What Is The Best Home Treadmill

Now that you have decided to start running, the big question is will you run inside or outside; when you choose to run inside, you have to determine what is the best home treadmill. In this post, I will go into general information about treadmills. In my next post on treadmills, I will review different types of treadmills and give you my best advice from my experience. If you are new to running, you should read my blog post on how to start to run.

What is a treadmill?

A treadmill is generally used for walking, running, or climbing while staying in the same place. A treadmill is a cardiovascular machine that helps us to run or walk. For example, we can set a motorized treadmill to a certain speed and incline and start running. The belt underneath your feet will keep turning at this speed, which keeps us running at a specific rate. Most treadmills will have various workouts built into the treadmill as well.

Advantages of a treadmill

A treadmill has many advantages over running outside.

1. You can run whatever the weather is outside.
2. You can run safely, whether it is day or night.
3. The runner can set the incline at a particular level whether you want to run a challenging incline or a flat route.
4. Forced to run at a continuous pace which is good if planning a race.
5. Treadmills are pretty easy to use.
6. Users can read or watch tv while getting their run-in.
7. A treadmill surface is much better for your joints than running on concrete or tarmac.
8. The user has complete control over speed and incline. You can set it depending on how you feel on a day.
9. The treadmill has some exercise programs built into the settings, or you can set up your program.
10. Each user can monitor heart rate, calories burned and distance traveled depending on the treadmill.

Disadvantages of a treadmill

Now we will look at the disadvantages of treadmills

1. Treadmills can be expensive.
2. They take up a lot of space though it is possible to buy one that folds up.
3. Running on a treadmill can become tiresome.
4. Runners can find running outside hard after running on a treadmill as they have become reliant on belt moving feet.
5. Running on a treadmill is not as good for mental health as running outside in the fresh air.
6. Limited exercise options on a treadmill, only running and walking.
7. A treadmill needs to be serviced by a professional regularly.

Types of treadmills

There are four different types of treadmill

Manual

A manual treadmill does not connect to any electric power to spin the belt. The belt is only moved by the user walking or running on the treadmill. Manual treadmills are generally cheaper than motorized treadmills. These treadmills often don’t have an incline feature. They are safer than motorized treadmills, as when you stop running, the belt stops. They are also more environmentally friendly.

Motorized

 A motorized treadmill connects to electric power, and as the motor is activated, the belt turns. The belt will help you to walk or run. The treadmill can be set at a certain speed and incline for a continuous run. It can contain many preset workouts. The treadmill can also tell you your heart rate, calories burned, and distance ran.

Hybrid

A Hybrid is a treadmill combined with an elliptical trainer or a stair climber, and this is a good machine as it gives you the option to do an exercise different from just running. It also facilitates an easy transition from one exercise to the other. Finally, it removes the boredom of just using a treadmill.

Medical

Medical treadmills are used to get a continuous ECG of your heart while doing various levels of exercise. This test will pick up any arrhythmia or artery blockages. In addition, it is a stress test for your heart. These treadmills are generally a lot bigger than any other type of treadmill.

What is the best home treadmill for me?

The first thing that we have to decide is how much money we are willing to invest. The price ranges of treadmills vary from about $300 to $5,000, and when you buy a treadmill, you have to make sure that you commit to it and use it a few times per week to get value for money.

Where are you putting your treadmill? First, you have to figure out how much space is in the room and make sure the treadmill fits. You can buy a folding treadmill, but these also take up space. Treadmills are ideally set up once and not moved, as they are pretty cumbersome to be moving around.

Make sure that the belt size suits your size. It should be a minimum of 48 inches long and 18 inches wide; if you are over 6 ft, you will probably need a longer belt.

The treadmill should be stable while you use it; if you carry a lot of weight, check the user weight rating of the treadmill.

Decide which features you require in your treadmill if you want an incline and what maximum speed you require on a treadmill. Do you want it to monitor your heart rate and calculate how many calories you burn during each run?

Do you need built-in workouts on the treadmill?

The horsepower of a treadmill is significant to check out before you buy; if you plan on running on a treadmill, you need a minimum horsepower of at least three chp or higher if you are only using the treadmill for walking, a chp of 2 would be okay. Take into consideration that maybe you may not plan on running now, but you may in the future.

Whatever treadmill you decide to buy, you will still need to do some good running stretches before and after your run.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I hope that you have a better insight into treadmills. I have explained what a treadmill is. There is a list made of the advantages and disadvantages of treadmills. We have gone through the different types of treadmills, from manual to motorized. We had a look at all the things that we should take into consideration when buying a treadmill. One of the most important things is the horsepower of the motor and the length of the belt. The main aim is to get the best treadmill at the lowest price that meets all our needs.  In my next post on treadmills, I will review some Proform treadmills of different prices and specifications.