Versaclimber CL-108SM Sport Model Climber

I use to belong to a gym in NJ that had these... Everyone did about 10 to 15 min on it than got off... Than I saw a really toned girl get on it one afternoon while I was working out and she didn`t get off until 45 mins later -- soaking wet.... She became my new hero, so I tried it and got my butt kicked. Took a while to get up to her time of 45 min .. After hitting that I use to go home and had to lay down for 20 mins cause it took that much out of me...Greatest workout machine ever ---EVER...If you want cardio PLUS upper body work out at the same time you will not go wrong with this machine.... You might like running on treadmills but you will not work out your upper body with that and unless you use weights will lose upper musculature ... Which some might like but I don`t cause I like working out my entire body... God didn`t give me Just legs !!!!

I've had one of these climbers for a couple of years (and the VersaPulley too, which I also love.) They are awesome, serious and sturdy machines. Mine arrived in a wooden crate! (Felt like something being shipped to the Smithsonian.) Typically I would do quick and intense sessions of 1000-feet at a time, but I heard about 30-minute classes at a place called Rise-Nation in Hollywood. I popped in on a class a couple weeks ago when I was on a work trip and loved it. The sessions are like spinning classes, but with the Versaclimber -- complete with an instructor, darkened room, flashing colored lights, and music. Very upscale. That was an awesome workout! I did 3,000 feet, 3x my normal distance, and what I realized its that it is fun to mix up the step height, cadence, and even do some patterns. (A 3-count is tricky, it keeps alternating which leg/arm you finish on, but doing a mixed cadence like 8 quick ones on the half-beat followed by 4 slow ones on the beat is good too.) These machines are the real deal. Their price is a reflection of the pure amount of steel and made-in-the-USA craftsmanship. I can't imagine that the cheap ones hold up. The Versaclimber drives results too. The only other way to get upper and lower body simultaneously is to swim, but even that doesn't get the legs quite as well. I turn 40 tomorrow and thanks (in part) to these machines I am at the same weight as I was in my 20's and when I was racing.