Advice needed before buying a treadmill

Welsh_and_proud

I'm having problems with my back so I'm thinking it might be my weight so I want to buy a treadmill from argos for under £400 but what do I need to know before buying one.

jaybeetoo

Save yourself £400 and go outside?

A lot of treadmills get bought in January and end up as clothes horses or are stored at the back of the garage.

nickcc

Check the max weight permitted and make sure you get the most powerful motor. Powered inclination also advisable and ability to fold out of the way if room needed when treadmill not in use.

suki1964

TBH, if you aren't used to regular exercise , you most possibly will be buying a very expensive clothes hanger

Get out and walk and the weight will fall off you

I started off with just half a mile, soon I was doing 5 miles a night, this year I start the couch to 10k and then I have a half marathon Im aiming for in September. Thats all from taking those first few walks out doors

Only expense for walking is a decent pair of walking shoes

nickcc

Maybe the OP doesn't want to walk outside. Perhaps offering the advice
they asked for rather than lecturing them would be far more helpful.

Mojisola

jaybeetoo wrote: »

A lot of treadmills get bought in January and end up as clothes horses or are stored at the back of the garage.

Or wait a month or so and advertise for one on your local selling sites - likely to get a good quality one for a cheap price.

In the meantime, try going for a walk (borrow a dog - see https://cinnamon.org.uk/volunteers/) and you may never need to buy one.

FluffityBunny

Have a look on Facebook Marketplace for people selling 2nd hand treadmills.

Welsh_and_proud

suki1964 wrote: »

TBH, if you aren't used to regular exercise , you most possibly will be buying a very expensive clothes hanger

Get out and walk and the weight will fall off you

I started off with just half a mile, soon I was doing 5 miles a night, this year I start the couch to 10k and then I have a half marathon Im aiming for in September. Thats all from taking those first few walks out doors

Only expense for walking is a decent pair of walking shoes

I work afternoons all the time and I can only go out for 3 days and going out when I finish work is not any option due to poor street lights, bad pavements and dog mess.

Sea_Shell

When I first started running, I just did the treadmill in the gym first before I felt "good" enough to do it outdoors. Now the thought of a treadmill bores me to tears, it is so uninspiring, you're unlikely to want to be on it for more than 5 mins at a time!

I think, with the best will in the world, January is NOT the right time to be making fitness purchases. The odds are not good that the items will still be being used in February.

Do you live in a house with stairs? Why not try to use them during January to "kick start" you off.

Walk or Jog up and down them as many times as you can, until you're out of breath....recover for 2 mins and repeat. Gradually increase the number of times you go up and down each set, and the number of sets.

Yes, it's just as boring as a treadmill, but it's FREE!!!

suki1964

Welsh_and_proud wrote: »

I work afternoons all the time and I can only go out for 3 days and going out when I finish work is not any option due to poor street lights, bad pavements and dog mess.

3 days is just perfect

I don't finish work in daylight at the moment so Im down to walking just two days a week - country lanes, no street lights - and some times its as little as two miles. But Im keeping at it because as the nights get longer and theres more time in the evenings, I don't want to be starting from stop again if you know what i mean


If you have the mornings off, how about walking then? My next door neighbour does the mornings as she doesn't start work until 9am ( I start at 6)

Really you don't have to organise anything, just throw on a coat, hat, scarf, gloves ( if required ) and step out the front door and walk to the end of the road and back again, or around the block, all in your own time. Time yourself. It may take 20 mins, thats ok, its not a race. After a week look at the times again and I bet you have done it quicker. Just slowly build up your speed and distance. Once that block walk is a doddle, make it two blocks.

Seriously, a treadmill is really really boring. Ive started at the gym once a week and the treadmill is avoided like the plague. Maybe Ill use it as my half marathon training starts but not while Im just walking for fitness and health

bouicca21

I'm with Suki. A treadmill is mind bogglingly boring. I did Couch to 5K from the NHS website, 3 days a week. The progress you can make is amazing. But even that got boring so I joined a gym and bought a bike.