OT: Treadmills

A

arty

Joined
Oct 18, 2003
Messages
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I am going to get a treadmill for my wife. I would welcome any advice.
Please let me know if you have had good or bad experiences with brands like Proform or Horizon.
Do you need a continuous duty motor?
Do you recommend the extended warranties?
This one will be for walking, not running.
Recommendations and advice wanted!
 
Don't know treadmills

check library archive of Consumer Reports
for brand & model recommendations
along with google searches
http://www.google.com/search?&q=treadmill+recommend+brand|model+table|chart
this looks like a good resource
http://treadmillscentral.com/engine/mainquest.html

but
my wife used nordic-trac & vertical stepper for years
(along with nordic-rider & stationary semi-recumbent bike)

& recently dropped both in favor of
an elliptical exercise unit

I got a decent one from Walmart for about 150$
("evolution performance ee120")

treadmill somewhat different step motions
but elliptical smaller & adds arm motion if you liike
elliptical has tension adjust like most treadmills likely do



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My wife has a treadmill. It sits in the basement keeping the stair stepper device company on long Winter nights.



munk
 
She says that she will use it. I would hate to spend the bucks and see it sitting in the garage. That place is reserved for my tools and other junk.
No room there for treadmills!
The site that Dean mentioned looks interesting, but they are expensive!
 
I should have thanked you for the info. The site does have what appears to be some useful information.

My problem is not knowing how much should be spent.
Treadmills vary a LOT in cost, and while I don't want to spend more than I need to spend,
I don't want to skimp and get one that breaks down. A broken machine is very expensive.

They last forever if not used, but I am expecting some long-term use out of the machine. From what I can tell, I should be looking for a continuous duty motor - but I know little more about the machines.
 
Walking is good exercise, but walking outside right now is hazardous.
If you go for a walk, you wind up in my neighborhood, and who wants to be here anyway?
The streets are covered with ice, and I can't even get my wife's car running. The brakes are frozen!
She got stuck in the ice right next to our driveway, and didn't notice the ice that was there.
The rubber doormat saved the day, when sand would not work to provide traction for the van.
Speaking of traction, I'd rather see her on a treadmill, than "in traction!"
 
arty said:
Walking is good exercise, but walking outside right now is hazardous.
If you go for a walk, you wind up in my neighborhood, and who wants to be here anyway?
The streets are covered with ice, and I can't even get my wife's car running. The brakes are frozen!
She got stuck in the ice right next to our driveway, and didn't notice the ice that was there.
The rubber doormat saved the day, when sand would not work to provide traction for the van.
Speaking of traction, I'd rather see her on a treadmill, than "in traction!"
Click to expand...

I don't mind giving out advice. I'm an undergrad following a physiology major, and paying through school as a certified personal trainer, so I'm pretty familiar with doing this sort of thing.
I want to approach this delicately, since you say you don't want this treadmill just sitting in your garage... The equipment you choose is, of course, going to vary depending on what she wants to do.

So firstly, what are her goals? Just fat loss? Or improve health? Or is she already in shape, maybe some sort of athlete, and wants to be able to train
during the winter to keep in peak condition?
 
My wife wants to get some walking in for health reasons. She is not overweight, but wants to keep herself slim. Upper-body exercise is a problem right now because of rheumatoid arthritis.
She already uses an exercise bike, and wants more exercise to stay in shape and for general health.
She won't be running on the treadmill - at least I doubt that she will be running.
She never has done any running.
We just looked at some treadmills, and she can't lift the track up and down on the larger ones, without any pneumatic help.
She is now in favor of one of the Horizon models, because of the ease of lifting and lowering the track.
Are they reliable?
How large a motor do you really need?
We really don't want to have to spend the big bucks for one that you would jog on.
 
I just bought my 3rd treadmill. My second treadmill just bit the dust after less than a year. I bought this one at Wal-Mart and I only found 1 place to work on it and it was about 2 hours away in Tulsa. This was at $75/hour including paying for drive time. I went to Sears this time to make sure that I could get it repaired if needed. I went for the NordicTrack which already had a 1 year warranty and a lifetime warranty on the motor. I definitely recommend the extended warranty. An extended warranty at Sears includes a once a year check, belt tightening, lubrication, etc. at no extra cost and is available on all models. Also includes repairs of any type at no extra charge and some sort of lemon clause which off hand I can't remember the details. Both of my previous treadmills were good quality and are suppose to last at least 7 to 8 years, but both lasted less than a year being used very little. The cost of the warranty is a lot less than a new treadmill. I think that you can run on all of them but they have different features and weight classification. I would normally say go for a little better model but if you get the extended warranty it shouldn't matter because you will be able to get anything repaired at no cost so if money was tight that might be the way to go. One feature that I didn't think that I would like but have used a lot so far is the built in programs and automatic incline and decline. As you are walking, the treadmill program automaticall increases and decrease speed and incline depending on what type of program you choose. You can also walk and adjust your setting as you choose. I really notice a difference when I walk daily and stick to it. Having a quality treadmill does make the experience more pleasurable and the security of knowing that if I do have any more problems it will be taken care of is a definite load off of my mind.
 
Buy a belt grinder instead. Its basically the same thing if you think about it. Just tell her that she'll have to run really fast and on tip-toes.
 
A belt grinder is cheaper, and I'd like it alot more.
I can't justify this for my wife's birthday!
I have tried to buy her Khukuris, but that is a not go.

It will have to be a treadmill, and I just don't want to waste my money on one that will bomb out too soon.
 
i helped my dad buy a treadmill. look for these...

cushioned running surface is a very nice luxury.
wide belt, a narrow belt can make brisk walks difficult.
programs keep it from getting boring.
noise level! you would be surprised how noisy these things are.
bigger, badder motors are for runners. walking should not need any such high horsepower. Period.

above all try it out.

common issues with treadmills.

large and cumbersome, takes up space.
can be so noisy as to block out tv unless volume is on seriously high.
programs are great, but almost everyone doesn't take the time to learn how to set them.
treadmill failure to use rates are astoundingly high.
 
You're buying your wife an EXERCISE machine for her birthday?

uh....


Buy her jewelry for her birthday.








Get the machine as an "I love you" gift.





muttermuttermutter
 
Kis -
I usually get her something like jewelry, sometimes clothing - but she generally picks out the clothing, if that is what she wants.

I can never understand the fascination with shoes and boots, let alone jewelry.

She has her mind set on a treadmill - I want her to be happy with what I get.
 
arty said:
My wife wants to get some walking in for health reasons. She is not overweight, but wants to keep herself slim. Upper-body exercise is a problem right now because of rheumatoid arthritis.
She already uses an exercise bike, and wants more exercise to stay in shape and for general health.
She won't be running on the treadmill - at least I doubt that she will be running.
She never has done any running.
We just looked at some treadmills, and she can't lift the track up and down on the larger ones, without any pneumatic help.
She is now in favor of one of the Horizon models, because of the ease of lifting and lowering the track.
Are they reliable?
How large a motor do you really need?
We really don't want to have to spend the big bucks for one that you would jog on.
Click to expand...

Staying in shape is a lot easier than getting in shape. You also didn't mention anything about sports, and she's just going to be walking, so I assume you're not trying to increase sport performance, so increases in maximal oxygen uptake aren't going to matter? In any case, the same effect could be gotten by the exercise bike. It sounds like you're just going to get a treadmill so she has a bit more variety in her workouts?

Honestly, for just walking, you don't need much. Personally, I'd just buy her some inexpensive jewelry and spend the remaining on a new khuk or something. :). But if you're set on getting a treadmill, just look for one with a solid warranty, comfortable belt width, basic safety, like emergency stop, and that she enjoys walking on. Walking is pretty low impact, so you don't need to spring for a cushioned surface.
 
Check around at any local health clubs and see what they use. You can bet they're gonna last.
 
Eric_425 said:
..It sounds like you're just going to get a treadmill so she has a bit more variety in her workouts?..
Click to expand...
If my wife needed some "variety in her workouts", the last thing I would think of is getting her a treadmill.

If you boys don't have anyone to set you down and give you "the lesson", at least rent a Ron Jeremy video.
 
It turns out that the bike hurts her knees, and the wife needs an alternative form of exercise.

Ron Jeremy would turn all of us off!
Jewelry would work better.
 
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