A significant percentage of the American population is concerned about general fitness and weight reduction. Unfortunately, not all of these people can afford to spend too much to buy exercise equipment. Fitness Quest, the manufacturers of the Eclipse elliptical trainer, considers these people as their target market.
The Introduction of Elliptical Trainers To Fitness Gyms
Elliptical trainers, also called cross trainers, were first introduced to the market in the 1990s. Since then, their popularity has surged, leading to the emergence of various manufacturers of ellipticals. Elliptical trainers or ellipticals, for short, derived their name from the oval or elliptical motion that is made by their pedals.
The early versions of these exercise wonders were designed only for lower body workout. They featured an inclined ramp that allows users to exercise the muscles of the lower portion of the body, including the quads, calves, and glutes. The lower-body ellipticals were soon replaced by total body elliptical trainers. These easily became the exercise machine of choice by many exercise buffs because of the nature of exercise that they provide. They allow maximum burning of calories at a shorter period of time compared to other exercise equipment. In addition, the low-impact nature of the exercises they provide require less joint pressure on their users. This makes elliptical trainers ideal, especially for those individuals who have ankle, hip, or knee problems. In contrast, stepping machines and treadmills achieve the exact opposite due to the stress or pressure that they cause to the joints probably because of the nature of their exercises.
Eclipse Elliptical Machines and Competing Cross Trainers
The existence of several elliptical trainer manufacturers paved the way to the availability of ellipticals sold at different price ranges. Generally, they cost anywhere between $300 to $4,000 depending on the manufacturer or brand and the target market. Because of this, no single elliptical maker dominates all elliptical trainer price rangers. For example, the high-end elliptical trainer market is dominated by such brands as Precor and Life Fitness. The $1,000 ellipticals price range, meanwhile, is ruled by brands like Nordic Track, Image, Weslo, and Reebok. The low-end market, on the other hand, is the turf of the ProForm and Eclipse elliptical machine brands.
Compared to some commercial elliptical trainers that are commonly found in gyms, Eclipse elliptical trainers pale in comparison in terms of performance. This is, however, understandable since the latter costs only about a tenth of the price of the former. Despite this, many Eclipse users are satisfied with their exercise machines. In fact, the brand has been declared the best under the budget category. For this reason you might want to consider Eclipse elliptical exercise machines as an option for home use.
