Life Fitness is a fitness equipment brand that produces elliptical cross trainers, among other types of fitness equipment, such as treadmills and exercise bikes. Elliptical cross trainers, or elliptical machines, which many fitness equipment manufacturers produce, provide a low-impact lower body workout plus an upper body arm workout.
Life Fitness Brand
Life Fitness is a division of Brunswick, a large Fortune 500 company that makes a variety of products including boats, bowling products and billiards tables. Life Fitness produced its first fitness product, the Lifecycle exercise bike, in 1977. Brunswick acquired the brand in 1997. The Life Fitness brand includes a line of strength training and cardio in-home exercise equipment.
Elliptical Cross Trainers
Life Fitness elliptical cross trainers have a rear drive design, which means the flywheel mechanism is on the back of the machine. Rear drive ellipticals were the first on the market and offer a smoother pedal motion than most front drive elliptical machines. Life Fitness elliptical cross trainers are not compact machines. They are over 80 inches long, over 25 inches wide and weigh over 200 lbs. Depending on the model, the maximum user weight is 350 or 400 lbs.
Stride Length
The stride length, measured in inches, is the distance from the toe of the front pedal to the toe of the back pedal at the widest point. A longer stride length offers a more comfortable, natural leg motion, especially for taller users. The Life Fitness elliptical cross trainers have one of three stride lengths, depending on the model: 18 inches, 20 inches or an adjustable length between 18 and 24 inches.
Console
Each Life Fitness elliptical machine is available with a basic or advanced console. All the ellipticals have pulse sensors on the handlebars so you can check your heart rate. The advanced consoles offer wireless heart rate monitoring with a Polar chest strap as well as heart controlled workouts. The computer adjusts the intensity of your workout to keep your heart rate in a specified target zone. The advanced console has 10 built-in programs versus just five on the basic console.
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