TVCH FORUMS HOME . JOIN . FAN CLUBS . ABOUT US . CONTACT . CHAT  
Bomis   Quick Links   TOPICS . TREE-VIEW . SEARCH . HELP! . NEWS . PROFILE
Treads Mills

The TVClubHouse: General Discussion ARCHIVES: 2006 Mar. ~ 2006 May: Treads Mills users admin

Author Message
Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Friday, May 05, 2006 - 8:34 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
Anyone have any suggestions for a good treadmill? What should I look for? (Keep in mind I am a total novice to exercise!) Also keep in mind it is for both me and my dh.

Thanks so much!!!

Jimmer
Moderator

08-30-2000

Friday, May 05, 2006 - 8:47 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jimmer a private message Print Post    
Probably not what you want to hear Julie, but make sure you get a good one if you are serious about using it. It is particularly important if one of the users is fairly heavy and intends to run on it. Good ones are expensive.

Penguingirl
Member

01-26-2006

Friday, May 05, 2006 - 10:05 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Penguingirl a private message Print Post    
The most important thing...go for quality and spend the money. That said, I'd check out what Comsumer Reports has to say on recent models. We bought a Pacemaster Pro-Plus about 7 years ago, I think we paid around $1800, and it was money well spent. I just had our's serviced, and the tech stated Pacemaster is a good product. He sees lots of junk out there. I wouldn't even bother with department store/box store products, but head to a high-end exercise equipment store.

Some of the features we found useful..
- Preset programs AND Custom options. The presets give a good base to start out with, and once you advance you can set your own program for a better workout. I also like to go back to a preset to see how far I've come..it use to be hard, now it's a snap.
- Inclines are a must. Make sure the mechanism is high quality, as they take a lot of pounding and are suseptable to structural fatigue.
- Some folks like the upper body workout option, but we passed on it.
- Just as a side, we bought a mat as well which was a smart thing to do.

We did have a Consumer Reports issue profiling treadmills floating around here and I'll get back to you if I find it. Hope this helps.

Nickovtyme
Member

07-29-2004

Friday, May 05, 2006 - 3:00 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Nickovtyme a private message Print Post    
JB,

I got on a health kick and we bought a treadmill back in February.

I don't know if you would consider it a good one, but we bought it from Walmart...it's a TX 5.0 RC and it's worked just fine for me. We paid $247 plus tax and it has a calorie counter, a heart rate monitor, step counter and several different presets. It has manual incline, which can be set at 3 different levels; only you have to incline it by hand. I haven't really tried it yet, but it is supposed to be programmable and you can program your workouts to speed up and slow down...depending on how you want to work out; or simply set it on the speed you want and start walking/running. I think the highest speed setting on it is 10 mph and I haven't even come close to running that fast. The fastest I've tried is 8 mph.

Of course, I was out of shape and weighed way more than I needed, but I started walking at 3 to 3.5 mph, 2 miles a day and now have worked my way up to running a mile at 5.0 to 5.3 mph. I'm kinda new at this so it might sound slow for a hardcore runner.

That and doing my Biggest Loser workout DVD has enabled me to lose over 40 pounds. I started out weighing 243lbs with a nearly 42 inch waist and have worked my way down to 194, but I keep floating between 194 and 197...with a 35 to 36 inch waist. My goal is to get to 190lbs for right now.

Say what you want about price and quality, but I think we did just fine with ours. Some of it also is personal tastes.

Not sure if that helps ya, but just wanted to let ya know.

Denecee
Member

09-05-2002

Friday, May 05, 2006 - 4:08 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Denecee a private message Print Post    
I bought a treadmill at Sears years ago, on sale for $499 and it had the incline, counters all that stuff. It worked great, I used it almost daily for 3yrs. I used it so much that I wore out the belt(that you walk on), replace it for $80 and used it another year before I started walking outside and using my stationary bike. I sold that treadmill for $300 to a friend and she is still using it.

Shadoe
Member

11-04-2004

Friday, May 05, 2006 - 4:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Shadoe a private message Print Post    
I don't know why, but I really don't like being on a treadmill; I get on them only when my trainer tells me to get on. I'll walk really really fast on them, but I have yet to run. I just feel like I will fall off, even when I am holding on. I'll stick to the ones at my gym as they are very good and have all the fancy stuff on them.
If I were to buy something, I would like to get an eliptical machine; I seem to get more out of them, along with many of the different styles of exercise bikes at the gym.
Maybe you can try some of the different treadmills at shops before you decide. I know I would sure like to get my feet on the machines before I put out a large amount of money.
Nick has a good point - you do need to know what your goals are and what your needs will be to reach them. You may find that a machine of lesser cost may suit both of you just fine, or you may find that you will need a much tougher one because of the high usage.
So long as you are dedicated to use a machine, you can make great accomplishments. I know of a person who lost about 85lbs with an exercise bike being the piece of equipment used.
A nifty treadmill that sits in the corner unused will do nothing. A machine that both of you like will get used.
For me, my knees are not good enough for running on a treadmill or anywhere, but the eliptical does not seem to bother them, so I can get a great workout on the eliptical. Eeyore's the runner, not me.

When you go shopping for your machine, ask about all the features possible and definitely get on the machines. I went looking for stuff to consider like the belt and motor -
How to Choose a Treadmill
I know it's not much, but for a big purchase, you don't want to be disappointed.
I love my exercising, but I do know that if the machine did not feel right, I would not use it.