Should You Settle for a Manual Treadmill?

The treadmill is today’s most popular piece of exercise equipment. For people who want to stay in shape, a treadmill is a simple, easy-to-use equipment that can help you attain a healthier body. There are two kinds of treadmills – a manual treadmill and an electronic treadmill. Their main difference is that a manual treadmill has no motor. A manual treadmill is also known as a passive treadmill. It works very simply by using the user’s force in order to resist his motion. In short, the person is the one powering the treadmill.

Most people would recognize a manual treadmill just because of its cheap price. In fact, manual treadmills are very cheap, they cost around ten times less than their electronic counterparts. This is because they don’t have the frills that are associated with motorized treadmills. Basically they function only to do one thing, and that is to give you a running or walking workout. The cost of a manual treadmill ranges from $150 to $400, while an electronic usually one sells for $800 to $2500 and even much more. The huge price disparity may make one consider buying the cheaper manual one.

But manual treadmills can bring more disadvantages than benefits. Due to its limited features, it can put your knees and hip joints to strain. Prolonged usage of a manual treadmill may lead to complicated joint problems since this machine relies solely on a person’s legs in order to run. Also, one needs a lot of inclination in order to move a manual treadmill, and once it moves it is very difficult to change its inclination, unlike the electronic version. Also, the construction of manual treadmills are less stable as well as inferior to the electronic ones. This is the reason why it is cheaper. You’ll spend more time and energy without coming up with results in using these manual treadmills.

Manual treadmills don’t have any additional features except for the purpose it was built for. On the other hand, the electronic versions offers services like electronic incline adjuster, speed adjustments, programmed workout, as well as multiple workouts. It helps one keep track of his/her workout by showing the calorie counter, heart rate monitor, as well as the distance covered by running or walking on the treadmill. Most of your energy is spent on exercising on the electronic treadmill. Since you have to keep up with the speed of the motor, your muscles exert more effort which leads to more calories burnt. This is why an electronic treadmill is more expensive.

Also, an electronic treadmill offers better after-sales service than a manual treadmill. This is due to the inferior quality of the manual treadmill. The high end electronic treadmills even offer lifetime warranty on their parts so one has complete peace of mind when purchasing a motorized treadmill.

Overall, a manual treadmill can’t keep up with an electronic treadmill in terms of features, construction, and after-sales service. The only great thing about a manual treadmill is its price, but you’ll only get what you paid for. What’s worse is that your body will suffer in the long run with it. So it would be wiser not to invest in a manual treadmill if you are serious with your workout.