Bowflex Treadclimber

I have one, bought for Christmas.

A bit unsure on your question - "will it work" - Do you mean will it work to help you tighten up lower body, and burn extra calories? If so yes - but then any exercise, or machine "will work" in that manner, if used consistently. Even a DVD.

Is it a miracle worker? No, its not a magical thing. Just another method to allow one to burn some extra exercise calories, using cardio. So only one tool, that may or may not suit you - depending on your needs, and goals. There are many effective "tools" and you need to find the one that works well for "you". That may be different then what works for me.

Cardio is only one piece of the complete picture, you still need to watch your diet and your calorie intake. (assuming weight loss is part of your goal)

You should still add on some strength or resistance training on 2-3 days a week, for a well rounded program. So this alone will not be the complete answer,

For me it is a beneficial option, as part of "my" overall plan :

-It allows me to get a good cardio workout, and lower body tightening (along with my strength training program), and improve my fitness level.
-I can use it in my home, I watch TV (netflix) with some wireless headphones to make the time go fast
-I use a HIIT program, at highest incline, and highest speed, so burn about 400 cals an hour. Neither my husband or I personally burn the advertised 600 cal an hour. But 400's not bad. I am pretty fit already, close to my goal weight
-lower impact, which is important to me, as I have past knee and back issues to be concerned with
-I can work out when it convenient for me, do not need to get dressed and drive somewhere
-safer for my body/joint issues then jogging or running outside on uneven surfaces that can easily cause a knee twist

Things to keep in mind - if you want to jog, this is not the device you need, You can walk fast, or do a slow almost jog. But to run or jog, you need a treadmill.

Its not hard to use, but will be awkward at first, until you get the hang of foot placement on tread, then its pretty easy

Takes up less space then my treadmill did

You must be a self motivator, and like to work at home alone. Some people find they do much better with a gym setting or group class, in which case this might not be best for you.

You must make yourself get up and workout, day after day, after day - or it will be an expensive coat hanger.

You cannot adjust tread height/resistance while working out. You must step off the treads to manually turn the dial, to do so. So for a HIIT workout, its easier to adjust treads to the level you like, and raise and lower your speed manually as you go for the minute increments you like. The machine will not do this for you automatically, but it is not hard to do. You just push up or down on the display (for mine its an LED panel) I use 4.0-4.5 speeds. And do 1min fast 2 min slower, or sometime 2 fast 3 slow.

You can also add on wrist, ankle or hand weights, or weighted vest to increase resistance as your performance improves.

Your calorie burn will depend on your fitness level, your speed, your incline, speed, etc. The calorie burn gauge on the machine does NOT match the calorie burn display from my Polar HRM with chest strap. (LCD display on treadclimber is about 200 cal higher)

I will add the machine I bought, comes with a Timex style HRM chest strap - which I do not use. If I used it - the calorie count on the LED probably would be more accurate. But I feel my Polar is one of the most accurate HRMs, so personally feel more comfortable with it. I have used a Timex HRM that was very inaccurate. And since the Treadclimber uses the Timex style chest strap, I am not sure if it is as inaccurate as my Timex HMR was. So I just have never tried it.

I personally got the higher end Treadclimber as my husband is a bit taller, and that unit has longer treads. So if a taller person will use it, that's important when you purchase. The higher end unit also had a higher weight range, and worked better for two users as far as saving data/profiles.

I personally feel it has benefited me. I have seen improvement in my lower body, and also cardio endurance. I recommend a HIIT type workout for best results.

I do use mine about 5 days a week for 60 min. But the product recommends 30 min a day 3 times a week, paired with strength/resistance training. That should also provide "results" - just depends on your goals, needs, time available.