Dear Fred,

I hope you don’t mind I contact you directly. I’m looking for a treadmill to create a walking desk. As you probably know, the speed one needs for a walking desk is up to 1.5 mph.

So, the main features should be:
- durable (I hope to use it for years)
- stable and quiet (I need to work while using it)
- can be assembled without the handles (must fit under a desk)
- the console can be placed separately (for example, on a shelf)
- incline (nice but not essential)

I don’t need any of the other features (fast speed, fan, programs, speakers, etc.)

I can pay up to $1,000.

There are some treadmills created specially to be used under a desk (http://www.treaddesk.com/products/the-tread/the-tread/) but I don’t know how good they are. I couldn’t find reviews.

Thank you in advance for any help!

Cheers,
Roberto

My Response…
I have never heard of the Tread, so I cannot comment on it. I will say for the money it has a very small treadbelt.

The one company that I do know that builds a combination treadmill and treadmill desk is Lifespan. Their treadmills have a very good reputation, and the treadmill they use with their desk has a much larger walking surface. I’ve personally visited their headquarters. Here is the link. Lifespan 1200-TD.

Regards,
Fred

I heard from my sources that Sole Fitness has an excessive overstock of several of their treadmills.  Consequently they offering the some of the lowest prices ever on certain models.  For example, the Sole F80 treadmill is selling for $1,199 with shipping.  I have been monitoring prices on the Sole F80 treadmill for over 5 years and the lowest I have seen this model sell for is $1,399.  This is one of the best values for any treadmill at this price.

Other exceptional deals are the heavy duty Sole F85 Treadmill, reduced by $200 to $1,799. Ive never seen the Sole F85 discounted below $1,999. Another excellent bargain is their entry level model, the Sole F63 Treadmill.  It is reduced by $150 to $849. 

Sole Treadmills have an excellent reputation for quality and durability.  So take advantage of Sole’s over estimating their inventory and get some great deals.

It’s not that I don’t have the motivation or drive to be fit, because I do.  I find it difficult to go to the gym because it is all the way across town and sometimes I just do not feel like driving. Other times, I simply cannot find a gym buddy to go with.  Recently, I have considered buying a treadmill for my home.  It just seems a lot easier to exercise right at home rather than downtown at a gym where I feel uncomfortable.

A treadmill is one of the best exercise equipment available on the market right now.  There are many advantages of owning your own treadmill.  Here are the top 5 benefits to owning your own treadmill:

1. It allows you to exercise at any time of the day.  This is a huge benefit for those of us who are extremely busy and have difficulty finding the right time to exercise. For most of us, time is the biggest excuse we have to not exercise.
2. You can use a treadmill in the winter. Many people buy a gym membership during the cold seasons because they realize they won’t be able to exercise as conveniently.  Owning your own treadmill will eliminate this worry and even save you money in the long run!  If you are anything like me, where making it to the gym everyday can be a struggle, then a treadmill may be the right decision for you!
3. Running on a treadmill burns major calories.  A treadmill offers some of the greatest fitness benefits!  Obviously running is going to allow a person to burn substantial amount of calories. However a treadmill offers something more.  For example, the  NordicTrack Incline Trainer X11i  has 44 workout programs!  This is a tremendous benefit, because when you work out the same muscles each day they will adjust to the work out, therefore, eventually you will not get anything out of it.  You must keep your work out new and diverse in order to see improvements!  A treadmill will allow you to keep a diverse workout because it offers so many workout varieties.
4. Your progress will be tracked.  One of the great things about a treadmill is the heart rate control/monitor.  This control will allow users to see their progress, such as, losing weight or getting in some cardio.  It is also useful to see the rate you are running at and the distance traveled.  It is motivating to look down and see yourself running at a good pace for a long distance.
5. Watch TV or read while running.  Being entertained while running can be a life saver. Sometimes listening to an mp3 player is just not enough. Many people enjoy reading while running, but face it, you can’t just bring a book outside with you and hold it the whole time you run.  Treadmills allow you to set your book down and makes reading easier.  Watching television on a treadmill is also extremely convenient. If you enjoy either of these hobbies, a treadmill allows you to enjoy these while getting in a great run as well!

 Katy is a 19 year old college student who enjoys exercising and learning about fitness.  She has a passion for writing and graphic design. If you liked this post, check her out on Google+ .

I am talking about the NordicTrack X9i Incline Trainer. Most of you are probably familiar with the X7i model and the commercial with Jillian Michaels and iFit Technology. The X9i is the newest model from NordicTrack in the incline trainer family.

So just what makes this incline trainer so special? I won’t get into too much detail about the X9i here. You can see a full review here: http://www.treadmill-ratings-reviews.com/models/nordictrack-x9i-incline-trainer.html. But I do want to talk about how amazing it is to use an incline trainer rather than a normal treadmill.

Most treadmills these days come with the ability to incline. A typical treadmill will incline up to 12% or so. An incline trainer can go nearly four times as much! The X9i for example can incline up to 40%. If you think walking or running on a treadmill is hard, try doing it at 40% and whatever you were doing before will seem easy.

But why does this even matter? Well, think about walking outside. Is it easier or harder to walk up a hill? Does your heart rate increase or decrease when walking up a hill? Do you use more or less muscles to walk up a hill?

The idea of walking up a hill is exactly what makes an incline trainer more effective than a regular treadmill. You can go at all the same speeds, you can use all the same technology, you have the same size walking surface, the only difference is you can get very steep inclines.

To illustrate this, a couple guys posted a video online where they both walked on a treadmill for two and a half minutes at 2 mph. One guy was on a 0% incline on a normal treadmill. The other guy was on a 40% incline on the X9i. When they were done, the guy on the X9i had burned way more calories and his heart rate was much higher. Check out the video below:

So just imagine- keep doing what you are already doing and you will work harder and burn more calories doing it. Sounds great to me! That’s why I got myself the X9i recently. And I haven’t regretted it one bit. I don’t even need to run on this treadmill. I just kick up the incline to 40% and go back and forth between 20% and 40% and walk at 2-3 mph. I do this for only 20 minutes a day and burn more calories than when I jogged for 30 minutes a day!

So don’t believe what they say. The perfect treadmill for you just might be out there. I found my soul mate. Hopefully my experience can help you find yours!

About the author: Jessica Staheli is a health and fitness nut. She loves to write about being healthy and getting in shape at her blog at http://www.jessicashealthblog.com.

Thank you for the thorough info on your site. I am a 56 year old woman. I weigh approximately 260 pounds and am 5′ 10″ tall. I belonged to a gym for quite a while but recently terminated my membership, and plan to buy a treadmill for home use. I will use the treadmill for walking only.

I’m vascillating between purchasing the ProForm 505 CST and 590T. Based on my situation do you have a recommendation for which would be better?

Thank you again.

Robin

My response…

Robin,

They are virtually the same machine. There is a slight difference in the console and the programming. ProForm takes very similar machines, makes minor changes, gives them a different name and sells them through different venues. One is primarily sold on ProForm.com and the other on Amazon.

If you were going to jog I would suggest you upgrade, but for walking these machines should be adequate.

You can see my review of the ProForm http://www.treadmill-ratings-reviews.com/models/proform-590t-treadmill.html

Note: The 2012 590T now has iFit Live rather than iFit cards technology.

Regards,
Fred

I’m interested in purchasing a new treadmill. I’ve had 2 Pro-form ($699) treadmills before that I wasn’t impressed with. The Pro-Form units have been very noisy, had incline issues, belt slippage issues, not programmable. I would like to be able to program my own workouts into the unit, have Iphone/Ipod compatibility, and web/online support to log or save workouts automatically. I’m looking for a folding treadmill in that $2000-$3000 price range. The units I’m considering are:

• Life Fitness F3
• Sole F85
• PaceMaster Gold Elite Fold-Up VR
• Lifespan TR4000i
• Spirit Fitness XT485

All of these units are in my price range. I’m 5’11” and weigh 210lbs. I run on the unit and will use it 10 x a week. I want something that will hold up and last. Can you advise me on what’s the best unit, not looking at the price? Is there another unit you would recommend?

This is my response:

BowFlex is closing out their TC5000 TreadClimber, and selling it for a ridiculously low price.  In the past it sold for over $2,000.  You can currently get this model for $1,250 with shipping.  If you are sold on the concept of the treadclimber, this is their best value.

For those unfamilar with the the TreadClimber, it is a kind of hybrid between a treadmill, elliptical and stairstepper. The design consist of dual “treadies”.  They are like two mini treadbelts that move up and down to meet your foot as it steps down.  BowFlex suggests the TreadClimber will burn calories considerably more efficiently than a treadmill.  There is some truth to that, but not to the degree they suggest.  The TC5000 was replaced by the TC10, which currently cost over $2,000.  So the savings is significant.

See the TC500 TreadClimber Review.