Tunturi Platinum Elliptical Cross Trainer Review
The Tunturi Platinum Elliptical is the top of the range cross trainer from leading fitness product company Tunturi.
With 40 resistance levels and 10 types of workout available, this makes an effective piece of exercise equipment for a wide range of body types and fitness levels.
Design features
The Tunturi Platinum Elliptical trainer has been designed with all the most important features for an effective and enjoyable workout in mind.
To keep the machine as steady as possible during training there is a large 14kg flywheel, feet to keep the machine level and tracks for the foot plate support bars to slide through.
The foot plates are large enough to allow you to find the most effective feet position for your natural running stride, with a large lip at the front and sides to prevent your feet from lifting out of the plate.
While there are transport wheels added to the front of the Tunturi Platinum Elliptical, at a weight of over 100kg it is recommended that this cross trainer is setup somewhere it will not need to be moved from very often.
Display console design
Despite the large number of preset workout programmes and resistance levels that are included with the Tunturi Platinum Elliptical, the display console has been kept as simple as possible.
The ‘Quick Start’ and ‘Quick Stop’ buttons together with the central jogwheel are all you need to scroll through the menu options and adjust your workout programme or training resistance.
The majority of the display console is used for the full colour display. This shows a simple menu system for easy navigation as well as full colour images of each workout programme to make them clearer to recognise.
The built in fitness test
As well as the main workout programmes and 40 different resistance settings, the Tunturi Platinum Elliptical also features a fitness test. This is not only an effective way to check your fitness level before starting a multi-week exercise programme, but also for clearly showing improvements over time in your overall fitness.
The test simply increases the resistance of the exercise until you reach around 85% of your maximum heart rate. While you can hold onto the sensors on the handles throughout the test, your body will often move through a more natural range of motion when using a heart rate belt instead.
The test lasts on average 10 minutes while you maintain a steady pedal speed around 50 rotations per minute until a summary of your fitness test results is displayed.
Part of this information will be a number which represents a grade as to your maximum oxygen uptake capacity, which is regarded as the best measure of your overall physical fitness.
Tunturi Platinum Elliptical Cross Trainer – Features Summary
- Flywheel: 14 kg
- Stride Length: 19″
- Resistance Levels: 40
- Power Supply: Self Generating
- Brake: Induction Brake
- Ergometer: Yes
- Display: 7″ Full colour
- Monitor Readout: Time, Distance, Speed, RPM, LAP, Target Heart Rate, Energy Consumption, Resistance Level
- Programmes: QuickStart, Manual, Target HRC, Hill, Cardio, Fatburn, Interval, Fitness Test, 5 KM, Preset:7, User :1, HRC:2, T-Scale
- Bearings: HQ Ball Bearings
- Contact Heart Rate
- Heart Rate Chest Belt Option
- Transport Wheels
Workout programmes
Before you get started with any of the built in workout programmes the Tunturi Platinum Elliptical display will prompt you for some basic personal data.
This is to set the basics such as display screen language as well as adding body measurements such as height, weight and age to help improve the accuracy of fitness information displayed during your workout.
The console screen operates using a series of screens which you are prompted to move through to choose your preferred workout programme for the current training session.
You have a choice of ‘Manual’, ‘Hill’, ‘Fatburn’, ‘Interval’, ‘Cardio’, ‘5 K’ and even ‘User’ if you want to create your own workout.
- Manual – This allows you to set targets for your workout. These can be anything from the time you want to exercise for to the distance you want to achieve.
- Hill – As the name suggests, this programme is designed to simulate running up and down a hill. This is managed by the resistance automatically increasing towards the middle of your workout, then decreasing throughout the second half of your workout.
- Fatburn – While all of the programmes can be used to burn fat, this programme has been specifically designed to keep your heart rate within what is widely regarded as the most effective fat loss range (60% to 70% of your maximum heart rate).
- Interval – If you are looking to increase your endurance then interval training is a very effective way to achieve this. Periods of low intensity are followed by periods of much higher intensity before dropping back to low intensity. This is repeated for however long you set the target time or distance to be.
- Cardio – Aimed at improving your cardiovascular health, the Cardio programme builds up similar to the Fatburn workout but with more fluctuation in the intensity to improve lung capacity.
- 5 K – A very quick way of setting yourself a 5 Km target distance for your workout.
- User – Similar to the ‘Manual’ programme with setting your target distance or workout duration, but also gives you the chance to personalize the resistance at different stages throughout the workout.
The Tunturi Platinum Elliptical also features two heart rate controlled training programmes. Once you set your target heart rate, the resistance automatically adjusts to keep you within your target range.
Tunturi Platinum Elliptical
Overall the Tunturi Platinum Elliptical Cross Trainer is a high quality cross trainer that has been ergonomically designed to create a smooth and natural running movement for all fitness levels.
Due to the high build quality this makes it a good choice for a variety of training environments, from home gyms to hotels and even health spas.
The preset workout programmes and wide range of resistance levels provide you with everything you need to keep your workouts varied, interesting and effective.
Product weight: 118kg
Product dimensions: 198cm (L) x 170cm (H) x 60cm (W)
User weight limit: 150kg
Update September 2021
This product is no longer available for purchase online. To find current alternatives, please see the recent reviews of Cross Trainers.
Is it possible to use the cross trainer with an external power supply? When I stop stepping, the display shuts down???