November 29, 2021 at 9:20 am | Author: zahidmir | Technology
I’m a bit of a fitness nerd year-round, but with Cyber Monday sales in full swing, right now is a good time to save on fitness tech. From deals on wearables to full-body workout machines, we’re seeing more than a few discounts that can set you up nicely to burn calories, not money, in the new year.
For bigger-ticket fitness gear like the popular Peloton bike or athlete-endorsed Tonal home gym, though, discounts can be few and far between. But even these upmarket solutions are seeing rare discounts for Cyber Monday. If you have cash to burn and want to give your home gym a makeover, here are three Cyber Monday deals worth your attention on high-end fitness tech we like.
Our Cyber Monday Coverage
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Tonal full-body home gym for $2,745 ($3,000) from Tonal
You may have seen NBA superstar LeBron James in commercials for this futuristic-looking, wall-mounted, touchscreen-enabled workout machine. He does myriad strength-training exercises using Tonal’s adjustable and modular apparatus, each one targeting different muscle groups. With what Tonal offers, and in my few weeks of experience with it, you can clearly see how this could be a feasible gym replacement.
Essentially, Tonal is a full cable machine, housed within a mirror-like box, that is modified to facilitate typically non-cable-based exercises like bench presses and bicep curls. There are foldable, rotatable arms mounted on either side—these are the foundation of Tonal’s wide utility. Incorporated into the device is a 24-inch touchscreen display you can use to choose from various workout regimens or build your own to follow. There are a number of plans to choose from based on your goals and the muscle groups you’d like to focus on. Tonal recently introduced live workout sessions with trainers, à la Peloton’s platform. Also like Peloton, access to live or recorded classes is dependent on a monthly fee (here, $50 a month) that gives everyone in your household unlimited access.
In addition to strength training, there are classes for Pilates, yoga, cardio, and more. Considering the cost of unlimited classes for in-person gyms—my personal gym offers unlimited classes for $250 a month—the $50 monthly fee isn’t outrageous. And the quality of classes, in my experience so far, has been good. The trainers’ scripts can be cringey, particularly in their attempts at humor, but the information is sound. The ability to pause workouts and swap-in a wide variety of related exercise substitutions (due to injury or otherwise) levels things up considerably as well. This is something I valued deeply, as the filters for selecting a substitution—same muscles but not overhead, for instance—made getting around a shoulder injury I’m currently battling short and satisfying work. You can also build your own workout to follow using the 200 exercises in Tonal’s library.
Tonal has been my sole mode of exercise for the past few weeks. If you’re looking for an alternative to the traditional gym, as I was, you’ll want to add on the smart accessories bundle. That includes smart handles (i.e., grips that let you turn the weight on or off with the click of a button, rather than touching the screen), a smart bar (for bar exercises), a pull rope, bench, foam roller, and workout mat, which brings the price up to $3,490 before the $250 Black Friday discount. Clearly, none of this is cheap, but the investment could pay off over time in gym/class savings. Tonal is also compatible with Apple Watch and external heart rate monitors. Just note that the system’s resistance tops out at 200 pounds.
Tonal says its Cyber Monday deal will end at 11:59 PM PT Monday, November 29.
Mirror equipment-less workout system for $995 ($1,495) at Mirror
If working out at home in front of a giant screen rather than a living person (yuck) sounds appealing, but you don’t need a full workout machine to go with it, then the Mirror is worth a look.
Mirror’s 43-inch screen is controlled via a smartphone rather than a touchscreen, which makes sense given that the device is still, well, a mirror. The device’s class library includes live trainers (with personal feedback, if you desire), and it’s a bit more built-out than Tonal’s library. There are 10,000 classes across 50 different categories, from boxing and yoga to dance and meditation. Classes focus mainly on workouts that require little to no equipment. You can opt for bundles that include dumbbells and heart rate monitors, among other accessories, but the Mirror Basic may be all you need if you already have that kind of gear on hand. That device is on sale for $995 after this $500 Cyber Monday discount.
Mirror’s website says this deal will end on November 29 but doesn’t give a specific time. To be safe, we’d suggest those interested put in an order before 11:59 pm EST.
Peloton Bike+ exercise bike from $2,145 ($2,495) at Peloton
or Peloton Bike essentials with accessories from $1,495 ($1,645) at Peloton
Not to be outdone, many of the ever-popular Peloton series of treadmills and exercise bikes are also seeing $250-350 discounts. The entire Bike+ line is discounted by $350, for one, bringing it down to a starting price of $2,145. This also includes free delivery and assembly, which typically results in another $250 expense. Compared to the base Peloton Bike, the Bike+ adds a larger rotatable touchscreen display with louder, clearer sound for use during non-bike workouts, such as strength training and yoga. It also throws in automatic resistance adjustments that you can set to match your trainer’s suggestions during classes, as well as integration with Apple’s GymKit platform.
The base Bike bundles are more modestly discounted by $150, but this essentially cancels out the cost of Peloton biking shoes, three-pound weights, and headphones. Tread, Peloton’s treadmill line, is also offering a $250 discount on accessory-toting bundles, with the smallest option including dumbbells, resistance bands, a workout mat, and a heart rate monitor. The brand name might bring to mind some scary press from earlier this year regarding Tread-related injuries, but rest assured that these are not the recalled items that had much larger, faulty displays.
As a novice cyclist who’s never had any interest in the sport, I can say that Peloton bikes truly surprised me with their fun factor in testing. The trainers make the experience, and Peloton’s roster is overflowing with great onscreen talent to motivate, engage, and entertain you. Classes cost $39 a month per household or $13 on the app without bike and treadmill content.
Peloton says this Cyber Monday deal ends Monday, November 29 at 11:59 pm EST.