Our ProForm Power 995i review takes this mid-high end treadmill and delivers an honest verdict. Find out how resident PT James Dixon got on with it below.
There is good reason for their ubiquity. They are brilliant pieces of kit, especially when they are done as well as ProForm generally manage. With a decent treadmill, you will find yourself able to complete hours of steady state cardio without hurting your joints – and, thanks to modern media, without getting bored!
Treadmills are accessible. You don’t really need any training to use them. They are far more immediately usable than rowing machines, for example.
They are also effective across a range of goals.
If you’re looking to lose weight, you can use treadmills to burn calories over a number of hours per week. Alternatively, you can use your treadmill to sprint, using hard, uphill circuits to skyrocket your heartrate and blitz energy.
Using them in this way, treadmills can help you to build up lower body musculature and bone density. Fast paced work will lead to significant hypertrophy (muscular growth), especially in the quads and glutes. Cardiovascular capacity will leap forward, too, as will endurance.
But what makes a good treadmill? How can you choose one?
I like ProForm. I’ve been trying out a lot of their models lately and they have all been fantastic thus far. Their range of high-quality, higher-end treadmills give a fantastic user experience with bucket loads of athletic utility.
The ProForm Power 995i is one of their more affordable models, costing a little over a grand yet still giving you everything you could ever want from a top-drawer piece of cardio equipment. Let’s check out how it performed in testing with our full ProForm Power 995i review below.
First Impressions Of The ProForm Power 995i
The Power 995i looks a little more basic than some of ProForm’s other models. I recently tried out their Pro 9000, which will set you back nearly twice its price, and the aesthetic difference is quite stark.
However, this isn’t to detract too much from the Power 995i. It’s still a very slick looking machine. It still looks like something you would happily part with a grand or so over. Light and elegant, with smooth lines and a lovely black, chrome and red colour scheme, a very decent looking console, plenty of room for your tablet, and a generous running surface, it should satisfy all comers.
I was also conscious of the dizzying array of specs contained, making it a relatively humble piece of machinery. It packs a real punch. I wasted no time giving it a go.
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ProForm Power 995i Specs And Features
The 995i has a 6 inch, high contrast, multi-colour display that serves ably in showing you the beautiful views that its iFit connectivity offers. It will come iFit enabled as standard, powered by Google Maps. You get a full 30-Day iFit Family membership included. You can customise your training, make use of iFit’s incredible workout and programme library, take part in a new workout every single day, and enjoy the view as you set out on your fitness journey.
The Power 995i lives up to its name, too, with its impressive incline options. It offers a 0-12% Quick Incline. This means that you can make the most of uphill training and routes, using and developing your lower body power as you want. The incline is automatic and powered, meaning that you simply need to press a button and the machine adjusts for you.
Treadmills should always be comfortable and light on the joints. This is a large part of their appeal – it’s what sets them apart from, and above, simple street or track jogging.
You get a roomy, generous deck with the Power 995i. The 152-inch length gives you plenty of room to get into a good stride, no matter how tall you are. The 51-inch width allows for even the largest of athletes to move as they want to. It has a top recommended user weight of 135kg, with this in mind – anyone should be able to use it.
ProForm’s absorption technology keeps impact low, so that your joints won’t suffer no matter how hard you push yourself.
They also include fans on a lot of their models, in the form of the CoolAire™ Workout Fan. This is built into the Power 995i, there to keep you fully cool and comfortable as you train. I love this aspect. I tend to sweat a fair amount as I train (more than most, but everyone gets slick as they run!). This added fan is a bit of a godsend, therefore. You can choose between two speed settings for instant control.
When assembled the product dimensions are 101cm x 91cm x 182cm, and the 995i features a powerful 3.0 CHP motor for smooth performance.
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Using The ProForm Power 995i
The ProForm Power 995i fully lived up to my expectations.
Firstly, it was as comfortable as a high-end treadmill should be. The shock absorption works very well. I used the machine for a variety of workouts and training styles, at a range of intensities and durations. My ankles (always a trouble spot for me), knees and hips were absolutely fine, no matter the workout. The cooling system was also a welcome relief – I’m sure I was able to push myself harder than usual because of it.
The engine was also impressive. It was very quiet. This is always crucial in a piece of at-home training equipment. Good luck finding time to train if your treadmill makes a racket – those you live with will not be happy, and you’ll find your treadmill very quickly gathering dust even as your fitness levels plummet! The ProForm 995i’s powerful 3.0 CHP motor was near silent, perfectly smooth, and handled changes to speed and intensity ably.
The screen was also a delight. Does anyone else remember cardio machines from the early noughties? They had chunky, clunky, awful displays with thick buttons that never worked and graphics that made no sense. Those days are behind us, luckily. Nowhere is this fact as clear as is ProForm’s machines. The Power 995i’s display is one of the best I’ve seen so far.
I always like training data. The display gives you everything you would want from a treadmill – speed, calories burned, time spent training, distance run, and so forth. There are also a couple of fantastic heart rate sensors built into the handlebars, so you can keep an eye on what your heart is doing (and what training ranges you are pushing it through).
iFit is also always a welcome bonus. I took part in a few on-demand and live sessions, all of which were fun, engaging and challenging. The process was made smoother and more enjoyable still by the Power 995i’s comfortable tread and effortless incline adjustments.
All in all, the 995i is impressive. It felt like I was on a commercial grade, gym treadmill worth a couple of grand, not a home-gym model for a little over one.
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Alternative: ProForm’s Performance 600i.
As I mentioned above, I’ve been reviewing a few ProForm models recently. There are plenty that cost a lot more than the 995i – the 9000 is a couple of grand, yet still manages to feel like value for money. However, if you’re looking to keep costs down, you could do a lot worse than ProForm’s Performance 600i.
It’s inexpensive, not cheap, representing about the best quality in its price bracket that I’ve ever come across. You get all the bells and whistles you would expect from ProForm – things like a 10” HD touchscreen, iFit membership, and a fantastic, high-end motor (with a very good 25-year warranty), all with a chunk of change from a thousand pounds.
It’s quite large and hefty, as are most good-quality treadmills. However, as with the Power 995, it’s a fully foldable treadmill. You can use the convenient SpaceSaver design to make it easy to fit a treadmill in your home. EasyLift Assist is included too, helping you fold the deck up and out of the way, whilst transport wheels make it fully portable.
It’s as easy to live with as any other ProForm treadmill – which is to say that it’s great.
You also get a year’s free subscription with iFit Coach, which means that you’ll have access to hundreds of classes and personal trainer run sessions, alongside 22 different workout apps. This is particularly handy for beginners who otherwise might struggle to know how to hit their targets and keep their training varied.
If you want all the perks of a ProForm treadmill for a real bargain, the Performance 600i is a good place to start.