Review of Gold's Gym Stride Trainer 300 Elliptical

I had been wanting an elliptical for months due to friends and family ranting and raving about how effective the machine was at targeting just about every muscle in your body, and with summer months quickly approaching I figured I could use some toning in certain areas.

I knew that I did not want to spend thousands of dollars on one, nor did I want to join a gym as my schedule makes it too much of a hassle to really go home after work, get dressed for the gym, work out and go home and shower. Instead I settled on a decent low budget elliptical. That was basically how I ended up with Gold's Gym Stride Trainer 300 Elliptical.

This particular model was only available online, so I had no idea what I was getting into. I based everything off of consumer reviews, and although this particular elliptical has mixed reviews, I had to take the plunge and see for myself just how well it worked, and how effective it would be for me. Less than $400, and a week later I had my gigantic box delivered.

Before getting into putting the exercise equipment together, let me go over a few of the perks that sold me on this model.

Gold's Gym Stride Trainer 300 Elliptical has a 14 inch stride, which is not a whole lot of stride, but it is relatively basic to elliptical machines. It states that the stride is adjustable, but I was not at all able to figure out how that feature works, and I have had the machine for over a month now.
The elliptical also has a heart rate monitor, 8 workouts to choose from (or you can just go as you would), the machine claims to have silent magnetic resistance, and resistance options from no resistance, to a lot.

Set Up:
 
I played no part in the set up, by my boyfriend had it up and running in about an hour. He stated that it was not hard getting together at all.

My Use:
 
Gold's Gym Stride Trainer 300 Elliptical worked beautifully for the first week of use. I enjoyed hour long workouts, while watching netflix on my iPad, which just made the time go by easily. The noise level was not a bother at all, and sounded as silent as a new bicycle. The LCD monitor was bright and easy to see, and the elliptical just seemed like the dream machine I had always wanted.
I was even noticing a difference in my waist and legs after just a week of daily use. I was using it for 1 hour per day consecutively.

A Week Later:
 
Now do not get me wrong, Gold's Gym Stride Trainer 300 Elliptical still works perfectly for a workout, but after just a week of daily use the machines supposed silent magnetic whatever- went from noise free to a frigging racket. It clicks, squeaks, and truly takes a lot of the enjoyment out of working out. I did not know something as simple as a clicking noise could be so bothersome to me while working out, but it is.

I had my boyfriend look at it, and oil up some of the parts, but after testing it for himself he was able to find that the noise was coming from the inner part of the elliptical, and he did not want to mess with it as this part was pre-built by the factory.

UPDATE* A month later the noise stopped all together. Thank God, because it had grown very irritating during that time period.
 
The second annoyance with this elliptical was the LCD screen. It was lighter and harder to see the numbers on it while working out. Granted I could still see it, it was much lighter and for those with bad eyes, it would easily become a major issue for them.

I figured that the batteries may have needed to be changed, but this did not help the issue. There are days when I use it when the LCD is vivid and easy to see, and other days where it is hard to see anything. It is very give or take, and you never know what the LCD screen will do on any given day.
For me though, it's not a deal killer, as I use other GPS devices to track my distances.

Overall:
 
Even with the issues, I still love the workout. It is easy, and fun, which is very hard to find when it comes to equipment. I like it and continue to go back to it. The best thing about it though are the results, it quickly tones legs, butt, arms, and even the tummy. I like it, it feels like a full body workout and the results show.