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Nordic Track Elliptical Trainer: An Impractical Option?

Sometimes certain exercise machines are not what they claim to be. Is this the case with the Nordic Track elliptical trainer?

Being a health fitness buff, you'd want to purchase an elliptical training machine for home use so you could exercise at your own pace without having to go to the gym. It does not mean you don't like going to the gym--it could be your favorite after-office hangout. It's just that the terrible traffic you'd have to endure to get there makes the idea unsavory. So you ask around your fellow gym regulars, and one of them (who knows what a tightwad you are) readily recommends the Nordic Track elliptical trainer.

Well, in all honesty you don't believe you are a tightwad. Rather, you'd rather think you qualify for the category of a "practical buyer." Humor yourself, why not? Another fellow overhears your conversation and takes you aside. He says that if you are thinking of buying a Nordic Track elliptical, you should think again. You are taken aback by these terse words of caution; after all, Nordic Track is a very well-known brand--almost a byword in every household. But then, this guy is a businessman and he must know what he is talking about; he must be well up-to-date with issues like this. He tells you that Icon Health and Fitness, the largest manufacturer of exercise equipment, bought the name Nordic Track when the latter went bankrupt a few years back. He continues to say that despite Nordic Track's popularity, it has had poor reviews from end-users. You ask, "What accounts for its popularity then?" And he replies with a shrug, "Probably its low price."

While you are hesitant to part with your hard-earned money for a machine that might turn out to be a lemon, you are also not easily swayed by popular public opinion. You then search the Internet for reviews about the Nordic Track elliptical trainer and, true enough, you learn that the guy is right.

Many of the reviews for this brand have mostly unkind words. They speak of its difficulty in assembling, the annoying humming/rattling sound it makes while in operation, its low-quality components that sometimes just fall off like an old man's dentures, its heavy-yet-wobbly bulk, its erratic heart rate monitor and, to top it all, the poor customer after-sales service.

Well, after reading about all these horror stories, you look around for other brands. The prices are another horror story altogether! Considering the options of buying either a cheap-but-crappy Nordic Track elliptical machine or an expensive better brand, the idea of braving the traffic to get to your favorite gym after office hours for that much-needed exercise all of a sudden seems very attractive!