Treadmills – An overview
Treadmills are a popular home exercising equipment that is useful to provide straightforward aerobic workouts. As compared to the other exercising equipment, treadmills are very popular, especially among beginners who turn toward fitness, as walking is easy for everyone, even those who have back problems. It is popularly used for jogging or interval training, which increases endurance and strength. Treadmills aid in improving cardiovascular health and offer mental and physical benefits.

When and how did treadmills come into existence?

• The existence of the treadmill goes back right up to the first century AD. Back then, treadmills were used by the Romans for heavy articles.
• A mechanical engineer called William Staub developed the first treadmill for home use.
• Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper had written a book called aerobics, which was read by William Staub in 1968 and provided him with the inspiration to develop the treadmill.

What are the things to be considered while buying a treadmill?
Like all other home exercising equipment, treadmills are also expensive to purchase; hence, while buying a treadmill, it is necessary to consider all the features of the equipment and decide whether it is suitable for the home environment or not:

• Treadmills that have a motor with higher power generally performs well and is considered to be a smooth, powerful, and a quieter motor. The motor power rating of a treadmill lies between the range of 1.5 to 3.0.
• To prevent the incidence of falling or tripping off, it is important to consider the running space provided, which should be long and broad enough to be comfortable for any running stride.
• The quality of the cushioning should be appropriate to reduce the effect on the joints of the body, but it should not be too bouncy, else it will make a person unstable.
• The electronic control panel present on the treadmill should be user-friendly so that it can be easy to program, read, and use.
• While in the running or slow walking mode, the noise produced by treadmills should also be considered during the purchase of the home exercise equipment.
• The workmanship and stability qualities should also be checked, which include whether or not the treadmill comes with handrails.

What are the benefits offered by treadmills?

• When it comes to the operation, treadmills are among the easy-to-use home exercising equipment.
• The predictable surface of the sidewalk of treadmills is suitable to negotiate the sidewalks, trails, or curbs, which reduces the possibility of tripping.
• The various aspects such as the speed, warm up period, inclination, cooling down period, and energy speed workouts are controlled by the user.
• Users can customize their fitness programs to fit in their time of exercising.
• Without adjusting the structure of the equipment, multiple users can use the same treadmill.
• Fitness progress can be also tracked in certain treadmills with special features like heart rate monitors and step counters.
• As compared to the other home exercising equipment, running on a treadmill burns down calories quicker.
• Multitasking while exercising makes exercising more enjoyable; hence, while running on the treadmill, a person can do other tasks, such as watch television, read a book, or even use their phones.
• When asked for reviews on home exercising equipment, users testified that they have lost more of their calories while running on the treadmill than by exercising on the other home exercising equipment.

What are the drawbacks of a treadmill?

• As some of the treadmill models are even available at a price of over $2,000, it can be well said that this home exercising equipment is an expensive one.
• It is necessary to critically test the surface and rebound, as the cushioning of the surface may cause a jarring impact on the various joints of the body, such as hips, knees, ankles, and even the back at times, stressing them.
• Usually, treadmills need a space of up to 36 inches wide and 72 inches long.
• Maintenance of treadmills requires a professional technician, as the computerized motors and monitors need to be technically repaired.
• Many treadmills come with noisy motors that affect the other surrounding activities.
• Treadmills are considered to be a boring home exercise equipment, as the range of workout activities are restricted to running, jogging, or slow walking.

Are there different types of treadmills?
Yes, there are different types of treadmills, and the primary types are as listed:

• Manual treadmills, which do not operate on electricity.
• Motorized treadmills, which function on a rotating belt operated by an electrical motor.
• Hybrid treadmills, which are a combination of elliptical machine and a motorized treadmill.