I find the lighter bands are great for warming up and the heavier bands, especially the Black band, are up to forcing the issue with muscles. Working every other day (to let muscles rest and build [essential!]), I’m feeling stronger and could see some definition after the first 2 weeks. I’m on a 1100-1400 calorie diet for weight loss, too, so this helps with seeing the results faster. As a guy used to eating “whatever,” it’s hard at times. Man or woman, you just need some trial and discipline. That goes for sticking with the Ripcords workouts, too!

If you’re Biff and want to be buff, Ripcords may only be a warm-up routine. For the 99.8% of us, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with this product. Buy them, stick with it, and you’ll love what you see in the mirror. Get through the rough days and stay at it. Good luck!
Rating: 5 / 5

I purchased these for use while traveling since most hotels only have Cardio equipment in their fitness centers, so for this purpose, I believe these will do great and am looking forward to having them on my next business trip.
Rating: 4 / 5

The bands themselves: If you lift heavier weights these are fantastic for finishing exercises – they really knock out a burn. If you’re just starting out or not into the heavier weights these are also a great choice because they provide a wide range of resistance, require you to use your stabilizer muscles on the exercises, and allow you to perform reps to failure with limited risk of injury (i.e., you’re don’t have a loaded barbell that you could drop). For what it’s worth coming from a regular Joe, I would recommend these for just about anyone.

My experience with the bands: Over time I experienced a problem like the 1-star reviewer below: with heavy use the nylon straps in the handle began to tear through the rubber/plastic part of the handle. This made it uncomfortable, but I solved the problem temporarily by simply rotating the handle so the tear was on the opposite side of the strap. Quick fix, and it worked.

More recently, though, I saw 2 more handles experience the same problem. I’m a reasonably patient person and understand products won’t last forever, but this was getting to be too much. So, I decided to contact Ripcords – it was when I was looking on their website to locate their contact info that I was reminded of the LIFETIME WARRANTY on these bands. I contacted them by email and with 2 emails back and forth (all within a day and a half) we had verified my purchase on Amazon and they had given me instructions on how to get replacement bands.

They informed me that they had gone through 2 design changes on their handles since I made my purchase, so the tearing problem had been resolved. I asked if I could get replacements for ALL of the bands I bought since they all had handles that could potentially be a problem. To my surprise, they said yes without hesitation – all I would have to do is pay shipping. Very solid customer service with minimal delays in finding resolution…

In the end, I ordered a whole new set of bands to replace my entire original set – both the busted ones and the rest with the potentially defective handles. They arrived quickly and all I had to pay was shipping. The handles were, indeed, redesigned and built with a sturdier material. The heavier bands even had more reinforcing material visible on the handles, so hopefully all should be well moving forward.

Bottom line: Overall, a pretty good product combined with a pleasant customer service experience – a rarity these days. If you’re in the market for exercise bands I would definitely recommend these without hesitation.

**Note: in my opinion, the shipping charges for the replacements was inflated, but it was still a small price to pay for a full replacement set.

**Another note: when ordering the replacements I accidentally ordered two(2) black sniper bands instead of just one (1). I emailed to inform them and ask them to remove the extra one from my order. The reply I got surprised me: they told me to keep it, no charge except shipping! They said I could use it myself or share it with a friend to spread the Ripcords love.
Rating: 5 / 5

My girlfriend and I are both over 6′ tall, and though the standard 18″ stride length of most sub-$1000 range machines works just fine, it’s not ideal, and it’s nicer to have a longer stride, if you can find one. I liked the idea of the Schwinn 460 because it offers variable stride lengths from 2″ to 26″ depending on how fast you’re moving. But it’s worth noting, you don’t adjust it manually, it depends on the amount of work you put in!

This is also good if you just want to step a little, or want to go all-out and run like crazy with a 26″ stride. I might have been happy with a Schwinn 430 or 431 (or various other 18″ stride machines) if both myself and girlfriend were not so tall.

Delivery/Packaging: Yes, this is heavy. I was happy the delivery man was kind enough to bring it into my apartment for me. Schwinn did a great job packing this thing up and it seemed well protected while shipping. It took me a while to take all the parts out, and some are fairly heavy, but none showed any sign of damage except a few scratches on the mast (conveniently covered by the cupholder).

Assembly: I must admit, I was dreading this stage, but to be honest, it was seamless and much more straightforward than I expected. The instruction manual has decent sized pictures, all the parts are well labelled, and I found nothing confusing. They recommend someone to help at various stages, but I did it all myself. Admittedly, I probably could have done with some help in places, because there’s a few spots when an extra hand would be useful, but it’s not essential. Some of the parts are heavy though, especially the main body. With a bit of concentration and effort, it’s straightforward. If anything, it’s more ‘fiddly’ than strenuous. The tools provided are perfectly passable. You might want to use your own 17mm socket wrench, but I found the supplied one just fine, because on the whole you just use that for leverage and twist bolts tighter using the hex key.

Appearance: Steel tubing on this machine is thick and well constructed. All the parts are smooth and well-engineered and everything feels very stable. No squeaks, no rattles, smooth operation. I was aware of Tiffany’s review below stating some issues with the machine feeling like it can topple over… I really can’t see that, I have to give the machine a damn good shake to even get it to wobble. On a purely aesthetic note, the 460 does look a little different to other ellipticals, it’s certainly more angular than most other machines, but I like it. The LCD display is clear and the touchscreen functions well. Being tall, there’s a little bit of ‘fade’ from up high looking down on the display, but it’s still very legible. The machine does stand quite tall though, at their highest point, the pedals are over 20″ off the ground, so those with low roofs might need to be careful.

Operation: So this is the key thing, and so far I’m delighted with the Schwinn 460, and greatly relieved I made a good choice. The variable stride pattern does take some time to get used to and the strides are independent, so to begin with it can feel a little disorienting and I sometimes got myself ‘out of sync’. But even when this happens, it’s not like you fall off the machine or feel unsafe, and within a short time you get used to it. I love varying my work out from longer strides to shorter strides. I know some others have commented that there’s no arm resistance, but I disagree: longer strides require longer arm pulls, shorter strides require less. Pull harder and you go faster and work out more. Up the resistance, and you WILL work your arms if you’re striding long! This is common on all cheaper ellipticals, and I’ve only seen very expensive gym machine offering separate upper-body arm resistance independent of your legs. The 460 offers a nice range of resistance, some good workout courses, the ability to construct your own workout patterns, and of course, the ‘inspiring’ messages telling you you’re doing great or not working hard enough!

Anyway, I hope this review is helpful for anybody looking into this machine. There’s some good reviews here on Amazon so far, but fewer out on the web, and some of the seem suspiciously ’spammy’ or are those generic fitness equipment blogs where you’re not quite sure who’s really offering the review.

I think there’s some discussion as to whether the variable stride thing is a gimmick, or perhaps that it doesn’t work you as hard as a regular elliptical or exercise the ‘right’ muscles because of the independent strides, but even at the very simplest level (let’s say you never varied your stride at all) it appears to be working me out as well as any other elliptical machine, and that’s the key thing, but offers a few features to make it more varied and fun.
Rating: 5 / 5

I actually bought this as a “birth ball”. I’m 8 months pregnant and sitting on the ball helps relieve back pain/pressure, hip rocks feel great on it. Gently bouncing on it has gotten my baby down into position! I’ll be using the ball during labor and after I have my baby. Babies love to be bounced on it and it’s a comfortable seat to nurse on. I’ll also be using it a few months after the birth to work out on and drop my pregnancy weight.
Rating: 5 / 5

The problem I have with it is in the basic concept of how the variable stride is accomplished. Basically, the “pedals” (and their associated platforms and tubes) slide over rollers that turn a bicycle style crank driving a flywheel. The sliding action drives the crank only with the friction/resistance of the pedals over the rollers – there is no direct connection to the crank. If you want, you can stand still and slide the pedals back and forth over the rollers without moving the crank. Once you get the flywheel going, it’s very smooth, but (and this is the rub) the only real force you can apply is in the vertical direction at the forward end of the stroke where you’re pushing down on the rollers. The fore and aft parts of the stroke have only minimal resistance as the pedal structure slides over the roller. The hand bars also provide some resistance but, unlike a regular elliptical machine, pulling on the bars does not speed up the rotation of the flywheel. They simply increse the speed/distance of the pedals moving over the roller – which varies the stride length.

Bottom line: it’s a great workout for your quads and, yes, you can vary the stride length. But it’s not as satisfying or as complete a workout as a conventional elliptical. I’m sending mine back and ordering a Sole e95 – more money, but I tried it at Dick’s and loved it.

Rating: 3 / 5

You can see a trailer at collagevideo
Rating: 3 / 5

I also love the ball. One qualification for those of you considering getting a ball. The size of the ball may depend on not only your height but what you are using it for. In my case, I’m 6′ tall and I use the ball to do Core Exercises as taught by Gunnar Peterson and the 65 cm ball is definately too small for me. The 75 cm ball works for me, and I’m completely satisfied both with it’s quality and the excellent service I received from Max Fitness in the process.

You can’t go wrong with these folks.
Rating: 5 / 5

Jason P
Rating: 5 / 5

I also love MaDonna Grimes’ personality – she is so easy going and cool – I much prefer her to the typical tan and blonde buffy video instructor!

Although I rated it 5 stars – I don’t like the music, it lacked oomph for me, but I never like the music in classes or DVD’s so don’t listen to me!

If you are looking for a fun way to workout – check this out – it will get the heart pumping and burn the fat – and routine is so much fun that time flies when you follow this!
Rating: 5 / 5

When you open the box everything is packaged very well and it honestly takes almost as long to unwrap everything and get everything out of the box as it does to assemble.

It states that assembly needs two people but I was able to put it together myself without any problems. After all Men don’t listen to instructions anyways right? It took about 3 hours from the moment I started cutting tape to open the box to having it fully assembled and ready to go.

The elliptical looks great and is suitable for any room. Just a note about this machine. I was going to put this in my home gym which is in my basement that has 7 foot ceilings, but after halfway through assembly I realized that this elliptical will make you about 14 inches taller so just something to be aware of.

I was unsure about the “Variable Stride” system and thought the description was a little vague before I ordered it. I assumed that this was controlled via the display console as you would select walk, run, or step. In fact the variable stride is simply determined by how hard you push on the pedals as you are moving. There is two wheels that stick out of the side that hook up to slides below the foot pedals. Although it was not what I expected it is a very effective design and I like how you can determine the amount of effort that you want to put into your workout. I started sweating after about 5 minutes and after 45 minutes had what I felt to be a very good cardio calorie burning workout. One thing I thought was pretty cool is that during a workout it will occasionally tell you Good Job! I know you’re probably thinking “so what?” but you’d be suprised what it does to your motivation. It’s like there’s a little personal trainer in there cheering you on.

The handlebar heartbeat monitor seems to be accurate but takes time to display. The telemetric heartrate monitor seems to be more effective. The cupholder is large enough to hold a remote control and a water bottle at the same time which is nice.

I found it most comfortable to use the moving handlebars when exercising and the motions felt very natural. The stationary handles were nice when taking a drink of water, or taking a little break from the more intense work.

The display is bright and has some useful information including time, distance, calories burned, wattage being used, and rpm. It is easy to change resistance or display info with a simple touch of the finger. For taller people the contrast starts to get dull but this is adjustable.

Overall I am very happy with this elliptical and consider it to be just as effective as the $4000 elliptical at my health club. I am 6′ 1″ and my girlfriend is 5′ 4″ and we both felt very comfortable with the feel of the machine. The stroke feels very ergonomic and it is great operating in a forward and backward motion which is very helpful when you get real tired, you can take a mini break by walking backwards for a minute or two while still working your muscles and keeping your heartrate up.

The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 was because I felt that the variable stride wasn’t explained clearly enough before I recieved it, but then again I am just as happy if not happier than what I expected in the first place. I highly recommend it and do not regret getting it in the least – get ready to lose some weight and feel better about yourself with this affordable, stylish, and effective machine!
Rating: 4 / 5

Here’s what you get:

10MIN WARMUP – This combines a few low impact dance moves with a few stretches. Some of the stretches are a bit ‘hmmm…’, but you only do them after you’re VERY warm. This is around 10 minutes, which is a good length for a warmup. Some of the moves you learn in the warmup will be re-used in the dance portion of the workout.

15MIN DANCE – Madonna teaches you the moves one by one, building together a longer routine. One thing that I love about her teaching is that once she’s taught you a move, she practices what I like to call ‘the transition’. This is where you practice the move that comes just before the new move, as well as the new move. If that doesn’t make sense, say that she’s taught moves 1-3 and is teaching you the 4th move. Once she’s taught the 4th move, she practices moves 3 and 4, before going through the whole routine from the 1st move. This Latin combination includes hip swings, mambos, cha-chas, and a very tricky samba-travel step.

5MIN COOL DOWN – Here, Madonna takes you through some of the stretches that you did in the warmup, as well as some neck stretches – some people will need to be careful with these.

10MIN BONUS – This is not a african-latin dance segment, but rather a set of intense toning moves. She teaches 4 different types of squats, as well as some ab work.

Madonna and her group of exercisers – both male and female – exercise in a nice street-dance-studio-esque set. If that doesn’t set the scene, the floors are polished wood, and the walls are dark red brick, with pillars, potplants, and windows scattered throughout. The windows in the room don’t overlook anything, but seem to have a screen of turqoise light outside it; emulating a blue sky. It kind of reminds of the old Ricki Lake sets (back in the day!).

In terms of instructor personality, Madonna is a breath of fresh air. She is relaxed, laid back, and interacts with the other exercisers in a ‘hey-wassup-mate’ manner. In addition, they also interact with her the same way – giving a fun atmosphere; like being in a class, but not an extreme ‘whoop-it-up’ atmosphere like in Kathy Smith’s Timesaver Cardio.

For those of you who are absolute beginners to dance, you will find this difficult. What I suggest you do is ignore the arm movements for the first couple of times that you try the DVD, and focus on the getting your legs right. Also, ignore the samba-travel step and just shuffle here; thats a very difficult step, and it’ll only take practice-practice-and-more-practice to get it right. Madonna moves through the moves pretty quickly, only giving a couple of opportunities to learn the steps before incorporating them into the routine. She is good at cueing, but not so good at teaching the moves.

A word of warning, the second move that she teaches in the dance portion (which also appears in the warmup) involves you swinging your arms and your head. Take it easy on this move, since I really got into it, and it was inevitable that I heard a big CRACK from my neck, oops! It looks like Madonna and one of the other girls are going hard out with this move, but thats because their hair is long, so for your safety, don’t try to emulate them.

A refreshing, intense, short workout that is LOADS of fun! Cheers!
Rating: 5 / 5

During the 12-minute dance routine section, MaDonna introduces new moves one at a time, gradually building up to a complete dance routine. When teaching the moves, she did something I’d never seen before that I really liked: instead of teaching one segment with 3 different moves, a second segment with 3 different moves, and then stringing the two segments together (I always find it difficult to remember the first segment), she’ll teach 3 moves and then introduce 2 new ones, but she combines the last move from the first 3 with the 2 new ones (I hope this makes sense!). This method makes it very easy to remember the order of the moves, as you’re constantly combining the older moves that you’ve already learned with the new moves. Even more importantly, the moves are FUN–mambos, hops, hip swings, etc.–and the time just flew by!

The workout ends with a brief (4-minute) cool-down. I liked the neck stretches that were included here, although some people might have to be careful with these. The DVD also includes a 10-minute bonus workout for the lower body: MaDonna leads you through 4 different types of squats, performing several sets of each, and she ends with some brief standing and floor abs work. An additional DVD feature is a music-only workout option. Some people might complain that this workout is too short (about 26 minutes overall), but MaDonna packs a lot of both exertion and fun into that time period, making this video perfect for anyone who wants to get in some quick, intense, yet extremely enjoybable cardio work. Highly recommended!
Rating: 5 / 5

Schwinn 430 Elliptical Trainer

There is now a new successor in home fitness equipment. This is it!

Whenever someone thinks outside of the box and creates a new machine to appeal to more people, they create a winning product that will set the standard. Schwinn/Nautilus and their engineers/experts have done it with the Schwinn 460 Variable Strike Elliptical Trainer.

How is this different? Without making any adjustments in the machine itself, you can vary your stride from 2 inches to 26 inches. This translates to anyone in your family (of adolescent to adult age) to exercise on this piece of fitness equipment without cumbersome settings or having to get off of the machine to make adjustments.

When it comes to elliptical trainers, you really need to try the various strides to see what is comfortable to you. Some are circular and some are truly elliptical in feel. With Variable Stride Technology, this is less of an issue and I feel this is going to be comfortable for everyone who enjoys using this method of cardiac activity. Variable stride technology involves changing the length of stride based upon the pressure that you exert on the pedals – the more pressure you exert, the longer your stride, the less pressure, the shorter your stride. This is something that will take some time to get accustomed to but it doesn’t take that long once you get the hang of it.

This machine can accommodate people up to 300 lbs. I weigh about 200 lbs and it’s very comfortable and stable.

Basics:

The dimensions are 54″L x 34″W x 73″H where as the 430’s dimensions were 59″ L x 26″ W x 68″ H.

The machine is 5 inches taller in total height than my Schwinn 430 (and the pedals are about 3 inches higher from the floor) which may be a little difficult for people under 5 feet tall, but it is manageable. There are 3 hand settings, the moving swing arms, the stationary handles with heart rate capability and the stationary handles more forward in position without heart rate capability. However, there is an integrated wireless heart rate monitor capability utilizing a strap across the chest. The strap is more responsive to your heart rate over the stationary handles.

Set up:

My model came with prepackaged hardware with all of the tools necessary to assemble except for a 17 mm wrench. I opted to check the sizes of the various hardware and used a ratchet and my own screwdriver. Although it took about 20 minutes to get it out of the box, when you get into the assembly time, it only took a little over an hour. Luckily extra parts were included since some were missing in the prepacked ‘bubble wrap’. I didn’t get operating instructions so I had to refer to the website to get the manual. The assembly guide is outlined well and easy to follow step by step. It recommends using 2 people, at times (placing the base and the pedals, for example), but I was alone when I put it together. If you do the assembly by yourself, just watch your fingers when you are putting the pedals together.

My suggestion is to bypass the included tools and use your own toolbox. However, I do not recommend electric screwdrivers or other devices with high torque which would strip the screws and probably damage the unit.

Construction:

The machine is solid steel in construction. It is higher grade steel than the 430 with a gray matte finish. It is not textured like the super expensive gym equipment. The length is about the same as the 430, albeit slightly wider. The pedals are solid in construction, rubber coated/slip resistant and the action of the stride is smooth and quiet – you can watch television at a normal volume unlike other elliptical trainers and treadmills.

The handles are comfortable, rubber coated and have an ergonomic design in any of the 3 standard hand positions. It is markedly taller in height than the 430, also.

Electronics:

The unit comes with a back-lit, touch screen that is intuitive, easy to read, and shows your progress in calories, distance, time (interval and total time), pulse, speed, calories, and level. The LED text is clear and easy to read. You have manual mode and 16 programs but in your profile, you can create 2 customizable workouts one interval at a time. I miss the Calorie Goal feature (i.e. pre-set workout to burn 500 calories).

The customizable feature keeps track of your progress over time: total distance, change in weight, total calories, time spent, etc.

Depending upon what measurement system you are familiar with, you can toggle between Metric and American Standard. Contrast of the touch screen can also be adjusted with a toggle of the button (see instructions).

When it switches from one interval to the next, it does beep to alert you.

One practical note: You cannot extend the length of the workout in a programmed mode (i.e. add minutes) – all you can adjust is the resistance.

Usage:

The default level is level 3 which is a good start when trying a new variation of elliptical trainers. You can go in forward and reverse rather easily. Even at a faster rate and longer strides the machine is stable/quiet. The stair stepping function is comfortable, as is the walk and running function. With the different strides which can be done on the fly, including reverse, you can concentrate on different muscles in the same workout.

I don’t know if this is a matter of the design but I cannot seem to go beyond a cadence of 60 RPM, no matter how low the resistance is set. On the 430, I found myself going as high as 76 to 80. As long as your workout is intense enough, I suppose that is OK since my heart rate is rising with increased cadence.

There are 16 different resistance levels but beyond 14 is more resistance training than cardiovascular work.

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is one of the most effective and efficient methods of burning calories during and after your workout. You can easily do it on this machine. I personally think that this machine was designed for that purpose (my opinion).

On my profile, I created a customized workout simulating climbing a mountain and going down a mountain whereas the other customized workout is an interval of high resistance alternating with lower resistance for recovery.

With the heart rate monitoring strap, you don’t have to worry about losing track of your heart rate by switching from the stationary to moving handlebars. It works well and I only infrequently lose signal. It is instantaneous and this feature really only appears on the premium exercise equipment.

Practical issues:

A large water bottle cage is sturdy/stable. It can accommodate a 1 liter water bottle, my remote controls or anything reasonably small that you may need to have nearby (i.e. cordless phone, pager, cellular phone).

A fan works in 3 speeds and actually works well and it is a nice feature. Definitely allows me to go ‘the extra mile’ when I am getting overheated. I would have preferred the fan to be at the top of the instrument panel, as opposed to the bottom of it – it is fixed in angle so it cannot be adjusted.

My only gripe is the size of the plastic support for placing a book over the top of the control panel. It accommodates for a book of only a thin size, not a medical text book (unlike the 430, where I mounted my laptop onto the reading rack with ease). The 430 had a book support made of steel.

Customization:

2 users can be entered to monitor progress and customize workouts. Entering names utilizing the limited toggle switches takes some practice and is slightly cumbersome but not a deal-breaker. Your weight and Body mass index (BMI) are tracked which aid in your progress.

Mobility:

This is a rather heavy machine and where it is assembled, is going to be the place where it stays. The handle in the back and small wheels in the front allow for pushing and pulling. It is mobile but will require a good boost up to get the front wheels onto the ground. However, it really requires a 2 person evolution to prevent back injury.

Conclusion:

If you are looking for a more versatile machine to have variability in the same workout, or even looking for a machine that has a wider range of strides, look no further than this machine. Out of the box, this piece of equipment can accommodate for a wider range of size of users (with regard to height, stride, leg length and fitness levels). It is comparable to machines much higher in price ($2000 and up) but with a significantly smaller footprint which does not compromise stability (or space).

I highly recommend this product. Through Amazon.com you get free shipping; other sellers may charge a hefty shipping charge. So, make that New Year’s Resolution early and do yourself a favor, get this machine.

The following link is the User’s Manual from the Manufacturer:

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UPDATE:

After 80 miles (so far), I still enjoy using this product. To simulate a ’stair stepper’, I find the best way to use this unit is to pedal backwards (with an up/down motion) at a higher intensity level (about 10-14). You can make your quads and calves burn, in the process.

I am typically only going at an intensity of 6 (except when simulating a stair stepper at level 14).

UPDATE 2 (Jan 2009)

Still going strong and I am still using the machine. It has not ended up as a coat rack/clothes dryer, yet.

I can only go about 64 to 66 RPM, by forward strides at the lowest setting. Beyond that, it doesn’t feel as stable and the sounds of the cam is unsettling. With that, I would recommend that you try it before getting the machine since it may not meet your expectations – if you want a faster rate. However, it does not take away from the machine, for a majority of users.

UPDATE 1/23/2009

One limitation that you will notice that you will have no upper extremity resistance, unlike other elliptical machines. You cannot adjust upper extremity resistance, and its motion is dependent upon the pedal action. Your work around is to alternate between upper body and lower body emphasis.

UPDATE 3/19/2009

So I tried the stair stepper function in the past week.

I always hate stair stepping, since my thighs light up on fire! However, I was on level 8 on hills doing intervals for 1:15 with the stair stepper stroke (it is a backwards stroke going up and down while I rotate my hips – no, sorry, I will not post a video of this). I was hitting anywhere from 77 to 88 RPM! My heart rate was flashing at 155 beats per minute. So, yes, you can go above 65 RPM, in the stair step mode. You need to concentrate and stay in a rhythm or you easily come out of the up and down motion, and go reverse.

It kicked my tail but I burned 460 calories.

The more I use this, the better it gets, for me. ‘Running’ strides do not work for me, it sounds like I am going too fast for the mechanism in the housing (flop – flop sounds).
Rating: 5 / 5