Price: £4,095
Buy From: Fitness Superstore
Overall Rating: 5
Build Quality: 5
Ease of use: 5
Console Features: 5
Comfort: 5
Value for Money:5
For those who are looking for the health club experience at home and for whom budget and space are not limited, the Life Fitness CST treadmill is the ultimate home use treadmill. Based on the commercial model, the CST provides a genuine health club quality workout.
The patented flexdeck absorption system works very efficiently as you would expect, reducing impact levels on the joints and muscles by up to 30% when compared with running outdoors.
The 4-HP AC Continuous Duty Motor with MagnaDrive™ propels users quietly and easily to the top speed of 12mph and it also feels responsive when required for some of the more vigorous interval training programs.
A 15% motorised incline is included and the overall product weight of 195kg ensures there is complete rigidity in the frame for even the heaviest runners as the maximum user capacity of 180kg would suggest.
The control layout is the same as the health club model and incorporates the GoSystem Quick Start feature which remembers your preferred walk, jog and run speeds so you can launch your training sessions at the touch of a button.
The integrity display is a smart yellow on black LED readout advising program profiles coupled with separate display windows for times, speed, distance, calories and heart rate. They have also incorporated an ipod connectivity system which allows your ipod to sit in a purpose built in dock on the console allowing you to control track changes and volume levels with the integrated controls.
PROS
- Amazing stability, particularly when compared with folding treadmills but even when compared to other brands of non folding machines.
- Incredibly comfortable to run on
- Quiet, smooth and responsive motor performance regardless of speed and incline levels.
- Easy to read display with good variation of programs and the inclusion of ipod connectivity and controls is a real bonus.
CONS
- A little disappointing that no wireless chest strap is included considering the price of the treadmill however this is a small concern on an otherwise pretty faultless performance.
Summary
In summary then, if space and budget are no object then this is the treadmill to purchase. It performed brilliantly in testing and finding fault was nigh on impossible. The only trouble is that a price tag of over £4,000 and the fact that it is non-folding means it has a limited market place for UK customers.
The programs are varied, all the usual suspects are there with Fat Burn, Heart Rate Hill, Heart Rate Interval, Extreme Heart Rate, Random, Hill, 5K, 10K and speed interval training. The Lifepulse™ digital heart rate monitoring hand sensors are conveniently placed on the easy-to-grip Ergo™ bar to provide walkers with precise heart rate monitoring, and Polar® telemetry provides runners with accurate, hands free heart rate monitoring although this method does require an optional chest strap.
Having used the full commercial model club series treadmill in various gyms on many occasions I have to say that I couldn’t find a difference in the running experience when testing the Life Fitness CST. The cushioning and stability felt identical and the console has a familiar feel to it. In essence, the only differences between this model and its commercial sibling are the unseen parts, the components used in construction due to the greatly increased usage a commercial model would have to endure.
Best Price: £4,095
Buy From: Fitness Superstore