Okay, you have to admit that the name Yowza Fitness does not spring to mind when asked to name the top fitness equipment brands in the US. That is because as a brand Yowza do not have a long track record. However, when assessing the value of the Yowza fitness products, it is important to understand that the factory behind Yowza has been making fitness equipment for a very long time.

Yowza Fitness is actually the trading arm of Greenmaster, a manufacturing company whose top dogs have a fitness equipment pedigree that goes back for nearly 50 years. In fact, Yowza and Greenmaster share both a chairman, Leao Wang and an Executive Vice President for Global Sales, Allen Ting.

Mr. Wang has been dreaming up innovative exercise bikes and elliptical designs since the ‘80’s and could paper his house with all the patents he had received while Mr. Ting cut his teeth on building the Reebok, Diadora and Greenfit brands.

It is fairly safe to say that between them these two know a thing or two about fitness machines – so how does the Yowza Sanibel hold up as a mid range home elliptical?

Well first, let’s look at Yowza’s own top 5 reasons for buying a Yowza Sanibel elliptical.

1. Exclusive Cardio Core Technology

The sequence of arm and leg movements forced by the ‘cardio core technology’ force a lateral stress that isolates the abs and is especially effective at whittling muffin tops and waist waste. In Yowza’s own words: In layman's terms, this machine will do more to develop your abdominal muscles than any crosstrainer on the market.

2. Maintenance Free Rear Drive

What matters to buyers when putting down large amounts of hard earned cash on home exercise machines is not only that it arrives and is functional for the first month after installation but that it continues to perform over the long term. That is why on all our elliptical reviews we have done a sweep of the internet airwaves to check on the buzz from buyers – particularly those who have owned the machines for over three months. There were no complaints at all to be found about the Yowza Sanibel. Impressive indeed!

3. Factory Direct Pricing

Well, there is no arguing the fact that as the factory that makes these machines also owns Yowza you are unlikely to find better deals anywhere else.

4. 60 Day Money Back Guarantee

This is a great point and one that more fitness equipment sellers could learn from. It is very hard to tell from looking at a fitness machine online or from a quick five minutes step-on in a local store if the machine you have chosen is really right for you. It is quite possible that the same supplier has a different machine which would be better. The 60 day guarantee is a commitment to client satisfaction. We love that!

5. Free Next Day Shipping

Free shipping – no complaints there. About the Yowza Sanibel itself, the machine offers nine user memory profiles – a lot more than the average - which store the weight, height and sex for each user.

There are twelve preset programs including Target Time, Target Distance, Target Calories, a core interval program, a core fat burning program and a heart rate program. The blue backlit console is a bit fussy with a lot of information jammed into quite a small space. The stride is a comfortable 21” and the stride motion is silent, reversible, roller less read drive. The frame is durable powdered steel and the machine is equipped with an iPod dock, 3 speed adjustable fan, Polar heart rate receiver and pulse grip on the handlebars.

One of our top choices in the mid-price range, the Yowza Sanibel also offers a solid lifetime warranty of the frame with five years on parts and two years on labor. Five stars all round!