What NOT To Do When Buying Treadmills 

Though competitive runners are advised to run on the road, there are several reasons why you should buy treadmills anyway. You might have a family which means that your schedule does not have the flexibility it once had. A treadmill would solve that bit of a problem. Or you might be worried about suffering injuries. Running on a treadmill is generally less likely to cause a running injury than running outside.  We could go on and on about the merits of buying a treadmill, but when you do get to buying a treadmill, what are the important things that you should remember?

A treadmill is a big investment. It might not be a car. It certainly isn’t a house. But you do spend around $1000 of your hard-earned money on a piece of metal that is supposed to help you burn down calories and generally stay healthy. Why would you waste your money on something that doesn’t work, or has very low shelf life?

So before you put down your credit card, consider all the factors involved. The first thing you should concern yourself with is budget. But second to that are several more variables and the thing you should and shouldn’t look for in a treadmill.

Listed here are some of the “don’ts” you should think about when you buy a treadmill.

Don’t Skimp on a Weak Engine

The treadmill is made of seven components and each one of these is important in their own sphere. However, what really makes a treadmill work as it does is the engine, or its motor, as what it’s more commonly called. When you buy a treadmill, don’t try to save money by buying a cheap treadmill with a weak engine. Not only do you have to avoid weak engines all together, but you have to make sure that the treadmill you choose has the “continuous duty” horsepower, abbreviated as CHP in the specs.

A decent treadmill would have a horsepower of around 1.5. Commercial grade treadmills could as much as 5.0 horsepower (HP).

One way to find out how much HP you need is to ask yourself how often you’d be using your treadmill. If you are only planning to use it occasionally when running outside is out of the question because of bad weather, then you can probably get away with something less than 2 CHP. However, if you plan on putting lots of mileage on your treadmill, or perhaps you’re a heavier runner, then look for something that has more than 2 CHP.

 

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