Which Arc trainers are the best?

If I were looking for one, I would try to find one of the old-school Cybex ones from like 2005. Those were the best ones because they were the closest to running. I coached a team that won NCAA DIII XC, and one of my athletes got injured right at beginning of September after having a great summer. Couldn't run, but could use the Arc, so we decided to try having him simulate on the Arc what the team was doing each day. He was out until late October; his first race back was conference. He ended up being 5th man on our NCAA championship team, and just missed All-American. He was only a sophomore.

I don't know if there have been significant changes over the years. Life Fitness now owns the Cybex brand, and their machines are quite similar.

lifefitness.com

Cybex 525AT Total Body Arc Trainer | Cybex

The Cybex 525AT Total Body Arc Trainer is ideal for workout spaces where space is at a premium – like hotels, corporate wellness centers, and multi-family housing.

Link:www.lifefitness.com/en-us/cybex/525at-...

lifefitness.com

Total Body Arc Trainer | Life Fitness

The Total Body Arc Trainer is ideal for new exercisers, those looking for a challenging high-intensity workout, and everyone in between. Learn more from Life Fitness

Link:www.lifefitness.com/en-us/catalog/card...

The LF model has buttons on the handles for adjusting incline and resistance: they're nice, but I wouldn't pay extra for them. I use a tablet to watch videos, as I don't use the apps that the LF console supports, such as Netflix. The photos imply that the basic Cybex console has a tablet app.

I posted my hands-on experience in a previous thread:

I'd just use whatever is at your gym. You're looking at a decade of gym membership to get to the equivalent cost of paying for one of these things - and it could break in the course of a decade, leading to higher costs.

How much experience do you have on an arc trainer? More likely than not, you're going to get sick of it in a couple months. You need to train longer or harder than you would running because of the lack of specificity to get the results you could from a similar amount of time spent running.

At the very least, I recommend using one at the gym over this winter and if you're enjoying it still come march, think about if it would be worth it to purchase one. I don't think the adaptive settings are what you want - you want the thing to be stable so you can go at a tempo - 85-88% mhr effort without the pounding of running. I think its easier to get to this heart rate on an elliptical, but that is less similar to running I guess.

I agree with you. Buying exercise machines is quite costly and takes up space in the house. Instead, choose to exercise at a specialized gym to try out many other equipment as well as exercise many other parts such as abdomen, arms, legs, etc.

Found this through a Google search comparing LF to Cybex. Super late reply but I had to post this at the least for other folks passing by. I highly suggest you check your FB Marketplace and Craigslist. I've found Cybex arc trainers and bought one for $600. The average is a little below $1,000. Takes up space but worth it and def not out of reach. I'm in the PNW and I check everyday for these cardio machines. They are from gyms upgrading, or unfortunately closing shop. Cybex Found this through a Google search comparing LF to Cybex. Super late reply but I had to post this at the least for other folks passing by. I highly suggest you check your FB Marketplace and Craigslist. I've found Cybex arc trainers and bought one for $600. The average is a little below $1,000. Takes up space but worth it and def not out of reach. I'm in the PNW and I check everyday for these cardio machines. They are from gyms upgrading, or unfortunately closing shop. Cybex Arcs, in particular, tend to stay up longer before being sold...pushing the price down. When you get one, YouTube 'Arc Trainer Maintenance'. Follow the video and I guarantee you'll be set for years and years for 10 yrs easy all for ~$1kArcs, in particular, tend to stay up longer before being sold...pushing the price down. When you get one, YouTube 'Arc Trainer Maintenance'. Follow the video and I guarantee you'll be set for years and years for 10 yrs easy all for ~$1k