Treadmills continue to be an extremely popular fitness machine for home-use. The trouble of prospective treadmill purchasers is deciding on the right type of treadmill.
They range spectacularly in price, features, quality and type. This article describes 4 common types of treadmills.
1. Multi-Purpose Motorized (Traditional Type)
The motorized treadmill is by far the most popular. It's the usual type you see at gyms.
It's powered by a motor (usually 2 to 4 horsepower) which glides the tread belt over the deck.
Most motorized versions include a computer which display speed, distance traveled, calories burned, and other stats, depending on the model.
Moreover, motorized types are able to incline and decline via a hydraulic and does so from the electric power-source. The standard gradient percentage is 10 to 15%.
This type is ideal for walking, jogging, running, sprinting, and interval training.
2. Incline
The incline treadmill is also motorized; however, it's designed to offer steeper inclines than traditional types.
Some incline treadmills incline up to 40%, which is incredibly steep.
The downside to incline version is the running surface is shorter. They aren't that good for running as a consequence. They are, however, ideally suited for steep incline walking.
3. Treadles
A treadles is a dual-track treadmill. Instead of one tread belt, there's two, one for each foot.
Like incline varieties, treadles are designed for walking. They are really an elliptical, stepper and treadmill combined into one fitness machine.
The tread belts being independent of one another are able to incline independently. This means that while one foot is up, the other is down resulting in a stair-climbing motion.
Treadles are ideal for walkers who want a more rigorous workout that is very low impact.
4. Walking (a.k.a. Manual)
It's a bit of a misnomer to refer to a manual type as a walking type because all the treadmills listed in this article work well for walking.
However, manual treadmills are sometimes referred to as walking treadmills because that's all you can do. Sure, you can run, but it's not as safe as a motorized treadmill due to the less smooth nature of the tread belt gliding over the tread deck.
There's no motor powering the tread belt. Instead the tread belt glides over the tread deck from your walking motion. The user powers the belt.
Walking treadmills are popular because they are inexpensive compared to motorized treadmills.
Given the decreasing costs of motorized treadmills in recent years, more and more people opt to spend a little more for a motorized treadmill over a manual treadmill.
No comments:
Post a Comment