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Elliptical Trainers (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter simsarge
- Start date
El Floppo
Footballguy
GordonGekko
Footballguy
simsarge said:
Buy a used one off of Craiglist. See if she likes it and will actually use it. If so, then transition to a better brand. Then you can sell or give away the old one on CL. They tend to have a large footprint in general.
My observation and experience is that, if you want actual pure training value, you would be better off with a Concept 2 Rower if you don't have one. Barring that, I'd go with the Stairmaster 10G stepmill. I have the 10G and I like it.
A lot of people buy new large machines and then never use them. It's happened to me more than once. I have the Precor 835 elliptical and basically never use it. I end up using my step mill more often.
I have a barely touched Precor treadmill I never use at my Beacon Hill location. Not sure when I will get back out there with the pandemic. Anyone want a 445 for Xmas?
simsarge
Footballguy
GordonGekko
Footballguy
So I'm not going to make any judgements about you and your situation as I don't know you, but I do have some observations over time in terms of women and "gifts"
Something I've learned is that large scale gifts need to be earned. Let me give you an example. So for a when my godson was a teenager, he got into martial arts. Which was nice because it was something we could do together. I made it a point to try to raise him within the scope of having activities that operated as teaching points but also a way to better bond. Well for Xmas one year, he wanted a pair of Winning gloves. His reasoning was that even though they were expensive, they were well designed and would protect his hands better for longevity and health. ( To this credit, at least he listened enough over time to try to sell me on a practical reason for trying to get a free vanity item)
In many ways I spoiled the kid when he was very young. Probably to make up for the loss of his parents. And probably because I did work so much. But also was responsible for showing him that the lifestyle he was living was no free and nearly all other kids his age didn't get the same kind of opportunities he did.
I asked him how much has he been invested in his training? Do I see him shadowboxing everyday? Do I see him on the speed ladder everyday? Do I see him doing drills on the mat everyday? I didn't expect to raise a kid on my own. I had to figure some of this out the hard way. I couldn't give him the impression that I would just start handing him stuff because I had the means to hand him stuff.
I told him if he wanted those gloves, he had to show me commitment and passion for a year. Get your butt up at 4am, budget your time and show your investment. I pointed out there were lots of poor kids who had to work part time jobs in high school to help their parents with the bills and would have to train with cinderblocks or make a heavy bag out of rags and duct tape. Show me your investment and I'll show you my investment.
In the Peloton thread, it appears some guys here, based on implication, are buying their wives those bikes and those subscriptions so their spouses can finally get into shape. I'm more of a mindset in that some kind of gift of that nature, a larger scale one relatively, is one where it should be earned. As a reward for established commitment.
In my mind, hand your wife a kettlebell first. I don't know you or your situation, or her health or her general fitness or her commitment to exercise. But I would have her prove to you she's earned an elliptical as a gift. Doing otherwise, as some guys in the Peloton thread seem to be leaning, IMHO, is a pathway to long term disharmony and discontent. People who get big things without earning them end up wanting bigger things once they get bored of the old shiny formerly new toy. One day, the husband becomes the old formerly shiny new toy.
In my mind, a health marriage is when a woman is seething half the time in rage at you, but is silent and submissive anyway because she knows if she screws it up, there will be 100 other women waiting in line to replace her. To me, an effective marriage dynamic, in so much as is possible, is when the wife understands she outkicked her coverage. That she somehow lucked out to marry a guy with so much going for him that he could have picked anyone, and anyone with far more to offer than her. It's on the guy to build his life in an exceptional manner so that he can get to that point of leverage. I don't believe in "happy marriages" I believe you can have some semblance of order in a dynamic where two people are negotiating some practical trade offs for things they want. I rarely seem modern American men in a functional marriage, when I do, it's because there are some absolute leverage points in place. Respect matters more than love. Lust means more than communication. Leverage means more than compromise.
One of the absolute hardest things I had to endure in my life was learning to tell my godson the word "No" In so much because I know he lived for a long time in fear that I was much older and might die and then he'd be abandoned again. And to negotiate past my own past where I was abandoned. But I had to do what was right (i.e. reinforce that things are earned in this life) over what was comfortable.
You are a Captain of a ship. There are no passengers on your vessel, only crew. If she wants to be First Mate, she needs to learn how to mop the deck first and clean the galley and stand watch at 2am.
That's my take on it. Good luck.
Don Quixote
Footballguy
I have a Sole elliptical at home. Bought it for my wife, although she never uses it (she did ask for it for Christmas). I use it more -- I was just on it last night. I think it's held up well for the price, bought it around 8 years ago. I think it was an earlier generation of the E25, which costs around $1,000.
simsarge
Footballguy
So, what you're saying is that I should take the Nautilus E618 over the Schwinn 430?
This is what I was going to recommend. I have a Sole E35 that has seen heavy use and held up extremely well. I also have a Sole F85 treadmill that I've been really happy with. Sole is also fantastic as far as support. Their machines are built like tanks, not a lot of frills and extras, but very robust pieces of equipment. The E25 still runs right around $1000.
beer 30
Footballguy
GordonGekko
Footballguy
I'm saying every man here has a duty to seize his destiny with his own two hands. And if you make the choice to live an exceptional life with purpose and passion, then you become a daily gift to the people in your life. And when you present such overwhelming value, then material trinkets aren't needed at all. Certainly it's nice to have basics and it's nice every so often to have some small luxuries that simplify our life or enhance our lives, but the totality of you should be enough.
I consider myself a relatively generous person in terms of material items to others but
1) I believe these things should be earned. They should be a reward for being purposeful and for investing in self discipline.
2) For American men ( basically all men in the Western bubble) and in terms of modern American marriage, there are massive diminishing returns to buying a wife any major material item as a gift period
The idea of material items creating "Happy Wife / Happy Life" is nonsensical to me. That's what most married men do and it's what our society reinforces. When a married man conceives of "Happy Wife / Happy Life" what he wants is no complaining, don't eat yourself into the size of a NFL left tackle and don't cut him off from regular sex. That's only going to happen if the married woman always has a lingering doubt as to the overall approval from her husband. And the larger trepidation that she will be immediately replaced.
What is the basic condition under which a married man suffers the most open and egregious mental and emotional abuse from his wife? When she has confirmed that he has no other options than her.
When a married woman is constantly reinforced that she needs to limit her complaining, watch her appearance to please her man and makes sure the road to Pound Town is always clear is when she's in perpetual turmoil. Is this the day he leaves me for someone better because he most definitely can get better than me.
What I'm saying is not politically correct, and no one wants to really see how the sausage gets made but this is just how it works.
Buying women expensive stuff, especially married men buying their wives lavish gifts, is an indicator that this perpetual turmoil can be turned off.
"I gave her everything she wanted and did everything I was supposed to do and she's still completely pissed off about everything and miserable"
^
Does that sound familiar? Because there are tons of posts all across the history of the FFA with married men ( or previously married men) saying that exact same thing.
A "content" woman is one looking for new drama. If you don't give her drama, she'll create some on her own. Anyone want to dispute that? Because the drama all married men need to give their wives is that they are easily replaceable. Why is the "Karen" phenomenon so real and visceral in modern American society today? Because the mass media and Hollywood and music and books and education and everything around them tells them they are unique just for showing up. No, they are unique in that a select few have control over the access to legal sex in our society and without that leverage, men just wouldn't care.
A man's conception of "Happy Wife" is different from a woman's conception of "Happy Wife" The man thinks partnership. The woman thinks surrender.
So my answer is don't buy your wife a major large scale gift at all. The answer is you build your life to be the present under the tree that her worst rivals will covet.
beer 30
Footballguy
Every elliptical (or treadmill for that matter) any of my friends have purchased ends up this way save one. My daughter owns one and uses it daily because she has bad knees like her father and can’t take the pounding a treadmill or the roads provide. I poke fun @GordonGekko but the used route is the way, the truth and the light. You’re also in line behind a gazillion other people who are doing the same thing right now. Poll your friends and see if anyone is looking to get rid of their clothes rack or test the waters with something cheaper.
Problem with cheap is you get what you pay for. Daughter has owned 2 or 3 before they finally invested in a NordicTrack.
DocHolliday
Footballguy
I built my home gym by buying used equipment. So many people have good intentions of working out but many of them don’t use the equipment that they purchased and happily sell it in like-new condition. Good luck.
McBokonon
Footballguy
The elliptical I have sells new for about $2700 but I got it for $1000 when it was returned after being used for two weeks. I actually use it, though; it’s where I binge watch shows that the girlfriend isn’t interested in because using the elliptical is the most boring thing in the universe otherwise.
To the OP, call around to the various gym equipment stores. One of them may very well have a similar return and a sudden need to unload a piece of like new equipment - and see if they have 0% financing in case that $800 budget doesn’t get you far, because it probably won’t.
Orange&Blue
Footballguy
simsarge said:
My wife wanted one two years. I think it's been used 20 times. Wife uses it to hang stuff. I use it to curse at.
beer 30
Footballguy
The treadmill I have was given to me just to get it out of the guys garage. He had it moved from Colorado, got here and didn't work. Said I could have it, thought it needed a new motor so I said I'd check it out. It's an older Pro Form from 2007 but still worked good. Got it home, cleaned it up, started going through it and found a function to calibrate the unit. Did that and it's worked fine since. We just use it to walk mostly although I have ran some on it but nothing hardcore.
