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 they say "I have to measure!".  Don't be that person, figure out your space before you embark on your cario 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. 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, the whole point
4. Delivery.  Remember you are ordering heavy equipment going up 3 flights of stairs with a 400 poiund (bulky) machine is challenging.
5. Garages.  Remember, there are rodents and other "environmental factors" that will decrease the life expentancy of cardio machines in garages

Those are the top ones to consider, I'm sure there are 

THE USERS?

Sometimes we see people so fixated on a budget they "pile in" to a product that fits a dollar requirement and they 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 Every Time: The one you use the most.  It all comes back to who is using the macine, then trying some out or at least talking to our staff about what's recommended after a short conversations.

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 limits.
2. Quantity of Users.  Active Family of 5? Buying a $800 treadmill new, that's 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 hrs 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?  BZZZZZ, might want to rething that.
4. How are you training?  If you are training for endurance, you gotta get something tough as nails, just like you.  Or, if you are 75 and general fitness, maybe not get that $4000 treadmill unless you like showing off your fitness equipment in your home, Said few ever.

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.   Sometimes though people really need to educate themselves on equipment, frankly it's best to talk someone who can suss out all the bs out there such as "paid for" reviews and fictitious "product pumping".   Frankly, use reviews as a guideline as the "review business" is a multi billion 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 it because it's 85, that's a bad decision.   We wrote a great blog article on "the best fitness equipment", suffice it to say it's personal taste.  I know that sounds like common sense, but think about it, how often have you purchased exercise equipment before?  I venture to guess, 0. or 1 at best.   So you have nothing to go on except the $9000 pieces you use in the gym, yes that's how much some of those units cost. 

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

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

FITNESS GOALS?

This consideration is more about selecting features that line you up with the benefits as it pertains to your fitness goals. Straight to the point, here's a list of common fitness goals and some features/guidlines 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 alot of cardio machines now that interact with tablets and have proprietary apps that invoke you to blend strength moves with the cardio, which is in essence, 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, as most machines stop after this period of time.
4. Rehab - Some people just want to walk again, or walk without a cain, 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.