This site may contain links to affiliate websites, and we receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such links. Read Our Disclosures
The Yowza Fitness Lido Treadmill is the lowest priced running machine in the collection, yet still features innovative technology, such as their Intelligent Weight Management program.
This review takes a close look at the running deck design, workout programs, user profile creation, assembly (hint: there isn’t any), and console design, to help you decide if this is the best choice of treadmill for your own home workouts.
Running Deck Design and Manual Incline
When you’re looking to buy a new treadmill, one of the biggest influencing factors in whether or not a machine is right for you will be the size of the running area.
As your natural running stride will usually be directly proportional to your height, you’ll need to find a treadmill with a treadbelt long enough to support your intended workout style.
If you’re looking to simply walk or jog, then this will be less of an issue, and the running area for the Lido (17″ W x 51″ L) should be sufficient. However, if you’re much taller than 5 feet 6 inches, then you might need to pay closer attention to your foot fall at a running pace.
If you’re looking for a treadmill with a slightly larger running area, then the Osprey adds a few extra inches to the width. Their commercial grade Daytona model (non-folding) also sees an increase in the length, measuring an impressive 20″ (W) x 60″ (L).
The maximum belt speed is quite conservative at 8.8 mph (14 kph), but still more than capable of providing a challenging and effective workout.
Incline options are available, but can’t be adjusted directly from the console. Because the Lido uses a manual incline system, you’ll need to choose from one of two settings using the inclination leg before you start your workout.
Transport, Safety, and Storage
Although the 180 lb+ machine weight doesn’t exactly classify the Lido as a lightweight treadmill, it remains significantly lighter than some of the high-end commercial models that are available for home gyms.
The bulk of this weight has also been centered around the front belt drive motor, incline system, and transport wheels.
These are the same wheels that form part of the impact absorption system, and combine with the fold-flat design and conveniently placed handles to make it easier to lift the running deck if you need to move to a different space.
Once you’ve moved the treadmill to an area where you want to start your workout, Yowza Fitness have ensured that you can do so safely, with the addition of a safety key.
If you already own a treadmill, or have been using one of the machines at your local gym, you’re probably already familiar with its benefits.
Despite having an incredibly simple design, you’ll probably struggle to find a treadmill that doesn’t have this included.
If you haven’t used one before, you essentially need to attach one end to the console, and the other end to an item of your clothing. That way, in the unlikely event that you did trip on the running belt, it would quickly come to a complete stop to prevent the risk of injury.
Yowza Fitness Lido – Features Summary
- Delivered 100% assembled
- 5 minutes from box to exercise
- 2 levels of manual incline
- Super Quiet, Drive Belt
- Most Compact Treadmill with fold up or fold down design
- All in one exercise and weight management programs
- Best in-class Lifetime warranty included
- 2.5 HP Continuous Duty Motor
- One Touch 0-9 MPH Speed
- High Density Absorption Deck
- 17″W x 51″L Running surface
Display Console Design
Unlike with their CardioCore series of ellipticals, Yowza Fitness actually have relatively regular upgrades of their display consoles as you progress through their range of treadmills.
There’s no denying that the Lido console has quite a simplistic design, with just a handful of buttons being used to do everything from setup user profiles to adjusting the belt speed.
But in a sense this makes the learning curve much shallower, which is helped by the incline being manual instead of power driven.
Unfortunately the LCD isn’t large enough to include a display matrix, which is often useful for knowing what to expect from one of the preset workouts.
You’re also missing storage areas that are included on the Osprey model, and any form of display shelf for supporting a tablet or smartphone.
However, you do still have the bright blue backlight, which makes it easier to keep track of your distance, speed, heart rate, time, and calories burned.
User Profiles and Heart Rate Tracking
Whether your goal is to increase endurance, burn fat, or solely to increase your cardiovascular fitness, being able to track your heart rate should form an important part of your workout.
Although the Yowza Fitness Lido does actually provide heart rate hand sensors, these have been located much further forward than we’ve seen on most designs, being built into the console support bar rather than the hand rails.
While this doesn’t affect the quality of the reading, it does make it more difficult to hold onto the sensors for longer periods of time without impacting on the quality of your workout.
Later in our review we actually compare the Lido to another highly rated treadmill in the same price range, which does feature pulse sensors in the hand rails. We tend to find this makes you less worried about coming into contact with the motor casing when running at higher belt speeds.
If you’re mostly looking to walk or jog during your workouts, then having the pulse sensors set slightly further forward shouldn’t be an issue.
YouTube video showing the Yowza Fitness Lido Treadmill in action:
7 User Profiles
In terms of the user profiles, the Lido actually features 7 individual user memory slots, which can record information such as your age, weight, height, gender, and fitness level.
This may seem like fairly basic information, but it’s actually incredibly useful for improving the quality of your workout.
The age is used to improve the accuracy of your heart rate reading, weight to improve the accuracy of calories burned, and height for calculating your BMI when combined with your weight.
When you’re buying a new treadmill, user profiles like these are high up on the list of features to look for, along with the size of the running area and workout variation.
Why Preset Workouts Are the Key to Success
The reason workout variation is so important is due to a process referred to as cardiac and skeletal muscle adaptations.
A large number of scientific studies, performed on humans and animals, have found that increases in muscular activity as a result of cardiovascular exercise quickly lead to adaptations.
Put simply, if you start a completely new workout program which stresses the muscles in ways they aren’t used to, then you will adapt by building stronger muscles or improving the efficiency of oxygen uptake.
However, if you then stick with this same program for a prolonged period of time, then your cardiovascular and musculoskeletal system would have already adapted to the change, and you will no longer see the same quick gains.
These same studies have found it takes as little as 4 weeks before the body has adapted to your new training routine, which is why you need to be able to change things up on a regular basis to keep losing weight, gaining muscle, or improving your fitness level.
This is why Yowza Fitness have included a variety of different preset workout programs to go with their Intelligent Weight Management system, to enable you to create these new fitness plans.
The 6 preset programs available with the Lido treadmill have actually been split into two main categories; target setting and something called ‘Preset Speed’.
6 Workout Programs:
Program 1 – Time:
Allows you to set a target duration for your workout in much the same way as the Target Time program found on the Yowza Fitness ellipticals.
Program 2 – Distance:
Similar to the Time program, but in this case you define a target distance, which counts down towards zero as your workout progresses.
Program 3 – Calories:
While the IWM program automatically calculates a target number of calories, this program actually lets you define your own.
This is where the improved accuracy created by the user profile information is so crucial, as you won’t be relying on a number than can fluctuate wildly between workouts, which is often the case with consoles that don’t allow profile creation.
Program 4 – 20 Minutes Preset Speed:
The first of the ‘Preset Speed’ programs, this follows a fixed 20 minute duration, with automatic variations in the running belt speed. Starting at a light jog of 8 km/h, this gradually increases to a peak of 12 km/h, in a profile that feels very much like a hill climb.
Of the 3 programs in the Preset Speed category, this is the best option for increasing lower body muscle tone, due to the higher belt speeds.
Program 5 – 40 Minutes Preset Speed:
At twice the duration of the previous program, and with a more gradual increase in belt speed, this is the ideal program for improving endurance. The peak also isn’t quite as high, with a top speed of 10 km/h.
Program 6 – 60 Minutes Preset Speed:
With a speed profile that resembles more of a ‘peak’ program, and at lower speeds than either of the previous two workouts (max. 8 km/h), this is the best choice of program for anyone that’s starting a new fitness routine.
What is Intelligent Weight Management?
As far as we know, Yowza Fitness are the first fitness equipment company to develop a way to sync your bodyweight directly to your user profile stored in the display console via weighing scales.
Aside from its accuracy benefits, this then allows your bodyweight to be measured against your height (also entered as part of your user profile) in order to calculate your BMI.
As a result, the technology behind IWM then determines the weight range considered ideal for a healthy BMI, and displays your recommended target weight on the screen automatically.
If you want to use this target weight as your guide, you can then choose to start a custom workout, which has been specifically designed to burn the optimal number of calories.
You might already be used to using the ‘Calories’ preset workout we mentioned earlier, in which case working towards a calorie goal will probably feel very familiar.
As you might expect, this number is automatically adjusted to suit your workout intensity level. So if you were to start running faster, the estimated duration of your workout would drop, as a higher work rate would mean you reach your calorie goal faster.
There’s also really no issue with deciding to slow your running pace if you wanted to. The goal will simply adjust itself and you will still reach your target, but it just might take a few minutes longer.
To save having to go through the setup process with the weighing scales again next time, you can always choose to save this workout so that you can start more quickly next time.
Having this level of customization around your workout program is certainly a big help when it comes to focussing on a specific goal.
But is the Yowza Fitness Lido treadmill your best option for under $1000?
There is one machine that we felt it was important to make a comparison with, which also has the benefits of custom workout programs and heart rate tracking, even at this low price point. That treadmill is the LifeSpan TR 1200i.
Yowza Fitness Lido vs. LifeSpan TR1200i
With both of these machines being amongst the best in class for this price range, we wanted to make a thorough comparison between the two. This includes everything from the weight limit to the folding frame system, in order to make sure you find the model that best suits your style of running.
Comparison table:
 |  |
|
| Model | Yowza Fitness Lido | LifeSpan TR 1200i |
| Incline | 2 levels (Manual) | 15 levels |
| Speed | 0.5 - 8.8 mph | 0.5 to 11 mph |
| Preset programs | 7 (incl. IWM) | 6 |
| Heart rate tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Weight limit | 250 lbs | 300 lbs |
| Running area | 17" (W) x 51" (L) | 20" (W) x 56" (L) |
| Motor power | 2.5 CHP | 2.5 CHP |
| Deck thickness | 1 inch phenolic | 3/4 inch phenolic |
Taking a look at the comparison table above, we can see that there are similarities between the motor power and the workout feedback you can track via the display screens.
The warranties are also quite close, with both machines offering lifetime coverage on the frame, and the TR1200i just edging ahead with an extra year on the parts.
One of the most important differences though is the size of the running area.
Unless the treadmill you’re buying has a long enough running area, you’ll struggle to build up to your full natural running stride. (Find out more about the importance of running area size in our Treadmill Buying Guide)
That being said, although the weight capacity is also slightly lower with the Lido, the folded dimensions are much more compact.
It’s also much easier to transport the Lido than it is the LifeSpan treadmill. This is due to being 16 lbs lighter, folding flat instead of only to a 70 degree angle, and the transport wheels being more conveniently placed.
In summary, it looks like if you’re much taller than around 5 feet 5 inches then you’ll probably want to start looking towards the TR1200i model, simply because of the larger running area.
However, if you’re short on space and looking for more target-driven workout programs with a similar level of warranty coverage and no assembly whatsoever, then the Lido would be a better option.
Ease of Assembly and Maintenance
When you’re buying a new treadmill, it’s often important to consider just how easy it is to transport and assemble.
Unless you plan on permanently dedicating an area specifically to the treadmill, you may also want to find out whether it can be folded down, in order to make the best use of the space available.
The Lido treadmill from Yowza Fitness is one of the few machines we’ve come across that can be folded almost completely flat, and is delivered with no further assembly required.
This even goes beyond what we’ve seen with their higher priced Osprey model, where although the running deck, upright supports, and console are already connected, you still have a few end caps and bolts to secure in place.
Once you have the Lido in the room where it’s going to be used, you can simply slide it out of the box, lift the lightweight console support frame into place, and lower the side rails to their supportive position.
View the user manual for the Yowza Lido Treadmill
It can also be worth knowing about the level of maintenance required, as some warranties insist a certain routine is maintained in order for them to take effect.
While this isn’t strictly the case with the Yowza Fitness Lido treadmill, it is recommended that the running belt is adjusted when required, and running belt lubricated every 4-6 weeks.
Yowza have actually gone to great lengths to ensure all of these steps are easy to follow, including full step-by-step instructions in the user manual, and even the lubricant needed to keep the belt running smoothly.
For a treadmill that’s often available for less than $1000 with no assembly required and maintenance amounting to no more than 5 minutes per week, this really has everything we could hope for from an entry level machine.
What’s Covered by the Warranty?
- Frame: Lifetime
- Electronics: 2 years
- Belt, deck and rollers: 2 years
- Labor: 1 year
Review Overview
Overall Review Rating
3.5 / 5
Although the weight limit is a little on the low side, it's actually what we would expect to see from a treadmill at this price point. If you think this could be an issue, we would certainly recommend taking a look at the Osprey model. For a machine that's only slightly higher priced, you get a much more substantial 350 lb weight limit.
That being said, it's the fold-flat design and fact that no assembly is required that's so refreshing. Within 5 minutes of the treadmill being delivered you can be enjoying your first workout.
As with most running machines at this price point, the entertainment features are pretty much non-existent, but this is to be expected, with more importance placed on getting the most effective workout you can with a lower budget.
Overall, although the Lido doesn't quite provide the same level of display console functions, power incline, and running area size of the LifeFitness TR1200i, it's certainly the best option when it comes to compact, space-saving design.
Alternatively, if space isn't an issue and you would like a larger running space with more control over the incline and speed directly from the console, then we wouldn't hesitate to recommend the TR1200i model.
Product dimensions: 63" (L) x 32" (W) x 52" (H) Product weight: 182 lbs Weight limit: 250 lbs
USA Home Gym gives in-depth insights into gym equipment, supplements, and fitness training methods. The motivation behind USA Home Gym is to provide you with information that goes beyond what you can find in any user manual, customer review, or other online review sites.
We go to great lengths to ensure that our reviews are completely comprehensive, usually covering everything from the design features to the warranty coverage and exercise options. This is all to help guide you towards the home gym equipment that’s best suited to your goals and budget, whilst also being the highest quality option in your chosen price range.
