To Buy or not to Buy a TREADMILL?

We have a treadmill, a Gazelle glider, and an elliptical. My wife does the treadmill some, but prefers the glider. I'm hooked on the elliptical.

I can't stand the treadmill - too easy to do, and too hard on the joints. On my elliptical I work harder, but I never pick my feet up - so I don't slam them down. No impact, very healthy.

Have you tried an elliptical? Hop on one in the store. Don't worry if it kills you in 3 minutes, they kill everybody in 3 minutes at first. You'll get used to it and be able to do more really quickly.

My $.o2,,, short answer, Nonono treadmill for me. Tried it, don't like it.

My wife bought a treadmill a year or two ago and runs on it lots. She wanted an elliptical, but I wouldn't use it, so she tried to get me moving and got the treadmill. She loves it, but wishes she would have gone higher end (~2-3,000 MSRP instead of 1300 MSRP).

Of course, she'd rather have the elliptical, but she's training for her 1st mini in May and I don't know that ellipticals are best for that (I honestly have no idea, although I suspect not).

I don't own any of those, but I prefer to use the elliptical when I work out at the gym because I get a mental block after 5 mins on the treadmill (I prefer running outdoors). I would LOVE to buy the Bowflex TreadClimber though, because it combines the treadmill, stair climber and elliptical, but it's expensive
http://www.exercise-equipment-review.com/bowflex_treadclimber_review.html

I bought one last year and it's served me really well in the winter months when it's too darn cold and snowy to get out of the house. One thing I've done is put shelf in front of it, put my laptop on the shelf and watch movies while I jogging - it makes the whole experience much more enjoyable and once the movie's over you'll find that you've ran 6 miles or more.

I'm still young so the joints don't complain, although the shin and calf muscles get pretty sore. The thing I like over the elliptical is that you can relate to actual running. It's sort of weird for me to think I ran 6 miles on an elliptical, I elliptic'd 6 miles, doesn't have the same sense of naturalness to it I guess.

I got a $900 machine for $300 through craigslist. You can find some high-end machines marked down allot by people who buy them intent on working out, do it for a few weeks and then stop and leave their machines hanging around collecting dust until they decide to sell it for a third of the price.

i also have a treadmill and I use it a lot! Of course, before I got my butt off the couch and go serious about a lifestyle change it made a great catch all! (coats, clothers, shoes, you name it! ) I'm going to have my husband put a shelf in front of it for my laptop like "flysouth" did! What an awsome idea. As stated, it can be really boring, but if you can't get outside (esp. during winter) its a great way to mix in your cardio! Good luck!!!

We bought a Nordictrack treadmill last year. We did a lot of research on it. Make sure you check the weight limits, horsepower and incline and speeds. They are not all made the same. You definately get what you pay for. I love mine, and have since run 3 5k's and I am currently training for my first 10k this spring. It is much easier on your joints that jogging outside and it is easy to fit in a nice workout, not matter the weather

i also have a treadmill and I use it a lot! Of course, before I got my butt off the couch and go serious about a lifestyle change it made a great catch all! (coats, clothers, shoes, you name it! ) I'm going to have my husband put a shelf in front of it for my laptop like "flysouth" did! What an awsome idea. As stated, it can be really boring, but if you can't get outside (esp. during winter) its a great way to mix in your cardio! Good luck!!!

Before I purchased mine, people kept telling me this is whats gonna come of my treadmill too ("great catch"), so to not even waste my money :laugh: too funny!

So the elliptical is part of my dillema...it sounds like the elliptical is good on joints. I enjoy running outside in the spring and summer.....I'm worried the eliptical wouldn't feel natural like running outside. I guess maybe I should pay to go to the gym for a day and try and eliptical for a full workout and see how it feels. Thank you for all of your valuable advice!

The elliptical doesn't feel natural like running outside,,, if feels like an elliptical. It's different, deceptively strenuous, kind of interesting. You like it or you don't - and you may have to "learn to like it".

I bought ours and brought it home and put it together and 10 minutes later I really thought I'd made a mistake. It was wierd, awkward,,, and it kicked my butt in about 4 minutes flat. I hated the &%^ thing. But I had spent the money, so I decided to stick it out for a week and if it didn't get better I'd just Craigslist the thing. Well the next day it wasn't so wierd and I lasted 5 minutes. The day after that was better and I did 7 minutes. Pretty soon I could to the full 30 minute programs... I just had to get used to it and build a little stamina, but now I like it and do it regularly.

Frankly, I prefer to spend my money on a gym membership. I like variety and there are plenty of different machines at my gym, as well as free groups. When I'm at home I prefer to be outside - gardening or walking the dog, and when the weather is miserable or it's late at night there are always new free videos to try at SparkPeople.

FWIW We have a treadmill, we also had an eliptical. The e has been given to a cousin. We just never used it. We both run and train for running events. If we were just looking to get fit then perhaps we would get an Eliptical. Treadmills are specific to running though (duh!) and as such, that is what we use for specific drills. We live in Alberta and run outside, the cutoff being -35 excluding or including the wind chill. Coldest this year has been -21 with a 25KM wind.
Anyway, to suggest a person cannot work hard on a treadmill is wrong. Just put the incline on 5 and try running at 6.8MPH.
Also, to the person that has sore shins/calfs, you might want to look at your technique. Try taking smaller steps, 90-96 steps per leg is the reccomendation (per minute) lean slightly forward and try to strike the ground with your midfoot rather than your heal.
Takes a while to master but you will find your running easier and your rate of improvement increased.
Not trying to hijack your thread here but as someone mentioned the pains I though I would offer up some advice.
In a nutshell, no injuries and training for run specific goal, get a treadmill.
General aerobic fitness, get either.

Bex