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'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.

(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'm rewriting my whole review as I've had the machine a few months now. Overall I enjoy this machine, and it's really giving me a great workout. I can't say overall if I've seen a lot of improvement in weight loss, as I still am not the healthiest eater, but I do see a looser fit to my clothes so I do believe I've shrunk a little. Obviously stepping on the scale doesn't help because one day I'm down and the next day I'm right back up again so I can't say I've lost a certain amount of lbs, but I know I have to bring my belt in an extra notch so thats good. As for the trainer, it has it's quirks. When I first got it, it was relatively quiet. After using it for about 3 weeks, it's developed a squeak and also just the mechanics of it are a little loud. And it's remained that way since. I have an Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet, and with the volume all the way up, I can't hear anything on it over the trainer. (Could also be horrible audio on the tablet, but I digress). The trainer is supposed to be able to set up bluetooth but I never bothered figuring that out. But, I can wear my bluetooth headset or plug the tablet into the trainers aux connection, and that solves the problem of not hearing programs. The trainer also has quirks over not being able to calculate calories burned efficiently or correctly at all. The first couple months I used it, I'd do about 15-20 min sessions. According to the trainer, in that time I'd burn roughly 75-90 calories. Well, I'm sorry but if I used a regular elliptical at a gym I'd burn 200+ calories in 20 minutes. So how a machine designed to burn 2x the calories as a regular elliptical or stepper has me burning LESS than ½ what I would otherwise, I think is incorrect. And, oddly enough, that seems worse now. I hadn't used it in about 3 weeks due to getting in a car accident and hurting my hand. Now that it's healed and I've been using it again for about a week, I apparently only burn between 35-40 calories in the same 15-20 min workout. The trainer does not ask for factors other machines would such as age or weight so I'm pretty sure I'm burning way more than 40 or even the 90 it would originally calculate. Even today, I went from always using it in manual mode to trying one of the workout programs. There is a program that lets you set a specific # of calories you want to burn and it will count down from that #. I tell it I want to burn 200 calories. I worked out for 18 min and did a total of over 2 miles in distance at a speed between 65-70 rpm, and I only got down to 157. So in that whole time I only burned 43 calories? I think not. Anyway, these factors for me aren't as important as the fact that I'm still up and moving, and getting a great workout. Even in only 15-20 min I am out of breath but getting stronger every day! I'm also someone who's not physically fit at all. So just saying, a fit person may not get out of breath the way I do after only 15 min. Anyway just heed warning if noise level of the machine and accuracy in calorie counting are make or break deals for you, then don't buy this.

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!

I have had this machine set up for about a week and have used it several times. I assembled it myself and in doing so I can really see how well this machine is engineered. I may be posting this review a little early because I have read many reviews stating that their machines started squeaking or making noises within a few weeks. I will wait and see if that happens with mine but I wanted to note that all complicated machines with a lot of parts and assembly joints will always have some issues that can be addressed with basic maintenance and tightening. As is always the case there will be consumers that post extreme negative reviews that are exaggerated. Now about the machine itself. I decided on this one for several reasons including it's small footprint and it seemed to be a well built, compact exercise machine. As noted by many it has a unique climbing motion rather than a circular one and I like that. It has a wide range of resistance levels and enough programmed workouts for my needs. The steppers are big and sturdy and all the handles are beefy and easy to hold. I too was a little perturbed that upon plugging it in and then going to register it, it required me to input my credit card info to get the first month free of ifit monitoring but after a simple phone call I was instructed on how to activate the machine without that service. Maybe down the road I will subscribe. I also found that if you hold only one of the heart rate handles you will get a false reading but when I gripped both of them I did get an accurate reading. Don't care much about the built in speakers or blu tooth, I will watch TV while I work out. While assembling I noticed the foam was torn on one of the handles so I called customer service and after waiting on hold for about 20 minutes I got a rep and she immediately ordered a new handle, not just the foam but the whole handle. I then received a confirmation e-mail within a few minutes. So, my experience with customer service so far has been excellent. I will update this review after a few months of usage but so far I am very happy with the machine.

Pros: It is a solid elliptical with many resistance option that provides a good work out. Takes up a relatively small footprint. Almost as small as my upright bike. Customer service was more responsive than expected given other people’s experience. Called about some replacement parts, arrived within a week. Cons: Left pedal assembly started to squeak after a week. Seems to be very common issue. After surveying other people’s experience it appears to be casused by loose screws. When I went to tighten further, Allen wrench snapped I half. Decided to replace screws with hex bolts (m8x1.25 20mm) from Home Depot for extra leverage. Seems to have taken care of problem. No ability to customized program or save workout results on console. I guess it may be possible through iFit however I never activated and find it annoying to have to use tablet to activate elliptical. Overall good value.

Just got this put together on Friday. The machine is heavy, doesn't move under me, so that is a plus. The heart monitor doesn't work, but I didn't buy it for a heart monitor. I have read that it begins to make noise after a few weeks, time will tell, and I will adjust this review if need be. Here are a few tips for anyone that buys it. FIRST. the instructions say adjustable wrench and phillips screw driver. Yes, if you are in a cabin without tools or power, those will do. The manufacture does supply generic allen head wrenches. In all honestly, get yourself a 1/2 in. ratchet, small to medium extension, a 15MM standard well socket, some t-10 to t-30 torx bits to fit the ratchet along with an extendable magnet to retrieve the screw or two you will lose in the body of the machine (trust me). You will thank yourself later. Also, an electric phillips driver will save some time. As others have said, purchase some nylon or rubber washers, I ordered a container of various sizes from Amazon for around 8 bucks that did the trick. Take your time putting it together. The bolt/screw holes have little wiggle room to fit, so don't strip the head/receptacle. OTHER TIP: When you turn the device on the first time, it tells you to "register" the display to make it work, and gives you no visible way to bypass signing up for iFit. Yes, there is a way. Hold the bluetooth button down for more than 30 seconds, and it will bring up the display as it should without having to pay for it. So far, I haven't found anything that is not working by not signing up for their paid service. If you are a heavy person like me, go slow. Unlike normal elliptical machines, this one goes more up and down than others, so you will experience deeper knee bending, and your knees will ache a bit (it measures both walked distance and VERTICAL distance). Update: more than a month in, machine still works great. I will admit I only do 15 to 25 minute workouts a day on it, but still works great!

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