There are two general types of treadmills – manual and electric or motorized. This article will prove to you that electric treadmills are better and more beneficial than manual treadmills.
Manual treadmills have several drawbacks. Without a motor, a manual treadmill will need your lower extremities – legs, thigh, and hips – to do all the work. Your muscles and joints might be strained trying to start the belt to move, and then later on to keep it moving. This can cause injuries to your leg muscles and joints. Instead of being physically fit, you get some serious health problems.
Aside from that, manual treadmills don’t offer a lot of features that electric treadmills can provide. Changing the incline and the belt’s speed is very easy with an electric treadmill. With manual treadmills, you will need to get off to manually change the incline. As with the speed, a manual treadmill will depend on how fast or slow you run or walk because there’s no motor to keep the speed at a specific rate.
On the other hand, electric treadmills have some advantages over manual treadmills, one of which is avoiding injury. Since electric treadmills are run by motors, you avoid straining you muscles and joints just to keep the belt moving. Another one is that when you perform your workout, you have the option to change the incline level and speed even when you’re on the treadmill. No need to get off to manually change it. You can also keep the speed at a constant rate so your workout will be consistent. Electric treadmills also have built-in features that can track speed and the total distance traveled so you can monitor your workout.
Don’t electric treadmills cost a lot?
The price ranges from $550 to $5000 depending on the brand and the features available. It’s quite pricey for a piece of home fitness machine, but it’s not impossible to find cheap electric treadmills. You can buy secondhand equipment. Or you can go to sales where brand new models are sold with lower prices. You can also look for a physical fitness studio in your place and see if they are selling used but in good condition machines.
What do I need to consider in buying?
Price. Of course you need to know how much your budget allows.
Features. You have to look at the features offered by different brands and models and choose only which ones you need so you won’t end up buying a machine and not fully taking advantage of it.
Size. Electric treadmills come in different sizes so you may want to choose the one that could fit in your home.
Warranties. Through warranties, you get assured that the piece of equipment you buy works well and is durable.