Question

I am interested in the Bowflex Treadclimber 5000, but saw the interesting looking Nordic Track ACT Elliptical on your site. I am an active yard-working 64 year old female, about 50 lbs overweight and need to get busy to lose these extra pounds…..

I have a nice treadmill that I used to use regularly about 10 years ago but cannot seem to get myself excited about 'treading' these days. The Treadclimber seems like it would give me a good workout in 30 minutes or so without impacting my knees, and I know nothing about the ACT elliptical in comparison to the Treadclimber…. I'm looking to you for a good comparison, can you help?

Answer

The workouts on the Bowflex Treadclimber and the Nordictrack ACT Elliptical are so different I never would have thought about comparing the two machines - I guess that's why I have the question and answer section on the blog, huh?

In order to figure out which machine is right for you, let's take a closer look at each machine's function, their pro's and con's and then move on to my recommendation for you…

Bowflex Treadclimber 5000
The Bowflex Treadclimber 5000 is often referred to as a treadmill but it's actually an incline trainer where the incline of each ramp is controlled by the user's body weight shifting from one leg to another. I think the lady in the Bowflex infomercial that says, "It feels sort of like walking in sand" gives an accurate description of how the machine feels while using it.

Pros
- low impact
- small footprint
- good controls and display
- solid construction

Cons
- can't run on it
- 10-20% more expensive than many treadmills
- potential mechanical problems
- need to get used to the stride motion

Nordictrack ACT Elliptical
The ACT Elliptical is Nordictrack's first foray into the center drive elliptical market made popular by machines like the True TSX Elliptical and the Ironman Center G Elliptical. Compared to front drive and rear drive ellipticals, the center drive ACT has the advantage of a compact footprint with a live workout area measuring only 60" long x 40" wide.

Thanks to it's center drive mechanism and adjustable stride length of 18" - 23" the motion of the Nordictrack ACT is nice and smooth, and feels like a natural running motion when the machine is brought up to higher speeds.

Pros
- low impact
- small footprint
- good controls and display
- solid construction
- no learning curve
- more fun than running
- low chance of injury

Cons
- doesn't burn as many calories
- on the expensive side for ellipticals
- shorter warranty

Recommendation
You should get my recommended alternative to the Nordictrack ACT Elliptical, the Lifecore CD 400 Elliptical here's why…

Although the Treadclimber burns more calories per workout than an elliptical, ellipticals have key advantages in the following areas that make it the best choice for your needs:

• the low impact and low chance of injury of the elliptical make sense for the obvious reasons of your age and physical condition (as you stated in your question)
• using an elliptical  is flat out more enjoyable than running on a treadmill which means you'll stick with it (you quit using your old treadmill)
• you can get a great elliptical trainer for several hundred dollars less than the Bowflex Treadclimber

Wow, this answer is a lot longer than what I thought it would be for a seemingly simple question. If you want more information on the Bowflex or the Nordictrack you can read my full review by clicking on the links below…

review of the Bowflex Treadclimber
review of the recommened Lifecore CD 400 Elliptical