Important Tips and Advice If You’re in the Market to Buy a Treadmill

There are about 40 million Americans that use treadmills to exercise with. Many of these people prefer to do their exercise at home which means that they have to buy a treadmill. The problem with this is that treadmills can be quite expensive and a great many people don’t really know what to look for.

When you belong to a gym or health club it doesn’t really matter what the brand name or features of the treadmills that they have to offer are. It is basically a case of “it is what it is”. If you don’t like what they have then you either don’t use them or you find another health club to go to.

Buying a treadmill for the home is a completely different story. Like every other major purchase, you are going to want to get the biggest bang for your buck that you possibly can. With that in mind let’s take a look at the things that you should be concentrating on if you are looking to buy a treadmill.

Of course, the first consideration for most people is money… how much exactly does a quality treadmill cost. You can get a quality treadmill for around $1000. You can actually get one for a few hundred dollars but many of these lower-priced pieces of exercise equipment are not of the highest quality.

When you want to buy a treamill and really want to go with a top-of-the-line model then plan on spending anywhere from $1000-$3000. A brand name treadmill in this price range will usually include a high-quality motor, an excellent shock absorbing belt and a computer program in which you can vary your workouts and monitor your heart rate.

As far as the motor goes you are going to want to get at least a 1.5 hp continuous duty motor. The belt should be at least 48 inches long and 16 inches wide. Any smaller than that and you risk accidentally stepping off of it and injuring yourself.

It is nice to be able to set the treadmill on an incline to increase the intensity of your workouts. You absolutely need cushioning under the belt as well to absorb the impact on your feet, knees and hips.

Make sure that the treadmill you are looking at has a stable base. You do not want it to shake or vibrate. Many people also prefer to have a computerized program built into the treadmill itself that allows the user to input information such as age and weight in order to show you how many calories you’re burning during your workouts.

The program can also have different workouts loaded into it so that you can vary your physical fitness routines. This is important for several factors including optimizing your cardio workouts and it also keeps you from getting bored by doing the same exercise over time.

A great place to shop and compare just about anything you can imagine is the Internet. You can also read reviews and join forums to ask questions of people that are familiar with the equipment. That way when you are ready to buy a treadmill you will be armed with as much valuable information as you can possibly get.