We know that purchasing new exercise equipment is a big decision for most people. You have to consider the cost, whether you have space to store and use it, and if it fits into your lifestyle. However, we also know that Echelon exercise equipment has helped people around the world and from all different backgrounds live healthier, more active lives. We’ve compiled three different case studies from three very different Echelon users so you can see for yourself how the company is changing lives.
Echelon helps television presenter Laura Hamilton make time for herself
Laura Hamilton has been gracing our television screens for nearly 20 years. She got her big break playing Melody on an episode of the children’s show Fun Song Factory. Since then, she has hosted many television programs, including Staraoke, Loose Women, and A Place in the Sun. Laura Hamilton was even a competitor on the sixth season of Dancing On Ice and managed to finish in second place.
Laura has been very open about her diet and exercise routine. She revealed to Express that she does her best to follow a ketogenic diet, though she explained that she considers it more of a lifestyle than a diet and occasionally incorporates foods that are not considered keto. She also spoke about her philosophy regarding exercise—namely, that healthy eating and exercising should go hand in hand. She credits a balance of the two for helping her maintain both her mental and physical health. She states that she likes to start out every day with at least 30 minutes of physical activity.
Laura Hamilton hosts a blog on her official website where she shares advice on fashion, fitness, beauty, travel, and decorating. In September of 2021, she shared a post titled “Exercising is a Little Bit of Me Time!” that explained how she had kept up with her fitness routine and held onto her sanity during the pandemic lockdowns and beyond. Upon realizing that she couldn’t get out to a gym for her usual classes or swimming and that she had very little gym equipment of her own at home, Laura invested in her own Echelon bike. Even after gyms reopened, she continues to enjoy her Echelon bike as a way to add variety to her workout routine.
In her post, Laura specifically highlighted the community that Echelon provides. Prior to lockdowns, she was a big fan of attending group classes at her gym. Echelon’s online community and variety of live classes allowed her to recreate that experience from her own home and on her own busy schedule.
Athlete Annie Bean turned to Echelon when lockdowns upended her usual fitness routine
Like Laura Hamilton, exercise instructor, lifestyle blogger, and athlete Annie Bean also had her normal fitness routine disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that followed. Annie typically participates in races around the UK, many of which got canceled when the pandemic hit. Annie admits that despite her enthusiasm for fitness and exercise, she has a hard time staying motivated to exercise without a goal to work toward. She also has stated that she prefers group fitness to working out alone. Echelon’s FitPass Classes provided the perfect alternative to going to the gym in person. Working to be at the top of the leaderboard pushed her to work harder than she usually would, and she was even able to connect and make friends with other riders. In fact, she even said that after trying Echelon, she actually preferred it to going to the gym!
Annie mentions in her blog post that she loves to mix up her exercise routine, which makes the off-bike classes offered on the Echelon Fit App especially attractive. Since getting the Echelon EX3 bike, she has also gotten the Echelon Row rowing machine and the Echelon Stride treadmill. Especially during the winter, the UK doesn’t always have the ideal weather for outdoor exercising. While she is not a stranger to working out in unpleasant conditions, sometimes Annie prefers to train indoors. Her Echelon row machine allows her to get in an intensive and engaging workout in her home gym. Annie admitted that she wasn’t typically a fan of the rowing machine, but her Echelon Row makes the experience more enjoyable. This is because the Echelon Fit app actually includes several different rowing-specific classes, many of which are taught by the same instructors who teach riding classes. Annie complimented the variety of classes you can choose from, from different lengths of classes to speed and power-specific workouts. She even credits her Echelon Row with improving her swimming performance.
Annie uses her Echelon Stride as a key component in her triathlon training program, especially on days when she is not able to schedule an open water swim session. The Echelon Stride is a folding treadmill and even has an auto-folding option. Annie specifically highlights this feature in her review and explains that the Echelon Stride has the stability of a stationary treadmill despite how easy it is to move around. With her Echelon Stride, she was able to exercise in her home, her car port, and even in her garden when weather permitted. As with the Echelon Row, Annie confided that before investing in her Echelon Stride, she was not a fan of treadmill running and found it boring. She would only run with her running club or when the weather was nice enough and did not focus on speed training. However, thanks to her Echelon stride and the Speed 20 classes included with the Echelon Fit app, she started to work on h short sprint-style running and improved her overall pace. She also comments on how quiet the Echelon stride is when compared to some other treadmill models.
Though she has not written a review of it, Annie has also mentioned that she owns an Echelon Reflect smart mirror.
Lifestyle blogger Erin Schrader discovered a love of riding after hopping on an Echelon bike
Erin Schrader is the American blogger and entrepreneur behind Life In Yellow. She writes about everything from fashion, entertaining, travel, and fitness and has even launched her own line of journals, planners, and even apparel. Erin and her husband first invested in their Echelon Connect EX-5S in 2020. In May of 2021, she penned a blog post all about her experience owning and riding the Echelon Connect bike. She was impressed by how easy the bike was to assemble and get set up for her first ride.
Erin also highlights how easy it is to find exactly the class you are looking for. After a few months of riding, she has become a fan of the classes taught by Chris Tracey and tends to look specifically for those workouts when getting on her bike. She also points out that you can filter classes by length, which is ideal for those who are trying to schedule fitness into an already busy day. Another Echelon Fitness feature that Erin likes is the ability to preview a class’s playlist before you select it. The right music can be a big help in keeping you motivated during a workout. With this feature, you can know ahead of time whether the music you will be riding to will keep you pumped for your entire workout. You can also choose workouts that prioritise speed over endurance or vice versa.
Erin found workout classes more effective than exercising on her own. She felt motivated by the instructors and liked that they could help her determine where to set her speed and resistance for a more effective workout. She also highlighted that leaderboard is an excellent way to stay motivated if you’re a more competitive person, as it allows you to see how you are performing compared to everyone else in your ride in real time.
Erin has seen a noticeable change in her overall fitness since she has started riding her Echelon connect bike and taking Echelon Fit classes. She has both lost weight and gained muscle, and she says she feels stronger than ever. When she first started using the Echelon connect bike, she usually set her resistance close to 10. Now, she has been able to move it up as far as 18. She also uses off-bike classes to incorporate stretching and strength training into her routine. She claims that the only regret she had after purchasing her Echelon bike was that she had not bought one sooner and would recommend the product to anyone considering adding an exercise bike to their home gym. If you’re interested in learning more about Erin’s experience with Echelon, check out her post about her favourite Echelon classes that she has tried.
Want to hear from more people who love their Echelon? Visit the Echelon Fit website and check out their blog. There you’ll find Member Spotlights featuring real stories from real customers explaining how joining the Echelon community changed their lives. You can also read instructor spotlights and get to know some of the passionate, talented individuals who lead your favourite classes.
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