[Editor’s note: When David Grigg commented on the ElliptiGO Facebook page about how much he enjoys his Arc, we asked him to elaborate. Here’s his story in his own words.]
I enjoyed running from an early age; as a youngster in Massachusetts I ran on the beach to warm up after swimming in the North Atlantic. I competed in middle distance races during high school and a couple of years of college, then in my twenties and thirties it was local road races and some bike races and run-bike-run races. Running 50 – 65 miles per week for a couple of decades eventually took its toll and now I have two metal hips.
My Eddy Merckx racing bike and Trek mountain bike were okay substitutes, but I still missed running.
Retiring from the workforce eleven years ago, I moved to the Indian Wells area, joined two tennis clubs and now play six days a week, singles and doubles. As I approach 70 I find aging has a way of making health and fitness even more of a priority, so in addition to tennis I also do circuit training two or three times a week in the gym with weights, TRX straps and exercise bands.
I’ve always found treadmills and stationary bikes just too boring, and my chiropractor blamed my poor posture on too much time on my bikes.
When I came across an ElliptiGO ad in a running article, my attraction was pretty natural. After test rides on a couple of models, I chose the Arc over the long striders because it’s a little more intense and worked the quads more, and strong quads help prevent knee injuries which keeps me on the tennis court.
I can’t say enough good things about my ElliptiGO Arc. I haven’t been able to run on the road for 30 years, but riding the Arc enables me to recapture the simple pleasure that running once provided. Depending on my tennis and gym workouts I ride my Arc an average 3-4 times a week, anywhere from 40 minutes to over an hour.
In only three months both my posture and my cardio fitness have noticeably improved. I’ve dropped weight and improved my fitness.
It’s helped my tennis where I hold my own with players many years my junior, but it’s more than just a cross-trainer to me.
You may need to be a runner to fully understand what I’m talking about, but the Arc enabled me to recapture what I missed from running: the freedom, the fun, the joy – it’s back! It’s turned out to be the perfect addition to my active and healthy later-in-life lifestyle.