A reviewer with more than an interest in art, gadgets, computer games, electronics and many things r...
A reviewer with more than an interest in art, gadgets, computer games, electronics and many things random.
Member since:19.07.2005
Reviews:21
*edited to correct errors*
As part of my New Year's Resolution (to lose weight, or to be precise, four stones in a year), I too was suckered in my the cheesy and somewhat unconvincing TV ad. I'd already seen it sometime last year at home, but it was during a forced visit to the Caribbean that I saw the ad again on American TV. With the barrage of junk food ads and slimming pills, as well as the gym being too difficult to get to, I decided to give it a shot. CyberCheckout sold it to me for £44, most of which was from selling my Hong KongMP3 player.
First of all this thing is rather heavy and takes quite a bit of space. I don't have much room
in the room I have right now, but it just about manages to squeeze in. Once you've taken everything out of the box, you start to wonder if it's been money well spent. Yes, you get the machine, a free diet guide, a free manual and "free" resistance cords, but the build quality looks and feels cheap, and the "computer" looks like it belongs in a happy meal. But then you're glad you didn't pay the RRP of £90... or did you?
Speaking of cheap, the accompanying DVD came in a wallet which I recognised as being cut out of a CD case. You know those plastic sleeves inside those big CD folder cases? It was one of those. The label on the DVD was also partially in another language. Now, probably because my computer isn't set up very well, the DVD was not recognised as a standard one - so I had to install CyberLink to watch it properly. It might as well have been on VHS; the video looks like it had been.
The video contains two workouts with our rather fit instructor Brenda Dygraf. I mean that from a health perspective, but in a certain light she's rather attractive. The first is very easy, containig a warm up and legs only exercises; the second is an upper body workout and a cool down. I suppose they're designed to go one after the other, but you'll probably find it a challenge to go all the way through. I've only ever managed it twice. Some people (from other web sites) found her annoying and patronising in the video, but I'm too busy dripping with sweat and full of lactic acid to notice.
Lets move on to the usage of the Lateral Thigh Trainer. Imagine my horror when I had only then discovered this thing had a maximum weight limit of 250lbs. I don't know how much I weigh now, but the last time I weighed myself I was heading towards 18st (around 260+lbs). Fortunately I haven't broken it yet, so that can only be good news. I feel that they should have mentioned this shortcoming before advertising this contraption as a "weight-loss-for-all" product. This thing is rather hard to step on to, and you will definitely need something to hold onto as you get on (how Brenda manages to do it is beyond me). Once you're on, however, it's easy to use. I found I had to adjust the height of the step via a twisty thing underneath the machine.
Another quirk with this thing is the onboard "computer", which takes a AAA battery and snaps into place when you put the whole thing together. Quite frequently it will start counting steps on its own, and I am nowhere near the thing when it does! You'll find it also adds a few extra steps to your workout, so it's not the most reliable counter around. It's also disheartening to find, after spending fifteen minutes on the thing, that you've only burned 80 calories. "I must have burned more than THAT!"
GOOD POINTS: the diet guide is very useful and certainly makes more sense than Atkins or GI or Herbalife or these other fad diets you've been following. Shame on you! The machine itself provides a good workout, and is good for those who have a busy lifestyle and don't have much time for exercise. It provides both cardiovascular and resistance training - at the same time!
BAD POINTS: everything about it spells c-h-e-a-p, most of all the "computer". Even after a half price discount on the RRP I can't help thinking it's bad value for money, therefore I can't recommend it. Many other people have mentioned the uncontrollable squeaking noise the stepper makes, which seems to go away by itself. So it's not just my weight!
My final words: buy this if you really have no other option, but I'd suggest finding a value-for-money gym.
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Feb 7th, 2006
(Feb 8th, 2006)
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