What the newly designed Proform SMART Pro 5000 has that makes it one of the best treadmills on the market and highly famous among home treadmill users?
What does it offer to you to accomplish your particular fitness goal, whether it’s losing weight to get into shape or preparing your heart to go on a hike or training yourself for a marathon that you’ve always dreamed of winning?
This Proform SMART Pro 5000 is excellent quality and the latest upgrade of previous models that lives to its name in terms of technical skills, classic styling, and most importantly in providing consistent and quality workouts for years to come.
One thing that makes it distinct from most other home treadmills is its ability to decline to negative 3%. But does this decline ability really worth it buying? Our team dug deeper to find out.
So, if you’re looking for a review about the Proform SMART Pro 5000 treadmill, you’ve come to the right place. In this ultimate review, we’ve covered everything of this very sturdy, high-quality, and mid-range model of the Pro series of the Proform.
So, by the end of this deep and detailed review, you’ll be able to make an informed decision before adding it into your cart and paying.
Let’s dive in real quick.
Construction, Features & Benefits
The real strength of a treadmill lies in its construction and build-quality. This treadmill has a strong frame that stands steady no matter how light or intense you’re performing on it and should last for years to come.
The powdered coated steel uprights really hold the machine securely so even when you’re up on the top, the console doesn’t wiggle or jiggle. It’s a sturdy, well-built and durable treadmill.
3.75 CHP High Capacity Motor
This SMART Pro 5000 comes equipped with a commercial-grade 3.75 continuous horsepower (CHP) motor that will be plenty for your most home training sessions even the intense and grueling. It easily and smoothly handles incline, decline, and speed transitions.
But, don’t misinterpret the power with noise. In fact, it’s a really quiet and smooth motor. You don’t need to be worrying about disturbing other people in the home. However, your hard footstrikes can produce some noise due to friction, but the motor itself is noiseless even at high speeds and inclines.
Just like most treadmills, it’s located at the front end and has a low profile hood which can be an important thing for many users because it reduces the chances of hitting the hood even when you’re running. So, it doesn’t intrude on your track link and gives you pleasant working out experience.
12 MPH Max Speed
It has a 12 mile per hour maximum speed which is plenty fast for sprints, speed interval, HIIT, and other fitness workouts that demand high speed. This speed range gives you lots of training variables and you can do whatever you’re up to.
-3% Decline to 15% Incline
The incline range on Proform SMART Pro 5000 is nice and big. It has a -3 decline which is less common on folding treadmills, all the way up to 15% incline. This decline and incline ability allows you to do various fitness workouts such as boost your metabolic rate, burn more calories, build your cardio, tone, and train your different muscle groups in different ways.
Moreover, you also get the advantage of full uphill and downhill conditioning. You can prepare yourself for hiking, trekking and cross-country run. So, if you run outside or if you’re training for an outdoor event, it just more realistically simulates running outdoors. So, you’d probably love this big incline range, especially the -3% decline.
Speed and Incline Controls
Having full control over your speed and incline is one of the best things to have on your treadmill. You can do this in two ways on this machine.
First, this machine has Quick Select Controls for speed and incline that give you full control and make it really easy to change your incline/decline and speed quickly with just one finger.
So, if you’re doing interval training and want to move from a moderate peace of for instance 5 miles an hour up to a really quick sprint of 8 miles an hour, you can do that just with one touch.
For speed, the keys allow you to jump from different speeds at whole integers from 1 to 12. However, incline keys start with a negative 3 up to about 4, and then it skips by 2 up to 15.
All these controls are flat keys and nicely embedded at the console for easy and quick access.
But, if you want to make small changes of points in your speed and incline instead of whole numbers, you also do have up and down buttons on the console for this. The incline keys allow you to incline or decline by 0.5 percent whereas the speed will increase or decrease by 0.1 mph. So, you get more variability and full control here that enables you to have a specific speed and incline which is nice. Almost everyone with no prior experience of using a treadmill can use it effectively.
22” x 60” Large Running Area
Pro 5000 comes with a nice and large running surface of about 22 inches by 60 inches. This is about 2 inches wider than comparable models and the full 60-inch span allows you to comfortably take long strides without encroaching on the motor hood. This length should be comfortable for all height users.
300 lb User Weight Capacity
The weight capacity is pretty standard on this treadmill which is 300 pounds. So, a large number of people can use it reliably and safely.
Dimensions and Other Measurements
Before you decide where you put it, you need to know how much floor space it’ll take and how much high it stands. It’s 39.15” wide and 79” long or deep, and 71.4” high. Clearly, it’s not a small treadmill and you must measure the area beforehand to ensure it’ll fit.
10” Step-up Height
When the machine is assembled and ready to use, it has a 10-inch step-up height from the floor at the flat position. So, it’s pretty easy to get on.
16” High When Fully Inclined
It’s also essential to know how high the deck goes when it’s fully inclined. The top of the deck sits 16 inches off the ground when fully inclined. So make sure you’ve got enough clearance when the deck is inclined. Moreover, you need a little bit of a bounce room as well.
16” Long Hand Rails
If the incline is steep for you, or you need some support during your workout to keep your body weight balanced, you can rely on 16 inch long handrails.
4” Foot Side Rails
You also get nice 4 inches wide slightly textured covered side rails on each side of the belt. So, if you need to step off even in the middle of your highest speed, you can easily, quickly, and safely jump onto these, especially when you’re doing interval training such as sprints.
Folding Deck
The foldable deck is always convenient, especially if the machine is pretty big in size. This machine’s deck is foldable and effortless to pick up. There’s an assist bar at the back end of the deck that you hold to lift the deck up and the hydraulic arm helps to carry most of the deck’s weight.
The deck securely locks in place, so you don’t have to worry about it falling down on anybody. The best part is, to unfold it again, you don’t have to hold it. You can release it and it’ll gently and slowly fall to the ground on its own without a thud or a clunker. You might think the folding ability can impact sturdiness or reliability, but not this machine. It still stands sturdy without jiggling or wiggling.
Moreover, it has wheels on the base to move it around. You can pivot it towards you and roll in gently as needed.
Proshox Cushioning
Like Proform’s other treadmills, this also has Proshox Cushioning in the deck. So what it does is it absorbs a little of the impact shock when you run or walk upon the treadmill. It’s significantly better than running outside on hard surfaces such as concrete or asphalt. Moreover, you can jog or run longer without dealing with impact injuries or joint fatigues.
But, you can’t turn it on or off on this machine which might be a concern if you want to train yourself for the actual outdoor surface. However, having it is a nice feature.
Know More About Proform SMART Pro 5000 Treadmill
Accessories and Other Benefits
10” HD TouchScreen
One of the main notable features of this model is its screen. This treadmill comes with an upgraded nice large 10-inch high definition touchscreen giving you nice brilliant colors. It’s very smooth, slick, responsive, and easy to navigate.
What it does is it displays all the essential workout stats including your speed, incline level, distance covered, time elapsed, calories burned, and heart rate in a clear fashion. Moreover, it gives you access to the on-board and iFit programs. But, it’s not web-enabled which means you can’t access or browse anything out of these workouts and iFit.
The best part is, it does tilt so you can avoid any glare issues and adjust it for a great viewing angle regardless of your height and eye-level. This is really helpful when the treadmill is being used by people of different heights.
Optional Tablet Holder
But if you want to bring your own device such as a phone or tablet for more diversity or entertainment through the internet, it has an optional tablet holder attached at the top of the console. It’s adjustable and clamps down on your device to hold it securely and keeps it in place.
It swivels side to side and pivots up and down. So you can adjust it for good visibility. Need to mention it’s optional, and so you can unscrew it easily if you don’t want it on your machine for any reason.
50 On-Board Programs
If you’re a beginner, you may or may not know what to do with a treadmill until you get access to some really good workouts.
For this, this machine gives you 50 onboard or preprogrammed professionally designed workouts at your fingertip that serve a wide range of ability levels and fitness objectives for motivation and guidance. These are your standard workouts without having to pay for anything. However, you do need an internet connection as they’re streamed onto the screen for the duration of your workout.
These programs are categories into the incline, interval, speed, and calorie burn. That helps you train yourself or target a specific fitness goal. Moreover, the machine automates speed and incline for the selected workout.
iFit Enabled with 1-Year Free Subscription
Proform SMART Pro 5000 comes with the iFit subscription service for free for 1 year. It’s an extensive database of workout options. It gives you walking, jogging, hiking, running, on the treadmill, on the floor, combo classes, strength, yoga, lots of fitness options. You can opt for in-studio or outdoor workout videos that are led by fitness trainers.
You can use Google maps to workout anywhere in the world along with your trainer. So, if you’re prepping for a race or if you’re stuck inside, you can still get a lot of your outdoor training experience.
One best thing is iFit programs automate speed and incline for the selected workout. So you don’t need to worry about navigating or adjusting, instead, you’re totally hands-free. However, at any time, you can override the automation.
So, iFit has incredible functionality and gives you full access to your workout data, progress, and customization. Important to mention, iFit is optional, you can still use your treadmill without it.
Heart Rate Monitoring
For heart rate monitoring, there are two EKG hand grip heart rate monitoring sensors built into the handles on the console. They’re in a good position to hold. When you hold onto them, your heart rate will be displayed on the screen. So that can help you easily figure out how fast or slow your heart is pumping. A nice feature to stay in your heart zone and for cardiovascular training.
But, this monitoring tool can be less accurate and less reliable sometimes. So, the treadmill is also compatible with Bluetooth chest straps for more accurate and actual readings. But, that’s an additional purchase.
Audio Compatibility
If you want to play some audio or beat your favorite tunes on your treadmill, you can with the help of built-in speakers on the console that are Bluetooth enabled. So you can pair your mobile device to the treadmill and it will project the audio from the speakers.
You also have 3 volume settings. You can adjust your music, trainer’s voice, and overall volume the way you need or want.
Built-in Fans
During your intense workout, getting sweat is natural but might be annoying as well. Meanwhile, you might also feel hot, especially in summers. This is where a built-in fan into your treadmill can really be a huge plus.
So, Proform has built 2 fans into the console of this machine. They’ve 4 power settings; low, medium, high, for your choice and the automated that determines how much airflow you might need for your current workout situation and controls the airflow accordingly. But, the fans don’t pivot and throw air straight. Hence, you can’t adjust the airflow angle.
Water Bottle Holders
This machine also gives the facility of holding water bottles by having bottle holders on each side on the console. They’re nice and deep so pretty much any standard bottle will fit in there. The console doesn’t jiggle or wiggle, so most likely no spills and you can enjoy a hydrated regime.
Lower Storage Tray
Lastly, you’ve got an extra storage tray that spans down underneath the console with 4 deeper pockets and then one that’s a little more shallow. It’s handy to put your small accessories.
Assembly
First, you need to unpack this large and heavy machine. Assembling this is a two-person job. There’s nothing complex or tricky in putting it together, but might be time-consuming. The instructions with diagrams do a good job of explaining each step and directing you what to do and how to do it.
Some Limitations or Flaws
The machine itself doesn’t have potential drawbacks that can be deal-breaker. But Proform usually gets poor reviews for its customer service because of long waiting time on phone calls, and slow delivery of replacement parts.
Proform SMART Pro 5000 Treadmill Video Review
Pros
- Excellent workout machine for the money
- Sturdy, seems durable and high-quality
- Powerful and quiet motor
- Full length and wide tread belt
- Responsive, easy to navigate and color touch screen
- Easy and effortless folding/unfolding
- Decline ability up to negative grade (-3%)
- Automated speed and incline
- 50 onboard programs
- 1-year free iFit membership subscription service
- Fairly easy to assemble and little maintenance required
Cons
- Customer service can be slow
- Although foldable, footprint might be large for small spaces when in use
- No chest strap included
Bottom Line
Wrapping up, the Proform SMART Pro 5000 is one of the best treadmills on the market. It’s both powerful for runners and a great training tool for beginners. It’s high-quality, durable, and sturdy yet comfortable for daily use and can sustain heavy use. It offers much variety that almost all members of a family at different fitness levels can use it pretty effectively for their own particular fitness workouts. So, it’s an excellent family exercise equipment.
Everything is integrated so well that makes it deliver across the board. It can cost you around $1500 at a discount or up to $1700 at full price. It’s a perfect blend of a quality running machine with a highly intuitive user-friendly interface. It’s a complete no brainer for the price.
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Proform SMART Pro 2000 Treadmill
Proform SMART Pro 9000 Treadmill