Nihango once more, students of the Sensei.
Tonight we’re going to go about as long as we can in the realm of fitness equipment. That’s right, I’m going to talk about the elliptical’s retard half-brother, Tony Little’s Gazelle — the Gazelle Edge, the Gazelle Power Plus and the Gazelle Freestyle.
The Sensei is going to be completely upfront on this one: the Tony Little Gazelle is one of the worst pieces of “fitness equipment” on the market. The units are poorly made, cheaply constructed and a complete waste of money. In my opinion they aren’t even worth being given one for free. And, because of their poor construction, there are probably more Tony Little Gazelles in most public landfills than real garbage.
Yes, yes, I know the late night infomercials make the thing look great, and you ladies find Tony Little cute in that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs sort of way, but resist his charms. His machine has no programs, no resistance levels and is flimsy at best. The “higher end” (saying that in relation to the Tony Little Gazelle makes me cringe) Gazelle units have simple hydraullic pistons for adding some resistance. From our brief testings here at the DOJO we’ve found those pistons to break down after very light usage. Hydraullics can be troublesome in commercial machines and are absolutely dreadful in the Gazelle.
Another annoyance during a workout comes from the Tony Little Gazelle’s lack of substance. When you get going on it, the machine tends to slide across a non carpeted floor. It is also a very noisy machine. The harder your workout is, the louder the machine gets.
The Gazelle is NOT an elliptical. It has similar mechanics but the motion is very different. Also, due to the Tony Little Gazelle’s mechanics, you’re not really getting an elliptical workout when you’re on it. Momentum has a lot more to do with your movement than muscle power. Once you get up to speed it takes almost no effort to keep the machine going. The Gazelle does more to fool you in to thinking you’re getting a good workout than actually giving you one.
Finally, the Tony Little Gazelle’s footpads. If you have any sort of foot problem at all working out on the Gazelle will feel like hell. They are not comfortable so make sure to wear well padded tennis or workout shoes.
If you absolutely must spend money on a Tony Little Gazelle, here’s what I want you to do. Make out a check for $199 to the Treadmill Sensei and mail it to me here at the DOJO. I’ll box up an already broken Gazelle for you so you won’t have to waste time breaking it yourself. Your other option is to try low end ellipticals such as are made by Stamina, SunFitness or LifeGear. While still not as sturdier as their more expensive brothers, at least they’ll give you an ok workout.
The Treadmill Sensei gives the Tony Little Gazelle 0 Golden Buddahs out of 5.
The Gazelle gets 0…ah, who cares…
Awww..look at his Little legs go! The Tony Little Freestyle in “action”
-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com
I agree with you wise and generous Treadmill Sensei. My friend bought a gazelle and the cords that support the feet moving part snapped. She fell and sprained a finger and banged her foot.
AVOID THE GAZELLE AT ALL COSTS!