ProForm Cardio HIIT Trainer

I had been looking for a cardio exercise machine for a while and settled on either this one or the Max Trainer M5. I wanted an elliptical but the ones I looked at took up a lot of floor space. The Max Trainer series and this one have a much smaller foot print. I was able to try out theM5 in a store and liked it, but was reluctant to purchase it due to the price. The less expensive M3 which is more comparably priced to this one didn't have any pre-programmed exercises or Blue Tooth interface. I found this one on Amazon with very similar capabilities at 1/2 the price of the M5. I was a bit suspicious of the quality at this price but decided to take a chance anyway based on the mostly positive reviews. The box arrived today, on time, by freight shipment. It's big and heavy (about 180 pounds) but the delivery guys were able to wrestle it into my front entryway. I opened the package and removed the individual parts. The unit was very well packaged and it took a while to disassemble the box and dispose of the ample packing material. I wanted to install the exercise machine in our family room about 60 feet from the entry so I did it by moving the individual parts there as needed to complete each assembly step. The only heavy part was the main unit which I estimate weighs about 100 lbs. I moved it first it with a small hand truck. The directions were easy to follow and all the parts and screws were well marked to avoid confusion. Everything fit together and the quality of the components looked fine. Although I asked for some help from my wife a couple of times to make things a bit easier, I found the whole assembly process not difficult. I could have done it myself if necessary. What slowed it down was having to use the simple hex wrench, supplied, to secure many of the screws. The screws are relatively tight and needed to be turned with the wrench in it's high torque position (the long way) and in some of the areas that only allowed for a 1/4 to 1/2 turn each time the wrench was inserted. It wasn't difficult, but it was time consuming. It took me about 3 hours to complete the job. The eight main bolts that connect the base supports to the main unit required using a metric socket wrench. That and a screw driver were the only needed tools not provided. Although I eventually intend to do so, I chose not to activate the Ifit service initially because I want to get comfortable with the machine first. I did that by holding down the Blue Tooth button for 30 seconds when initially powering up while it was asking me for activation. Once turned on the console functions all seemed to be there and worked without any kind of activation. Although the foot print of the machine is relatively small compared to most elipticals and tread mills, this is still a substantial piece of equipment. I placed it in our family room and although it fits, it is now the center of attention in the room decor. We are thinking about possible other places to put it. I have only had time to try the machine a couple of times. Its operation is smooth and quiet and even at it lowest resistance level it provides a very substantial workout. Being in not very good shape, it will take me a while to build up to the point where I can make use of its full capabilities. I can only pedal it for about 5 minutes at a time without getting winded and feeling it in my leg muscles. Over time I hope to build up to 15 to 30 minutes at higher resistance levels and to be able to make use of the programmed workouts. We'll see. It's only been one day, but so far I am very happy with the purchase. Update after 10 days: I like this machine a lot. It was easy to move to a less conspicuous corner of the family room and I am now able to do two 15 minute workouts a day at resistance levels between 1 and 6 and speeds between 40 and 60 RPM. Although I activated Ifit (it's free for 30 days) I find that just doing manual exercise at various speeds and resistance levels is adequate. The only thing I use Ifit for is tracking my workouts which is not worth $15 per month so I think I will cancel after the 30 day trial. I did try one of their "tours" and found it not too useful. It shows Google Street View images as you move along various courses while changing the resistance along with virtual terrain gradients. The first one I tried quickly shot up to resistance level 24 which was nearly impossible for me to pedal. I reduced it down to 5, but that ended up cancelling the automatic changes so the result was the same as a manual workout while watching Street View. Consequently I normally just vary the resistance and speed manually during my 15 minute sessions while watching TV news broadcasts. The unit is quiet enough so that TV watching while exercising is not a problem. I'm hoping to gradually work up to higher resistance, longer sessions, and using the built-in programs, but for now I feel like I am getting some regular exercise which was the objective of my purchase. The only negative I have found so far with the machine is that the heart rate monitor does not seem to work consistently. The rate it displays jumps around between 60 and 130 and can't be used reliably to guide settings to control how strenuously I am working out.

I needed an ellipical machine that was compact due to bad knees and limited space in my home. The proform elliptical trainer checked both those boxes. The only other product out there in the market that appeared to meet my needs for a compact elliptical trainer were the max trainers by Bowflex. If you navigate to the Bowflex Max Trainer reviews outside the Bowflex website you will see that the max trainer has a lot of problems especially after year one. It doesn't sound very durable. On the flipside the Proform Trainer is a newer product and didn't have such a large install base compared to Bowflex so it was hard to get an idea of the quality of this machine was good or not. So to make my decision I really wanted to see both of the products in person.... You can find the Bowflex at Dicks Sporting Goods on display and you can find the Proform at Sears. The Proform felt to be a more solid machine; the Bowflex felt a little cheap and it was also a little louder. Because of this I opted to go with the Proform. In terms of the actual product in action... I love it! I'd like to say I'm in pretty good shape and I struggle with the resistance level at around 13 and there are 26 resistance levels. The machine is quiet and I get a killer workout. I bought this item sold directly by amazon for $999 (October 2017) at the time with free shipping. Pretty standard price but at the time amazon included free professional installation. More recently at the time of this review I saw the price dropped to $923 with free shipping and installation. Unfortunately for me amazon wouldn't make a price adjustment.

(Hopefully) final update: Frustration with inability/difficulty reaching person at customer service, and poor quality control, thank goodness purchased at AMAZON. Have scheduled pickup and return of equipment so I can be done with it......(I read one reviewer of the more expensive version of this machine refer to it as 'the demon machine from hell.' Pretty accurate. Update: Changed score from two stars to one star. (can you rate 0 stars?) Finally received part and it was wrong part!! Another delay and finally put missing part into machine and put machine back together again. Three more uses and it broke down again, another problem. BEWARE! I have been unable to reach customer support...you are put into a loop, it asks you for your S/N but will not accept it when attempting to enter and then they automatically hang up on you. Original review: First the good: Very nice machine, small footprint and very quiet. More like elliptical stepper than an elliptical, but that is why it can have a small footprint. Operation is smooth. Now the bad: Only a 2 star rating, however, instead of higher because customer service, and possible quality control, is not great. Mine came defective and started making a grinding noise the 2nd time my (115 lb) wife used it. After a long wait time I spoke to a knowledgeable person who tried to help me diagnose what the problem was. After about 20 minutes we figured out it was a loose safety wheel on one of the pedals, and she directed me to remove the side cover to tighten the bolt. Would they call me back to confirm it was fixed so that I wouldn't have to spend another 45 minutes on hold? "No we cannot do that." Well ok... The fix sounds easy enough.... Two hours later and many parts laid out on the floor, I had access to the wheel. It turns out it was missing a bolt completely (QC??). Another 45 minutes on hold in order to speak with customer service to reach another person and order the part. It would be 7 to 10 days before I receive it, during which time the machine is inoperable. Would they be able to expedite the shipping? (Unit was 2 days old.) "No we cannot do that." So machine is 2 days old, spread out across the room, unworkable, while I wait for the part and spend another couple hours trying to put it back together again. Buyer beware!!

I like what the equipment does. A little warning. Be sure this equipment is what you want. Assembled, this equipment is huge and heavy. I would think that if you decided to later sell it the non selling point would be to transport this. It would be almost impossible to unassemble this and put everything back in the box correctly. It has been a year since I purchased this using it on average 3 times a week for 30 minutes to a hour a session. It has worked flawlessly except for one minor concern. It developed a squeak after a few months and later developed into a louder squeak. I decided to email support about the noise. The first and immediate reply was the equipment was no longer under warranty and contact sales even though I had this registered when I purchased it. I had to be inconvenienced in gathering the warranty information to provide to them. I had no idea how they came to the conclusion that the warranty expired. Moving on, they wanted a recording of the noise that I was hearing. I provided that and they wanted me to tighten a few things. Everything was tight and hat did nothing to fix the noise. They then said they were going to send me the necessary parts to replace. I don't know what they were going to send me but it is a good thing it ended here. I just told them I don't have the skill and tools to replace anything. They decided to send a technician to repair it. The technician was very knowledgeable. He just used the machine for 30 seconds and he heard a little squeak. I tried to tell him that the noise is a lot louder after using it for a few minutes. He just started to disassemble the equipment and found the drive belt in the wrong position (not centered) but said he didn't think that is where the noise was. I had to leave to take a phone call. An hour later he was finishing putting it back together. I don't know exactly what he found but no parts were replaced and the squeak was no longer there. As a lesson (to both the purchaser AND Proform), have them send a technician to have it diagnosed and repaired. I would have replaced all the parts they provided and the noise would still be there. Plus, with my lack of knowledge I probably would have created another problem.

I'm a 60 yr old, fairly out of shape (6' x 270lb) male who HATES walking trails, treadmills, weights, etc. That stuff either bores me or worse makes my feet hurt due to bad arches. I try to eat high protein, good omega 3 fats & little to no sugar or processed flour but needed an exercise component to improve physically. After some research and a trip to a fitness club to check out different machines I chose this one based on the following: 1.Other than a straight elliptical this was the only machine that didn't cause me foot pain. 2.The fact that you can vary the upper body portion of your workout. 3.It's quiet. I can use it a 2 am without waking up the house. 4. With it's small footprint it is easy to move on the enclosed wheels, but when level is very stable. 5. Most importantly, it kicks my butt in about 5 minutes. I know the more athletic among you will laugh at that, but my point is this: No other machine has ever motivated me because it took too long to begin to feel like any progress was being made. Going slowly at first, the Proform Cardio HIIT let me feel it's effects on my legs in about 2 minutes of use & brought my heart rate right up where I wanted it in a quick but controlled way. I can hop on, do a 5 minute session & begin to work up from there. Unboxing and assembly was straight-forward & you will need a helper for some tasks. Just follow the well-written directions & if you have a basic toolkit get it out. It is Ifit capable if you subscribe to that service (or want to) but the built in workouts serve me well as a starter. Note that the Bluetooth feature is just for heart monitors and such, for audio thru the built in speakers you must use a stereo mini cable, not included. The AC adapter plugs in a jack on the front of the unit right at floor level and the cable is short. You must be close to a standard 120 AC outlet or else use an extension cord. A longer and somewhat more robust power cable would be nice. My wife noticed that her fitbit fitness tracker doesn't seem to understand the motion of the Cardio HIIT and therefore doesn't track her use of it very well, undereporting the distance by 2/3. Since the fitbit is a great motivational tool for her she was disappointed.

I've had this machine for just under a month, and in that time have been using it about three times a week. Setup, by myself, took about two hours, which is how long most other people say. It wasn't difficult but did require use of an ottoman for help. When it was fully assembled there was a loud squeaking noise when using the equipment. This appears to be due to the six bolts on each side at the base. Tightening those bolts reduced the squeak to almost nothing. Pairing with a tablet was relatively easy but I didn't try the iFit service. I also didn't pair a bluetooth heart rate monitor, but I do have one paired with my phone. Frankly I'd rather keep my heart rate stored in my phone so I can see it graphed, etc. The built in heart rate monitor wasn't even close to the reading on my chest strap. We also have a Pro Form treadmill and both of them have useless heart rate monitors. When the chest strap says 150bpm, the hand based ones read closer to 80. So basically don't let that functionality sway your decision on this machine. As I understand it only the chest straps really work. While there is a variety of pre-programmed workouts, especially at the beginning they were very tough for me. In general I preferred to manually control the difficulty and focus instead on my heart rate graphed on my phone in the Polar app. The limited amount of time I tried the pre-programmed workouts I found that they were good and challenging, if not a bit redundant. You'll probably only have one or two workouts to which you'll stick. Overall the machine gave me a great workout. I can do a hardcore workout that creams me in 15 minutes, or I can lower the difficulty and achieve me heart rate goals over the course of an hour. It is easy to change the resistance quickly with the row of numbers on the machine. They increase in increments of three, which is better than a machine that uses plus/minus. My preference in the past has always been an elliptical over a treadmill, etc. The vertical elliptical seems to be a great alternative that I prefer because the up/down motion can be more challenging. On a normal elliptical I think I also use my arms more. When I need variety I just hop onto a treadmill for a few minutes or do some fast walking before hopping back on.

It's a good machine in the sense that it does get your heart rate going and you do sweat a lot. However, I have a couple of big issues with it: 1) The heart rate monitor is wildly inaccurate. No matter how you place your hands or how tightly or loosely you grip the sensors (after removing the plastic film on them), it will consistently show a heart rate below 80 bpm even tho you are huffing and puffing and sweating. So any program that is heart rate dependent becomes useless. 2) My biggest issue with this machine is the inaccurate 'Calories Burned' amount. Almost every single cardio machine on the market will ask you to input your age and weight before you start your workout so it can more accurately calculate the amount of calories you burn. However, the Cardio HIIT trainer has no such option. It generalizes and underestimates the amount of calories burned and after talking to their rep, I found out that if you want a more accurate count of calories burned by inputing your weight and age, you have to subscribe to the $150 /yr iFit coach service. This is absolutely ridiculous...after paying $1000 for a machine, you have to pay an additional $150 a year for something as basic as the option to find out how many calories you are burning (an option that is FREE and DEFAULT) on almost any other cardio equipment? 3) The onboard "Fan" is a complete joke and the "play your music" feature requires you to hook up your phone to the machine via an old school AUX cord, even tho the machine has bluetooth capability (but you can't seem stream your music via bluetooth). I am very disappointed in these false advertising and cashgrab tactics and will most likely be returning this machine. Please use this review as a word of caution before you buy this machine. I wish I would have known these issues before I bought it.

I have had this for a couple of months now. I only use it for 20 minutes every other day as part of my strength training routine, but it kicks my butt in those 20 minutes! Though I have been running for years and years and am fit, I have a pesky cellulite situation on the back of my legs. I wanted an elliptical to combat that so I use a high resistance and don't grip the arms, I focus on my legs doing all of the work. I will start at a 6 and go to a 15 and then continue to add (love the quick buttons so I don't have to keep hitting an increase arrow--can go right from 6 to 15 with a touch of a button). I'll come on here and update my review after I have been using it for 6 months to let you know if this helped with my cellulite (it could be my imagination but I think it is!). I do wish there was an option to not have the arms move like other elliptical machines but I can't take a star off for that because I'm sure most people like the arms moving, it would just be nice to have a choice. It's distracting with them moving back and forth, plus they are so high that I need to keep the machine pretty far from the TV so they don't block it. The machine itself has a very small footprint and fits nicely inside of my home gym. It takes up less space than a chair I have in there! It has wheels in the front and is very easy to move. It's a very compact, streamlined machine that can be tucked into a corner or left in the middle of the room. I used Amazon Delivery and Amazon Assembly, both were phenomenal! Very professional, excellent service. I never could have driven the giant box it arrived in home in my Wrangler! They called with an ETA and put it right into my garage. I opened the box and was able to take it upstairs to my home gym in parts. I had everything ready for the assembly person, would was fantastic. The machine is pretty much completely silent and extremely stable. I could have had this years ago in my old tiny second floor condo without worrying about the downstairs neighbor pounding on the ceiling. All around, a wonderful experience!

the only recommendation I have is where the power cord is positioned. If it was up higher it wouldn't be in the way when you want to move the machine (which for the size is easy to move on the wheels). If it isn't removed first it could be snapped off. I am still exploring the options on the Elliptical, but so far I like it.

This machine arrived on time. Easy to put together. (Check the internet for videos.) Sturdy and well made. Goodbye to gym fees and dragging my behind out when it's raining or frigid.

What a killer workout! 3 minutes on this and legs were burning and i was almost tapping out