Safety
With every workout, there's risk. Falling, injuries, pains and strains are a part of training life. How safe is the exercise machine? How big is the risk of something going wrong?
Treadmills are only relatively safe. The exercise is usually performed at relatively high speeds - running or jogging, with little space for mistake.
Falling from a treadmill could be quite serious, as the running surface (the belt) usually continues to move.
Almost all treadmills sold today have some sort of a safety device. Some are equipped with safety switches which kill the motor when you press them, others have a sort of a safety key that stops the treadmill automatically when you fall.
Most treadmills are equipped with handlebars that you can use to stabilise yourself if you need.
No safety measure can guard you against a situation where you have a power outage while you are on the machine. The motor will stop immediately while you keep on running. This is an extremely dangerous (if rare) situation.
Minimal Space and Power Needs
When you but an exercise machine for your home, you need to put it somewhere and sometimes plug it in as well. Every type of exercise machine has different needs in terms of space and electricity usage.
Home treadmills come in two main variations - powered and non-powered. The non-powered version does not require electricity to function and is therefore economical to operate.
In terms of space, treadmills usually require more space than other exercise equipment. Even the foldable ones are limited in this aspect, as the running surface must be wide and long enough to accommodate large gaits, and can not be folded in half.
Workout Effectiveness
What type of exercise do you get from this exercise machine? What can you expect in terms of the exercises effectiveness?
The treadmill is the best fitness machine if your preferred exercise is running, jogging or walking.
While treadmills provide excellent cardiovascular workout, they only work your lower body. Treadmills do not work your back muscles or any large muscle group other than your legs. However, they are still effective as a fat burning and fitness equipment.
The downside of the workout on treadmills is that this is a high-impact exercise, as your joints, knees, shins, ankles and back absorb shocks every time you put your foot down.
The surface you run on while you exercise on a treadmill is usually cushioned and equipped with shock absorbers. This way it provides less impact than concrete, but still - your body will experience an impact up to 2.5 times your body weight every time your foot lands on the treadmill's belt.
There is an injury risk inherent to such high-impact workouts.
The exercise variety that a treadmill provides is focused around changing the incline and speed of the belt. These do not provide a lot of options, but are usually enough.
Price
How much will it cost you to get a good fitness machine?
Treadmills are not cheap, and good ones can be very expensive.
Fat Burning Efficiency
While every exercise burns fat, some forms of exercises allow more fat burning to occur. This usually has to do with length, intensity and the total number of muscles participating. Research shows that when more large muscle groups are exercised - more fat burning happens even after you finish the workout on the exercise machine.
The treadmill does not use many big muscle groups compared to other fitness equipment and therefore is less effective at overall fat burning.
It is also worth noting that because treadmill is a high-impact workout, you are usually able to exercise for shorter durations (compared to other fitness equipment) at whichever level of fitness you are at. This means that you will not have the opportunity to burn as much fat as with other machines.
Having said that, the treadmill lets you easily perform short sprints, which contribute to burning fat in the post-workout recovery time.
Maintenance Considerations
Every fitness machine needs maintenance. The more moving parts your machine has - the more time and money you'll need to spend over the years on maintaining it.
Treadmills are composed of many moving parts (think belts, motors, rollers and bearings) which are under lot of impact.
All these moving parts may burn out, and are constantly in danger of wear and tear through use. Compared to other exercise equipment, treadmills are high-maintenance, especially the models that have motors.
Risk Free
What are the specific health benefits or risks involved with using the exercise machine? How can this machine contribute to your health specifically? This category is mainly around impact. Impact is the price the exercise machine takes from your joints. Running is high-impact, as your feet land on the hard ground many times. Swimming is non-impact. The more impact the machine has, the more risk you face of pain and damage to your bones, joints and other parts of your body.
Walking or running, every time your foot lands on the surface your body is jolted. This is true for concrete, pavements, grass, and the treadmills' mat.
This impact affects the joints in your lower body (especially the knees) and the lower back. This has a direct correlation to the length and frequency of workouts, especially in the beginning, as your body will not be able to walk/run for long periods of times, and will need longer rests between workouts.
On the up side, walking is a simple form of exercise that does not require coordination, and hence a treadmill is a good choice if you have no experience at all, and need to start exercising immediately.
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Feel factor: 5
The tradmill is geat...
(score 4/5)
I successfully completed the first week of running, no major problems - Squeaks while running at speeds greater than 5.8mph. I hope no other problems arise. Unfortunately, ABF promised to deliver the treadmill two days early but made me lose a whole day's pay. If you have a schedule with them don't assume they will call you. When I called around 3:30pm, I was scolded for not calling in the morning of the delivery date, and was told that I should wait for the driver to call me. Someone called around 6PM to inform me that my item will not be delivered. Fine. Unfortunately in the delivery tracker, it was reported that I was unavailable to receive the item, although I just wasted the whole day waiting for them... Just tell the truth, you couldn't deliver it due to transportation issues.
Posted on: 2010-09-20
By A A Ade
Initial Quality Problems
(score 3/5)
The unit arrived with the internal fan housing broken and the fan dangling from the control wires. Otherwise the unit works fine and we are satisfied with the operation and performance. I'm sure this problem will ultimately be fixed by Bowflex but it is certainly a hassle.
One can't help but think the quality problems may be a result of the size and bulk of the unit. It is a very large and heavy box and it was certainly damaged by the shipping company, so perhaps better packaging is the solution.
Posted on: 2010-09-12
By Euro File
Once it got there, it was great
(score 5/5)
Once you get the item, and get it built . . .
This product was shipped to me using a third-party delivery company. I live in a high rise apartment that has a secured lobby. When I contacted the delivery company to let them know the management office would sign for the delivery and give them access to my apartment, I was told by the dispatcher that they would only deliver across the first threshhold. In short, they wanted to leave a $1,000+, 300 pound treadmill in the lobby while I was at work. Even had I been home, I am not sure how they thought I would get the item in to my apartment. I had to go over the dispatcher's head to get someone intelligent enough to realize that their people could ride an elevator and put the item in my apartment.
That night I assembled it. It takes a bit of time and the instructions on which bolts to use are not always clear, but with a little trial and error you can figure it out. Part of the problem is I assembled it by myself when it is really a two person job. That said, I did put it together, and I am not excactly skilled in such areas.
Now the good stuff. While the initial programming takes a moment to get used to, once you figure it out, the display gives you a ton of information on calories burned, speed, incline, lap time, distance walked, and even has a counting downward timer that tells you how much time you have left. The motor and tread are quiet and smooth so you can hear a television while you are walking. The weight of the machine gives it a sturdy, solid feel. Overall it is a great machine with the ability to do a host of inclines and speeds, and really feels good to use.
I would highly recommend, but if you live in any kind of apartment building be prepared to fight with the delivery company.
Posted on: 2010-09-09
By Talston
Great Treadmill for the price...
(score 4/5)
I am a avid shopper. I spent a while looking for a treadmill online and in stores. This treadmill was a great price on amazon. I am over 300lbs and this thing has no problem at all. Could be a little more program savy. But def. a great treadmill. I recomend this to anyone. I have read some problems online with customer service, but i was willing to take that chance. Especially since it is a great product and you might not even need customer service. There were a few treadmills in the running but when the price dropeed on this I jumped at the deal.
Posted on: 2010-08-24
By Michael T. Russi
Bowflex Series 7
(score 1/5)
The fan was broken upon arrival. After calibrating multiple times, the MPH were still wrong. Drink holders were tilted so much that unless you had a closed top bottle it would spill. The display unit is so thick that even specially ordering a magazine holder would not work for holding reading materials.
Posted on: 2010-08-17
By Jackie