One of best ways to protect yourself from buying more treadmill than you need is walking in with an idea of what you want. Especially with the wealth of information online, you can do your research and get a good idea about the features you need and how much it should cost. Too many people walk into the retailer not sure of what they need and get up-sold by savvy salespeople. When research a treadmill there are four things to take into consideration.
The first, and probably the most influential for many people, is the budget. How much you have available to spend will determine the range of features available to you. If you only have one thousand budgeted, then you will end up with a budget treadmill or none at all. Simple economics will tell you that the cool features you wish to have aren’t free and the sooner you come to terms with what you can afford, the better your eventual buying decision.
Now that we have looked at your budget, consider the activity level that your treadmill will have to face. A heavily used machine will require more durability than a lightly used treadmill for walking or irregular jogging. Also, the weight of the user affects the level of stress put on the machine.
For some experienced treadmill users, certain types of features are a requirement. Many treadmills, from budget machines to high-end treadmills come with at least a minimum selection of features such as training programs for different types of workouts. Figure out what features are a necessity, desirable within the budget, and which are just outright ridiculous. Don’t walk into the shop and risk letting a salesperson make decisions for you.
Once you hit the shop, it is important to keep in mind that you don’t have to buy right away. Many people will find it helpful to walk away and talk to a second salesperson at another time if they are feeling pressured or uncomfortable with the prior visit. That is a good thing to practice with anything big purchase. It is never a good idea to buy under pressure.
Besides the intensity of use we also have to figure out the consistency of use. Is it going to be used for an hour daily? Two hours twice a week? Don’t be surprised if you buy an entry level model, sprint for an hour a day, and the treadmill dies on you in less than six months.
That brings us to the final point. Because it is something that should be a requirement, we didn’t include warranty into the list of considerations. Most budget treadmills come with 90 day warranties that tend to be insufficient. Get parts and labor covered if you have to spend some money on an extended plan. It usually is worth it as long as you’re saving some money on a well thought out buy.
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