Yesterday we went over how to get started in your treadmill search in Part One of Treadmill Buying Tips – Know Before You Buy.
Now that you have your designated floor space measure, here are a few tips and pointers to take into account when buying a treadmill to ensure you find the perfect treadmill to fit your specific needs:
Know What Features are Important to You
Once you know your space requirements and price range, the real shopping can begin. As you go through treadmills you’ll start to notice all the different features each comes equipped with. Knowing what features are going to suit your particular workout needs best is going to help you know whether the added features are worth the money.
Not everyone cares if their treadmill is iPod adaptable or if the treadmill folds or not, yet if these are important features for you you’ll need to waiver that into your budget. Yet if you do not care about the added iFit capability or the speakers you may be paying more for something you’ll never use and only end up wasting money.
When it comes to what features you should be looking for, an article titled What to Know Before Buying a Treadmill shares a few “Smart Buying Tips”.
- Motor can be an important thing to consider when looking for a treadmill as it is what is going to ensure you get a great workout and a long life out of your treadmill. If your treadmill has an incline feature it is going to have two motors, one for the raise and lowering of the incline as well as one to drive the belt. Horsepower can be confusing so for a good rule of thumb if you are going to run on the treadmill frequently be sure to choose a motor at about 3.0hp, yet if you only plan on walking or light jogging you won’t need to spend the money on an the extra horsepower so just shoot for about 2.0-2.5hp. But be sure to look for the word “continuous” when checking a treadmill’s motor power rating.
- Less expensive foldable treadmills may have looser frames which can shift and shake during use, this is something you may want to take into consideration if you come across one that may be too good to be true.
- If you intend to position your treadmill in front of a television or in a room with a radio or stereo you may want to rethink if you really need all that expensive built-in entertainment features.
- To save excess wear and tear, buy a treadmill that gives you a good cushion – say, 50 lbs. – between the weight of the heaviest person who uses the machine and its manufacturer-specified weight capacity, you can read more about the treadmill cushioning systems here.
- Do not feel you need to pay for more incline and decline if you don’t plan on using it to its full potential. Running on an incline gives you a great workout, yet if it’s not for you stick with the 10%-12%, yet if you do want to focus on incline there are models out there that go up to a 40% incline such as the NordicTrack Incline Trainer X7i. You’ll find it’s more expensive, yet you’ll need to decide if that is worth it to you or not.
- Be sure to get a treadmill that goes up to at least 12mph running speed if you plan on running on your treadmill. Yet if you are planning on getting your treadmill for leisurely jogs, don’t waste the money for a more powerful motor with more speed a 10mph max will work.
- If you are over 6 foot you are going to want to be sure to get a treadbelt of at least 55” long, also if you know your stride is a bit longer than others. Yet if you are shorter than 6 foot and don’t have a relatively long foot stride a 48” belt should work just fine!
- You may be one who does not know many treadmill workouts of your own and need the built-in workout programs to give you some guidance. These are a great option for those looking to lose weight especially, as simply walking or running at the same speed every day not only becomes boring, but doesn’t challenge your body enough. Paying a little extra for more workout programs may be worth it for someone like this; yet if you know your own and don’t care about this feature save yourself the money, you can always find some online such as these Treadmill Workouts from Fitness Magazine in case you do need some inspiration.
Save Yourself Money
Now you’ve searched and searched and know exactly what treadmill you are looking for. Once you get a good idea of the features you want, you can start looking at prices. Yet when it comes to treadmills, buying one off a manufactures website could end up costing you more. There are a ton of sites out there who offer coupons and promotion codes off treadmills, such as our all of our NordicTrack Coupons. You are still getting the quality of knowing your treadmill is coming from the NordicTrack manufacture specifically, as it does send you to their site it just sends them a nice message via web to input you that discount.
If unfortunately you went with the mistake and didn’t choose a NordicTrack (yes we are a little biased) than don’t think your hope is lost. Google your treadmill brand and model with the words coupons, deals, promotion codes, etc. and you are sure to come across a site that can offer you some sort of deal.
Read Reviews
There is nothing worse than doing all this hard work in searching for a treadmill then after a few runs you have something malfunction or break on you. Even with warranties it can become a hassle to have to take the time to call, likely be on hold for hours, then have to take off work to either have the handy man come fix it for you or worse have to pack your treadmill up again for them to send you a new one – which you’ll have to put together AGAIN.
Lucky for consumers like you there are plenty of online sites who offer reviews on treadmills. This site in particular is a great one because he gives you his review along with a few other expert reviews, as well as user reviews so you are able to see what others who have had the treadmill themselves think of it.
You can also check the manufacturer’s website as they usually have user reviews as well. User reviews are the best source of information about a particular treadmill because they are usually the most honest since they have nothing to neither gain nor lose from their review. Once you have narrowed down your search reading reviews is a great way to give you a good idea of the treadmills quality and if it’s worth the price.
Be sure you check all your resources before you pull the trigger. Treadmills, although a great investment, can carry a hefty price tag, so you want to be certain it is the treadmill that is going to be the perfect match for you!