Life Fitness Club Series Elliptical Cross-Trainer Review 2024

Quick Summary

The Life Fitness Club Series + Elliptical Cross-Trainer is the home version of Life Fitness’s most popular health club elliptical trainer. Built to fit almost anyone, this whisper-quiet trainer has a 20″ stride length, and a maximum weight capacity of 400 pounds. It has movable arm bars to support total body training, and is loaded with diverse workout programs. Get the details from our full Life Fitness Club Series Elliptical review below.

Specifications

Model	Life Fitness Club Series
Rating Our custom rating considers all of the elliptical's features, specs, warranties, and 100's of user & expert reviews, to save you time!	88.8%
List Price Suggested retail price, typically higher than the price you'll pay with our recommended retailers.	$4,299
Best Price Since prices change daily, this link goes to our preferred retailer for the best price we've found.	$8,479
Resistance Resistance is what determines calories burned per stride. The more levels, the more precisely you can control the difficulty.	25 Levels
Resistance Type The type of resistance affects the performance of your elliptical. Magnetic and Eddy-Current are the most common types.	n/a
Stride Length Stride Length is important for comfort and smooth strides. A stride length of 18-21 inches is ideal for most heights (5'3 - 6'7).	20” (51cm) Ergonomic fixed stride
Pedals Elliptical pedals can be cushioned and adjustable for maximum comfort and minimum impact on joints for injury prevention.	Oversized Non-Slip Pedals
Incline Some elliptical trainers can be set at an incline to increase difficulty and burn more calories.	no
Flywheel The flywheel controls the smoothness and resistance of your workout. In general, the higher the better.	Undisclosed
Programs Elliptical Programs allow you to complete a workout with changing speeds and inclines, without changing anything manually.	18 for SL Console
User Profiles For each profile the elliptical allows, you can create a custom user account with saved programs and goal settings.	2 Users
Heart Rate Heart Rate programs allow you to track how many times your heart is beating per minute (bpm), and some control the workout for you.	Touch pulse sensors in handlebars
Display Elliptical Display refers to the screen you'll look at to monitor workouts. LED and LCD displays are similar to TV screens.	Go & Track+ Console
Max. Weight Max User Weight is the amount of weight, in pounds (lbs), that it can safely support, which can represent durability.	350 lbs
Dimensions Dimensions are included to help you figure out if this elliptical will fit properly (Length x Width x Height and Height x Depth).	83" x 28" x 61"
Upper Body Most ellipticals have handles to hold while you're working out that provide an upper body workout.
Accessory Tray Some ellipticals include an accessory tray for holding items such as water bottles, wallets, keys, or MP3 players like iPods.
Speakers Ellipticals that include a sound system allow you to listen to your MP3 player/iPod through built-in speakers (without headphones).
Cooling Fans Cooling Fans are designed to help keep you cool during an intense workout on your elliptical.
Folding? Some ellipticals are designed to conserve space by folding up. This is a convenient option, but some features might be reduced.
Quick Controls Quick Controls allow you to select speed, incline and even workout programs with the touch of a button (usually on the handles).
Warranty The warranty is an important part of your investment. The longer the warranty, the longer you can get free/discounted repairs.	Frame: Lifetime Parts: 3 Years Labor: 1 Year

Our Rating

Rating: 88.8/100. The Life Fitness Club + Series Elliptical is a commercial gym-quality trainer sold for home use. Life Fitness is known for its outstanding biomechanics, and you can rest assured that workouts on this unit will be smooth and comfortable for a broad range of body types (and fitness levels). The unusually fluid motion of its pedals contributes to a low perceived exertion level, which helps users to train harder and burn more calories with less fatigue. The Club Series + Elliptical is fitted with a 7-inch touchscreen display console loaded with 10 pre-programmed workouts (as well as a manual mode). It also logs workout data, allowing you to review your performance over your last 10 workouts. Other specs include movable handlebars, Bluetooth connectivity, and oversized FlexForm pedals. This fitness club favorite normally retails for $5,088.99.

Pros:

Club quality
Award-winning biomechanics
Reversible motion
Movable handlebars with multiple grip positions
Wireless heart rate monitoring with chest strap (included)
Stationary handlebars
Bluetooth capability
7-inch touchscreen
Contact heart rate monitor
Great workout variety
Accessory tray

Cons:

High price
Poor warranty coverage
No cooling fan
Large size (86″ x 29″ footprint)

Introduction

The rear drive Club Series + Elliptical is one of Life Fitness’s top two trainers (the other one being the Platinum Club Series) sold with residential warranties. It’s very similar to the brand’s commercial offerings, for a slightly more modest sticker price. General highlights are excellent biomechanics, proven long-term reliability and smooth and quiet operation.

Workout Programs

Lower models of Life Fitness cross-trainers are sold with a choice of classic and advanced consoles. The Club Series + Elliptical on the other hand is only offered with a compact 7-inch touchscreen display. Its programs are relatively limited in the grand scheme of things, but there’s enough onboard to get the job done.

Pressing the Quick Start button is the fastest way to begin an elliptical workout. When you press this button a constant-level workout begins. The intensity level will stay constant unless you manually make changes.

The preset workout programs are expertly designed. One example is the Fat Burn program. This is a low intensity workout designed to make your body burn a higher percentage of calories from fat. The assortment of other programs include Hill, Random, Time Goal, Distance Goal, Calories Goal, Heart Rate Goal, Rolling Hills, Speed Interval, and Incline Interval. Compared to the more elaborate training options out there—iFit Coach and other interactive training options spring to mind—the offerings on the Club Series + do seem a bit lackluster overall, though the best way to look at it is that you’re trading off the programming in favor of a better engineered machine overall. Life Fitness is not targeting the entry-level fitness enthusiast with this machine, and seasoned trainers are often happy to forgo programming in favor of their own training regimen.

Club Series + Cross-Trainer Elliptical Features

Overall there are some decent featured built into the Club Series + Cross-Trainer. First of all, its whisper-quiet drive system places it ahead of the pack for home use. Its oversized pedals are designed to be comfortable, with a padding system built in to further reduce strain without compromising rider stability. Using Bluetooth, riders are able to connect their smartphones and other devices, as well as to connect to the wireless heart rate monitoring chest strap that is included with its purchase.

Warranty & Guarantee

The Life Fitness Club Series Elliptical warranty includes:

– Frame: 2 years

– Parts: 2 Years

– Labor: 1 Year

Extended warranties are available.

Conclusion

When high quality is your priority the Club Series Elliptical is a top choice in its luxury price class. It offers the smooth performance of a club trainer and has workout programming to support anyone’s fitness goals. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced trainee the Club Series can serve you well for many years.