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Monday, January 16, 2012
What makes the LIVESTRONG Treadmills different?
Monday, December 26, 2011
Treadmills - Fold-up vs Stationary, Which Is Best For You?
Shopping for exercise equipment, including a treadmill, can be similar to shopping for any other home appliance. Coming in many sizes with numerous choices in features and potential benefits it may be hard to decide where to begin.
Treadmills over the years have evolved into elaborate pieces of machinery that can either store data or simulate walking and running uphill. Hopefully after you decide that it won't become a clothes rack in your bedroom; and before you decide to make an impulse buy; you will consider researching the subject.
Probably the biggest consideration one would have in choosing a treadmill is if you want a fold-up treadmill or a stationary treadmill.
Generally fold-up treadmills come in two categories; power-folding (or shock assisted) and manual folding. The power-folding treadmill is where at one push of a button the treadmill folds up for you; or if a shock assisted folding treadmill you get a little assistance with minimal effort on your part. It is similar to lifting of the trunk of your vehicle. Manual folding is where you do all the work to fold it up.
The pros of having a fold-up treadmill mostly have to do with how much space you have. If you are an apartment dweller or live in a small home a fold-up treadmill is probably on your wish list if you are shopping for a treadmill. If you look for one with wheels it might slide into a closet or a built in cubby. It could be easy to dust around; as dust is a major factor in the duration of life in a treadmill you want it to be easy to maintain.
There are a few cons to owning a fold-up treadmill. The biggest concern has to do with stability. Treadmills have stability ratings which generally indicate how well they handle the activity they are intended for in relation to the user (this is not a safety rating). Some fold up treadmills lack in this arena in that they are not preferred for running or heavy use. As an example; you will note that if you go to the gym the treadmills are stationary. They can handle running, jogging, walking, and continuous use nearly everyday. If you looking to purchase a folding treadmill always purchase one that has a top rated brand name, this way you will know that your treadmill will be stable and is secure for heaving jogging and running.
Another con is although it is great for space you have to consider if you can lift and fold the treadmill on your own. If you have a disability of some type; are elderly; or just don't want to lift and lock the item you might consider the power-folding or shock assisted model if saving space in your home is still the goal; however you will pay more for this feature.
If space is not a consideration or if you are a really heavy user; either someone in training or you prefer running or jogging to walking perhaps you are more likely to consider a stationary treadmill. The pros of a stationary treadmill include the stability factor. It is like bringing the gym home. They are heavier and studier; but can take more abuse than a fold-up. The cons are obvious space and price; however, if in doing the math taking into consideration the reasons why you want or need a treadmill you are contributing greatly to your health. Can you really put a price on health?
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Extended Warranties For Treadmills and Ellipticals
Should you buy an extended warranty when you buy a treadmill or elliptical machine? Sorry, but the answer is maybe.
First of all, make sure it is legal. The states of Florida and Vermont prohibit the sale of extended warranties. As a result, reputable sources will not sell you one if you live in one of those states. But it raises the question, why would states make them illegal? It's because unscrupulous companies in various industries have over-charged and under-delivered. The lesson is clear; deal only with reputable manufacturers. It is the manufacturer that offers the warranty. The store or website just passes it on to the purchaser. You should also understand what the warranty covers. Specific parts of the equipment will have specific lengths of time that the warranty runs. For example, the frame and motor typically have longer warranties, up to "lifetime." Lifetime means the lifetime of the purchaser. What that tells you is that you're not likely to have a problem with the frame or motor and that it's probably not worth getting an extended warranty just for just those parts.
Because they have more intricate parts, treadmills tend to have more service needs than elliptical machines. Thus, for treadmills, you really want a warranty to cover "parts and labor." That's where the extended warranty really makes sense. It costs a significant amount of money for any skilled technician to fix anything these days and you can save a lot of money by not having to pay one. The best warranties are "in-home service programs" that will get a technician to come to your home to fix your machine for no additional cost. That saves you the hassle of having to bring the equipment somewhere.
Still, the question remains whether you should buy an extended warranty for something like a treadmill.
Think of an extended warranty like an insurance policy. You hope you don't need it, but it may be better to buy it anyway and it makes you feel good to have it. You can feel even better buying it when you realize that the insurance company and equipment manufacturers do a lot of research to figure out that spread out over a number of sales, they will make money selling you these agreements. That means they believe that, in the case of an inexpensive warranty (about 0) it less likely than not that a given machine will need 0 or more in service. Based on that factor alone, it seems the buyer should take the same bet as the manufacturer and not buy an extended warranty.
But the missing factors in this calculation are the cost and quality of the machine. As with other products, more expensive machines tend to be higher quality. It first seems that it makes more sense to protect your greater investment in a higher priced machine buy buying the warranty. However, higher cost machines tend to cost no more to repair than lower cost machines and they may even be less likely to need repair. The best overall value may be to buy a lower-priced machine with an extended warranty. That way, you insure against most quality problems, while spending relatively little.







