Yes, a gym membership is great, but it never hurts to have some exercise equipment at home, too. One of the bigger purchases you’ll make in that regard is a treadmill, so it’s important you pick one that fits both your space and your routine.
Treadmills weren’t always as streamlined as they are today. Ages ago they were used as power sources—someone would walk in circles, and the energy generated would lift objects or keep a larger system running. It wasn’t until the 1950s that treadmills began to be used as a form of exercise. One of the originators was a team at the University of Washington who used the device to help diagnose heart disease. Today, treadmills have all kinds of way to keep you healthy: They can incline to increase your workload, you can adjust their speed, and even choose your climb. All the while, the treadmill will monitor your heart rate to make sure you’re staying in a optimal range.
The choice depends largely on your workout regimen, and how often you might want to exercise at home. Here, four of the best treadmills on Amazon now.
1. XTERRA Fitness TR150 Folding Treadmill
Treadmills may be smaller than they used to but they still take up a lot of space. That’s what makes XTERRA Fitness’s device so appealing. It’s a full-size treadmill that you can fold up and store in the closet when you’re done with your workout. Despite this, the device still boasts all the features you’d expect of a top tier treadmill, including a spacious running surface, three manual incline settings, an intuitive LCD control panel and 12 different preset workout programs.
Amazon
2. Sunny Health & Fitness Smart Treadmill
Everyone wants to listen to music while they work out, but hooking up a cord to your phone and a treadmill can be a real pain. That’s not a problem with Sunny Health & Fitness’s machine, which is Bluetooth compatible, so you can jam out and make calls while you exercise with ease. It’s also a solid treadmill in its own right, with 12 different levels of incline and speed options between one and eight miles per hour. The LCD monitor helps you keep track of and adjust these settings.
Amazon
3. MaxKare Folding Treadmill
If you’re someone who wants a treadmill that’s an exercise routine in and of itself, then MaxKare’s machine is a great option. It comes with 15 different pre-set regimens programmed in, and can switch to any speed between .5 and 8.5 miles per hour. The LCD screen helps you monitor how you’re performing, and it’s foldable, so you won’t have to worry about transporting it when you move.
Amazon
4. NordicTrack T Series Treadmills
Getting a treadmill for at-home workouts is great, but you may miss the benefit of having a trainer to guide you. Not so with NordicTrack’s machine, which comes with a one-month iFit membership. You can use this to stream workouts with trainers on the treadmill’s LCD screen—these videos will adjust the device’s incline and speed in real time as per the regimen. That way you’ll have access to 16,000 trainer videos—and that gym treadmill will be all but forgotten.
Amazon
