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About Hydra's Fitness Warehouse Deals

At Hydra, we mostly carry top quality used and refurbished fitness equipment, ship nationwide to curbside or doorstep, and if you are in Chicagoland we deliver and install with a bonded/insured third party.  Take a look at our current inventory here Warehouse Inventory

Plus we take trades and buy used outright, please send us the opportunity through this simple online form.

YOUR SPACE?

I can't tell you how many times we got to the end of a demonstration and had a customer love a piece, then at the last moment say, "I have to take some measurements first!" Don't be that person! Figure out your space BEFORE you embark on your cardio or strength hunt. That way you won't waste time or money.

Below are specific space (or related) considerations, or shall I say, “constraints” we come across almost daily:

1. Low Ceiling Heights - Take the height of the tallest user & add it to the step-up height. This will give you the required ceiling height per machine.
2. Power - Treadmills are gaining in power. Some require (or strongly recommend) 20 amp service, namely NEMA 5-20p or "T Blade."
3. Placement - Put it in a room with good "flow," not next to a water heater. Prepare a space that will encourage you to use it the most. That’s the whole point!
4. Delivery - Remember, you are ordering heavy equipment! Going up 3 flights of stairs with a 400-pound (bulky) machine is challenging. Consider the weight of the machine.
5. Garages – Please take note that in many cases there are rodents and other "environmental factors'' which will decrease the life expectancy of cardio machines when placed in garages.

These are the top things to consider.

THE USERS?

Sometimes we see people so fixated on a budget, they focus in on a product that fits a dollar requirement. They then proceed to completely abandon all logic when it comes to the users of the machine. We wrote a great blog article, at least we think it's great, about "the best fitness equipment" you can buy.  We get the question almost daily, "what's the best piece of equipment out there?" Our answer to that every time: The one you use the most! It all comes back to who is using the machine, then trying some out or at least talking to our staff about what's recommended.

Examples of things to consider:

1. Physical Limitations - Bad knee, hip, etc.....?  DO NOT SET YOURSELF UP FOR FAILURE!  Carefully consider your options based on your limitations.
2. Quantity of Users – Are you an active family of 5? Buying a $800 treadmill new is a great example of poor decision making. I mean it's great you're getting a treadmill, but if 5 humans are using a machine only 4 times a week that's 15-20 hours of pounding! How long will this last???
3. Height of tallest user - Is your spouse 6 foot 6? Buying an elliptical with a short stride?  Psssst, you might want to rethink that!
4. What are You Training - If you are training for endurance, you got to get something tough as nails, just like you!  Or, if you are 75 and perform some general fitness, maybe don’t get that $4000 treadmill. Unless you like showing off your fitness equipment in your home to your guests, said few people ever.

These are just a handful of considerations to make. Everyone's situation is a bit different, but this will send your brain down the right path when selecting.

RESEARCH!!

This is one of the most popular reasons people use to "get out of" buying a machine when they get really close to purchasing; they often quote, “I need to do more research.” Though people really need to educate themselves on equipment, it's actually best to talk to someone who can suss out all the bologna that’s out there, such as "paid for" reviews and fictitious "product pumping." We suggest using reviews as a general guideline for your purchasing since the "review business" is a multibillion-dollar industry! If you love the one that scored a 75 on consumer reports and it's the same price as the one you didn't like that scored an 85....don't buy the one that scored 85, that's a bad decision. We wrote a great blog article on "the best fitness equipment." We highly recommend checking it out!

This all may sound like common sense, but think about it, how often have you purchased exercise equipment before? We venture to guess 0 or 1 at best. So, you have nothing to go on except the $9000 pieces you see and use in the gym. Yes, that's how much some of those units cost.

Below is a list of a few free review services that don't take money as far as we know. These are not consumer reports.

1. Fit Prof
2. TreadmillReviews.net
3. EllipticalRevews.com

FITNESS GOALS?

This consideration is more about selecting features that line up with helping you reach your fitness goals. Let’s get straight to the point, here's a list of common fitness goals and some features/guidelines to consider:

1. Weight Loss - Get something that allows you to watch your heart rate. Heart Rate Training is paramount to effectively training for this goal. Some machines will actually adjust speed and/or incline to keep you in your target HR zone.
2. Toning - Bear in mind, toning comes from a combination of cardio and strength training. There's a lot of cardio machines now that interact with tablets and have proprietary apps that invoke you to blend strength moves with the cardio. In essence, this is the complete workout. Toning cannot be achieved by just doing cardio alone.
3. Events or "Fitness Vacations" - Some equipment offers decline that allows you to train for hill descent. Others want to train for the ever-increasing popularity of 5k, 15k, and marathons. Factor all of this in your decision. Example: Some treadmills have "marathon mode" that keeps the machine running after 90 minutes while most other machines stop after this period of time.
4. Rehab - Some people just want to walk again or walk without a cane. These situations call for direction, so you don't end up with a clothes hanger.

Everyone has a different aim. Take this one seriously as most people laugh it off as "I don't have a goal, hehe?" Just pause. You do have one.

VALUE VS BUDGET!

Every so often we come across someone who wants to buy a $3000 treadmill for $2000. Here are two scenarios with the same prices:
 
Person X:
Negotiates hard, loves the $3000 Precor treadmill to the point of tears, and tries to get it for $2000. But this is impossible from a business standpoint. Person X values the durability, features, and aesthetics, but alas, they have a budget of only $2000. Therefore, he or she must consider the best treadmill at $2000, NOT be going around town trying to achieve this $2000 purchase for a treadmill valued at $3000. The bottom line is Person X loves and values the Precor treadmill, but has to consider his or her budget.
 
Person Y:
Has all the money in the world and comes in to look at the same Precor treadmill as Person X. While doing so, Person Y realizes they need fitness more than anything (Per the doctor’s instruction). But for some reason, Person Y thinks it's a foregone conclusion that they’re "never going to use it" and it is a “waste of money.”  For this person, if it were possible to discount the same product from $3000 to $2000, which it’s not, they still wouldn't buy it because "it's a waste of money." Really, this person shouldn't buy anything at all. Instead, Person Y should recalibrate his or her attitude, then come back once the value to life extension has been realized. Usually what happens is Person Y is "scared" into the decision and ends up looking at $600 units because of the "dust collector" mentality; Person Y goes cheaper (both on quality and price) because of a wrong perspective. 
 
So you see, this is what we mean by value vs budget. Sometimes budget limitations can be overcome by 0% financing options. For people like Person X, we can get them into the Precor treadmill option by simply financing the difference.
 
Where discounting comes in is when a person just needs a little nudge since they are oh so close to the price. Not cratering prices to the point where it's no longer mutually beneficial.