What To Look For When Buying A New Treadmill

Treadmills are a staple of the home gym. They are one of the most important pieces of exercise equipment available and are used in nearly every gym. If you want to lose weight, or if you just want to stay fit and healthy, the treadmill will be a huge help. They may be expensive but if you follows these guidelines they will prove their worth in no time at all.

1. One of the first things you need to look at is the speed range and whether or not it will suit your needs.

Firstly, ask yourself: How intense do you need your workouts to be? Are you planning on doing a simple walk every day just to stay active, or do you want to be sprinting as fast as possible? If you're only planning on walking you can feel free to spend a little less money and get a treadmill that is more catered towards lower speeds. Otherwise, try and get one that offers a wide range of speeds, from slow to very fast.

2. A good grip is always important for treadmills. You don't want to slip and fall off while in the middle of a workout. If possible, inspect the material of the treadmill mat up close to ensure that it is textured enough to provide proper grip. Run your hand over it and feel the amount of friction that is generated. This is rarely something you need to worry about for higher priced models, however those that are cheaper can sometimes be made of lower quality materials.

3. You really should try and have a lot of room on your treadmill. The length of the treadmill is usually more important than the width. Ensure that you have sufficient room to run comfortably without having to worry about falling off the edge. If you are only jogging then you can get away with having a shorter treadmill.
Width is also important if you are a wider person. Make sure you get a treadmill that allows you to have both feet spread comfortably apart without getting close to the edges.

4. Decide whether or not you want an incline/decline. A treadmill that can incline/decline gives you more flexibility in your workouts. It is most important for those that are experienced users and want a little something extra from their treadmill. Products that have this feature will usually provide an incline/decline range from 0% to 10-12%.

5. More expensive treadmills come with an LCD display console. They will show you a number of different things, such as current speed, heart rate, pulse, body temperature and incline/decline.

6. Check out the extra features the treadmill offers. This means things such as heart/pulse rate monitor, emergency shutdown, MP3 player input and USB input. These things are not essential to your experience, however they each provide something useful and it is up to the individual to decide if they are worth the extra money.

Now you know what's most important to look for when purchasing a new treadmill. Using this information you will be able to turn a potentially stressful purpose into a rewarding and fulfilling one.

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