Best Treadmills
Based on In-Depth Reviews

Walk Like an Egyptian: The Ancient History of the Treadmill

If you’ve ever used a treadmill before, you know the feeling of being like a hamster on a wheel: always running but never quite going anywhere. This idea isn’t too far from the truth. In fact, what we know today as treadmills started their long history in Antiquity as “animal engines”: machinery operated by oxen, horses, and humans. 

A famous example is the Great Pyramids of Giza, built between 2570 and 2520 BCE: they weren’t built by aliens, but by human-powered machines. Using a combination of ropes, pulleys, water, and wooden boards, laborers were able to carry stones weighing as much as 80 tonnes to build structures almost 500 feet tall.

Thousands of years later, in 1818, an English engineer named William Cubitt, who had grown up watching his father, a miller, operate various machines with animal labor, invented what became known as the “prison treadwheel”.

Stuck in Folsom Prison: The Criminal Origins of the Treadmill

An 1885 biographical dictionary claims Cubitt didn’t intend the treadwheel, or treadmill, to be used for punishment, only as a way to use cheap labor more effectively. Regardless of his intentions, the fact is that penal treadmills became one of the most feared tools used in the notoriously repressive Victorian Era. 

The fact that prisoners didn’t have much to do in jail was seen as an opportunity for vice and immorality. A group of English judges who visited Ireland in 1862 described the situation: “Idleness, and dislike of steady work, are probably the most universal characteristics of the criminal class. We, in England, have sought to correct that evil, by making labour as penal as possible, by the treadmill and the crank — the most irksome and painful forms of work.”

Let’s Get Physical: America’s Obsession with Fitness

It all started with the heart attack epidemic of the 1960s. 

In the strictest sense, it wasn’t an epidemic, because heart attacks have always existed, but it was in the decade of the ‘60s that physicians and researchers began seeing the connections between cardiovascular health and smoking, high cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and physical activity. Suddenly, it became common knowledge that the sedentary lifestyle enjoyed by most urban and suburban dwellers was slowly killing them.

Senator Birch Bayh jogging with Purdue University women athletes, ca. 1970s. (Wikimedia Commons)

In the sixties and seventies, jogging became the newest fad, aided in no small part by Dr. Kenneth Cooper’s Aerobics, which became a sensation on publication in 1968. 

Shelly McKenzie, PhD, a sports historian and author of the award-winning book Getting Physical: The Rise of Fitness Culture in America, says the main draw of Aerobics was how user-friendly it was. “Here, people had been talking about [how you needed to get some] exercise for more than a decade. But how to get some, how did you get fit, how often did you exercise, what kind of activities should you do… these were all unanswered questions.”

Aerobics was the guide people were waiting for. It established an “aerobic points system” that scored certain exercises and activities, and encouraged people to hit a weekly quota. The more intense and frequent, and the longer the activity was, the higher the points the person could earn. According to the Oxford Reference, “a 2-mile walk completed in under 30 min, performed five times a week, scores 25 points; four sessions of aerobic dance classes per week scores 36 points. Dr. Cooper proposed that in order to develop cardiovascular fitness a person needs to earn at least 30 aerobic points each week”. 

Eventually, Cooper’s points system fell out of favor as research into fitness continued, but the idea at the root of it is still valid: people who have more active lifestyles are generally healthier than people with sedentary lives. Says McKenzie, “In that book, [Cooper] recommends jogging because it’s the most accessible form of exercise. Even though people don’t find particularly enjoy jogging, they start to do it because of this guide.”

And the rest, as they say, is history. The jogging fad of the ‘60s turned into the aerobics fad of the ‘70, which led to the rise of gym chains in the ‘80s. “Big-box gyms had a combination of cardio machines, group fitness studios, and weight lifting equipment of different types, like barbells and dumbells, but also Nautilus machines,” explains McKenzie. “Once you had this array of equipment [available], it was logical to have access to all that pricey equipment for a low membership fee.”

Gyms also began including treadmills in their selection of equipment. Because of their size and cost, gyms were the first consumers of fitness treadmills, and they soon became a staple of the American gym club experience. Surely, you’re familiar with the sight: double or triple rows of treadmills, stationary bikes, and weight lifting racks facing television sets mounted on the wall.

As the decade chugged on and the US economy improved, gym members began yearning for the comforts of home. Explains McKenzie, “By about 1985 or 1986, you start to hear people saying, ‘You know, I’ve been at the gym for a while and I’m tired of it. I’m tired of the commute. I’m tired of the overhead time it adds. I’m tired of the scene at my gym. I don’t wanna pay membership fees anymore,’ and that’s when people start setting up home gyms.”

Mama, I’m Coming Home: The Birth of the Home Gym

While stationary bikes dominated the home gym scene for a long time, treadmills began taking their slice of the pie. As the technology for exercise equipment improved, treadmills got smaller, lighter, and more affordable for consumers. Foldable treadmills made them accessible to people in small apartments, treadmills with data displays gave running buffs a much-needed data boost. Hand in hand with the rise of fitness apparel, specialized running shoes, the Sony Walkman, heart-rate monitors, and sports bras, fitness culture in America reached its acme.

Astronaut Sunita Williams on the International Space Station treadmill in 2012. Williams is the first person to run a marathon in space. (Wikimedia Commons)

Today, treadmills account for 40 percent of fitness equipment sales in the United States, beating out stationary bikes, weights, and all the other trendy gadgets out there. In 2008, over 50 million people were using treadmills as part of their fitness regime, with almost half of them using treadmills at home. They’re even in space!

Why Not Just Run Outdoors?

So, why should you get a treadmill? You can just walk outside, can’t you? Sure. But the fact is that there are some natural obstacles to getting a workout in the open air. 

First of all, you have to deal with the weather. If you live in a temperate climate, you might not experience extreme fluctuations in weather. In Southern Florida, for example, the seasons all sort of blur together, give or take ten degrees. But it’s a completely different story in Minneapolis, Boston, or Winnipeg. If you live somewhere with blistering summers, frigid winters, or monsoon seasons, you won’t be able to pound the pavement whenever you want. Having a treadmill in the temperature-controlled comfort of your living room or basement could be an excellent idea.

Second, your life might get in the way. If you have children, especially if you’re a mom, you know how hard it is to squeeze a workout into your already packed schedule. If you work long hours or unconventional shifts, you’re also aware of how complicated it can be to get the exercise your body needs. Wouldn’t it be great to have a machine at home that’s available 24/7 and doesn’t require you to get a babysitter whenever you want to get your miles in?

Third, your neighborhood might get in the way. Walter Thompson, PhD, a professor of kinesiology and associate dean at Georgia State University, and a former president of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), notes that “some environments, like cities, don’t have thirty minutes’ worth of sidewalks or parks on which people can walk safely”. 

And it’s when you run, not just where, that you need to keep in mind. You’ll find yourself dodging more traffic on the road at eight p.m. than at six a.m., or being hyper-aware of muggers at 11 p.m. on a solitary street.

Finally, your body might be getting in your way. Ryan Carver, certified trainer and owner of Leverage Fitness Solutions in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, says bone density takes on more importance as we age. His biggest clients are older adults, and he’s seen the difference exercise can make on bone health. “Walking, jogging, running, any type of impact you can get to your bones is going to improve your bone density.”

However, with time, the impact of your feet hitting a hard surface like asphalt concrete can start to take a toll on your bones and joints. That’s when a treadmill with a strong shock-absorption system can come in handy.

Walking outside might not be an alternative if you have mobility issues, but you might still want or need to get some exercise. People with Parkinson’s disease are often advised to do light exercise to increase joint flexibility, muscle strength, and coordination. A treadmill is ideal in these situations because most treadmills come with strong handrails that you can use to break a fall, not to mention the relative safety of working out at home where your family members can assist you if something goes wrong. After speaking with your physician or physical therapist, you might find buying a treadmill is a good solution.

The Two-Prong Test

Before you buy a treadmill, you need to do a little soul-searching. “A lot of people buy treadmills and within two weeks it’s nothing but a clothes dryer,” says Carver. Buying one shouldn’t be taken lightly. “A treadmill is a big purchase. Treadmill prices have been coming down, but you have to treat it like an appliance,” he says. That means doing your research as to what’s available on the market and what you really need. Carver suggests a simple two-question test. “There are questions people should ask [themselves] before buying a treadmill. The first thing is ‘Do I like to run?’”

Now, you don’t have to run to get fit. “As the fitness wave came through [in the sixties and seventies], a lot of people equated being in shape with being able to run,” says Carver. But that’s not necessarily true. Getting fit could mean cycling, swimming laps, hitting the rowing machine, or activities like Kickboxing, CrossFit, or even Zumba. “There’s a lot of different ways to get in shape, and the key to fitness is finding the modality [of exercise] that’s enjoyable and pleasurable to you,” Carver says.

The second question requires being honest with yourself: “Realistically, how do you see yourself using the treadmill?” 

Explains Carver, “A lot of people buy exercise equipment with all the best intentions, thinking they’re going to be using it every day, running ten miles a week. Realistically, that doesn’t happen for a number of reasons.” Be it time or motivation, a lot of people don’t follow through on their fitness goals, and the worst time to realize you’re not actually into running on a treadmill is after you’ve shelled out $600 or $3,000 for one. Thompson adds, “Treadmills are expensive and only the person who is going to make a commitment to using the treadmill on a regular basis should be making that expense.”

Analyzing why you want a treadmill and how you’ll use it will also help you later when deciding which features your machine should have. Carver mentions, for example, that people who will be putting the treadmill in a room without a television might be interested in models with an integrated screen and streaming features. If your workout room doesn’t have a lot of ventilation, you might look for a treadmill with a built-in fan.

In the end, there’s something for everyone. Just be sure you know what you want. Says Thompson, “There’s an alternative to walking on a treadmill and that’s walking outside.”

Puttin’ on the Ritz: Treadmill Features Explained

Speaking of features, there’s a veritable universe of options out there for everyone, from fitness newbies to fitness buffs, casual runners to ultramarathoners. We’ve put together this brief primer to give you the down-low on the must-haves, the good-to-haves, and the don’t-haves.

Types of Treadmills: Motorized vs. Manual

You might be surprised to learn that there is more than one type of treadmill out there. Motorized treadmills are the type most commonly used and what most people picture when they think of a treadmill. The belt on this kind of machine propels itself forward using electricity.

Conversely, a manual treadmill runs on the user’s own kinetic energy. This is the older type of exercise treadmill, invented before we mastered the art of making small motors. The user has to pull the push the belt with their feet as they walk or run, and the rollers inside the treadmill aid the movement. 

One of the benefits of motorized treadmills over manuals is that the pace is set on the machine’s computer system, allowing the user to walk or run freely without worrying about propelling the belt forward. Additionally, runners will prefer motorized treadmills because their sturdiness means they can withstand faster speeds than manual treadmills. 

Motorized treadmills are also easier on the joints, because the runner doesn’t have to make the effort to step down and back to make the belt run, as is the case of manual treadmills. Their decks can also be more flexible than manuals’, which absorbs a lot of the impact. Manual treadmills are also tougher on people with joint pain because of their incline: manual treadmills have to be set at a rise so gravity can help the belt move. While motorized treadmills often have an incline feature, it’s not required, and users can opt to run on flat ground.

On the other hand, since they require more effort, manual treadmills tend to give you a better workout, especially on your legs. They are also generally less expensive than their automatic cousins (except in the case of high-end designer models that wouldn’t be out of place in an ultra-modern and sleek Scandinavian apartment). They also need less maintenance than motorized machines, since there are fewer moving parts. While they can break down, repairs tend to be easier due to the lack of a motor. 

Features Analysis: The Good, The Bad, and The Useless

As with any piece of equipment you invest in, there are several different features to consider when comparing treadmill models. Some of these may be more important than others, particularly if you have any health problems, such as joint issues with your ankles or knees.

Foldability

This is a big one, both literally and figuratively. If your treadmill isn’t foldable (also called fold-up, folding, or fold-away), it means that you will have to keep a bulky piece of machinery out and prominently in the way. People who live in smaller spaces that have more than one function will find that foldability is an important consideration. Weight will also become a factor here. Even if your treadmill is foldable, if it’s heavier than you can comfortably manage, odds are high that it’ll still stay out purely because of convenience.

While foldable treadmills have historically gotten a bad rap in terms of their sturdiness — the joints that made them easy to fold also made them less stable — manufacturers have made great strides to fix the issue. Another notable problem with foldable treadmills was that the length of the belt was too short for tall people, runners, or people with longer strides. However, newer foldable models are comparable to non-foldable ones, and a lot of variety is available in track length.

Incline

The amount of incline your treadmill can manage will be one of the most significant elements to impact your workout. With zero incline, running on a treadmill is easier than running outdoors, because you won’t have to face wind resistance or uneven surfaces. Once you start incorporating incline levels into your workout, however, you’ll get a more intense cardiovascular workout, burn more calories, and build additional muscle. 

Inclines on a treadmill are measured as a percentage, just like how the grade of a hill is measured. Every treadmill manufacturer determines its own incline levels, with most machines giving a maximum incline between 6% and 15%. Some treadmills offer a decline, or negative incline, of up to 6% (or -6%, if shown as an incline), simulating the effect of running downhill. For reference, one percent will most closely resemble running outdoors on a flat surface.

That said, if you are a committed outdoor runner, it might be worth training on a hill program or another sort of built-in course where the incline goes up and down, imitating the irregular surfaces and different ground levels you’ll find when running outside. When transitioning between treadmill and outdoor running, remember to give your body time to adjust to the differences in gait, intensity, and impact.

Speed

Speed might not be a major consideration for the average treadmill user. Maximum speeds for home treadmills are around 10 miles per hour, which is more than enough for most people. 

However, if you’re a hardcore runner who’s used to running a five-minute mile, 10 mph is simply not going to cut it. You’ll want to buy a sturdy treadmill with a max speed of 12 mph or more. 

Motor

Depending on your fitness needs, you might need a stronger motor. Horsepower factors into how fast you can run and for how long without the motor giving out. If you’re a walker or light jogger, you can get away with a 2.5 horsepower machine, because you won’t be demanding too much.

However, if you’re a runner or someone who uses the treadmill for long sessions, you should look for heftier hardware. A motor with 4.0 horsepower will give you better results. You might also want to look for a self-cooling motor, which reduces the risk of overheating.

When comparing horsepower in different treadmills, make sure you’re looking at “continuous horsepower” or CHP, which represents the motor’s baseline, and not peak horsepower, which only measures the maximum strength.

Training Programs

Increasingly, treadmills are including exercise programs built into their interactive computer systems. While running continuously for long periods of time has its own health benefits, workout programs can take away some of the monotony of running in place, as well as boosting your training. Interval training, for instance, can maximize the efficiency of your workout by alternating between shorter, high-energy sprints and longer, lower-exertion jogs.

Ideally, your treadmill will also let you program multiple profiles on the computer, so every user in your household can access their personalized workouts and data. 

Once you’ve gone through your treadmill’s own training programs, if you find you still want a little something different, check out a third-party fitness app. Some can help you log your distance, miles, and heart rate, such as Endomondo and Nike+ Run Club. Others, like Daily Burn, Zwift or Peloton Digital, give you access to coaching, courses, and an online community of runners. Many treadmills include these apps already or can sync up with your smartphone via Bluetooth or USB.

If your treadmill is compatible with a fitness app that includes programmed workouts, the app can even take over and control the speed and incline of your treadmill, gradually increasing the intensity as part of a complete program. You might start out as a complete beginner, but end up running a 5K by the end of the training regimen. Many apps also include half- and full-marathon training programs, incorporate music, and offer new workouts every week so you never get bored. 

Says Thompson that having customized exercise programs ups the fun factor of the routine, and “takes the monotony out of it.”

Multimedia Consoles

Most modern treadmills come with a choice between a basic data display, which lets you set the speed and incline, view your time and distance, and select a training program if available, and a multimedia display that can have as many features as a basic smartphone and a desktop computer.

More and more treadmill manufacturers, like Peloton and NordicTrack, are releasing treadmills that are compatible with their branded subscription fitness apps, like the ones mentioned in the previous section. These machines come with LCD screens — as small as seven inches or as big as 32” — that you can use to stream fitness classes as you exercise. Some also include virtual outdoor trails that sync up with your treadmill to match the speed and incline of the video you’re watching.

Then there are treadmills that include touchscreen displays that are more like tablets. These let you surf the web, stream movies via Netflix or Hulu or music with Spotify, watch YouTube videos, and do all manner of things while you run. 

Multimedia consoles tend to include speakers ranging in size and quality, so you can hear your playlist or workout class clearly.

Heart Rate Monitors

By having a heart rate monitor on the treadmill, runners can gauge the intensity of their workout —more beats per minute equals a stronger cardio workout. Heart experts recommend finding out your resting and maximum heart rates so you stay within your safe range when exercising. The American Heart Association offers a handy chart for calculating your maximum heart rate. You should aim for keeping your heart rate within 50% and 85% of the maximum rate when you exercise.

Treadmill monitors fall into two categories: chest straps or hand grips. Chest strap monitors are more accurate than hand grips. These are belt-style devices that strap around your chest with a module pressed over your heart. Depending on your treadmill’s compatibility, the data can be transmitted over Bluetooth or another method. However, some straps are also compatible with your smartphone, smartwatch, or computer, bypassing the treadmill altogether. 

In most cases, you have to purchase the chest strap yourself. If this is your preferred monitoring method, you might be attracted to a strap-compatible treadmill because of the convenience of seeing your rate on the treadmill display. Just remember to follow the instructions for securing the strap correctly and keep that battery charged to get an accurate reading.

Hand grip heart monitors are more common (and less expensive). The sensor is built into the grips of the treadmill. To measure your heart rate, you have to hold on to the grip for a few seconds. This method isn’t as accurate as the chest strap, and it’s bothersome since you have to, first, remember to check your rate in the middle of the workout, and, second, interrupt your flow to put your hand down. If you’re going fast, the motion can trip you up.

If you have a heart condition and need to monitor your heart rate accurately, we recommend going with a chest strap monitor. If the treadmill can synchronize with the strap, even better, but you can get good results just with your phone.

Calorie Counters

Calorie counters are one of those features that make us feel good when we see it on the screen, but don’t really mean a whole lot. There are simply too many variables that go into accurately calculating your calorie expenditure. Not to mention that most health and fitness experts agree that counting calories is a misleading, and potentially harmful, way to measure the effectiveness of your workout.

The number of calories you burn while working out depends on your age, height, weight, body composition, and the exercise you’re doing, among many other factors. Therefore, a calorie counter that’s built into your treadmill and which only asks your weight (at most) is only giving you a very, very rough estimate.

Additionally, the notion that burning more calories than you consume makes you healthier isn’t all that true. There are a lot of people who consume more than they burn, but still have very intense workouts and have healthy lifestyles.

If you want a way to measure your progress that is actually quantifiable, try comparing how long you can walk or run without getting winded when you start exercising and a month later. Or keep track of how long it takes you to run a mile or half a mile. These are metrics that reflect your conditioning and how it’s improving, and it can make you feel just as good (or even better) than an arbitrary calorie count.

Picking the Best Treadmill

There are many types of people who might be interested in purchasing a treadmill for their home. We’ve divided our picks above into three categories, based on what people look for most often and what experts say.

Casual Home Users

These are the non-professional athletes, the average Joe or Jo who just wants a place to work out in peace at home after a long day at work. For these casual home users, certified trainer Ryan Carver says, “cost, space, and warranty are the three biggest things to look for”. 

Cost, because, unless you’re a hardcore runner, you won’t really need half of the features included with the most expensive treadmills on the market. Some of them, like multimedia consoles, are nice to have, but many subscription fitness apps work on your digital devices, so you could just set up your treadmill in front of the TV and get much of the same benefits.

Space, because there’s no point in buying a treadmill that’s too big for where you want it. Later in this guide, you’ll read about how to safely position your treadmill so you lower the risk of injury. In short, you should have at least six feet of empty space behind you. So think about where you want to build your workout space. In the living room? In the basement? In your room? Do you need a foldable treadmill so you can have more room to entertain? Will you have a television in the same room or do you need a treadmill with a screen or a built-in tablet holder? 

Finally, warranty is a major concern. In general, treadmill warranties are separated into three components: the frame, the motor, and other parts. Depending on how expensive the treadmill is, you should look at a longer warranty. Less expensive machines will have one or five years’ warranty, while the most expensive models should have a lifetime warranty on the frame and motor at the very least.

Fitness Buffs

If you’re really serious about your fitness, work out constantly, and are interested in high-intensity routines, you might be interested in treadmills with preset or customizable fitness programs and compatibility with fitness apps. You should also consider how fast the treadmill switches from one setting to another. It’s a real downer to have to wait a few seconds for your treadmill to change speeds in the middle of a HIIIT workout. 

Depending on how hard you plan to run, you should also look at the maximum weight capability of the treadmill deck, since it will give you an idea of how much force it can take. If you’re a fast runner, you might break a machine with a 275-pound cap, even if you weigh much less.

Carver suggests also looking at the maximum speed and incline, since it will give you flexibility in your routines.

Dedicated Runners

“Runners and track athletes love data,” says Carver. If this sounds like you, you’ll want the treadmills with the most sophisticated metrics and customizable program capabilities, instead of big screens and online group classes. If you’re into wearable technology, like FitBits and Smart Shoes, look for a treadmill that’s able to sync with these devices.

Making the Most of Your Treadmill 

Walk on the Wild Side: Going Beyond the Basics of Treadmill Exercises

You don’t have to limit yourself to walking or running on your treadmill. It’s a complex and sophisticated machine that leaves a lot of room for improvisation and customization.

For one thing, you can use the treadmill to warm up for any other exercise you do by walking or jogging lightly for a few minutes. This kind of warm-up can help you get your muscles ready, which avoids strains and sprains, and generally ups your adrenaline for what’s to come. Likewise, you can cool down as you finish your routine by doing a slow run before resting for the day.

Carver also suggests you can use the treadmill to improve your fitness conditioning, not just to improve your running speed. “As you build up fitness, you can do a walk-run or a walk-jog. Do sprints where you’re changing from a high speed to a low speed, or high speed and then hop off and recover on your rest time.”

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) routines are more popular than ever, and treadmills are a great way to integrate this into your routine because of the built-in automatization tools. You can set up the on-board computer so it will automatically speed up or slow down or increase or decrease the slope, allowing you to just go.

And you don’t have to stay on the treadmill for the entirety of your workout. “You can integrate it into a comprehensive workout where you’re doing strength training and conditioning,” says Carver. For example, you can do a two-minute run, jump off and do push-ups, another two-minute run, pull-ups, two-minute run, then lunges, or any run-fitness rep combination.

You can even get a little creative with the treadmill. Carver describes a non-traditional routine called “pikes” that consists of putting your feet on the treadmill belt while it’s off and your hands on the floor, then pulling the belt towards you with your feet. Since the treadmill isn’t running, it gives you a lot of resistance and your leg muscles a good workout.

This is obviously a very advanced technique that beginners shouldn’t try, but it’s a great example of the variety of exercises you can do with a treadmill beyond just running and walking. A web search for treadmill exercises can give you even more ideas for your personal fitness level and goals.

“Each treadmill I've ever seen has a lot of different modes on it so that you can get a varied work out,” says Carver. “There are different ways to spice it up.”

Every Rose Has Its Thorn: The Dangers of Over-exercising

Now, just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should. If you don’t check your enthusiasm, that motivation to stick with your exercise routine might be the thing that puts you on the bench. For a lot of people, Carver says, “a treadmill is the new shiny toy and you wanna use it a lot, but you might overdo it, sustain an injury, and never get back to it.”

It’s important to listen to your body and consult a physician if you have concerns about your health and your ability to stick to a fitness regimen. “I always recommend starting very conservatively and building up. You’re going to want to go all out and get an awesome work-out on Day One.” 

Says Carver, “I would urge against that.”

If you’re not a habitual exerciser or if you’ve been sedentary for a while, start with a walk. “The next day, if you’re not sore and don’t have any [other] problems, you can do a faster walk or a jog, or just a longer walk.” People who start out with a bang run a higher risk of injuries. A serious injury can keep you from exercising for weeks or months, but even a small sprain can kill your motivation. “There's so many ways to integrate a treadmill [into a fitness regimen] and it can be a fun piece of equipment, but if you’re injured and hurt, it's not going to get used.”