As the Life Fitness 9500HR ellipticals at my health club have become steadily long in the tooth, creaky, HR monitors completely inaccurate, I’ve been forced to gravitate to other models. I briefly experimented with the Precor EFX 546i, but the lack of arm handles just didn’t seem right to me after all the time I spent on the Life Fitness HR 9500i.
Several months back my health club brought in the latest model from Precor: the EFX 576i. These have arm handles. First off I should point out that I’m not a fan of the ramp. Yes, I know, many people love inclines and they are great for targeting the hamstrings and calves, but an incline turns the elliptical arc into more of an circle and it begins to feel like a stepper to me.
My initial introduction to the EFX 576i was less than impressive. The console and ramp system are very similar to the EFX 546i, but the arm handles were a huge disappointment for me. Yes, the grip area is quite large and tapered in an apparent effort to accommodate people of different heights. However, I just couldn’t find a position for my hands on the grips that felt comfortable. In fact, I felt an unpleasant stress on my shoulder joints when gripping the handles. Something I never experienced with the Life Fitness.
The other thing about the arm handles on the 576i is that the spacing between them seems narrower than on the Life Fitness. This resulted in me getting whacked pretty hard across the forearms when taking my hands off the stationary handles. Boy, that smarts!
The EFX 576i has the same cut-away at the top of the console for a drink bottle, which is a nice design feature carried over from the older Precor ellipticals. There’s also a small shelf underneath the console, but I’m not exactly sure what it’s for. It’s definitely set too low for a drink bottle — not comfortable nor safe to reach down there while striding. I suppose it’s a place to put your keys or other paraphernalia only to be retrieved once your workout is finished. After all, this is a commercial grade elliptical so Precor probably was considering health club users.
The one overriding feature of the EFX 576i that really impressed me is it’s smoothness. It’s damn smooth! I always thought the EFX 546i was smooth, but the 576i is even smoother. I did go back to the Life Fitness 9500HR for a bit, but my feet just get numb way too fast on them and my focus on getting my target heart rate up left me no choice but to make the switch permanently to the Precor EFX 576i.
After extended use, the EFX 576i began to grow on me. I gave up on the arm handles and just hold onto to the stationary grips in order to constantly monitor my heart rate. I enjoy seeing how quickly I can push my HR into the “Red Zone” on the console. According to my personal data (age and weight), I shouldn’t go to the HR I’m targeting. Fortunately, the thing doesn’t beep to alert you to this situation. As for the ramp, I compromise and set the ramp on the 576i to position “6″ and move on.
I think most people will not purchase one of these machines for their home. Let’s face it, the Precor EFX 576i is a hardcore commercial elliptical trainer designed for heavy health club use. Most people don’t have the space nor budget for one of these beasts. But, did I mention, it’s incredibly smooth? It’s become the most popular elliptical at my club and I get upset when they are all in use when I come in during my lunch break. Then it’s back to the old creaky Life Fitness that refuses to report my pulse above 62 BPM. I guess I’m lucky it finds my pulse at all!