Lifestyle Sports Gym Equipment

MisterAnarchy

I saw an ad on tv this week for an exercise bike in Lifestyle Sports
I went in and had a look.
€159 for a York C500 exercise bike which looks pretty decent.Argos have the C510 for €219.
They also have a York Cross Trainer for €299.
It actually looks a decent piece of equipment,well made and very sturdy.
Anyone see these items or have them ?
I'll prob buy them as they seem good value.

BrianD3

I know nothing about cardio equipment but those prices sound cheap. Too cheap. There is a lot of shoddy equipment out there aimed at fitness faddists who buy something for christmas and use it about twice before sticking it in the attic. So it never even gets a chance to fall apart.

I noticed the Lifestyle ad on telly and see they are selling vinyl weights sets. These are the cheapest of the cheap, diabolical quality and are feck all use for anything. A lot of the stuff you'll see in the likes of Elvery's and JJB fitness is also crap. Really shops like Lifestyles, Elvery's and JJB are glorified clothes shops, not places to buy gym equipment.

I'd imagine you are better off looking to pay a bit more and get something slightly better from the likes of VJhomefitness or maybe Star fitness if Boru here can do you a good deal.

But as i say, I know nothing about cardio equipment....

MisterAnarchy

There is a lot of shoddy equipment out there aimed at fitness faddists who buy something for christmas and use it about twice before sticking it in the attic

I have bought a good bit of fitness equipment in the past and its all been good quality.
I have my own home gym.
I think York make decent stuff in general, I've bought a good amount of their stuff in the past and its all been good.
Sure Lifestyle Sports sell overpriced rubbish most of the time but these 2 items look good value.
The vinyl weights are poor though,you cant get enough of them on the bar.

Dragan

It all depends on your goals and how much you are willing to invest i suppose.

The two pieces of equipment mention look fine, but what about tracking and range of motion and will they agrivate anything???

As for York, 40 years ago they were the biggest name in weight training. The unfortunate thing that the man who started the company then retired and it became and operation for money instead of for the sport. The small sets and supplements they do are pretty poor, but the larger Olympic equipment line is still quality.

RPGGAMER

i know it looks fine but for 200-300e it cant be that great. i know i have looked at them used them and know. if i were in your shoes i would buy 2nd hand from a big gym. a new precor exercise bike for example costs about 6000e! and most gyms like UL sell them for pittance after a few years(2-3yrs) last CV machines were sold in UL for 250-350e!!.(my friend bought one - a R-C bike, still going fine 1year on of course ) now thats for machines that are worth a few grand! you see after a few years big gyms with big budgets just want to get rid of the stuff...

ronbyrne2005

dont buy exercise bikes/cross trainers from lifestyle or argos ,they are crap quality ,when you consider a cheap gym quality crosstrainers costs a few grand how can they make a good quality machine for one tenth of that???
they might look fine but never buy equipment based on how it looks,i was gonna buy a crosstrainer in vj home fitness for 250euro and went out to their store and tried it and it was muck compared to a gym crosstrainer,it "looked" fine but when i got up on it i soon realised when it was only 250euro.unless your prepared to pay 500euro for half decent exercise bike or 1000 for a half decent crosstrainer your wasting your money.buy a second hand push bike and go on intense cycles if you cant afford a proper piece of equipment

Easygainer

My main concern of anyone buying home fitness equipment is that it NEVER gets used. I can't tell you how many exercise bikes, cross trainers and ab rollers my mom and sisters have bought that fall by the wayside. Training on substandard equipment just adds to the frustration and lack of motivation already present when training at home.

Only time I've ever managed to train (properly) at home was weightlifting and that was for a few reasons:
1. I was ridiculously enthusiastic as I a still am. In addition as my name suggests I am an easygainer and saw results quickly which always motivates you.
2. The equipment was good, solid iron - not some home gym machine but a power rack and barbells etc.
3. I had a broken ankle/torn achilles at the time so I couldn't drive or go to a gym. Having equipment at home let me do a few upper body exercises to keep my sanity.

Essentially, this comes down to the issue of training at home, or in a gym, and I think they gym always makes more sense.

Santa Claus

Just 1 thing worth mentioning.

A lot of the YORK stuff is made under licence now. From what I've read, they really only make the professional standard stuff now and most of the home weights sets are made under licence. I would imagine the same goes for the cardio stuff.

Basically, just because it says YORK on the item is no guarantee of quality !

Boru.

Hi All,

MisterAnarchy (any reference to a Dc comics character?) what everyone has aready said here is pretty acurate. I think your right going for a cross trainer due to the knee problems, but a decent cross trainer costs about €899. That said I do have an one at €499 that might do.

If that doesn't fit into your budget, theres not much point in getting a cheaper one. It would be a waste of money. It won't provide the resistance you need or the acutal durabiity to make it a worthwhile investment. The tracking and the feel of the machine would also be horrible.

There are other ways to get a good cardio workout. There are many bodyweight exercises that would provide it, or if you felt you really did need a piece of equipment I have somehting in mind at €199 that will provide a solution. That siad if I told you I'd lose all credabiity :rolleyes: , its something you have to see and feel to understand.

If you'd like you can drop in to me in Arnotts and we can go over the options available. I'll show you the cheap crap machines and I'll show you the good ones. If nothing else I'll be able to show you the dangers of buying poor quality equipment.

If you want I'd also be more than happy to take a look at your knees and see what we can do there if they are bothering you.

As always thats an open offer to everyone on boards.

Hope this helps.

MisterAnarchy

Thanks for the Advice Boru.
I'm based in the Cork area so its unlikely I'll be able to pop into to you in Arnotts any time soon.
I will hold off on buying any cardio equipment for a while.
I'm a believer in the good old methods of doing exercise but my mother needs to be encouraged to get some exercise and I believe a cross trainer is a good way to achieve this.