Good Enough for Me
Good Enough for Oprah
Good Enough for You?
As an aging runner with bad knees, I’ll be on a lifelong
quest to find suitable cardio alternatives to my first workout love, running.
Luckily I’ve come across a piece of equipment to be my
fitness companion as I continue the journey of health and wellness. The Octane
elliptical machine is a great advancement in low-impact cardio training. The
thing I noticed first is how well it approximates the running movement with an
adjustable stride length and handles that allow for a closer simulation of
the “arm pump” used in running.
Furthermore, anecdotally, it feels much closer to the
workout I get while running. During an octane session I feel my core engaged
and the ability to vary my stride length makes maintaining a pace very similar
to my normal running routine. Another great and often overlooked feature is
that the stride turnover correlates to the pace I would take on a run. Meaning
a 6:30 mile on the octane felt like a 6:30 mile on the treadmill.
The Octane Ellipticals, specifically their Q37 and Q47
models, became my go to cardio machines as I rehabbed a knee injury. They far
and away provided the best experience I've had on a elliptical machine. So one
day after another great workout, I came home and looked up the company. Turns
out, I'm not the only one in love with their products. Who was another one of
the company's biggest fans? Why none other then Oprah. She placed Octane on her
2012 Favorite Things List.
Octane has done a great job in designing their elliptical
and having it reviewed. There's a great white paper on their website that goes
into specifics about biomechanics and their patented ergonomic designs that
Octane uses to provide the best possible workout experience. You can read ithere.
Turns out that anecdotally I had hit on a lot of their
design points. Here are some highlights:
•Stride length - customizable on the Q47 and set at an
optimal length of 20" for the average sized exerciser on other models.
•Stride width/pedal spacing - they moved them closer
together to better approximate natural walking and running patterns.
•Motion - pedal acceleration and inertia adjustments to
allow for a controlled and challenging stride motion throughout a workout.
•Handlebars - unique pivot point for improved range of
motion in the arm pump. They also created a divergent path of the handlebars
that brings hands to the middle as your drive them forward, simulating the arm
swing in walking and running.
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