Home Treadmill Reviews-Buying Advice

Over the course of the last decade, the home treadmill has re-emerged with a focus on making exercise fun again. After the whole Mickey Mouse Club thing went up in smoke, the whole idea of working the cardiovascular system just kind of lost it’s luster. In an effort to put an emphasis back on exercise, treadmill manufacturers have began creating quality machines featuring more special effects than a Hollywood blockbuster. Considering that this is the age of modern technology, many treadmills now offer electronic programming designed to automatically decrease or increase the intensity of a workout. And that’s just for starters. Have you seen fans, cubbyholders, television remote controls, and digital backlighting featuring on some home treadmills? It’s now easier than ever to choose the right treadmill for your needs.

Home Treadmill Features

Any of the home treadmill reviews will tell you-high quality treadmills always come with a few features that are simply must-haves. When purchasing your next home treadmill, be sure to look out for:

• Well-Labeled Controls

• Up/Down Buttons

• Heart Rate Monitor

• Handles/Rails

Also be sure to check that the treadmill you are considering features displays that are easy to read, foot rails that are ample and wide, a belt that is eighteen by fifty inches if you are planning on doing lots of running, and various exercise programs-keeping a workout interesting never hurt anybody.

So, What’s Your Price Range?

Even in the age of concise budgeting, various price ranges for treadmills are beginning to open the doors of home fitness to almost everyone. There are three ranges for treadmills, basic treadmills, midrange treadmills, and high-end treadmills. Which is right for you?

Basic Treadmills:

Basic treadmills are great if you’re strictly interested in just squeezing in an hour of walking here and there. Typically priced at between three hundred and seven hundred dollars, basic treadmills offer a ten percent maximum incline, a display for functions like speed, distance, time, and calories. You can even bring your favorite book and a water bottle along for the walk courtesy of shelves, bottle holders, and even a folding desk.

Midrange Treadmills:

Boasting a pricetag ranging anywhere from eight hundred to eighteen hundred dollars, midrange treadmills up the ante in comparision to basic treadmills when it comes to construction. Thanks to their sturdy build, midrange treadmills make great partners for walking in addition to the occassional quick run. Plus not only can you expect the same features offered to you will a basic treadmill, but midrange treadmills feature a heart monitor as well as interactive exercise programs.

High-End Treadmills:

Offering the same amenities as a midrange priced machine, only with a hefty suggested retail price, high-end treadmills are ideal for the frequent walker and runner. A rigid frame and strong drive motor help to make high-end treadmills great for long-last fitness workouts.

Accomplished they are with several awards behind them along with winning two of the most current awards, the MBA Housing Excellence Award 2010 $280,000 – $350,000 and the MBA Housing Excellence Award 2010 $450,000 – $550,000. There was a dry spell between awards however these current awards prove that Lifestyle is offering what home buyers are looking for in their new home. Excellence in design and quality of construction.

OK so excellence in design might be too loose a term. The Summit Group is typically filled with single storey home building companies, with Lifestyle really being the only regular two storey builder in their portfolio. Unfortunately, this seems to become exposed in some of their two storey home designs. The Avenue display home is very safe as a design and although the fit out and interior design shines (kudos to the interior decorator! Pssst: it’s worth taking a look at the home purely to see how much difference a great interior decorator can make), the overall floor plan is unimaginative and the street scape lacks that wow factor you should expect. The floor plan looks as if it’s ‘design by numbers’ with a very box on box approach and the room interaction is stale. OK so economical design is critical when producing a price competitive display home, but overall there are opportunities in this design that seem to have been lost. I can’t help but think this home was designed by a single storey specialist trying to transition into the two storey market.

So what of the single storey range of homes on offer? Overall they’re what you’d come to expect of a project home builder, and not so much what you’d hope for in a top end single storey home. I want to see some more wow in the homes that would give me a reason to open my wallet and part with some hard earned cash. Perhaps I’m being too critical though, after all they are reasonably priced and have several points of difference in a few of the designs. I think overall it’s the message Lifestyle is sending that is mixed and doesn’t live up to the expectation you think of when reading the companies home page “individual homes”, “decadent luxury”, “luxury display homes”. I wanted to be amazed and excited, but walk away feeling a little melancholy.