Trying to decide between a Freestride Trainer or an elliptical machine?
While both can give you a great way to workout in the comfort of your own home, the Nordictrack Freestride Trainer does have some major advantages of an elliptical trainer.
Here are 3 ways the Freestride Trainer is better than an elliptical machine:
#1 Stride Length Advantage
Most ellipticals make you run along a set pathway. They also have a set stride. (Stride is the furthest distance between the two pedals when you’re running).
Most quality ellipticals will give you an 18 – 20 inch stride as that tends to feel comfortable for most people. However there’s always a question of whether that stride is really the most comfortable and ergonomically correct for everyone in the household.
Also, because it’s a set motion, your body can get very efficient and adapt to this motion (thereby reducing the number of calories you burn).
The Freestrider gets around these problems by giving you something completely new: an adaptable stride.
This means you can choose your own stride depending on what’s most comfortable for you – up to a 38 inch stride!
Or you can constantly change things up by doing a short stair-climbing stride, a longer running stride or an even longer hurdling type stride.
By constantly changing the stride, your body doesn’t adapt and you keep that calorie burn on full-throttle through your workouts.
Plus you’ll know that everyone in the house can choose the stride that is right for them.
#2 Size Advantage
The Freestride Elliptical Trainer is also more compact than a standard elliptical, making it great for smaller workout areas.
It’s technically a center drive machine (center drive elliptical are more compact than a rear or front-drive trainer). So it’s more of a square footprint than a long rectangle.
#3 Comfort Advantage
The Nordictrack Freestrider is also ultra-low impact, giving it a comfort advantage.
Unlike a regular crosstrainer, the footpedals on the Freestrider ride on belts, rather than the traditional rails attached to the crank. This gives you more of a feeling of “running on air” and is smooth with nearly zero impact.
This set up is ideal if you struggle with joint or back issues. Or if you tend to get shin splints.
So those are 3 of the main benefits that the Freestride Trainer gives you over a traditional elliptical.
Also keep in mind that models like the Freestride Trainer FS7i also give you things like a full color console with web browser. So you can surf the net, read email or watch YouTube videos as you run.
And that’s another things that most elliptical trainers do not carry – built-in entertainment.
So while the elliptical trainer does have some great advantages, the Freestride elliptical trainer outshines it in a couple of ways. If you’re looking for something beyond a standard elliptical machine, you may want to consider the Freestride Trainer!