Posted: June 22, 2005

Running: Treadmills - What You Should Know Before You Buy

The majority of us would agree that while running through the park or around the block, nothing compares to fresh-air, and the beautiful sceneries. But not everyone can enjoy the great outdoors. City suburbs don't exactly offer the perfect environment for taking a brisk walk or running. Traffic, pollution, and hard concrete pavement just seem to defeat the purpose of walking or running outdoors.

Scheduling the time to enjoy a brisk walk in the park is more difficult then it seams. Most of us are running on empty by the time we get home from work. And the few of us that don't have to deal with traffic every day, find running errands just as trying. Exercise is good for us and because of the growing awareness of achieving good health; many people are considering a treadmill. A treadmill can be used at home or in the office; thus, giving us a flexible option to an exercise routine.

Whilst static exercise bikes have been a popular way of exercising at home for the last 25 years or so, the popularity of the treadmill is increasing dramatically - it is fast becoming the preferred way to exercise at home. Interestingly the highest sales in America are in the big cities like New York. Up until now the treadmill has been most popular amongst women of mid-high income levels and aged between 30 and 50 years old. However sales are becoming more varied and now include both older (late 60s) and younger (20s), as well as those with lower incomes.

As for convenience, owning your own personal treadmill makes working out at home less of a chore. The flexibility of a treadmill outweighs the outdoor run. With a treadmill, you have less chance of injury to your knees and arches of your feet. The shock absorbers and level surface of the treadmill help lesson the impact. Running on hard concrete surfaces - outdoor running - can cause injury. Older people find the treadmill provides just the right aerobic workout.

With walking becoming more popular as a leisure activity or people deciding that walking to the shops or walking with their kids on the way to school has certain health benefits, the advantages of a treadmill at home are becoming appreciated. Furthermore, walking and running are natural things to do, although running takes more effort, they are not things we need to learn to do like playing squash or basketball and we do not need to rely on other team members in order to do them.

Using a treadmill at home to run or walk has numerous health benefits such as better circulation, cardiovascular benefits to heart and lungs, stronger bones and a great way to shed extra pounds. Of course it is not so stimulating as running in the open air, as the home has less in the way of diversions. However, you can watch the television and play inspiring music to keep you on track. However, many companies are working on this boredom problem - with the innovations of virtual technology, soon we will think we are running in the countryside, mountains or desert without leaving our living rooms.

Treadmills do vary in style, functions, and price. Often it is the operating functions that increase the price, as well as the amount of hours the treadmill can be used. The more powerful the motor and higher the quality of running belt, the higher the cost. The treadmill functions will consist of settings that will allow you to adjust the speed and incline of the treadmill. Some inclines range as much as 25%.

The electronic feedback given such as speed, time, calories etc. also varies, as does the way in which you can adjust the programmes - the less sophisticated models are usually adjusted by hand using buttons and the more sophisticated adjusted automatically via a heart rate monitor that works to keep you within the recommended heart rate range.

Treadmills range in price range, which is determined by the number of features the manufacturer offers in the model. Over all, there is a treadmill made for every person. Now, the excuse of bad weather and small inconveniences can no longer be used.

Author Angela Horsdent is a health and fitness coach, who runs FTreadmills,a website containing lots of information about exercise equipment. Visit Angela's site at www.ftreadmills.com.