Its been a month since we’ve had this elliptical machine and I guess now would be a good time to review it. 
This is the Proform 500F Elliptical Trainer from Sears, Farwaniya. The listed price was 240 KD but we got a good discount on the machine. We had also considered a Kettler CT 307 that we saw at Go-Sports in Avenues mall but we ultimately went ahead with this model.
Fit and finish is rather good and the foot pedals are quite large which is perfect for me. The instrument panel has a neat layout with large buttons that are easy to operate while you’re working out. There’s also a built-in fan which operates at two speeds but its so weak it feels like someone blowing at you thru a straw! The resistance is controlled by magnets and so theres no annoying knob to twist and click. Resistance levels are from 1-9 and you can feel the fly wheel tightening up as you increase the resistance.
What I liked:
. Good solid feel with quality fit and finish
. Pedals and handles are large with adequate grip
. Resistance adjustments by + and – buttons
. Large LCD display showing; Calories burnt, Time elapsed, Laps, Program modes and Speed (RPM), its illuminated by a blue glow that’s not too harsh on the eyes.
. Program mode which tells you to ‘Go Faster’ , ‘Go Slower’ or inform you when you’re at the optimum pace for that particular workout
What I didn’t like:
. Feeble excuse for a fan, I could do without it completely
. Just one bottle holder with no extra space for a mobile phone or Mp3 player
. Batteries used at ‘D’ type and it didn’t come with an external power supply (Optional extra)
Proform 500F on Amazon [link]
The Toy Room
You need an extra bottle holder …at home? Dude, when you go through the first bottle, take a break, walk over to the bar and get yourself another one!
…unless you like to mix your kingfisher and black label while working out.
How many cals have you burned till date?
well I didnt mean I need another bottle holder. Theres no space on this thing to keep my mp3 player and mobile while I’m working out
I burn about 450- 600 calories in one session which takes about 45 mins to 1 hour.
hey Matt,
thanks .. I’ve been waiting for this review
btw.. whats the price u paid (after discount) n what was the price on Kettler ..
n if u could add why made u chose Proform over Kettler that’ll be awesome
The kettler was 200 KD while this was 194 after discount(listed price was 240)
The kettler had a rotary knob to adjust the resistance and I dont like that clickety stuff.
we chose proform coz it had better reviews and it looked better than the other one.
hi mathai
aashy here ..thanks for the reveiew actually i was looking for a reveiew of same.
I bought one yeserday.am having a doubt…when i cheked in workouts i saw upperbody 1 and upperbody 2 but time for both workout is given as 20 wats the diference.
while we workout how will we know which workout are we using
aashy: The difference between upper body and lower body workout is in the way you use your hands during the session. If you want to exercise only your legs you can hold onto the grab bars on top or just let your hands hang by your side.
For an upper body workout grab the handles and use more force to push and pull them towards and away from your body. Please see the link below for more information on how you can use your machine.
http://www.allellipticals.com/elliptical-trainer-workouts.html