Life Fitness E5 Elliptical Trainer

Overview: The Life Fitness E5 is the top of the line model in the series with adjustable incline, Coach Zone muscle targeting, console options a wireless chest strap included for accurate heart rate readings. Although pricey, it is one of the most feature-packed ellipticals the company offers and is worth the high price.

Let’s take look at some of the best features you get…

Adjustable Stride

One of the nicest features on the E5 is the adjustable stride length. With the touch of a button you can change it from 18 inches all the way up to 24 inches, allowing you to choose the ideal setting for your needs. Note that the mid-level E3 model does not have adjustable stride, just a fixed length of 20 inches.

Activity Zone Coaching

A unique Life Fitness feature that gives you professionally designed workouts such as Total Body Trainer and Leg Sculptor to target different muscle groups. This is a nice way to change up your routine and focus on different areas of your body that might need a little extra work.

Whisper Stride Technology

Another exclusive feature that provides one of the quietest workouts you will ever have. The motion is smooth and natural, just like a machine you’d find at a professional health club, yet quiet enough to use in your home gym.

Heart Rate Monitoring

All of the E series models, including the base E1 elliptical trainer, have contact grip as well as wireless heart rate monitoring, as well as a free chest strap included so you don’t have to buy it separately. This ensures that you will stay in your ideal zone throughout your workout, maximizing your results.

Life Fitness E5 Test Drive

The E5 is smooth and sleek with a thin profile and intuitive design. It is a nice step up from the other E models, with the best feature being the adjustable stride. More and more elliptical trainers these days come with the option to change the stride, and this is a great feature for two reasons. One, you can change it up each time to target different muscle groups. Set it at 18″ and it is more of a stepper…jump up to 24″ and it’s more of a jog on a treadmill. So you can really expand your workouts.

The second reason is that it can accommodate more users. Shorter users might prefer the shorter strides, while taller users might want to open up a bit more. If you are over 6′ tall you really need 20″ or more for a comfortable experience.

On top of the power adjustable stride you get WhisperStride technology. The motion is smooth and feels very natural. Transitioning through the 20 resistance levels is seamless and quiet, without that usual noise you hear on some other machines. Pedals are cushioned and comfortable. You get multi grip handles that are not on the lower prices models which allows you to choose the hand position that is most comfortable for you.

The Life Fitness E5 comes with two console options: Go or Track Connect. The Go gives you a blue LCD screen in the middle, touch button controls, 12 workouts, 2 custom and 2 user profiles. The up-level Track Connect console, which was on our test model, is more advanced and allows you to connect to your favorite fitness apps through LF Connect for tracking and sharing purposes. You get 16 workouts, 12 custom and 4 user profiles.

So the Track Connect Console is definitely your better bet, but it costs an additional $500 so you have to decide if it’s worth it for you.

Activity Zone is a nice touch…we tried the Leg Sculptor workout which really gave us a nice burn. There’s something for everyone and you can just do the Total Body workout if you want to hit everything at once.

All in all we enjoyed the Life Fitness E5 elliptical trainer. It’s the best of the series due to the adjustable stride and other nice features.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a top of the line elliptical for your home, the E5 might just be the one for you. It combines all of the great features of other models into one, with adjustable stride, CoachZone training, console choices, WhisperStride and accurate wireless heart rate monitoring.

At over $4,200 with the Go Console, it’s certainly not cheap…but you absolutely get what you pay for with this one.

Get more info, specs and special sale pricing on this high-end elliptical trainer here