Should You Choose A Cheap Manual Treadmill?

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lucyJames | Sep 8, 2010 |

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If you are looking to get fit you may have checked out the large selection of exercise equipment available on the market and found selecting a good piece of equipment difficult. There is so much choice and so many different price levels.

One of the most popular forms of exercise equipment for home use is the treadmill. Having looked at treadmills available you might have come to the conclusion that as there are a good selection of cheap manual treadmills available and that this is the best option for you, but before you go spending good money be sure you are making the right choice.

In the world of home treadmills it is wise to know how you intend to exercise and the pitfalls of the various types of machine available on the market. Manual treadmills do have some good advantages over the more expensive motorized treadmills. For a start there are the obvious cost advantages. Manual treadmills are cheaper because they have fewer components. One of the other serious advantages is that manual treadmills tend to be lighter weight and fold away a lot smaller than motorised versions so may prove better for those with limited space.

The main problem with manual treadmills is that they tend to be only suitable for those looking to carry out walking exercises. They are not really built for joggers. The tell tale sign is the length of the running board these machines usually come with. Often the running board is shorter than 50 inches, usually circa 45 inches and whilst this is perfect for a walking stride it is not generally sufficient for a runners stride. If you are looking to jog and are average height you usually need to allow for a minimum 52 inch running stride, you will find it difficult to get a manual treadmill in this size these days and will have to opt for a more expensive and safer motorized treadmill.

For walking exercise a manual treadmill can be ideal. Generally they all incline by 10% these days and resistance in the machine is generated by the user having to turn the belt manually under their own steam. Greater resistance can be generated by increasing the incline. Many models will come with side bars to hold onto whilst exercising and a serious walking workout can be achieved on these manual machines. This means choosing a manual treadmill is only really a viable option for certain people, predominantely the user is likely to be a beginner fitness wise, or of an older age group looking to improve mobility generally. If you are looking to really boost your fitness over time and build up to running exercises you may be better off saving your money up for an entry level motorised treadmill that will be big enough to run on.