I bought the Gazelle in October 2006 after doing many hours of research. I had my second child in June and desperately wanted to take off 15 pounds of baby weight. Mostly everything I had read was positive so I convinced my husband that the Gazelle was an inexpensive way for me to get back into shape. I decided that I would use it for at least six months before writing a review so that I could give very accurate feedback.
I will say that the Gazelle did help me take off the baby weight in about four months. For that reason I am glad I bought it BUT I had to work out on it for 30 minutes to an hour at least five or six days a week to accomplish that. I also did weight training and Pilates along with my Gazelle workouts. Here are the pros and cons I experienced with the Gazelle.
Pros:
* It's cheap! We got it for under $90 at Wal-Mart.
* It's compact and fits well in the corner of my bedroom. I have never tried to fold it so I can't comment on how that works.
* It is very easy to use. I could see this being great for seniors (without knee problems).
* It can help you lose weight if you are willing to do a few extra things.
Cons:
* No resistance! I had read this on reviews but was hoping it would be okay for me since I was so out of shape when I started working out. Unfortunately I couldn't break a sweat on it so my husband went out and bought cheap bungee cords and strapped them around the legs. Luckily this did the trick and gave me enough resistance to get a decent workout in when I first started. Now that I am in better shape the bungee cords really aren't enough and I have to punch with small hand weights to get my heart rate up. Maybe the tapes other reviewers talked about would have helped so if you decide to buy this you might look into that.
* I hate to say this but the Gazelle killed my knees!!! The entire time I used it five to six days a week I was in pain. I had read it was good for people with knee problems but it wasn't the case for me. I am stubborn and just fought through it for four months but eventually the pain got so bad I had to cut back my workouts on it. I have a friend that has a Gazelle and experienced the same problem.
* It does squeak a lot. That really doesn't bother me but some people may be very annoyed with how squeaky it can be.
Overall, I think the Gazelle is a decent piece of equipment for people that do not have knee problems. For me it takes a lot of effort to get my heart pumping and bothers my knees so it might not be right for everyone. After having so many knee problems with the Gazelle I started researching other inexpensive exercise options. I came across a ton of information about rebounding on mini trampolines so I decided to try that. If I could do things over I would have invested the money I spent on the Gazelle on a nicer mini trampoline because my workouts are so much more effective and I haven't experienced any knee problems. I think I will still use my Gazelle to vary my workout but it is now my second choice compared to the trampoline. Get more detail about Gazelle Edge.
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