ProForm Hybrid Elliptical Trainer Review

Many people, when building a home gym, spend thousands of dollars on all of the most popular machines like treadmills. Having different machines and a variety of other equipment keeps working out interesting and keeps your body from hitting a plateau too quickly.

ProForm has done you a favor and created two workout trainers in one. The ProForm Hybrid Trainer is both a recumbent bike and an elliptical, two of the most used machines. You will save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars purchasing these two machines in one.

 

Elliptical

When in elliptical mode, the monitor tilts up in order to read in a standing position and you have the choice to hold the stationary arms or the moving arms for larger calorie burn. The more you move the more you burn.

The elliptical will give you more of a total body workout, a higher impact exercise, and will tone as well as boost cardio. This is a great mode for a motivated beginner straight through to the seasoned athlete. A little more work will always yield higher results.

Recumbent Bike

There are three pieces to move when entering bike mode. The monitor adjusts down so that you can easily read workout and tracking information and each foot pedal tilts up on a stand for more natural pedaling.

When we talk about recumbent, it means pedaling with your back supported and your legs out in front of you in a more horizontal position rather than standing straight up!

This is a great mode for a beginner, or someone with lower or upper body injuries as the large seat provides excellent support. If you are wanting to boost cardiovascular health, you can accomplish that with this machine in the bike mode.

Monitor

The monitor is adjustable, as mentioned before. It has 16 resistance levels, 8 for speed and 8 for calories. The speed programs focus on cardiovascular health and the calorie programs set a slower speed for maximum fat burn.

(Just as an aside, many people think, and rightly so, that the faster you go the more fat you will burn. This is not true. Fast movements burn sugar, not fat. You will have to train at high speeds for more than twenty minutes to start tapping into your fat stores. A slower pace begins burning fat faster.

You are offered a free 30 day “iFit Coach” trial that you can stream to your laptop (not included) that will help you work out on visual terrains and have access to many trainers. This is not necessary to access the onboard workouts.

Listen to This! A neat trick I learned is that if you place your hand on your stomach during your workout and it's warm, you're not burning fat yet. It's when your stomach turns cold that you can be sure you're burning loads of fat.)

Using the EKG handgrips, the monitor can track your live heart rate and suggest alterations to resistance or speed to keep you within your target heart rate.

The screen also displays your RPMs and has a target pacer with an indicator light, so you know when to slow it down or pick up the pace.

EKG Handgrips

When in the elliptical mode, both the moving and stationary arms have EKG monitor columns on them to track your heart rate live. The grips send that information to the monitor and sync to the workout program you've chosen. This is how the monitor can adjust your workout in order to accomplish the goals you've set for yourself.

Large Foot Pedals

Because this is a hybrid machine, the foot pedals are quite a bit larger than you would find on a bicycle machine (62"x 26"x 76"). This is to accommodate the elliptical mode. However, the big foot pedals seem to be a high selling point to many consumers, especially men who have a more difficult time keeping their feet on smaller bike pedals.

Music and Sound Capacity

The Hybrid Trainer comes with an onboard sound system and dual 2-inch speakers so you can plug your own source of music into the machine and turn up the tunes!

Research has concluded many times over that listening to music increases productivity. There are software programs out there that compile a list of songs between 150 and 170 beats per minute to keep you running, punching, kicking, swimming, bicycling, etc. at an ideal cardio pace.

Music has also been proven to lower perceived exertion, so not only will it keep your pace target, it will make you think you're having fun!

Water Bottle Holder

You should never be without your water bottle, especially during your workout. Always stay hydrated. The Hybrid Training makes this easier by including a water bottle holder for easy access to your H2O during your workout.

Weight Restriction and Other Specifications

The ProForm Hybrid Trainer can accommodate up to 350 pounds, and is protected by a 5-year frame warranty and a 90-day parts and labor warranty.

Advantages

• Two machines for the price of one
• Easy to move with foot mounted wheels
• Has onboard workouts
• EKG sensors in all handlebars
• Onboard sound system
• Adjustable pedals
• Optional “iFit Coach” ready
• LCD window for tracking stats
• 16 Digital resistance levels

Side Notes

Having two machines in one is a pro, there are some sacrifices you'll make for the combo. You won't get as many bells and whistles on the hybrid as you would on a stand-alone machine of either the elliptical or recumbent bike.

 

Also, when pedaling in bicycle mode, you're still moving the elliptical arms. While that's not the biggest deal in the world, I can see why it might be a little awkward. And on top of that, the stride is a little short for an elliptical in order to accommodate the bicycle mode.

The only con is that there is no back light to the display.

Another great pro is that the machine doesn't need an outlet. You can put it anywhere you'd like and simply add a battery for the monitor display.

The machine is also easy to move. While it doesn't collapse for storage, it does come with wheels so that you can easily move it from place to place once it is assembled. Be warned, however, that the machine comes in a box that weighs in the neighborhood of 150 pounds.

If you have a very nice UPS man that will bring it in for you, I would take him up on that offer. Otherwise, make sure you either are strong enough to move the box on your own or you have access to a hefty pair of hands to help you move it to its proper location.

Many consumers also say that ProForm customer service is impossible to get a hold of and assembly takes time.

Lastly, a few consumers complain of a squeak when in use. It has been my own experience, however, that it's hard to find an elliptical that doesn't eventually squeak. But if you have your headphones in and your jams blasting, you won't even know the machine is squeaking.

In Short

I personally think that this machine would be the perfect combination for a married couple or parents with children that have a wide range of experience and comfort when it comes to working out. It also is just a great excuse to change up your routine with little to no hassle. You will be hard pressed to find a machine that does this much for such a reasonable price.

If by chance this is not what you are looking for then I would recommend looking at one of my other favorite cardio exercise equipment choices here at the Keiser Spinning bike review. Now there is also a great option to get exercise while you work with an under the desk bike option. You can read those reviews if that trips your trigger as well.