You should also be sure that the brand of treadmill you're considering is a good one. If you're already familiar with how treadmills work and features they might have, it will be much easier for you to narrow in the search when you're trying to determine which one to buy. Furthermore, you want to be sure that the treadmill you're going to buy isn't too noisy, or doesn't take too much power. These are the types of things that, if you've never used a treadmill before, you might not know until after you've purchased it. And then you're stuck with a large and expensive piece of exercise equipment.

Here are some other things you might want to consider before buying a treadmill.

• Treadmills can never simulate a road workout perfectly. They may allow varying courses, speeds and inclines, but they can never prepare you for road surfaces like gravel, sand, cement and dirt.


• By nature of being indoors, treadmills are easier to run on because you don't have wind or other weather resistance. This can give you a false sense of how fast you can run indoors.


• If you own your treadmill you have to maintain the machine and that may be costly. To top it off, it may lead to lost training days. If you are in your home, you may also have to deal with family issues, ringing phones and delivery people at your door. Plus, you have to be self-motivated throughout the whole workout because there are no other people working out beside you for inspiration, and no trainer shouting at you to keep up the good work.


• If you don't own your treadmill, but use one at a gym, it can be expensive to pay the monthly fees. You also have to travel to get the gym.


• When running on roads, you are constantly adapting to surface changes, even if it seems completely flat. Therefore your pace is varying constantly. These factors give you the opportunity to work out different muscle fibers in slightly different patterns. On the treadmill, you call upon the same muscle fibers over and over (if you maintain the same speed and incline).

But there are many good things about having a treadmill. They can include being able to exercise whenever you want, being able to measure your vitals and program in different workouts all on your treadmill's computer, and not having to pay a gym membership fee. But whatever you're thinking about treadmills, you should definitely try them out and do some research on them before you invest your money on a treadmill.