SOLE E55 Owner's Manual page 15

Adjustable foot pedals, and correctly aligned orthopedic foot pads
Through research performed with a leading sports scientist and physical rehabilitation expert,
SOLE engineering has developed a breakthrough in pedal design. No other elliptical, at any price,
offers these unique features. The history of elliptical use over the past few years tells us that many
users suffer from numb toes while working out on elliptical trainers. Many other users complain of
ankle, Achilles tendon, knee and/or hip pain. While researching a solution to these common
problems SOLE engineers consulted Richard DeKok, P.T., M.T.C., of St. Bernard's Industrial
Rehabilitation Center in Jonesboro Arkansas.
Together we identified the inherent problem in elliptical designs and developed solutions to solve
the problems. What we found is that when you use an elliptical you tend to push outward during the
power stroke and not just straight back. This causes stress on the outer part of the foot and throws
off the natural alignment of the joints. The second problem we found is that many people tend to
stay up on the ball of their foot during the elliptical motion. Our solutions were simple but effective:
• The first solution was to add a 2-degree inward angle to the footpads. This might sound
simple but what it does is puts the users joints back into a neutral alignment. This eases the
over stressing of the ankles, knees and hips.
• The second solution was to make the foot pedal adjustable to the user's style of pedaling the
elliptical. We achieved this by adding an adjustment that allows the angle of the footpad to
be changed. There are three adjustments. The lowest one will set the footpads at zero (0)
degrees, or flat, at the bottom of the elliptical stroke. The second position sets the footpad to
five (5) degrees and the top position sets the footpads to ten (10) degrees.
There is an adjustment pull-pin under the footpads. Because every body is different, and
there are as many styles to pedal an elliptical as there are people, we found there is no one
angle that fit every user. Some users would be up on the balls of their feet, resulting in numb
toes, so we decided to let the user adjust the back of the foot pad upward to support the heel,
taking the pressure off of the nerves in the balls of the feet and the Achilles tendon. The
result was no more numb toes. Some users are uncomfortable at this angle so for them we
designed in three different adjustable angles so they could find one that feels best for them.
A great side benefit of the adjustable footpad angle is that you end up working different muscle
groups. At the highest angle you will work the quadriceps more. At the lowest angle you work the
hamstrings and glutes harder. Not a bad perk!
Ramp incline adjustment
Both the E55 & E95 Have an exciting new ramp incline feature that will further increase the variety of
your workouts. When the incline is at its lowest position you get a normal elliptical workout. As the
incline increases you will feel your knees rise higher with each step; which means you are involving
more muscle groups.
The Elliptical power incline is controlled by buttons on the console and swing arms and also
automatically controlled during the built-in workout programs.
14 E55 / E95 Elliptical