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One machine I get asked about a lot is the Cybex Arc Trainer. If you've gone to any high end commercial health clubs, you may have seen the Arc Trainer. It's similar to an ellipitcal machine but the motion is a bit different.
I recently tried out the Arc Trainer at a fitness equipment trade show. Here are my thoughts on it.
First of all, as with all Cybex equipment, it's a beauty - sleek, chic and well built. Nothing short of what you'd expect to find with Cybex.
The motion is not really like an elliptical feel at all however - it's more of a climbing motion.
Your knees go forward and up (like climbing really tall stairs). You can adjust the resistance so you feel like you're climbing shorter stairs to very tall stairs. Despite how this sounds, it does feel very natural - no weird joint twists or body angles.
And you do work. I was sweating within five minutes of starting (Of course that may also have something to do with the salesperson cranking me up to the highest level, but who knows.) Overall, you would get a very good workout on this machine.
There's also a model that includes your arms - but unlike an elliptical your right arm goes forward with your right leg and the same with your left side. (With an elliptical your right arm goes forward with your left leg - more like cross country skiing effect).
Now for the downside. First of all the Arc Trainer is expensive - starting around $6000+. This is a commercial machine, really geared towards gyms and health clubs.
Second, I found the climbing motion to be a bit boring and tedious after awhile.
If you're going to spend this much on a machine, I'd prefer some variety in my cross-training like the kind you get with the Smooth Agile Trainer which has 12 different motions from a standard elliptical arc to a flatter, wider stride.
