Can you tell me about your cross-trainer/ elliptical trainer...

[NormaSnorks]

I've seen quite a few people mentioning that they have one, and it's something DH and I were thinking about, so a few questions:

• can you recommend any particular model (the cheap Argos type ones look as if they'd fall apart, and the state of the art Gym standard ones are too expensive. Ideally I'd like a mid-range, sturdy and reliable one.

Also, people talking about 'running' on them - how is that possible - does that just mean going really fast? But aren't they more of a stepper than a treadmill?

not so much of a stepper as in feet climbing up and down, more sort of running on air - the pedals go in a circular motion, so like running but with the footplate staying in contact with the foot so you don't have the impact of running on a treadmill, so much better - low impact , so kinder on joints and ears - treadmill thundering away, vs relatively silent cross trainer.

I didn't get mine in UK so can't advise, mines a kettner or something like that, got an expensive model halb price so was a good one but not too expensive.

Mine's brilliant, mid-range, low impact, you can vary the difficulty so it's easy to feels-like-running-in-deep-water type of thing. I'll go and check the make, back in a sec...

I run on it and do about 10km/h Not very fast I know , But I'm quite a lardy arse.

No impact, which I prefer

Bought mine £300 John Lewis witha 3 year gtee!

I think its kettler.

It's an Olympus Sport Strider, we got it from one of those out-of-town big sports shops. The sales person advised us not to get bottom of the range, but the highest ones are gym-quality which you only need if you are on it all day every day.

We had this a few years and it's absolutely fine still.