April,
Thanks for the link to create your own iFit programs, that’s great!
Yep, I subscribed for the first year….I think it was about $110. I used it a lot the first 6 months training for a marathon but had an injury half way through the year and stopped using it.
My husband helped me rig it up by getting two 20’ stereo cables so I could connect my treadmill to the PC in the other room. I just disconnected the two cables and rolled them into corners of the room when I wasn’t using them. The biggest problem I had was the voice/music wasn’t loud enough. If I increased the volume too much on the PC, it would affect the “beeps” and the treadmill wouldn’t change speeds or inclines. I finally ended up getting a small amplifier from Radio Shack that boosted the sound from the treadmill to my earphones. After some experimenting, it worked super and I enjoyed it a lot.
When it was time to renew my subscription, I opted not to do so because by then I had found iTrain. I like the music better on these and the cueing is more “real.” The iFit programs use the same instructors cueing over and over again so it gets a little monotonous.
The website with the treadmill “beeps” alone is free. So I can still hook up my treadmill and run the programs but it doesn’t warn me when the incline or speed is going to change (no audio), I’ll only hear the “beep.” I wish it would let you print out the graph so you could have it handy for a visual guide, but it doesn’t. I’d have to jot down the graph on index cards to remember what the speeds and incline changes will be (or risk falling on my face!). Hope that makes sense, lol.
Kathy G