What is iFit LIVE Anyway? (Updated)

***Update: Please Note iFit LIVE is now called iFit Coach.

If you have a Proform treadmill with iFit LIVE compatibility it will work fine with iFit Coach as well. iFit Coach is just a new name for the older iFit LIVE. This article has been updated to reflect this.***

proform premier 900 treadmill with ifit live — Proform treadmill with iFit LIVE

If you’ve been shopping around for different Proform treadmills you may have noticed that many of them are “iFit LIVE Compatible”.

So you’re probably wondering, “What is IFit LIVE anyway? What’s the big deal?”

Well it kind of is a big deal because it can change the way we do home workouts now and into the future.

It basically takes the home treadmill into the 21st century – which may or may not appeal to you depending on what you want.

Never fear – this post will cover what you need to know.

First of all, iFit LIVE is a way to take your treadmill (or elliptical or bike) online and connect in several different ways. If a treadmill is iFit LIVE compatible that means it will work with iFit to go online and do all sorts of wild and wonderful things.

One thing you can do for example is track your workouts over time at the iFit website. You get to see all the different workouts you’ve done (which are automatically uploaded to iFit). So you get to see what you’ve accomplished – which is very cool and motivating.

You can also program in a goal (like an activity goal, weight goal, calories burned etc.) and iFit will track everything or anything you want for you – from sleep habits to your workouts to your food intake – and show you if you’re on track.

You can even program iFit to adjust your workouts to meet your daily goal for you. It’s like having your own personal trainer working for you 24/7 to keep you moving towards your goals.

Another very popular option with iFit is that you can map out different trails all over the world – from Paris to Hawaii – and see real landmarks pass you by in the console (or tablet) screen.

If you don’t want to map out your own trails, there are also a bunch of pre-mapped out trails you can choose from as well. And the treadmill will incline (or decline if it has a decline option) to match the actual terrain. So it’s very virtual reality.

One further thing that iFit has recently added are personal-trainer guided workouts. So instead of running alone, you’ll be guided through different workouts by a personal trainer.

They will coach you and motivate you – while pointing out various famous landmarks and points of interest along the way. So you can train everywhere from the Swiss Alps to Thailand!

Proform now puts iFit LIVE basically on all of their newer treadmill models. So if you’re getting this year’s model from the Manufacturer, then you’re pretty much guaranteed that it will come with iFit LiVE.

However there are a lot of older treadmill models kicking around in stores that do not have the LIVE option.

Also be aware that iFit is not iFit LIVE. iFit is an older version of iFit LIVE. It was basically a way you could add new workouts to your treadmill – but there was no online (or “LIVE”) function.

So old iFit treadmills would have slots in the console for the workout cards you could buy separately. Each workout card had extra workouts on them and would start them up when inserted into the treadmill console.

Be aware however that Proform no longer makes these cards – so if you buy an old treadmill with the card option, it’s basically useless. And it won’t work with the iFit LIVE option – because they’re totally different technologies.

So that’s a few of the ins and outs of the iFit LIVE function.

Note also that if you get a treadmill with a multi-color, touch-screen console, it can connect to iFit through the console and you don’t have to buy the extra module or have your own tablet to connect.

I’ve also noticed that people tend to find it easier to access iFit on treadmills with these types of consoles.

Here’s a list of iFit Proform Treadmills that can connect directly from the Console: