Customer Reviews

Proform Power 995 Treadmill

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

We've had the treadmill now for a couple weeks. I really like it. We had a proform 630DS bought from craigslist a couple years ago and it was dying. Based on Consumer Reports ratings and other research, I decided on this model.

The setup wasn't too bad; just follow the directions. It will go faster with 2 people.

It's UBER quiet. But, that's based off my previous treadmill that sounded like a freight train. The motor, deck, supports, etc, are all very sturdy from what I can tell.

My wife likes the quick buttons and the pre-programmed workouts and uses it at least every other day. I usually run 1 - 2 times per week at 8mph and 4.5 grade with occasional sprints of 10 and 12...I have no idea if that's good or not compared to other users. There is no slippage reported and the deck stays comfortable.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this product. Am very happy with it. If something changes, I'll update the review.

I ordered this treadmill direct from Proform. The customer service on the shipping and delivery was very good. I opted for the in home delivery as well. The installers were very nice and professional.

That was the good. Now more about the actual treadmill. I read reviews all over the net, and as it turns out most of the reviews from the factory direct treadmills are simply ads. I even read the reviews on Sears and Dicks for this and the lesser models from Proform. The theme seemed to be "good for the price". And for $899 with free shipping I thought that seemed reasonable. And it seemed to have the right specs and cool features. Once the unit was set up it was clear this is not commercial Gym equipment. The handrails shifted and wobbled terribly. The belt looked like it was ready to curl up and the side panel on the deck came was lose. I started it up and it was fairly quiet. So I started walking and it wasn't bad. Now if I was sure that walking was all I wanted to do, then it would be ok. But then I decided to do a light jog. And as my feet went "thud & rattle" with every step it became clear that running on this thing would be a short lived miserable experience. Now mind you I am all of 150lbs.

Shortly after I got off I went back online and found a nice re-manufactured Precor 966i delivered for $200 more than I paid for this one. I could have also gotten a Star Trac 4500 for the same price or less that the Pro From. Now it took a little shopping and talking, but well worth it. Now you can get the extended warranty on the Pro Form, but I feel confident that you will be using that warranty. Now I will be eating the return shipping cost and restocking fee to return the Pro Form. And once I get this bad boy back on that truck I will be a happy camper. Learn from my mistake.

If you intend to do any running, run away from this one and get a better brand. If you think you need >3HP and 60" because of expected use or your height, keep in mind 60" and >3hp of crap is still crap. If you walk, just find a 2-2.5 HP motor from a better brand. This is just not a good value or piece of equipment. With so many online options available from Amazon, Auction sites and classifieds I see no reason to settle for this unit. And if this is their top unit, I shudder to think about the cheaper models.

Update:
Proform has arranged for the unit to be disassembled, and picked up. So a plus for customer service.

This treadmill is fantastic. I can't believe how much my family loves it. Aside from a few small quirks, we're thrilled with this treadmill. However, the experience of taking delivery and assembling the treadmill was just the opposite. So I'm splitting my review into two parts: the treadmill itself and the delivery/assembly process.

___________________________
THE GOOD: The Treadmill

This treadmill is fantastic. It comes loaded with whistles and bells. But more important to me than the features is the feel of the treadmill itself. The base is firm and sturdy, but the treadmill surface and bed are well cushioned to absorb impact. The result is a smooth landing with every stride. I owned another NordicTrak treadmill before this one and it rocked and squeaked loudly every time my body landed another step. We have a home gym in our garage and we used to have to turn the TV up very loud whenever we used the old treadmill, but this one is much quieter.

I strongly urge you to consider adding the Proform Ifit Module if you purchase this treadmill. You're already investing a lot of money in this equipment; it's just a little more money to add the iFit Module and you get a ton more functionality out of the treadmill. The manufacturer sometimes has good sales. I got mine from them directly for $50, and that includes a year of service on their website.

The treadmill has the usual speed and incline controls, as well as manual and preset programs for different workouts and levels.

Other great features:

* Cup Holders: Yeah, just like our cars, a good treadmill needs a good set of cupholders.

* Book Holder: The book rack is sized just right for paperbacks, magazines, and maybe small hardback books. I doubt you could fit a large hardback book. But if you really can read a novel while you're exercising, then you probably aren't exercising hard enough.

* Two Variable Speed Fans

* Audio Jack and Speakers: OK, this is probably my very favorite feature. I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed hooking up my iPhone to the audio cable they provided and playing my iTunes through the speakers. The speakers aren't fantastic, but I just need something to keep me entertained while I work out. I usually podcast talk shows anyway (like Adam Carolla), so I don't need incredible fidelity. The cable is pretty short, but it's long enough to set your MP3 player in a cup holder or on the book rack.

And if you add the iFit module, you can load the iFit app on your iPhone and add routes from Google Maps. Want to work out someplace unique today? Create a route through San Francisco or Chicago or even do laps around the lake at Epcot Center. The iFit module sends your progress through your WiFi network and the iPhone app reads your progress and moves the map while you run. Amazing! There are a couple of quirks that I don't like about the iFit module, but I'll review that item separately.

_________________________________
THE UGLY: Delivery & Assembly

First I should explain that I received this item through the Amazon Vine program. I won't explain all the details here, but you can click the "What's this?" link at the top of this review if you need more information about the Vine program. What's important for the sake of this review is that this treadmill (just the treadmill, not the iFit module) is a freebie for me. The reason I bring that up is that the delivery process was so bad and the treadmill was so badly damaged in shipping that I would have just returned it if I had paid for it. But that wasn't an option in this case.

So what happened...?

The shipping company contacted me and let me know that the item was in transit and they wanted to schedule a delivery date with me. So far so good. We picked a date and they told me they'd contact me later in the week to schedule a morning or afternoon delivery. That meant I would have to take off work to stay home, but OK. When they called back a few days later, they told me that the item was in their warehouse and asked about scheduling a time for delivery at the end of the week. Since I was excited to pick up the treadmill and wasn't excited about missing work, I asked them where their warehouse was located and asked about a willcall pickup. It turns out they were about 15 minutes or so from my office, so it was a lot simpler for me just to run down there and pick it up during lunch.

When I got to their warehouse they drove the forklift up to my pickup truck with the treadmill on the lift. The carton is about the size and weight of a coffin with a big dead guy in it, except that this carton had been roughed up pretty badly. I could see by the way it was resting on the forklift that something had broken in the middle and that the two ends were sagging badly. I took some quick pictures of the damaged carton and then asked the guys at the dock about the damage. They said, "it's ok - it's normal". I looked around their dock at some of the other containers and saw that they weren't kidding: for those dirtbags, this beat up container was completely normal. But since I'm not exactly a paying customer, I knew I didn't have many options.

So I made a note on the paperwork that the carton was beat up and then took it home to see how bad it was. It was pretty bad. Although there was a ton of packing material--very sturdy wooden bracing--there wasn't anything bracing the bottom of the box and that's where they packed the most delicate item, the upper control console. The console was hit pretty hard and had some big dimples in the plastic. Also, the plastic shroud that covers the area at the front and front sides of the treadmill close to where your feet strike were cracked and broken.

I called the manufacturer, but they were confused about how I had received the item in the first place (where did you buy it? why not call them then?). I also sent emails to their help desk and to their marketing department, but neither one responded. So I decided to just bust out the toolbox and see what I could do. I managed to get all of the structural plastic pieces of the shroud that lifts and angles when the treadmill inclines back into place. The rest of the damage was cosmetic, so there were no more show-stoppers and I was ready to start assembly.

TOOLS REQUIRED

Although some of the tools are included in the packaging, the job will go much faster and easier if you use your own good quality tools. And if you don't already have the tools you need, it's worth a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot to get what you need. The treadmill is a big investment and good tools will make it go better.

You need:

* Good Phillips head screwdrivers of various sizes. The heads of the screws included in the hardware pack are kind of soft and they are easy to strip accidentally. Good screwdrivers will help.

* Allen Wrenches (also called Hex Keys). If you don't know what an Allen wrench is, picture the little talking wrench guy in the instructions from anything you've ever bought from Ikea. An Allen wrench is an L-shaped tool with hexagonal heads on both ends. Most importantly, the two legs of the L shape are different lengths. Although the hardware package comes with a big Allen wrench already, it has two long ends with different sized hex heads on each end (two wrenches in one). It's really hard to use this tool, because some of the Allen screws don't have enough clearance for that long tool, so you really need the short end of a good Allen wrench.

In general, the assembly wasn't terribly difficult, although it's a big bulky item and it really does take two people. But my biggest complaint about the assembly was the hardware. First of all, the way the installation manual was printed the scale of the parts was a little off, so it made it tricky to tell which sized screw you were supposed to use on some of the steps. Also, the self-tapping screws were pretty soft and the holes they were going into were very hard. So it took extra time and care to screw them in without stripping the heads. My thirteen year old son was helping me and the screws were too tight for him to screw.

But all gripes aside, once we finished the assembly, everything fit real well and the treadmill is very sturdy. I can live with the cosmetic damage. One of the speakers comes and goes, so I doubt it will live very long. But the treadmill itself is very sturdy and my family has already put a couple hundred miles on it.

So my concluding advice is: If you are somewhat handy and have a friend who can help out, then you should be able to handle the assembly. If not, consider paying extra to have it professionally delivered and installed. And hopefully the professional installer will also take better care of the delivery than the normal delivery monkeys that handled my order.

I have finally got this treadmill together. I put it together myself. Being a woman this machine is a Beast. It weighs around 200 or more pounds. So make sure wherever you place it is where you want it. There have been some very thorough reviews of this machine and I agree with the positive comments about this machine.

I previously had a ProForm treadmill so I had no problem purchasing a second one since my previous treadmill lasted over 15 years and was still going strong.

This machine is very sturdy. I also like the "shocks" the treadmill has. It makes it much easier on your joints.

THE BAR

The bar that goes under the machine which is what supports the machine when folded UP. The instructions are definitely lacking. Increase the incline to around 3. This should "shorten" the treadmill and make the bar fit enough to put the screws in. Make sure you have the bar's 'fat' end at the correct end. And make sure you put the short and long screws at the proper ends. If 3 still doesn't help you get the bar to fit into place, then increase the incline until it does.

Go slow putting this thing together. Read the instructions and make sure you understand them before you permanently affix each part.

And if you're going to pay this much money and put this much effort into this or any other machine...then USE IT!

Good luck!

This is a fantastic treadmill that fits my needs very well. I love the quick incline and quick decline buttons - you can quickly shift between speeds. I like to do HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), so these buttons are perfect and make switching between sprinting and walking a breeze.

The assembly of the treadmill took me some time, but these things always do for me. They say you need two people for assembly. While that is entirely true, it is only true for a couple of steps, especially toward the end. I do wish the screws were labeled better - it just directs you to a size and they weren't in a pre-labeled cardboard case like most products have now. I started by sorting the screws, nuts, bolts, etc., and matched them up by the quantity indicated in the manual if I had any questions. The good news is they do give you a couple of extra pieces. When installing, it says to leave the base loose - I left it a little loose, but you will need a lot of play to fit the console in. Once I had everything installed and tightened everything up, it ended up being very sturdy.

I'm a big guy - over 6'4" tall and pushing (unfortunately) 280 pounds right now. Most of my jogging on treadmills has been on the commercial quality ones you will find at LA Fitness or similar gyms. I've also run on a few residential-type of models. While this one won't be confused for a commercial quality one (those usually cost a few thousand dollars more, I think), this one is by far the best residential model I've enjoyed. Even at my height and weight, the run was very smooth and stable. I am able to increase and decrease speeds with ease, thanks to the quick incline and decline buttons.

The console is very nice - the screen is very pleasant to look at and very easy to check while jogging. There's a speaker built in that you can hook up your iPod/mp3 player to and listen to while jogging. I haven't used that yet as I prefer to watch TV. The unit itself doesn't make a lot of noise, so I don't have a problem hearing the TV while jogging. I haven't yet checked out any of the ifit accessories. I like the idea of it - getting personalized workouts and jogging routines is great. I've used a few of the Nike Treadmill Plus workouts released on iTunes 4 or 5 years ago, and I will probably eventually find out what ifit offers.

There's also a small fan built into the machine. Since I'm a taller guy, it hits me about in my belly. The design of that could have been better, but it's not near enough of a flaw to make me take off a star. Since I have this treadmill set up at home, I have a big fan that I use anyway.

Overall, I love this treadmill. The setup wasn't that hard, it seems very sturdy and the jog is very smooth.

I was very excited to get this new treadmill after seeing a similar one in the stores and reading the good reviews. First the shipper got it wrong and I had to wait 4 days at home for it to come, they texted, sent emails and even called and my order was never delivered on time. Amazon should find another drop delivery for these things. I set up the treadmill that night, took about 4 hours and started using it the very next day. It has a smooth belt and jogging on it was a breeze until less than a week later the breeze, I mean the fan stopped working! After calling the company they graciously sent out a new top part to fix the problem, there goes a few more hours to replace the thing myself. The part came 2 weeks later and I was happy to have a floor stand to cool me while jogging while again I waited to use the machine. Less than a week after the new install the belt stops at the start of my jog. It proceeds to stop and go and stop go. I spent the next 30 minutes on hold with customer service waiting to get this next problem fixed, I gave up and have gone back to jogging at the park, rain or shine as this brand new expensive machine sits in my gym. I am very disappointed with the machines problems and in the last 5 weeks I have owned it it may have only a few miles on it. I wish I could send the thing back. If all the parts worked it would be a great treadmill. I have spent more time trying to fix this machine than working out on it!

We all want quality, but some of us are restricted in our spending. I am one of those - and i needed to find the best treadmill i could for my wife and i with a budget of $1000 or less. Taking on the challenge i went to work. Sporting good stores, online reviews, friends machines - you name it, we looked at it. After our research we decided on this Proform model, and glad we did. Ample motor size for, large deck, comfortable cushioning and an awesome console with the new ifit live. Mission Accomplished!

I have used this treadmill for a month now in order to try to give it a better quality review. It was down to the Power 995 or a Nautilus, but after reading some online reviews I found out that they are both made by the same company. I had a store-specific coupon for 25% off any single item's sale price, so I ended up getting a great deal on the already on-sale Power 995 for under $750, which is half MSRP.

Assembly.

First thing, know that this treadmill, like most, is HEAVY. The box lists a weight of 249 pounds in large part due to the powerful 3.0 HP motor, but I think it was heavier than that. I'm 6'2, 225 and I had a very difficult time dragging the box in using the plastic straps. So be sure to get a few individuals to help you for assembly. The actual assembly itself wasn't bad. It took me about three hours doing it alone. Therefore, it is possible to be a one-person job, but I don't recommend it. There are quite a few times that one part has to be held in a certain position while something is screwed in, and it can be a little challenging for one person. But overall, the instructions are pretty clear and relatively easy to follow.

Quality.

I haven't had any issues with the components on this treadmill. I think it's quiet other than an occasional squeak when my foot contacts the belt during a run. My wife can be watching TV in the next room (through one closed door) and not realize that I had been on treadmill. Not bad for such a large treadmill. And that brings up another point . . . the size of treadmills these days isn't like that of 20 years ago. This is a very large treadmill; great for allowing you plenty of freedom of movement during a run, but a space-taker in a smaller room.

Features.

There are a lot of available features on this treadmill, some good and some bad. I bought this to be able to use the iFit component in conjunction with Google maps during a run. While my review of iFit is a whole other story, when it's working, it's great. I use it in conjunction with my laptop, but if that's not your plan then this next section isn't for you. I think that based on how the quick-access buttons (start, stop, incline up/down, and instant-speed/incline) are placed, the designers planned for you to place a laptop on the treadmill during your workout. I have the standard laptop, and all these buttons are easily accessible throughout the workout. However, all other options are covered by the laptop. So, you cannot see the display nor adjust the fan if your laptop is placed in the treadmill cradle. For me it doesn't matter as I feel I can run longer if I don't see the display numbers ticking by, but that's just me.

One feature that I miss is that I don't believe there is a way to get the timer to count down, or in other words get a time-specific workout. I have always liked to have the time start at 30 or 45 minutes, then run while watching my laptop and letting the time count down to zero. I don't see that feature on this treadmill. So, if you are using a laptop during your workout you have to keep tipping it forward to see the display. The problem with doing that is that when tipping it, the laptop corners can inadvertently touch the instant speed or incline buttons and increase/decrease one or the other.

The built-in speakers are of good quality, so if you plug in an MP3 player I doubt you'll sacrifice much quality for not having to deal with headphones. As for the aforementioned fan, it's a joke. There is no detectable difference between the low and high settings, and the output of either isn't enough to keep you cool. So for that reason I never turn the fan on when running. But again, if you have a laptop sitting within the cradle the fan settings will be inaccessible unless you tip the laptop during your workout.

Use

I use it for running only, and I am very pleased with this treadmill. The shock absorbers do a great job in removing the jolt you would feel on a standard treadmill. Another thing about newer treadmills is that they don't have the railings that go down the side; the Proform has railings that extend about a foot back from the console, and I find they're very sturdy. If you're used to railings along the side of the treadmill it may take a little getting used to, but I think you'll enjoy having the increased room to run. And, the longer belt offered in the newer treadmills means that you won't be cramped up against the front of the running area for fear of falling off the back.

Overall

Having owned this treadmill for a month and using it almost daily I can say I am very happy with its performance. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was for design issues (no countdown timer, display blocked by laptop), not quality issues. It is more expensive than other treadmills, but be sure you compare it to others with a 3.0 HP motor (the recommended size for running workouts). It is quiet, sturdy, and has a good warranty in the event you need it.

Update:
I wanted to update my review now that I've been using this for quite some time. I cannot believe I have a full home gym and I have done almost nothing else since buying this...I have to FORCE myself to do any strength training now and even when I do I only do part of one and then get on the treadmill... I love this thing! I need to note that what I love about it most is that it allows you to use the ifit live wireless wifi module for workouts. I can't wait to do this each day...if you have a "down" day and then you decide to draw a route on Google maps taking you through a bad part of a New York and then Central Park, it changes perspective! Last night, through Google maps, I ran on the sidewalk beside a homeless woman sitting beside her cart under a blanket, I passed buildings and vans covered in graffiti and then I did a workout through beautiful Central Park and saw gorgeous trees and looked at the stunning sky scrapers...and I felt quite fortunate and realized my worries are nothing and the good scenery lifted me as though I was on vacation. Time FLIES when I workout like that! I run through tunnels in New York without fear of traffic or worrying about safety or carrying money or getting cold running through mountains somewhere else, and carrying no keys either! I can run through Hawaii and never get hot. I run in Beverly Hills. I run near the Grand Canyon. I LOVE Google maps!! I feel like I take a vacation every single day while working out! When you are on the street, you can choose "street view" and it looks like you are right there on the real street the Google van filmed. If you draw a map over a forest, it switches instantly to a bird's eye view setting when you look down on the land like a treadmill God or something! LOL. Even if I watch TV I keep glancing down to see where I'm running...it feels like being outside somewhere new each day for my run, yet enjoying TV and airconditioning at the same time. If this isn't a motivator, I don't know what is. I ran up the mountains yesterday and the treadmill automatically adjusts to the real topography and the incline was SO steep! The roads were marked as "closed during winter" on the mountain I mapped out. It was gorgeous! You can also choose "World Tour" and ifit will map out great routes for you...like Rome, Hawaii, Central Park etc. I've worked out on treadmill after treadmill and machine after machine and never before has it been FUN until now. Personally, I think the optional ifit module this machine is equipped to utilize (few machines are) should just come with it--it's so addicting no one knows what they are missing til they get it as it's just not advertised well.

Okay, so back to my original review!:

I'm a weightloss and fitness coach. I am picky about my workout room and even what I use at the gym. This machine rocks and beats out loads of machines three times the price in my book.

EASIER ON JOINTS:

Only a few years ago I said I would never own a treadmill at home. I preferred the elliptical even though I enjoy running on a treadmill more. Why? In the past all treadmills created more strain on your joints due to the striking, whereas an elliptical flowed smoothly. This machine takes that concern away with "shocks" in between where you strike the machine on the belt and the base of the machine. One reviewer noted that it seemed like she heard her feet more on this machine so other ones must be more "solid". Truth is that other machines, the resistance and shock is in both your joints and your floor, whereas here the proshox absorb the shock in between the belt ( in other machines you need a floor mat so you don't hear the huge thuds on a machine upstairs from the floor hits.) Now the resistance is in the shocks. I did notice a difference. I felt no knee pain after a hard run that I normally feel even on our gym commercial machines.

COMMERCIAL MOTOR:

A commercial highpower motor is pretty much unheard of in a machine this price! However, every write up I saw on the machine as I tried to get more info on it before it arrived said the motor is 3.5 HP. The listing on this page said it's 2.75 HP. Has to be a typo. A machine that may last twice as long for half the price of some machines with nearly half the motor? This is excellent and also means super fast and smooth incline adjustments and it has a VERY quiet motor and operation:

QUALITY:

I removed all the upper pieces and parts from the boxes and called over my mega uber bodybuilder and a friend to see if we could take the base upstairs to my workout room. This thing could not even be moved. The machine is just under 300 pounds. Even the feet on the sides that run from the base to the top feel like solid metal. I had to shell out $100 to bring in back up to get this puppy upstairs and it turns out the only way to do it is not carry it up in parts as I suspected, but to put the entire thing together first. This may sound backwards, but you can then flip up the base and connect it and then roll it. It's so heavy that its really the only way. Rolling it anywhere on the same floor can then be done easily but stairs was harder due to the weight. Why another reviewer said it was "wobbly" then? I suspect I know...next paragraph:

ASSEMBLY AND ONE SOLID MACHINE:

I would like to have a long talk with the person in charge of the directions and part labeling. I have put together treadmills before but they made this so much harder than it needed to be. First, there were too many parts and things like the cupholders could have been premolded into the top piece. No screws were labeled. Even cheap things I buy now have the screws and bolts on cards numbered with the part number then plastic is heat-shrunk over it, or they are in separate bags with stickers that label the part. Not so here and there were loads of screws and parts. Unfortunately, many of them were basically the same size and many times the wrong screw fit in a hole so even trying out various screws didn't work or you'd have to go back later and fix it with the right one or try out every size. The instructions were too basic and it took hours. And I am one expert put-it-together-er.

...Now that I read someone said it was wobbly when this thing is so solid a 350 lb friend ran on it with barely the water cup shaking. There are no bendable or lightweight parts so the only thing that could have made hers wobbly was that she said she paid someone to put it together. There are several steps that say to leave the screws loose then come back and tighten them later because you have to align something. If you don't read every direction (and sometimes try to figure out what they mean or how to do it) I could see this, but done right this thing feels more solid than my gym's machines. It really is that heavy and tight. But that came with a price of huge frustration AND HOURS of work on my part. I'm not gonna lie. If they paid 3 people off the street to put it together and timed them and interview them of what was wrong they would probably never receive a return. That investment would pay for itself.

Why five stars then? Oh, the things this machine can do!!

The best thing of all is the ifit system but that's an optional piece I bought that is made to work with this machine so I'll get to that in a minute. If you have this machine, I think that creates something amazing and, though it's marketed poorly so you hardly are "sold" on it when looking at info on it, it is SO COOL...but I digress. This is what this machine has:

BUILT-IN FAN:

This could possibly pay for itself for people like me. I can workout twice as long if I'm not dripping in sweat. I usually, therefor, turn my air down to 73 prior to working out and I still burn up. The fan blows directly on you so you stay cool the whole workout and you can start it on low and take it to high or turn it off completely.

BETTER BELT:

20x60 belt. Most gyms have this but most home pieces are around 20x54. You don't have to run nearly hitting the front of the machine with your feet or your body with this one because there is some "slack". If you look down at your ipod for a sec and slide backwards you also don't fall off the back! You can take nice long comfortable strides in the MIDDLE of the machine rather than cramped at the front. I like.

FOLD-UP STORAGE:

Another reason I was hesitant to put a treadmill in my workout room is that I have an elliptical but I do lots of cardio and Wii fitness "games". That requires open space. The beauty of this machine is you get the long belt but it folds away with a flick on one hand and stays there! So I flip up the belt when not in use, bang around doing my cardio with it out the way, and flip it back down when I use it again.

HEART RATE MONITOR:

Want to know if you are in "the zone"? Just put your hands on the bar in front of you. No heart rate monitor strap needed. Incidentally, if you want to burn more calories, don't keep them there. Moving arms burns more calories. And so does standing up straight rather than holding on and bowing down.

TOUCH SCREEN:

Easy to navigate through pre-programmed workouts, volume of speakers etc.

"INSTANT" BUTTONS:

On my gym treadmills if I decide to do a fast burst of speed I have to hit the up button: up, up, up, up, up...then when I want to lower the speed after I'm about to die of cardiac arrest, I have to do so slowly hitting "down, down, down, down", with this treadmill you can change the incline or speed manually with the up or down button BUT you can also do it instantly with the buttons on each side labeled with numbers for amount of incline and speed you want.

INCLINE:

And it goes up to a 12 incline if you so desire! Holy Steep Mountain, Batman!!

GET MOTIVATED WITH YOUR IPOD:

I have a "workout" mix on my ipod with fast beat songs that motivate me when I start to feel the "lag". There are even mixes made to be used with workouts with background tempos on itunes. The speaker system is great. And, unlike the gym, you don't have to use earphones to hear it which meant having to barely move because your ipod was connected to the machine then your ipod was connected to you via the earphone plug...Move freely and feel pumped. Trust me, you put on the Rocky theme or the theme song from the Biggest Loser when you start to lose energy, it'll hop right back in!

SAFER SAFETY KEY:

Some safety keys (a key that fits onto the treadmill then your waistband so if you go way too fast you don't fly off the back, it stops instantly) really have to be tugged on for one angle to work. Unfortunately, this has created horrowing stories of pets or kids getting entangled in them much like the cords of blinds and it can be deadly. This clips on with a light (very light) magnet. I don't attach mine to my waistband but while playing wiht the machine I hit the instant "12" button for speed which was a mistake. I'd been going fast and was worn out and needed to slow down. I thought the 12 button was the one since it was at the top of the number list and hit it. This thing started going so fast I freaked out and couldn't jump on the edges and nothing was behind me but a wall. I pulled on the cord. STOP! So it does not need to be attached to be grabbed easily but should it be grabbed accidentally it will hurt no one.

PREPROGRAMMED WORKOUTS:

There are many and I concur they are done right. The variation in heart rate for the weight loss mode is what is the most recent research shown to work for fat burning. YOu can also choose endurance or whatever your goal is to improve with the machine. You'll be offered several choices and I loved this but it did not compare to what I got after I decided to buy the ifit wifi modue even though, in spite of trying to understand what it was all over the net, I wasn't entirely sure:

iFIT IFIT IFIT!! MY FAVORITE PART!:

Look, I was already in love with the machine. I spent days trying to figure out what the heck ifit really was that it mentioned on this page. Proform really plays up that this is ifit compatible but I had no idea why I cared. The leaflet that came with the papers in the treadmill box just had some pics of Jillian Michaels and a few other pictures and words so small they could hardly be read that didn't say anything much about what ifit was. Looking at the net trying to figure it out told me few machines are ifit compatible and that this one was but nowhere could I really and truly find why that mattered to me at any great length. The website said vague things such as "You can map out a route anywhere in the country, including a 5k route you plan to be a part of, and run it on your treadmill via Google maps. Imagine the advantage that will give you!" I thought to myself "Absolutely none, viewing a map will do nothing for me. How silly." But I ignored this pitch and was, instead, a sucker for the workouts I was reading about with Jillian Michaels that I could do on my treadmill with this option(no thank you to the workouts with Elizabeth Hasselbeck) on the ifit site so I bought the ifit wifi--a module only compatible with a few manchines, of which this is one. (The ifit is, incidentally way cheaper on the ProForm site then anywhere else I saw it (and I do compare everything) and about half price of what you see it for anywhere else I looked on the net while I was trying to figure out what the heck it was...I'll get to more about the workouts in a minute but first let me touch on this part of ifit:

GOOGLE MAPS:

What this REALLY does is you can look at a map on your notebook computer or ipad, which sits comfortably in a slot on your machine, and have it zoom in wherever you want. I first picked Paris. Then I sketched out a route I felt like running with my finger (or mouse). I picked any random street because I don't actually know Paris streets. Then you upload it with a click to the machine via the wireless wifi. So get this, I begin running and I'm running down this street in Paris not from satellite view but ON the streets. Since Google has a van that tapes the streets through most of the world, it utilizes these BUT it also utilizes the terrain maps so THE INCLINE ADJUSTS AUTOMATICALLY AS THOUGH YOU ARE RUNNING THE REAL STREET IN EVERY WAY! Now, it's not flawless; the images aren't rolling like a film but more like the videos (sorry for this analogy) you see when there is a camera in some bank and a crime and they are showing it on tv...they have slight gaps in between the images so if you passed a person you might see them in one step and then the next image flashes up and they are sitting down on a bench. But it's still fun when I'm watching tv and running to look down and see where I am in Paris NOW on that street or highway, and if I run faster, how much faster I get to the end of that street--while enjoying the view of the shops and cafes I passed along the way! If you are training for a race, you aren't training by looking at a map but training in the comfort of your own home to the incline of the route too! I thought there was no way they would have my parent's street on there as it's a small town but sure enough, I mapped it out on the map and I was running past their house! One image flashed to night time and cars were coming at me on this busy street. Next street I turned on it was daytime again---it doesn't do it via real time, but pretapings from Google. Kind of funny. I can then name that map "Parent's house" and simply touch that route to do that one again rather than re-mapping. I can also race myself next time I run it and see if I can run my folk's neighborhood in less time. I have a steep hill by my house...I ran it on my treadmill!

RUN IN YOUR BRA WITH STRANGERS:

Okay that got your attention. I do run in my workout bra and shorts at home. I don't choose to do this out of my house though I know some do--but it sure is cooler. Not only can you run with friends and race them if they have ifit (you pick the route and see your images and times as you all run the route on the screen, no one actually sees your image at home) but ifit also has it's own races and prizes. Not confident to run a 5k? Here's your incentive. You can pick workouts that train for a 5k in 8 weeks or whatever. There is a countdown on the ifit website and then wirelessly all machines signed up will find themselves in a location (the one coming up is in Central Park) You will then get to run a REAL race with all entrants timed while seeing and feeling the inclines of Central Park, and prizes are things like $1,000 or fitness wear. Yet you never leave your home and your cup of water is always handy. This was advertised nowhere. I found it after I bought the ifit wireless module and that's pretty cool.

YOUR ACTUAL CALORIE COUNT AND PROGRESS:

With the ifit wireless module that is compatible with this machine, you have a private account with a password (your spouse needs never know you put on those last 5 pounds, he can have his own account free on the same module with his password) Here you type in your height and weight and age etc. Now when you run, the machine reads out caloric burn that is quite accurate. I wear a bodybugg to measure my true caloric burn and surprisingly this did not overcompensate as many machines do, it was very accurate. If you don't have the ifit module, the machine still gives a ballpark calorie burn but it was higher than I burned because it was an average of what is burned in that time period at that speed not knowing if I'm male, female, petite or big. This also gives me goals to meet. Monday my chart showed I made 107% of my goal in working out via working out a bit more but I have to keep going to meet my target for the week. It is an incentive.

GET JILLIAN MICHAELS TO TRAIN YOU, DIRT CHEAP.

Here is a poor selling point on the ifit website. I thought for sure, reading the whole site, I had to buy the ifit module then I had to purchase each workout I wanted after that. There are workouts for sale all over the website but apparently it's for some older machines that didn't have the wifi module. Because it did mention some workouts with the ifit wifi I thought I'd wait and see what I got with that (if any) then buy the other workouts later. Had I known all workouts were FREE when I bought this after I paid for the module, I would have snapped it up even sooner. Everything on the site is explained as though you are already familiar with it rather than explaining what you get and what it does. So here's what it does:

I pick my level and training program on the ifit website and then what workout I want. I chose to workout with Jillian at level 2 in a weight loss program for 8 weeks. (I will progress each workout to a higher level slowly.) So this is automatically uploaded to my machine wirelessly and it knows my height and weight and age and Jillian is gonna kick my butt and we are gonna see the burn. I turn it on and she tells me to visualize that fat melting off. (Her actual voice through my speakers.) She pushes my incline up without being there (it's programmed to do so)and tells me then that "You can do this; here's a quote to motivate you...." It is funny when it just speeds up a little and she tells me to not give up when I'm not really going too fast at all. But still, when I was feeling tired I have to say words and quotes are good to hear, in addition to my music, or the tv I'm watching. I seem to get her voice when "she" is about to change the incline of my machine or speed to coach me through. ("You CAN do this!") Why Jillian sounds so mad at me in everything she says? I can't answer. Ask Jillian. Best yet? The machine automatically has my next workout ready for me the minute I turn it on the next day or a few days later. And I progress at the proper pace to increase either calorie burn, endurance, train for a race etc. However, if you want to skip a day of this and simply run on the Google maps, etc you can do that too. Elizabeth Hasselbeck is the other trainer. I can't tell you how she is as a trainer because I already know she'd likely irritate me if I heard her (LOL) so you'll have to discover those workouts on your own. This is the workout I'm doing right now, there are many others to choose from. All at no cost after you buy the wifi module that you plug into this machine. Why don't they tell you this?

It also automatically keeps up with my calorie burn each week, each workout and my nutrition plan as well if I care to enter it.

I have to say this motivated me. Normally when I'd say in my head "Ive done enough; I can stop now" I instead said "My workout isn't over yet that was planned for me; I can do this". Most are just 20 or 35 min so I CAN do them; and even if I'm distracted and want to quit and go pick up that pile of clothes in the corner, I didn't and had far more energy to pick them up afterwards.

NIKE PLUS:

This is not an accessory I purchased so I can't review it but, in researching it, apparently it's an inexpensive device you put on your shoe that automatically keeps up with your progress by reading how you are doing on the machine via your pace and height and weight etc? Since I had other means of doing this (my bodybugg and the wifi module I bought) I did not splurge for this but I thought I should touch on the fact that it is compatible with this should someone else be looking for it.

SET UP OF THE WIFI MODULE:

Again, I wish they would test market how their instructions work in real life and avoid some frustration. They need a manual with better instructions. It's not hard to do, but when there is a glitch, you don't know what it's supposed to be doing or if it's doing it. For example, I got my module all set up on the computer, went to my machine, put it in as instructed, I see a green light flashing, then it says it's not connected, do it again, green light flashing then red light, I go to google the problem solving and it says red light means it's not connected. So I try again. Many times. The next morning someone is at customer service and it turns out there was some glitch and she gave me fast instructions on a manual set up. This could all have been in a how-to guide to avoid frustration--but it wasn't. Then she explains the red light is ok. You'll sometimes see that and it will come back on as green. (So mine may have been working all along that second time but I wasn't told what to look for.) She also told me what the screen should be saying if it was doing it right and what it was doing wrong if it said something else. Now granted, this probably works flawless for most people but I did have a glitch in my module which she confirmed, and the instructions were so basic. Just detailed instructions would have saved me again. But their customer service was great and she got it going in mere minutes. Unfortunately, when I began the task after receiving my module in the mail the evening before, customer service was closed and I sure wanted to use it so I tried to for hours! Test market with real people to see if the instructins work and frustrations may end. It's not as hard to set this up as it seems. And I didn't even know what an SSIN was...had to google it...things like that for non-computer wifi people that they are asking for would help too. Once I knew what that was code for I knew just what it was. And even though mine had a glitch I could have hooked it up in mere minutes the night before had the instructions been detailed.

Which leads me to...CUSTOMER SERVICE:

When my machine arrived the movers (it was shipped LTL on a truck) had obviously placed something ginmormous like a piano on top of it. This machine had wood pieces in the carboard and was well packed in almost a pallet-like set up. There was a big gash in the box and a dent. When openened, I saw that there was a hairline crack in a piece of it that was a decent piece. I called about it, they asked what part, I told them, I could not believe it but the NEXT DAY the replacement part arrived! I didn't tell them I was gonna review it--I just was your everyday customer. I didn't ask to have it rushed. Nice. As was the service setting up my module even though my patience was a little then at that point.

AUTOMATIC UPDATES:

I was told that, since you leave the wifi module in the machine after set up, it automatically updates the machine whenever anything changes. For example, updates to the workouts etc. As long as you connect ot ifitlive on the computer it will "speak" to your treadmill. This is how it connects to get the google maps etc.

CONCLUSION:

I am a raving fan of this machine. I can't tell you how many people I've raved about it to already. I do like the extras it has technology-wise. Even more I like it's solid feel and weight and that my big cup of water hardly moves because of this when it's on my treadmill. This would have been flawless set up if they'd test marketed the instructions on real people and wrote all marketing as though someone knew nothing about it. (I almost didn't get the wifi module because I thought I had to purchase all the workouts advertised on the site after I did and I didn't understand I could see the maps not from satellite view of a map, but of street view progressing. I didn't know there were challenges I could do with others or get trained for a 5k or 10k right on my machine etc.) Mostly, the instructions and set up got the best of me...but no matter, like childbirth, that's all over now and I can most assuredly say it was well worth it and I LOVE this machine. It is the MOTIVATOR!! My elliptical may just get sold very, very soon.

We put the treadmill together. It did not work--could not clear the demo mode. We spent several days on hold for 2+ hours with ProForm. Customer service stated the treadmill needed to be rebooted and state would send a module to reboot. The module made no difference-it did not even light up!! Now, have spent 3 days on hold for 2+ hours. Today, the call was "disconnected" after being on hold for 2+hours. Fortunately, I called Amazon.Com customer service to share my experience with ProForm customer service. She was very apologetic. Amazon is going to allow us to return the item. I appreciate Amazon's sincerity in helping us out in this situation. I am still an Amazon customer, just not a ProForm customer!!