Life Fitness elliptical machine is an exercise machine that simulates the natural movement of running while still allowing the user to control their own speed and stride length.
However, Life Fitness ellipticals are not built to last forever.
They need to be taken care of and maintained well so they can last for a longer period of time. Today’s article will show you how to disassemble Life Fitness elliptical machine and what steps you should take before you start disassembling it.
Without further ado, let’s get right into it!
How To Disassemble a Life Fitness Elliptical Machine For Moving?
Life Fitness elliptical machines are great cardio equipment that you can use to improve your cardiovascular health, lose weight, and get in shape.
Disassembling it is not an easy task. You need to be careful when you are doing the job.
There are many reasons why you might want to disassemble the machine like:
- You want to check the parts for wear and tear
- You want to replace some parts because they are damaged or broken
- You want to see if there is any way for you to make it work better.
And also in order to move Life Fitness elliptical, you would want to dismantle it first.
Taking a Life Fitness elliptical machine apart for moving will save you so much time and energy and make it much easier to handle the awkward shape of the cross trainer.
Basically you are taking the pedals and handlebars apart from the main base of the Life Fitness machine using a wrench and screwdriver so that you have the frame as an entity and the handles with the foot pedals as a separate one.
Next, you want to remove any attached cables from the back of your elliptical console and carefully lay them out on a flat surface or table so that they don’t get tangled up with anything else while moving your machine.
Just make sure to lubricate Life Fitness elliptical moving parts during the process of assembling it back together.
Tools you are going to need to disassemble a Life Fitness elliptical machine
Before you take apart your Life Fitness elliptical to break it down into smaller pieces, the first step is to gather all the necessary tools.
You don’t want to go through with one step, then realize that something is lacking.
In order to disassemble Life Fitness elliptical, you are going to need the following tools:
- Phillips head screwdriver.
- Allen Wrenches.
- Electrical tape.
- Plastic bag, to store bolts, washers, and screws before you resemble the machine
How To Take Apart a Life Fitness Elliptical? (Instructions Guide)
Make sure to unplug the machine from the power outlet before you start the disassembling process.
You would also consider taking photos of your machine from all angles while it’s still assembled, as this will help you put everything back together later on.
Start by removing all screws securing the arm covers, sliding wheel covers, stabilizer covers and incline covers in place. Remove the covers and set them aside.
Step 1: Remove the moving arms
It is time to remove the moving arms from the pedal arms.
Remove the bolts that attach the handlebar arm levers to the rocker arm clevis.
Repeat the procedure for the opposite pedal lever and rocker arm clevis.
Next, you need to remove the rocker arm assembly from the pivot shaft.
After you locate the user right rocker arm assembly, remove the bolts securing the rocker arm assembly to the pivot shaft.
Slide both arms off the pivot shaft and put the screws and washers into a plastic bag.
Step 2: Remove the legs
The front portion of the legs connect the moving arms to the rocker arm clevis, and the back portion slides into the side of the rod on the side of the frame.
Begin by removing the bolts to detach the legs from the frame rod.
Slowly slide the leg out. Do the same to the opposite side.
Step 3: Remove the console
Remove the console from the bracket by removing all screws on the back panel of the console. Then , remove all the attached wirings on the console.
Tape the wires down to the body of the elliptical so they don’t fall inside the unit. Put the screws in the plastic bag and set them aside.
Step 4: Remove the console upright
Remove the bolts that are attaching the console upright to the main bracket.
Next, unplug the two plugs at the base of the upright, then carefully pull up the console upright.
Once you’ve disassembled any removable parts from your elliptical, you are now left with the main frame base of your Life Fitness elliptical as one large item.
Make sure that you have collected all of the nuts and bolts and put them in a clear plastic bag so you can easily reattach once moved.
Prepare Life Fitness Elliptical Machine for Moving
If you’re not careful about moving a Life Fitness elliptical machine with its awkward tricky construction without taking the proper precautions, you would not only cause yourself some possible injury, but you also can end up breaking the equipment itself.
These are a few steps to consider in order to prepare your Life Fitness elliptical machine for moving:
1. Clear Your Path
This step is important no matter where you’re planning to move your elliptical. You should plan your path and clear out all objects that might obstruct you during the process.
Neglecting this step can result in injury for you and the people you’re with, as well as damage to the machine and other surfaces if it falls during transport.
2. Have an Assistant
The moving process is definitely a two-person job, so make sure you have at least one person to assist you in order to safely and successfully move the Life Fitness elliptical.
3. Utilize Proper Lifting Techniques
One of the best ways to prevent injury while moving your elliptical is to utilize proper lifting technique.
While doing heavy lifting of any kind, it can be easy to cop out and let your back bear most of the weight, but you should avoid this approach at all costs.
Instead, drive up through your legs and use them to shoulder most of the load. This will help keep your center of gravity low during transport and remain balanced while holding the machine.
How To Move a Life Fitness Elliptical Machine?
Typically, there are two different methods to transport a Life Fitness elliptical. It highly depends on what kind of move you’ll be doing.
If you’re going across the room or staying on one floor, you’ll only need to use the machine’s built-in wheels to move it across the floor.
To wheel your Life Fitness elliptical, you will need some tools. As most ellipticals are large and awkward in shape. Here’s what you’ll need for moving your elliptical machine:
- Heavy duty furniture dolly, in case you don’t want to use the elliptical transportation wheels or damage the floor.
- Moving blankets, to protect the machine when you move.
- Tie-down straps
The moving process is definitely a two-person job, so make sure you have at least one person to assist you in order to safely and successfully move the machine.
Moving the frame will require you to load it onto a furniture dolly and transport it to the new desired location.
To place your elliptical on the furniture dolly, lift up the front side of the elliptical, and guide it onto the dolly using the transport wheels. Roll the machine to the back of the dolly so it’s secure.
Ensure that you lift the machine with your legs while maintaining a flat back to prevent back injuries.
Don’t forget to also cover the equipment in moving blankets to protect it while it’s in transport.
The arms and pedals can be immobilized using the tie down strap and the ratchet tie. By slipping the strap under the elliptical and wrapping it up and around the arms of the machine, you should be able to keep the arms from causing any trouble.
Once the elliptical is on the dolly, make sure its weight is evenly distributed.
You can also add another strap to secure your machine to the back of the dolly or ask your assistant to hold it from the side as you walk to its next location.
If your elliptical is going into a moving truck, place it in a secure, snug area with a moving blanket underneath it.
Finally after you get your machine into the new location, the only thing left for you to do now is to assemble Life Fitness elliptical back. The process of assembling the machine is just in reverse order what you have done in order to take apart the machine.
How To Move Life Fitness Elliptical Down Stairs?
You won’t have the liberty of using a furniture dolly here. You have two options here again to follow.
Either take apart your Life Fitness elliptical to ease the moving process. If so, get back to the Life Fitness disassembling section and follow along.
However, If you choose to move the elliptical without disassembling, then the steps are similar to moving the elliptical upstairs.
As such, having two people handle the flywheel part can be helpful to disperse the load evenly.
Slide the shoulder straps under the frame of the machine and tie around each mover’s shoulders to lessen the burden of the machine as a whole.
When everything is up and ready, move slowly and carefully when going down the stairs.
How To Move Life Fitness Elliptical Up Stairs?
Life Fitness elliptical trainers are rear drive ellipticals, meaning the flywheel sits at the back of the machine, which will be the heaviest part.
As such, having two people handle the flywheel part can be helpful to disperse the load evenly.
The steps to move a Life Fitness elliptical up stairs are as follows:
- Push the elliptical machine to the top of the stairs with somebody else’s help. This is most effective when you have someone there to steady it for you as you push it up. the stairs.
- Once at the top of the stairs, pull it up and over each step until you reach your desired level of elevation.
- When you reach your desired level, take off any blocks or weights that are on it and then push it back down one step at a time until it is on the ground floor again.
Conclusion
Life Fitness elliptical machines are great cardio equipment that you can use to improve your cardiovascular health, lose weight, and get in shape.
With all the aforementioned information, you will be willing to know how to disassemble Life Fitness elliptical and safely transport it to its new location.
