I Want to get a treadmill between $500 & $1000 usd. i was looking at these from samsclub option1
option2 anyone have experience with these or other recomendations. Thank You
Jake

Do you already walk or run? Is this a new exercise regimen?

Is there a gym reasonably close?

How soon will it become a clothes hanger?

We had a treadmill. Used it a while. Hung clothes on it. Sold it.

The Y membership has been much more rewarding! More equipment plus other people motivated to do the same fitness workouts.

I you have to buy. Build quality is the best factor. Bigger motor, better (wider tread), solid upper frame. Go to a gym and test out their equipment. Some have several types of models. You can see which are better for running or walking.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the advice actually i have a golds gym 20 minutes away that i do work for and they give me a free membership. im just having a tough time getting there with my schedule currently. also when the weather is nicer i will run/walk outside but sometimes that is a bit much on the knees.

We have something very similar to this Keys model. It gets reasonably consistent use. It is very sturdy but has few bells and whistles. No problems. Make sure you plug something like this into a surge suppressor. See the mfr website at keysfitness.com. I understand they also manufacture the Smooth brand, which gets some favorable reviews.

I don't think that the width of the tread is that important, but the diameter of the rollers might be a consideration. Wider treads (within reason) only make the motor work harder.

We have a Proform and love it. It actually sat for a year until I inavertantly made a comment to my wife about how her jeans looked a little snugger. (stupid) Now for the past month she's been Hellbent on losing ten pounds, all 125 lbs of her, now I have to cook healthy meals as well as jump on the thing myself 3 times a week. I guess it's all for the better

Out of those two options, definitely Option 2 because it has a continuous horse power motor which basically means it can use it's maximum power at a longer period of time with less risk of burning it out. You should have a minimum of 2 continuous hp if you are running.

I've got a NordicTrack (mid price from Sears awhile ago) and it suits me well. I find that I DO use mine to keep in shape during the winter months because I hate going to the gym. Only on occasion, it's used it as a coat hanger!

Have you ever tried an eliptical?

I find that they give a much better workout than just flat out running. You can increase the plane of an eliptical so it almost performs like a stepper, or have the plane go all the way down so it's like a treadmill.

And, above all, it's low impact, so not so much pressure on joints and such.

Some people find it's not their bag, espcecially if they are a regular runner and don't want to mess up their stride.

Anyways, Precor has some of the best elipticals on the market. They were the first ones to pioneer the eliptical.

Link

Just an idea to consider!

I can walk forever (30 min. max at the Y unless nobody's waiting) on the treadmill but only last about a minute on the eliptical.

I'll have to try it again now that I am 65 lbs lighter than the last time I tried it.

Just my 2 cents.

I started to look at treadmills because w/ 2 kids under 3, it was hard for my wife to be able to run before 9 PM. I even looked at renting, just so I could get a higher end model and have the option of not ending up w/ a clothes hanger.

My wife has IT band problems and loves to run. I'm a cyclist and convinced her to try the bike on a $100 trainer I got on craigslist. My thought was that it was less stressful on her knees. And $100 is less than a cheap trainer. Result is that she actually doesn't mind the trainer, she can watch Tivo while on the bike, we have a way to use the bike during the off season, and she can keep up her cardio while saving her knees.

If you already have a bike, either road or mountain, it's an option.

I used to work in a sporting goods store and we sold treadmills. We had expensive treadmills and cheap ones. A lot of people were interested in the cheaper models because they were often less than $100. People always asked why it was so cheap. "It's a manual treadmill," I told them. They'd look at me funny and ask, "What's that mean?" I'd reply, "You don't plug it in. You have to get the tread moving by yourself, which is a bit hard, but once you get moving it's relatively easy." Invariably the reply would be, "That's sounds like too much work." And they'd walk away.

It always struck me funny that people wanted to exercise but wanted to expend the least amount of energy doing it. Maybe I'm just cynical.

My best advice, snakeyes, with any treadmill you get is don't stand on the tread when you start it up. That will wear the motor out quicker than anything.

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It always struck me funny that people wanted to exercise but wanted to expend the least amount of energy doing it. Maybe I'm just cynical.

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All my buddies used to laugh when I'd do our daily cycles on a 1971 Huffy 10-speed with a rusty chain... thing is, when I'd get on my Mercier after that... I'd leave them panting behind me.

Bren R.

That's the beauty of riding a bicycle to work, 25 miles a day: Lots of exercize and transportation too!!

My Nishiki has a documented 15K miles on it and is still goin' strong.

(I would have put even more miles on it, but the anti-nukie protesters were gettin' a bit hostile tossin' nails in front of vehicles, and like that!)

But you know you're in shape when during a "century" you have to sprint out ahead a half mile or so from your buddies, hang a "Uie" go back a half mile of so and catch back up just to work out the kinks developed from goin' so slow!!

....they used to hate that
Rich.

I restarted my cycling commute. I need my car for work to visit clients so I ride home (16 miles) and ride back in the morning once a week, using my singlespeed cyclocross bike. Keeps me sane and doesn't take much time from family/work.

Unfortunately, I don't have the patience for a century, I get bored after 2 hours...

My dad used to ride his bike to and from work -- 60 miles round trip.

He had a decked out Lemonde bike, new wheels, brakes, everythign really nice. But then he got into an accident. Helmet saved his life. He was riding at night then hit a car that he didn't see. He's recovering now from a broken collar bone and 5 broken ribs. :-/

So, be careful. My dad had at least 3 rear lights, a helmet front light, and a bike front light. Stay visible out there!

I think he's only going to ride recumbents from now on. We also have a tandem recumbent which is pretty cool.

yup can be dangerous. fortunately, my route mostly takes me on running/biking trails w/ a couple of hairy intersections. i try to put the most obnoxious lites on mine, including lites on the stems of my tires, to make myself more visible. but sometimes you can't overcome bad drivers.

hope you dad gets well soon and back on the bike. i'm definitely a helmet police person too...

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But you know you're in shape when during a "century" you have to sprint out ahead a half mile or so from your buddies, hang a "Uie" go back a half mile of so and catch back up just to work out the kinks developed from goin' so slow!!

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I was just glad to leave these guys a few feet behind me... they were Tin Man (1km/40km/10km) triatheletes in high school. Always sounded like a fun sport... except for that swimming and running junk.

Then I found mountain bikes and ski hills during the summer.

Bren R.

Yeah guys, bikes can be fun, AND dangerous!!

I had to quit my daily riding partly because of the protesters, but mostly due to encroaching civilization. I knew the end was near when I started seeing more automobiles than cowsLots more CARS, and trucks! and RVs! and...and...

I was accused of looking like a traveling circus at night(and it was always night on the way to work in the winter as well as coming home)but I got lucky and and was never visited by an accident...other than falling on ice in the company parking lot three times.

The longest distance "to work" rider I was aware of, was one fella who had about 30 miles one way, but he rarely rode in more than about once a week in the summer.

Best century was the one to Hell: We got there before it opened....and it got worse after that!! But they did have a passle of fruit and snack stops along the way to help keep boredom at bay.

I eventually had to retire the bike, but it was happily replaced with cross-country skiis!

.....in the winter anyway.
Rich.

I've been in three bike accidents I can think of...

1) Once on my way to the park down Main Street... teen kid squealed out of the McDs parking lot and right into me... throwing me into traffic. I was maybe 12-13? Some scrapes, sore shoulder, nothing major.

2) When I was 14 or so, cycling to the same park, my buddy and I both whipped our heads around to admire the grace and beauty of some bikini clad young ladies... he saw the parked Cavalier, I didn't. Mostly injured pride.

3) In 2000 cycling yet again to the same park (this time with one of the aforementioned ex-triathlon guys) I asked for a speedometer check... he looks down, I look over, he says "34" and as we both look up, a wee little fluffy dog has run across my path, tried to bite his ankle, gotten freaked out and run back across my path... luckily I'd just gotten this new bike and hadn't installed my toeclips yet. Hit the dog hard, went over the bars and landed on my palms and elbows, and watched my sunglasses spiral off my face while marvelling in one of those out-of-body feelings "wow, those things are really flying!" Snap back to reality, my buddy's taken one look at my arms and is now throwing up on the curb (thanks for the support ***hole! )... I was p*ssed. A fairly affluent neighbourhood... I expected the dog was some rich snobby woman's accessory let loose... I took them to court (I was off work for a week, plus damage to the bike, plus my sunglasses)... got to the courtroom, turns out the owners were a young couple, just starting out life, working their arses off to own their first house... and they're from the same small town that Lisa's family's farm is in. I backed down, asked them to replace my sunglasses, and took the loss of work and bike damage myself. Oh, and little Elmo? He was unscathed. Resiliant little things, those dogs are.

Never realized before all three were with the same destination in mind. And now, where did we buy our house? A tee-shot away from the same park.

Bren R.

At least you don't have to ride your bike to that park anymore.

Bren you are very honorable, I would have asked for my glasses and one good kick at the dog.

No Question; Bren! One riding destination should be off limits!

Dogs!? Oh Yeah!! Thankfully only one, and only a slightly torn trouser leg. But I dropped the bike and chassed that little sucker round back of their house only to see the owner rush the little pup into the house and fail to answer my knock on the door. Bottom line? Errant pooch was forever kept in the house at that hour from them on!!

I got some stitches from motorcycle spills, but nothing more than a couple scratches and some torn clothing due to a bicycling mishap, nothing nearly so traumatic as what you've gone through, Bren!

I did, however have that one incident that was entirely and completely MY fault!

Don't know bout Y'all, but if I look to the left, I tend to steer to the left, uh huh, yup.

Before I purchased a "real" brake lever mirror, I had a little inspection mirror attached to my helmet so that to look behind me, a simple glance to the left while holding my head foreward was all that was required to see what was about to pass me.

So, here comes this line of traffic up behind me, and on by to my left, as I think I'm staying right there on the edge of the road peddling along like there's nothing wrong with the world.

Staring at my mirror....while maybe twelve cars get by.

Number thirteen was a pick-up with pretty big mirrors. Next thing I know is I'm standing on my pedals; straps still tightly holding my feet in place while my posterior portions are sliding along the side of the truck in some surreal dreamescape until the truck was no longer there to keep Newtons laws from taking over and pulling me abruptly to Earth.

Thankfully, the truck was the last vehicle in line.
Rich.

Like thousands of other folks, I made up my mind around the end of the year to get back in shape. It actually wasn't so much a resolution as it was a necessary outlet -- just moved to a new town, broke up with my girlfriend of 3+ years, and generally feeling a little unhinged. I guess the get-in-shape goal was secondary at the time, but it's turned into a welcome way to unwind at the end of the day. I've been going between 6 and 7 days a week (overkill, I know), and it's still not a chore. I always leave feeling better than when I walk in. When that ceases to be the case I expect I'll revert back to my couch potato ways.

I know you said your schedule prevents you from heading down to Gold's, but what I've found is that I'm far more likely to stick to my regimen if I make myself get in the car and head down to the gym. If I sit around the house and think I might use the free weights in the bedroom, any discipline I may have had stretches out on the couch beside me and takes a nap. The point is, unless you're a very type-A personality I think the chances are excellent your new treadmill might turn into a fancy clothes hanger. Just my .02.

If you do elect to buy a treadmill or elliptical, Dan's right -- Precor does make very nice stuff. Commericial grade, and a pleasure to use.

yea, precor is good. I'd go as high end as you can, for better quality. check craigslist, you might get lucky and get someone else's "clothes hanger" for cheap.

My school gym has all precor elipticals. I had the health director for a gym class, and he said they were the best. Yea, they are commercial grade. Getting one of the higher end ones might be overkill for your needs, the lowest end would probably be closest to a home user.

Look for the ones with the variable incline ramp. I really like that feature because you can targed different muscle groups in your legs.

Thanks guys for the info, not sure what im gonna do yet. in regards to the elipticals i am also one of those guys i can walk forever jog a couple of miles at a moderate speed but when i get on that eliptical i cant last 5 minutes. i have tried a bunch of times at the gym figuring maybe i will get used to but i never do. it seems when i relax and just take it easy my legs start to burn so it only feels comfortable when i speed up but then afer another minute my muscles start to burn and the cycle continues til i give up and go back to the treadmill. lol precor is awesome stuff thats what the gold's here uses but i think a bit out of my price range. i think im looking for an Axiom type treadmill ie bang for the buck.

I thought I was the only one that had bad luck with dogs. One night when I was about 17 I was riding home, about a block from my house, probably as fast as I have ever ridden a bike, except for downhill. A black dog runs BETWEEN my wheels!
Horrible crash and slide down the street. Road rash on a freaking bicycle. I had a bruise on my hip for almost a year, I did'nt know that was possible. The only consolation is that the dog was pretty screwed up too. After that I started driving more...