I joined this site this past week to get back into working out and to get everyones opinion on places to make a purchase for at home use. I have been doing my research all week and I think I have decided to purchase fitness equipment from Bayou Fitness: Total Trainer Gym. Has anyone ever used their site? I have read many reviews on search engines and whatnot saying their service is excellent but I can't have have a conversation with a search engine to ask my questions. So anyway, what do you think? It seems purchasing on the internet is my best bet. Free shipping and not having to pay tax is a big motivator!!

um why did the link thingy change bayoufitness to bayou fintess: total trainer gym? I am not looking at a Total-Trainer from Bayou Fitness so I don't want that to be misleading. I am looking at some cardio equipment and possibly some hand weights.

I don't want to discourage you not having used one of those, but I would feel I would outgrow those soon and would rather go to a gym. Are you looking to cut or bulk?

I am not looking at Total Trainers. I am looking at cardio equipment. Bayou Fitness: Total Trainer Gym sells cardio equipment like treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, all that as well as the Total Trainer I think you are referencing, weights, benches, etc. (I was just commenting that for some reason, when I type in bayoufitness.com name, it pops up as Bayou Fitness: Total Trainer even tho thats not what I am buying from them.)
It is a bit time consuming to go to the gym to do cardio so I was thinking I would get an elliptical machine from bayou fitness because their prices seem the most reasonable I have seen in regards to the brand of equipment. I may join a gym eventually after I shed a few pounds to begin with weights but my main focus is really getting a cardio workout. It seems it would be just as easy to squeeze in 15 min before work, and 15 or 30 minutes after work everyday than to take 10 minutes to get dressed and leave the house, 15 to drive to the gym, another 5 or 10 to get into the gym and lock up your keys, etc before you can acutally work out then you work out and do the whole process backwards. A lot of wasted time it seems when I can hop out of bed and workout on my elliptical at home.

A quick thought, I'm sure others will be seconding this remark...

The best way for you to lose the weight is a combination of cardio and weight training and maybe even in the opposite order, weight training and cardio. I am currently doing the same thing and have found that advice through other threads over and over and over and over again within this forum.

Now, to your actual question...

Purchasing on the internet can definitely save you quite a bit of money. My only advice is to be sure you test the actual machine you want to buy in a store somewhere if at all possible before you buy. My wife and I bought an elliptical a few weeks ago and spent quite a long time trying different manufacturers and models before settling on the best one for us. Even if you've tried a Proform before, don't think another model will feel even remotely the same...they all differ.

For the most part the old saying is true...you get what you pay for. If you buy a cheap elliptical (I'd say $300 - $500) it will be low end and you should expect it to squeak a bit and not be extremely sturdy. This is not a bad thing if you can deal with it (especially if you are fairly light weight). Don't expect any elliptical to perform like one in a gym because those are extremely expensive and you probably don't want to sell your kidney or a child on the black market to get the money for it.

Another bit of advice...be sure to get a service plan. I haven't had to utilize ours yet (it's only been a few weeks), but everything I researched said you should definitely get one. The extra money will be well worth it two years down the road if/when something breaks.

Lastly, just to drive the point home, don't buy before you try. They all feel different. Go to stores just to jump on and off different models if you haven't already just to prove this to yourself.

Just for the info...
We settled on the Nordic Track Audiostrider 800 from Sears. Got it for $699 with a three year extended service plan for an additional $129. We did get a little off of those prices ($30) by purchasing online and picking up instore.

Really? You think weights before cardio? I had a personal trainer about 10 years ago when I was first in college and all we did was weights because she said I would gain muscle which would burn calories faster. Is that why you would recommend it or is there another reason behind it?

Its freezing up here and I guess I just keep thinking staying inside is my best option til it warms up! (I walk everywhere & aside from freezing, there are quite a few of really wonderful stores along the way to all the gyms that are closest to me..it might get rather costly jsut to workout)