Ohiyo!Spirit Fitness has been one of the little-known companies in the fitness industry for over 20 years now (Spirit entered the fitness industry in 1986 but the company itself almost 30 years old). Not only have they produced their own equipment but they've also produced equipment for a number of other fitness companies … [Read more...] about Spirit Fitness Brand Review – Decent mid-range company

Ohiyo!As the Treadmill Sensei and knower of all things fitness related, a lot of readers email me here at the DOJO and ask, "Oh, great Sensei, where should I purchase my new treadmill or elliptical? Should I buy it at a local store or online? Which is better?"While I don't really like recommending specific stores or … [Read more...] about Treadmills and Ellipticals – online buying vs offline buying

Ohiyo!Today the Treadmill Sensei stumbles out of the DOJO to talk about the recent IHRSA commercial fitness trade show that went on up in San Francisco. IHRSA, for those of you who aren't "in the know," is the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association and they sponsor a couple of fitness industry trade shows … [Read more...] about Back from IHRSA in San Francisco

Ohiyo!Eegads! Things get busy here at the DOJO and suddenly almost 3 weeks have gone by since the Treadmill Sensei's last review! I'm working on a new format for the website which should be finished in this next month and will make finding reviews a lot easier. I'm also going to be reviewing entire lines instead of jumping … [Read more...] about The Spirit XT600 Treadmill Review — A solid unit under $2000

Ohiyo!The end of the busy season has us hard at work here at the DOJO so I do apologize for not posting as frequently lately. I hope to get back on track after IRHSA at the end of March. In the meantime, let's hear from a recent reader who followed the Treadmill Sensei's advice on a purchase and see what he has to … [Read more...] about Reader Mailbag – Sole E55/Spirit XE350 vs Sole E95/Spirit XE550

Ohiyo!We received a batch of freight damaged Sole treadmills here at the DOJO yesterday from a local dealer. Every so often a freigh company will drop a load or damage a shipment with a poorly maneuvered forklift blade and the units are brought to a repair facility like ours to see if they can be salvaged. We fix them and … [Read more...] about The Sole F80 Treadmill Review – Solid upgrade under $1500

Ohiyo!Today your Treadmill Sensei emerges from the DOJO once more to continue his review of the Merit Fitness line of treadmill and ellipticals. Today I want to talk about their top end unit, the Merit 730T treadmill.The Merit 730T is an upgrade to Merit's very slick Merit 710t treadmill which I've already reviewed. The … [Read more...] about The Merit 730t Treadmill Review – A solid treadmill under $600

Ohiyo!From the depths of the DOJO the Treadmill Sensei comes forth once more to enlighten the masses desperate for treadmill wisdom. I arrived at the DOJO this morning at about 6am because I'd been kept awake most of the night by my beloved newborn grandson. I will refer to the golden child as "He who was not named after … [Read more...] about The Merit 710t Treadmill Review — good walking treadmill under $400

Ohiyo!Today the Treadmill Sensei is posting from his room at Ceasar's Palace here in Las Vegas. Sure Mrs Sensei and I took the weekend off to go and have some fun, but she's sleeping and what she doesn't know won't hurt me!Last night I received an email from a reader who just purchased a Spirit ZE120 and had a question … [Read more...] about Reader Mailbag: Elliptical Lube and Maintenance Question

For your convenience, here is a quick list to all brand review listings on the site.Treadmill / Elliptical BrandsBodyCraft Brand ReviewBowflex Brand ReviewHorizon Fitness Brand ReviewLamar HFS Brand ReviewMerit Fitness Brand ReviewSchwinn Fitness Brand Review Smooth Fitness Brand ReviewSole Fitness Brand ReviewSpirit … [Read more...] about Brand Review Index