Treadmills

Hey boys. I have decided to use my new computer fund to buy a treadmill. I am more likely to use a treadmill every night in my home than I am to get in the truck and drive to the gym. I know that in a few months I will need the free weights and such, but baby steps right? So my question is, what is a good name? I see Nordictrac of course, Proform, Horizon, etc. Any suggetions? Sear has a Proform 1.75 HCP motor for $500. I was leaning towards that.

Thomas, I just bought a ProForm 450 this past weekend. It has a 2.50 HP motor, 0-10 mph speed, 0-10% inclines, and 4 personal trainer programs. I got it on sale for $449. I was at a loss at what brand to get, but I think I made a good choice. Good luck. Floyd

Thanks Floyd. Is it a walking treadmill or can you run also? The thing I am most worried about is my weight on it at first.

Exactly---not sure about your weight but please check with whoever you buy if from for the weight capacity,because you can void the warranty (and Treadmills are famous for Slippage on the track) if you excceed. Speaking of this, Consumer Reports Magazine declares that there are only 2 extended Warranties that you should ever spend money on: 1) Laptops 2) Treadmills TREAD-AWAY Run Forrest, run!!

In time I hope to get running, so that is why the 10 mph works for me. Hope to be able to eventually run 5ks. I didn't even consider the weight restriction so I went back and looked at the info. It will support up to 275 lbs.

At the gym, I choose the eleptical trainer over the treadmill EVERY TIME! You get nearly half again the workout in the same time spent on the teadmill. There is no motor to worry about, you can go at any speed you want to and the workout is low impact, in fact, your feet never leave the machine. It is something to seriously think about.

I was looking at the elipticals also. Of course BJs had a Proform Treadmill with a 2.0 motor on it and it was only $600. Of course the capacity is 300 pounds. I wish I had the room. They had a Bowflex Crossbow for $600 also. I'll check out the elipticals too.

Tom... as usual I have a strange observation....I could not do the tread mill...19 months out...I still can't...My thighs scrape themselves raw.....like crippleing.....but for some strange reason...I can do the recumbant bike, and the eliptical..... I think it's because on those you have to hold you feet in the stirups...and that keeps your thigs apart..... when you feel up to it...get the 14 day free pass at the gym, and try out several..... Russ

just a quick observation. good for you to start out with the treadmill. i hate to run/walk but on my off lifting days i religiously do my treadmill twice to three times daily, 20 minutes a crack. it's easy to do in smaller increments for me and i just crank up the tv and watch a dvd or something. you hit it on the spot. when i exercise i don't want it to be a big deal. i just jump in and work out. that's why i have a home gym. so even when you start lifting you can still use the treadmill on off days and as a good warm up before lifting. mine has no dust on it! I have TRUE 350 with a 12 degree incline. i don't go too fast but the incline really helps the heart rate go up. good luck.......Carbonblob

I've been looking at Treadmills lately myself. However, because of my weight, I'm forced to have to buy on eof the more expensive models. I've been looking at a model by Horizon and one from Sole. Both are available at Dick's Sporting Goods and they have a capacity of about 325 or so. Because of the weight capacity, they will run about $1000 - $1200 for these models that I'm considering. I keep saying maybe I'll wait until I break the 300lb point and then maybe I can find a cheaper one. However, its hard for me to get my walk in now that it gets dark here earlier. I was up to 3-4 miles per day until the time changed. I'm also considering the elipticals. Its just that they feel funny to me when you are walking/pedaling. But I will say the Sole model is nice. The Horizon one as well.