Shopping For A Treadmill

Treadmills are the aerobic exercise machine of choice for good reasons. They are probably the most enjoyable exercise machines, whether you typically like a slow, comfortable walk or a long run. Regardless of your age or fitness level, treadmills are suited for both intense and mild training, and therefore are one of the most effective pieces of exercise equipment you can buy. A study that compared exercisers who worked out equally hard for the same time on several different types of machines found that they generally burned the most calories on a treadmill. Consumer Reports research has shown that they re less likely to gather dust than other types of exercise machines.

A treadmill is judged in several ways. Before you buy any treadmill, take it for a test run and check for the following attributes. In addition, look at features, such as whether the treadmill offers preset programs, or is capable of “memorizing” a program you ve created for yourself. Some machines can monitor the user s heart rate and adjust speed and incline to keep heart rate within a specified range.

The merit of some of these features, like handrails, will vary with the exerciser s body and motion.

Durability is evaluated by using a drum with pneumatic “feet” attached. The feet on the rotating drum