Some History:
The first trainer to get much attention was really the Bowflex Treadclimber. It has dual treadles that rise to meet your feet as you walk.
One of the reasons for all the hype is how fast you burn calories on this machine. But that is basically due to the fact that you're walking uphill. While the Treadclimber will definitely give you results, the downside is that they can be very expensive and the user reviews have been mixed.
A few years ago, NordicTrack introduced a trainer that was a bit different - built like a treadmill but you could walk on high inclines with it. This of course took off like a rocket and the Nordic Track Incline Trainers were flying off the shelves.
The only real downside was that the belt on these trainers were much shorter than a typical treadmill (around 51"). So if you were taller, you definitely couldn't run on the machine without feeling like you were going to fall off.
Nordic Track has since come out with new models with longer belts - like the X9 (62" belt) so you can now run on them safely without feeling like you're going to fall off the machine.
Other brands that came out with trainers included Proform and Freemotion. This is not surprising since the same company that owns NordicTrack (ICON Health and Fitness) also owns the Proform and Freemotion brands.
These trainers however didn't offer the kind of value that the NordicTrack models did. They are very hard to find and will probably be discontinued in the next year or two.
Benefits:
The main benefits of these machines are:
#1 You can use them as both incline trainers and a treadmill. These machines do double duty. So if you're not up to walking on a high incline one day, you can just relax and take a light low-incline walk.
If you want to blast those calories off because you have a special date or high school reunion coming up, you can use the high incline to burn up to 5X the calories and see results fast. So you really have two machines in one.
#2 You can see results very fast. As stated above, you can burn up to 5X the calories on these machines. And you don't even have to run (a big benefit for those of us who get shin splints easily!) to see the kind of results you'd get from a running workout.
Another benefit is these machines have gotten even better over time. In fact the X7 not only has a high 40% incline - but even includes a 6% decline. Talk about crosstraining!
It also has a full-color touch screen display with an iPod dock so you can listen to your favorite tunes while you workout.
And, for the new year, the new X9 model even carries a built-in Web Browser. So you can surf the net and read your emails while you blast those calories.
Bottom Line? There's never been a better time to buy an incline treadmill trainer. The new models offer you more and are more affordable than ever!
Related Links:
Looking for a high incline treadmill? While most treadmills offer you a standard incline of 10-15% these days, there is a new class of fitness machine on the market that gives you up to 40% incline!
It's called an incline trainer - a new twist on the classic treadmill.
Walking on an incline is one of the best ways to get fast results - both with weight loss and toning. Walking on a 25% incline burns up to 3 times the calories you'd burn just walking on a flat plane.
And walking on a 40% incline burns up to 5 Times the calories you'd burn just walking on a flat plane (0% incline).
So if you're not into running, but still want the incredible body benefits that a running workout gives you, you might want to consider getting a high incline treadmill (also called incline trainers).
