The exercise treadmill has been around for many years now and they have been improved in many ways. While the first treadmills were simply mats strung around a set of rollers, today’s treadmills are electric, adjustable and safe. Most modern treadmills basically consist of a rubber mat that is strung across a surface with two electric rollers at either end. When the treadmill is turned on, the rollers move the mat under the runners’ feet.
The modern exercise treadmill is equipped with many features. One important feature that many people do not pay much attention to on a modern treadmill is the handle bar. The handle bar extends from the treadmill platform and keeps you balanced while you run. If the handle bar is too long, too short, or not stable enough, it could be dangerous or uncomfortable. The best handle bar for a treadmill should be sturdy and adjustable.
Another common feature that any exercise treadmill has is the speed adjustment. Depending on what intensity of exercise you want to do, you can adjust how fast or slow the mat moves under your feet. When shopping for a treadmill, you should look for a machine that has speed variation in one-tenth of one mile per hour increments at most, and can go from one to ten miles per hour.
Many modern exercise treadmills also offer incline adjustment. The ability to adjust the incline of your treadmill enables you to simulate running uphill. Running uphill offers more resistance to the runner and is great for building endurance and muscle.
The best exercise treadmill models offer LCD screens that offer up all kinds of valuable information. The most basic screens tell you how long you have been using the treadmill, how much time you have left to complete your run, and how far you have run. Some of the more sophisticated treadmills have a pad where you place your hands so the machine can take and display your heart rate. Other machines are able to formulate exactly how many calories you have burned over the course of your workout.
When you are working out on a treadmill, one of the most important things to keep track of is your heart rate. Depending on what you are training for or what kind of exercise you are doing, your heart rate determines how successful you will be. What your peak heart rate is depends on your age, condition, weight, and gender. The lowest levels of heart rates are for warming up. As you increase your heart rate you begin to enable yourself to burn fat, condition your cardiovascular system, and develop endurance. It is important to remember that once you get your heart rate to the level you want, you should try to maintain it at that level for at least a half hour.
Almost any large department store, electronics store, sporting goods store or even hardware store carries a variety of treadmills. Treadmills can range in price from $300 to well over $1500. You can even find many good deals on used treadmills in classified ads or on the Internet.
By Alex Turman