Tread Carefully as You Train with Landice
Written: May 02 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: functional
Cons: expensive, no heart rate monitor, small handles
The Bottom Line: I would not buy this. You can buy a treadmill with more programs and a heart rate monitor for less money.
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| jo.com's Full Review: Landice L7 LTD Treadmill with Pro Sports Trainer |
The Landice L7 LTD Pro Sports Trainer Treadmill is one of several treadmills in the fitness room at my mom’s condo.
About this machine:
The L7 LTD Pro Sports Trainer Treadmill is the bottom of the line of treadmills in the Pro Sports Trainer line by Landice. You will also find an L8 and L9. It is designated as “light commercial“ (thus LTD). What this means is that it is made to be used less than five hours a day. Given that it would not be bought for a commercial gym. Its suggested uses are in condos, rehab centers and hotels. At $3000 it may be beyond your budget for home use.
The L7 LTD has a 3 horsepower continuous duty motor. I have done some research on horsepower in treadmills and this is more than is needed for home treadmill but it is my feeling that it is better to have more horsepower than not enough.
The maximum weight of a person using it is 400 pounds. The machine weighs 300 pounds. It measures 73 inches long and 32 inches wide. It has a warranty of 5 years on parts and 1 year on labor.
Let’s Take a Walk
There are several things I look at when I first see a treadmill. One are the handles. I think handles are important. The Landice L7’s handles fall short of what I like. The handles are on each side and are curved bars that come out a bit from the machine. I prefer side rails for several reasons. (I am writing this for the consumer not for myself. Personally I am fine with the curved bars.)
1. Treadmills, like any machine can be dangerous especially for older people. These fairly small handles do not give the kind of reassurance I would like for my mom if she were to step on it.
2. If my mom were to lose her balance grabbing onto a side rail is much more likely to keep her stable than the handles on the Landice.
3. If she were to lose her balance and actually lean to the side there is nothing stopping her from falling. Just to be fair however the Landice like every other machine has a safety lanyard with a magnetic key switch. What you can do though no one uses this is to hold onto it or put it around your wrist. If you do start to fall the magnet will pull away from the machine stopping the machine.
There is a handle bar in front to hold onto while walking. You will find this handle bar on every treadmill. It is a good feature but it doesn’t make up for the inadequate handles.
I immediately noticed on the Landice L7 that there is no built in heart rate monitor. I don’t know how old this machine is but any newer treadmill that I see has this feature. I love knowing what my heart rate is and do not own a heart rate monitor. The machines I use make heart rate monitors unnecessary. I would recommend buying a monitor if you buy this treadmill.
I notice the tread. I notice how long it is and how wide. If a treadmill is not long enough, my feet hit the front which is not only uncomfortable but can be dangerous. The L7 has a long tread so that is fine. It is narrower than many so that washes the nice length. A narrow tread makes it really easy to get your feet caught on the sides of the tread. Considering there are no side rails this is an accident waiting to happen. The tread is 20 inches by 58 inches.
I then get on the treadmill and familiarize myself with the console. The Landice L7 has a very large console which is nice. Above the display area are separate areas with pictures on them for your CD or tape player, cell phone, water and book or magazine. Below that is the console.
I found only 4 programs which is less than many on the market. P1 is fat burning; P2 is an Intermediate Program; P3 is an Advanced Program and P4 is an Interval Program. Each program shows a graph of what you walk or run will look like.
I found the start, pause and stop buttons and the LCD display showing the program I have chosen. It also shows time, distance, elevation, calories used, calories being burned per hour and pace. There are up and down arrows for speed and elevation and a small chart showing that the elevation grade goes from 0% to 15%. The speed goes from .5 to 11 miles per hour.
Here we are on the L7. The first thing I do is hit start and then select program by using the up arrows until I get to let̰ say P4. I then select how much time I want to be on the machine using the up arrows or down if I put in 60 minutes and decide I only want to be on for 45 I can now change it by using the down arrow and I choose the speed the same way. I can change my speed at any time though which is also true of every machine.
What I think of the Landice L7 LTD Pro Sports Treadmill:
I found the “ride“ to be smooth. I was on a treadmill at home that I had to get off of because the tread was bumpy. Obviously there is something wrong with that machine. This gave me a nice walk. I must say though that I was surprised when I read that this machine has what is called a VFX shock absorption system. It is considered “softer than grass.“ My notes comment that I found no give to the tread unlike other machines that have some flex to them. I really cannot imagine running on this machine unless you are used to running outside on concrete. In addition it was wheezy. I made sure the noise was coming from the Landice and not the Life Fitness next to me and decided that it was coming from the L7.
The machine is made of rust free aluminum. It has held up well. I know the treadmills are very popular at this condo.
I saw many older people using the Landice without having a problem with the handles. They do tend to walk very slowly though. If you are in that category, don’t care about your heart rate (but you should) and can afford this machine, then it is adequate.
I am not recommending it however. It doesn’t have enough programs for the price, the comfort level is not up to par, the tread is too narrow and well there are just too many cons.
Please feel free to leave me a question or comment. I am a personal trainer and have access to gyms and other trainers' equipment. If you would like me to review a piece of equipment, let me know. I will not review a machine I have been on for 5 minutes so I thank you for your patience. jo
Other relevant reviews are below. All my fitness related reviews are listed on my profile page.
How to Choose a Treadmill • How to Choose a Health Club
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Recommended:
No
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