Long story short, my wife is looking to add a treadmill to the home gym. I’ve been hesitant to invest in one, but she has convinced me that we need to do more cardio than we currently do.
So the question here is if we got an incline trainer, and I jacked the thing up as high as it could go, would that still tone/slim down my calves like with most treadmill running? Or would it possibly bulk them up?
https://www.nordictrack.com/treadmills/x22i-incline-trainer is the one I’ve looked into because it talks about a 40% incline which sounds pretty damn hard to do after a few minutes. The hope here is it could at the very least maintain my legs bulk without compromising it. Anybody with any experience out there on something similar?
Word of caution, I got one of these models and it broke the second time I used it, and from my research they have high failure rates when using them at high elevation.
With that said, I “returned” it when it broke, but nordictrak didn’t want to spend the money to have it shipped back to them so I got the thing for free. I had it repaired by an independent repair shop and it’s worked fine, but I don’t exceed 10 degree elevation.
Guy I work with uses a stair climber and one of those never ending ladder set up things and loves them. If you’re doing it right I wouldn’t imagine being able to be on them long enough to see muscle disappear but I honestly have no idea.
Thanks for the advice John. I’ll keep that in mind. And a stair climber would be good too, but I think my wife is more interested in having something for running when the winter months come back.
High incline treadmill work will hit the calves more than a regular treadmill, so I definitely wouldn’t expect calf size to reduce. You’ll lose bodyfat, which should make things smaller overall, but in terms of spot-reducing calves… that’s not really a thing.
That’s a monster machine and likely overkill for home use. You should be able to find a quality treadmill that’s significantly less expensive and just as useful even if it “only” inclines to 12-15%.
Remember that the goal is to not be holding the handrails during incline work, so the standard incline is plenty for the overwhelming majority of people.
That’s not likely from just cardio unless you’re doing hard sprints and not basic walking. Muscle preservation will come from high intensity work, preferably weight training.
Nordic Track is owned by ICON Fitness. ICON is one of the largest fitness companies in the business; I work in the fitness equipment sales business.
ICON sells low end fitness equipment. Most of the equipment they sell is at places like Walmart.
In the fitness equipment business, ICON products are termed as “Disposable” products. That because the cost to repair them is more than it is to replace them.
Johnbu1981
That is why when John wanted to return his when it broke, Nordic Track told him to keep it. It was NOT worth the cost of shipping it back to Nordic Track.
ICON Brands To Avoid
Epic
Gold’s Gym
HealthRider
Image
Jillian Michaels’ Body Shop
LifeSyler
Nordic Track
Reebok
ProForm
Weider
Etc.
Bumping the thread to ask what brand would you recommend for home use? My NordicTrack is now 15 years old, and can’t last much longer, I have to assume. It’s been great for me, but I’m a relatively light female and have a husband who is comfortable taking it apart and tuning/tightening it.
I would like to have its replacement identified, because if it ever dies suddenly it’s going to feel like an emergency to me. I don’t want to have to start shopping then, I want to be able to just pull the trigger on purchasing.
I want one of those air assault runners. But they are soo expensive.
Walking/running on them will wear you out. Most clinical data shows about a 30% increase in oxygen consumption at any speed compared to same speed on a motorized treadmill at 1% grade
In previous life, I sold retail fitness equipment and Life Fitness was the gold standard. I actually liked Pacemaster as a better feeling treadmill, but it seems like they’ve actually gone out of business since my time. Horizon seems to still be around, but they were always lower-end models that felt cheaply made. Not sure if they’ve improved over the years.
A big thing in helping to decide is to actually get on the thing, so if you can find a store that has display models, go there (wearing your sneakers of course) and get on the machine for at least a few seconds to see how comfortable and sturdy they feel.
If it’s just going to be a “backup” for when you can’t get to the gym, I wouldn’t sweat too much (pun slightly intended) about getting a great machine. Like, if it’s only getting an hour or two a week, you don’t need to spend $2,000+ on it. If you plan on using it regularly year-round, then definitely consider making the investment in a better machine.
Yeah, I use it most days, so am happy to invest within reason. I’ve loved the Nordictrack for its generous and fairly springy deck (22x65) and…well, I guess that’s it aside from what seems like incredible longevity. Other than that, I don’t care. Hotel treadmills tend to feel stiff and small to me. I’m only 5’7", but a lot of that is leg and I like being back a bit from the console, which I prefer to be small. I live where outside is pretty, and prefer to look at that rather than a giant electronic display.
A problem I have is that I live in the nowhere (where outside is pretty). We were in San Diego last week and came upon a big, fancy gym in La Jolla, but it was late and I was in heels (Valentine’s Day). But I made my husband go from window to window while he listened to me ooohing and ahhhing. Me:
I’ll eventually make a circuit of the couple of gyms in my vicinity, which is what I did when making a decision about my Concept II (paying for a $10 day pass to spend 5 minutes in the place), but we only have one store that sells them, and they’re all downmarket models.
I love the lack of traffic and other benefits of living where I live, but shopping for big ticket items is a pain in the ass.
Definitely a good idea, just keep in mind that commercial units are generally built beefier and sturdier because of the expected extreme use/abuse.
Tracking down their latest model might be the best bet. Again, I’m a whole bunch of years out of the game, but I know LifeFitness always had great cushioning. Landice was another really popular brand back in the day, supposedly well-known among marathon runners. It was pretty oversized. I thought they were pretty firm at the time, but supposedly they were designed to feel comparable to outdoor running.
Right, I’ve been looking at the NordicTrack site, but what does that really tell me? My treadmill is 15 years old - my satisfaction with it means very little at this point.
Anyway, I’ll continue reading around and will run on them if/when I can. We go into the greater Boston area tomorrow, for instance, but won’t have time on either side of the trip for sporting goods stores.
So interestingly (to me alone, I suspect, lol) articles that review high-end treadmills as well as inexpensive ones seem to like the NordicTrack’s “Commercial” 2950. Runner’s World had it as a top pick along with one that runs $14,500. That one is $2600, and they also list one under $2k.
This caught my attention:
Testers loved the 2950’s enormous 22-inch touchscreen display and broad range of coaching options. “It actually kept me engaged in the running rather than droning music and TV,” said Pat Heine, Runner’s World video producer and ultrarunner. “The trail climb I did had a lot of speed and incline variation that felt natural.” To accomplish that, the treadmill taps into the iFit programming platform, where you can get video lessons from coaches like elite runner Tommy Rivers Puzey. His guided run through Patagonia leads you along scenic trails, while the machine automatically adjusts the incline and speed to make the experience feel realistic. Is it? Well, no. But the large display helps you forget that you’re stuck in your basement on a cold winter morning.
I’ve been under the impression that displays irritate me. I like music. I need to process my life and the lives of the people I work with. But if serious distance runners are saying “ooooh,” maybe I should be saying that, too. Maybe I’m bored and too ignorant to realize it. Maybe there’s more than that one tree and the snowy fields beyond it! OTOH, there’s a Life Fitness that’s noted for its pared-down console, which people also like.
Here’s the article. They really do a good job of offering the appeal of the different models, e.g. road-like running surface or strength-building. There’s a high-incline model covered, which is apparently well-built.
