purchase.
If you are an occasional user or have significant financial constraints this could be a good purchase.
Liz on Sat, 6th Feb 2010 3:36 am
The LifeSpan EL3000i was a good buy at Amazon, but it arrived broken. After a month, they have not fixed the clunking/grinding rough noise coming from the wheel. The electronic part that controls the resistance level was broken upon delivery; the flash drive did not work properly; the console still reads that I am 100″ tall, and after a month of waiting, they still have not sent a service person out to fix the noisy clunking/grinding noise from the wheel. After being told 5 days ago that a service person will be calling me to set up a time to fix the noise, no one has contacted me yet. This happened last month too. I sure hope they will get it working right. Sounds like others had better luck than I have.