Gazelle exercisers, promoted by personal trainer Tony Little, are sometimes dubbed elliptical walkers. But there's nothing elliptical about your motion on a Gazelle; glider is a more appropriate term, since when you stride on a Gazelle, your legs move through a gliding pendulum motion.
Like many other direct-sales fitness products, the Gazelle is sold as an ever-rotating series of models, with each model presenting only minor differences from the others.
Exercises
Gazelle gliders are advertised as having five or six different walking techniques that are all variations on the same stride. You can rest your hands on the stationary crossbar for extra stability, or grasp the moving handlebars to work your upper body, too. Leaning forward as you stride works your chest and triceps, and leaning back works your back and biceps.
Considerations
All versions of the Gazelle glider are light enough for one person to move, and fold down flat for storage in the closet or under a bed. The gazelle offers a low-impact workout, ideal if you have joint problems that keep you from enduring the pounding of a high-impact workout.
One downside of the Gazelle, however, is that only some models have pistons for adding extra resistance. Even these offer only a limited range of resistance, so once you've developed a base level of fitness, you may find that the Gazelle is no longer challenging to use.
Accessories
The Gazelle's minimalist design doesn't lend it to a lot of accessories. But you will occasionally encounter accessories like an exercise mat, free water bottle or eating plan booklet included with some models. You also get at least one workout DVD with each unit, except for the bargain-priced Freestyle Edge.
Features
Some of the features that narrowly distinguish one style of Gazelle glider from another include hand or thumb pulse monitors, water bottle holders, hydraulic pistons that allow you to add extra resistance to each stride, and soft-glide cables that add an extra bounce or spring to each stride.
Price
As of August 2010, prices for Gazelle gliders range from about $100 for the Freestyle Edge to $400 for the Sprintmaster Elite. Warranty coverage ranges from 90 days to one year, depending on the model purchased.
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