Treadmill Buyers Guide

Treadmills Overview

Treadmills are a fantastic workout and a very popular piece of fitness equipment. By using a treadmill regularly you will reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and help keep your body weight under control.

Most treadmills also have the added benefit of cushioned decks which can reduce lower joint impact by up to 33% compared to normal road running. This can significantly prolong your training lifespan. Therefore, combined with a healthy lifestyle treadmills can be very beneficial to your health.

When purchasing a treadmill there are a few things you need to consider to ensure that you get the treadmill that best suits your needs and budget. The best treadmill may not be the cheapest but it also does not need to be the most expensive either. There are many different types of treadmill in the market place and it can be a bit of a minefield trying to find the right treadmill for you.We hope this Treadmill Buying Guide will help you along the way.

Firstly it is best to assess what you want from your treadmill. This could be that you are someone who has not exercised before and are looking to use your treadmill to lose weight and get a little bit fitter or it might be that you exercise at the moment possibly as a member of a gym and want to reduce your monthly outgoings or just want a more convenient way to train. It may be that you are recovering from an injury, operation or illness and have been advised by your doctor to use a treadmill. Whatever your needs are there will be a treadmill out there that suits you.

Motors

You will notice that there are many different ratings for treadmill motors. Some will quote a peak rating i.e. (5HP peak duty) and some treadmills have a continuous duty rating which will be a lower number i.e. (2HP continuous duty). Although it would appear better to have a higher horsepower motor, it is always better to have a continuous duty motor in your treadmill. This is because a continuous duty motor has been built and tested to maintain the HP rating for continuous periods whereas the peak motors only achieve there HP rating for a short time. Therefore treadmills with a continuous duty motor are a preferred option. Look for treadmills with at least a 1.5 HP continuous duty motor.

Speed

When looking for a treadmill it is important to note the speed range. Most treadmills have a speed range of 0-10mph (16kph) and this is ample for most users. However there are higher speed treadmills out there up to 18mph (36kph) such as the Nordic Track T9i for your higher intermediate/serious runner. You will also find treadmills with a speed range of 0-8mph (12kph) which are more suited for your beginner/light jogger. Treadmills with a 0-10/12mph speed range are probably the best to look for if there is more than one user in the home.

Incline

Most treadmills have a motorised incline meaning that at the touch of a button you can adjust the incline level of the treadmill deck. Commonly this will be between 0 and 10%. However some entry level treadmills will only go to 8% and higher specification treadmills can reach 15%. Again there are treadmills on the market with a manual incline which means that you have to set the incline of the treadmill before you start your workout. The incline is a vital part of the treadmill as it allows you too vary the intensity of your workout. It is more beneficial to have a brisk walk on an incline than it is to run on the flat.

Features

Treadmill technology is always advancing and more and more features are being added to treadmills i.e. built in televisions, fans and MP3 docking stations with speakers systems. Most treadmills will have various in built programmes. The entry level treadmill will probably just have one or two programmes and these will either be speed or incline programmes or both.

Speed only programmes will just adjust the speed throughout your workout and incline will just vary the incline levels and some programmes will adjust both the speed and incline. You will find that the higher level treadmills will have the speed and incline programmes as well as what we call Heart Rate Control programmes. These programmes are designed to keep you within you heart rate training zones and will vary the intensity of you workout depending on your heart rate which will be monitored either through a chest strap or hand grip pulse monitor.

Heart Rate control programmes are beneficial to all level of runners from beginner to advanced as the programme will vary the intensity of your treadmill workout to keep you within your heart rate training zone. Another excellent feature which is available on Pro-Form and NordicTrack treadmill is i-Fit©. These are interactive programmes which are available on SD-card and are target specific i.e. weight loss, body shaping and wellness levels one, two and three. They are all 8 week workouts and are designed for you too reach a certain goal within this time, almost like having a personal trainer with you. There is also a dedicated website at www.i-fit.com where you can download thousands of extra programmes for your treadmill.

Warranties

Treadmill warranties are very important. There should be at least 12 months warranty and some treadmills will have extended warranties above this. It is always worth doing a little research on the treadmill that you are interested in first, there are a lot of treadmill companies out there offering unbranded products that are imported and they do not carry the spare parts to honour warranties. It is a safer bet to stick with branded treadmills. Some of the treadmill brands you should be looking for are Weslo, Pro-Form, Reebok, Nordic Track , Horizon, V-Fit, Motive, Roger Black and York to name a few.

We hope this treadmill guide will help you purchase the right treadmill for you. However should you require any further information about treadmills then please contact our sales team on 0845 6435656.

Please Note: it is always advisable to consult with your GP before entering into any exercise regime.