Treadmills: Workout At Home on a Treadmill - iVillage Your Total Health

Home Treadmills

Treadmills are one of the most popular choices for the home gym. But before you drop a few thousand on your dream machine, you should know that not all treadmills are created equal. Here's how to get the best one for your money.

Treadmills come in two basic versions: motorless and motorized. Though they only cost a couple hundred dollars, non-motorized treadmills, which require you to push the walking belt along with your feet, are not a good choice. It's nearly impossible to get the belt moving unless you incline the machine and, at faster walking speeds, the belt tends to catch and stick at irregular intervals causing you to stutter-step along. Treadmills that use a motor to power the walking belt move at a smooth, consistent speed that you can vary with the touch of a button. Even though you'll have to spend between $1,000 and $5,000 for a motorized mill, this is definitely the way to go. Unfortunately, we can't in good conscience recommend those bargain priced treadmills you find in Kmart or Wal-Mart. Department store models, fold-up mills, and machines with arm poles, are generally poorly designed and cheaply made. Once they break, you're out of luck; there is no service department to fix them. Good treadmill brands include Trotter, Star Trac, Landice, True and Precor. The best brand we've found for under $1,000 is Icon but we don't recommend it if you're very heavy, plan on doing a lot of running, or tend to slam your feet down when you move. Checklist
Before you buy, look for the following features:

Speed and elevation controls. Most mills move at speeds ranging from one to ten miles per hour and have a motor rating of at least 1.5 continuous-duty horsepower. They also elevate by pressing a button rather than using a manual crank.
Safety features. An emergency stop button and an automatic slow-start speed of one mile per hour or less are a must. A front hand rail is also helpful for maintaining balance and safer than side rails, which may actually disrupt your balance if they impede your arm swing. Consider a machine that requires a security code or special magnet to make it go, especially if you have young children. Some treadmills prevent falls with a sonar sensor that monitors your position on the walking surface and automatically adjusts speed and elevation to keep you in the center of the belt.
Shock Absorbers. To reduce impact on your joints, most manufacturers have inserted rubber disks, springs or some other shock-absorbing device underneath the deck. This is a joint-saving idea to be sure, but be careful here: Just as with beds and office chairs, an overly soft surface may actually contribute to joint problems. You should feel like you're floating along with a little extra spring in your step, not like you're bounding along on a trampoline.
Perks -- at a Price. Fancy features like a heart rate monitor and built in programs can be very engaging but they quickly pump up the price. At the very least, you'll probably want a control panel with a readout that gives you information on speed, pace, elapsed time, calories burned, and calories burned per hour.

Size. Before you set foot in an equipment dealer's store, measure the space you plan to put your mill and be sure it fits through the door into the room. Check out ceiling height too. You don't want to raise the incline only to have your head poke through a ceiling tile.
Service. Nothing less than a one-year on-site warranty is acceptable and make sure there's someone within 3,000 miles who will honor it. Ask about sales or discounts for floor models and price breaks on delivery and installation. Take a test drive on several machines so you get a good comparison of their feel and features.

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