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Eliptical is done for ... wife wants a treadmill

IHateMyJob2004

IHateMyJob2004

Lifer
My wife wants a treadmill for her birthday in a month. She is not certain that this is what she wants .... but I am glad that she wants to do a form of running. She tried road running and hated it after a single try at starting the couch25k program.

She wants it in our living room so she uses it in the morning. Due to the pending positioning of the device behind a couch (relative to TV) a rowing machine is not an option. She needs to see over the couch.

I think she is not interested in another elliptical. Pretty sure she wants the treadmill so I have to do research.

What I want out of it:
1) Something that is not a cheap piece of crap that will break easily.
2) Something that is on the quieter side.
3) Something that is repairable if it does break
4) some sort of incline mechanism.


I have no budget. I see $1500 as a max but I'm sure my wife has other opinions (more like $500 max). I will do the craigslist thing but i need to atleast get a clue first.

So, teach me!
 
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She tried road running and hated it...
So, teach me!
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Your wife does not like to exercise.


Pay for 1 month at a gym and let her figure out what she wants. Then buy.

more like $500 max
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lol Looked at buying an elliptical.......the ones at my gym are $4K. Think the $195/yr is the best bet.
 
As someone with a treadmill I really want an elliptical I've used them at gyms for me they are a better exercise. I get incredible bored on the treadmill but the elliptical doesn't have the same affect. Whatever you get, try them out at a store and don't go cheap. Cheap equipment sucks.
 
My wife actually used the elliptical. She does pretty good sized bike rides.

My wife used a cheap eliptical enough that it has basically fallen apart.
 
I have a Nordic track treadmill, it's my 2nd one in 4 years. Spent about $1000 on first one but bought the 3 year warranty. We used it so much the warranty company had to keep replacing the motor lol so they ended up giving us a newer version of the treadmill for free on the 4th time.

Anyway, the treadmills have served us great for the use they get. Warranty is a must though if you actually use it a lot.
 
I just e-mailed my wife. She said treadmill but I'm not sure how committed she is to this specific piece of equipment. What else should I consider (must be standing). What about climbers?

I almost want to have her join the local 24 hour fitness place in town for a month. Tell her to use a bunch of stuff and decide what she wants.
 
IHateMyJob2004 said:
True and Vision are two good brands I found so far.


Need to learn about Landice and Precor.
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for 1500 you are buying used to get a decent model of either of those brands.

I bought a 9.33 precor a couple years ago, and you are talking 3x your budget and I got a "deal". it is a nice mill and would buy it again.

their 9.23 is their entry level mill and is still probably 2 grand or better. it is china made, not that that is a deal breaker, but it isn't as good as their 9.3X series

True's are decent and they will be comparably priced to precor. IMHO they have a different feel to them than the precors. I prefer the feel of the precor and think the panels on the true make them feel cheap

Landice have good reviews, but I found them to be shaky with very dated panels and they were bigger money than the precors or trues with smaller running area (narrow belts)

I briefly looked at vision.... they used to be good value, but they are not even in the same league as the other brands you listed

if you are looking sub 2000 bucks, I would be looking at a spirit.
when shopping i was quoted 2 grand for a 685 delivered.. it's a pretty nice machine. it is solid and can handle a 230+ pounder running on it. I am not a fan of folding machines so that is why I would opt for a the 685 over the 485.
http://www.spiritfitness.com/rxt685.html

buying used, it's on a per unit basis. each unit is going to have to be evaluated on it's own. see what you can find in your budget and then see the condition/model #/age vs the price.

personally I would mainly be looking for a mid to upper range precor machine, but if I found the right True, I wouldn't have issue with that.

Landice are harder to find used and seem to carry an unwarranted premium.

I finally gave up looking used, too many variables and sucked it up and bought new. I am not a runner, but at the time, I was pretty adiment that whatever mill I bought had to accommodate my fat @ss running on it; in case some day I wanted to. And the precor felt the best to me.
 
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IHateMyJob2004 said:
I just e-mailed my wife. She said treadmill but I'm not sure how committed she is to this specific piece of equipment. What else should I consider (must be standing). What about climbers?

I almost want to have her join the local 24 hour fitness place in town for a month. Tell her to use a bunch of stuff and decide what she wants.
Click to expand...

I have an octane elliptical that I bought used for 2 grand (Q47). I have gotten my money's worth out of it. I have had it 5-6 yrs now and have had to put 300 in parts into it replacing both stride adjustment motors. It is a nice machine, but IMHO the only pieces of cardio equipment to own are
treadmill
stairmill

the latter requires high ceilings and a high budget... so that is why I bought the octane machine. please don't confuse a stairmill with a stair stepper

I can see the argument for a rowing machine, but I personally wouldn't use one.

I do like precor's AMT, but you are talking the price of a good treadmill and a decent stairmill combined.... and I am not sure it would be as good as either:
http://www.precor.com/en-us/home/products/amt/amt-835-with-open-stride-adaptive-motion-trainer


I don't do a lot of cardio any more... haven't done any since May this past spring. I will start doing some fasted cardio (walking) on my mill a couple days in the morning and HIIT on the elliptical, though I prefer the stairmill for my HIIT.... but my home doesn't have the ceiling heights I need for one. I say that because I think the type of cardio she does is important in the choice you make.

if she simply does 30-40 minutes steady state, in all honesty it really doesn't matter what you buy
 
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IHateMyJob2004 said:
I almost want to have her join the local 24 hour fitness place in town for a month. Tell her to use a bunch of stuff and decide what she wants.
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I think this is the best idea.

IHateMyJob2004 said:
She tried road running and hated it after a single try at starting the couch25k program.
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What didn't she like about c25k? My wife is currently on this program and at the beginning she could only jog for about 1 minute at a time but now she's up to 25 minute intervals. In the beginning she started to have shin pains but then she went to a local, real running shop (read: not a mega-sporting goods conglomerate) and the sales person took the time to observe her stride and help her try on several pairs until they found a proper fit and her shin issues went away.

That c25k program is so designed for beginners that if your wife didn't like it I worry about how she will be on the treadmill.
 
I'd lean towards another elliptical as well. I got rid of my treadmill and stationary & only have the elliptical now. Nicer on my knees & forces me to use my whole body instead of just loafing on the bike or mulling along on the treadmill. I think my elliptical was from Pro-form, probably around $600 or so. It's a bit wobbly because it's a fold-up one, but it's nice because I can tuck it away if company comes & I need the space. Otherwise, I have a small TV & Roku box (the new Roku 3's have a wireless headphone jack right on the remote to use with your own earbuds or headphones) for entertainment while I do cardio. Never have to worry about it raining outside either!

Nordictrack & a few others have a neat treadmill design, I think it's called a Reflex deck, that is kind of bouncy & is supposed to be better on the knees, that might be worth looking into.
 
blackdogdeek said:
That c25k program is so designed for beginners that if your wife didn't like it I worry about how she will be on the treadmill.
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I think it really depends on what it was that she didn't like about road running. If it was the running, a treadmill isn't going to solve that problem, even if it is easier. If it was some other silliness (too hot, too cold, pollen / allergy problem, too many dogs, too many creepers eyeing her, etc), a treadmill might help.


Regardless, OP, get your wife a week trial at a gym and have her go every day trying out different equipment. Best way to get a feel for what she wants and will actually use.

And, then, get her a membership at Planet Fitness. She seems like she doesn't want to actually work out, but watch TV while pretending she is. She'd fit right in. That is a joke, sort of.
 
you could ask your wife if she wants to do a 5k or a mud/obstacle course/fun run together. sign up and then she'll have a goal to work towards. for me the motivation would be wasting the $50 entry fee or whatever the race bib costs. just see what type of machine she prefers when she does her gym trials.

you could get her to download something like the zombies run app if she needs more motivation.

https://www.zombiesrungame.com/
 
Just make sure you get a treadmill with good solid bars on both sides of the track. You can hang twice as many shirts on it that way when doing laundry.

A good treadmill is wide and fairly heavy. I agree with others here that the investment is too high to risk without knowing she'll be happy with it. Have her try some out, check out recumbent bikes, other ellipticals, etc... Make sure she has a say in what you buy so you don't get stuck with something she won't use.
 
blackdogdeek said:
What didn't she like about c25k? My wife is currently on this program and at the beginning she could only jog for about 1 minute at a time but now she's up to 25 minute intervals. In the beginning she started to have shin pains but then she went to a local, real running shop (read: not a mega-sporting goods conglomerate) and the sales person took the time to observe her stride and help her try on several pairs until they found a proper fit and her shin issues went away.

That c25k program is so designed for beginners that if your wife didn't like it I worry about how she will be on the treadmill.
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It's hard to find time with kids to exercise. I think my wife wants a machine because she can do it when the kids do homework or are playing around the house.

With the couch25k program she said her knees hurt after the firs time out. She is EXTREMELY pigeon toed (toes out). I didn't check her stride but I am guessing that her form is a big issue. And yes, a treadmill will probably bother her also. So ya ... I think over winter break I am getting her a 24 hour fitness membership so she can see what she really wants.

I quite frankly would love a treadmill so I can warm up before weights on it.
 
IHateMyJob2004 said:
With the couch25k program she said her knees hurt after the firs time out. She is EXTREMELY pigeon toed (toes out). I didn't check her stride but I am guessing that her form is a big issue. And yes, a treadmill will probably bother her also. So ya ... I think over winter break I am getting her a 24 hour fitness membership so she can see what she really wants.
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If that was her first exposure to running on asphalt, then knee pain is understandable. That's a lot of force to exert on your joints especially on such a hard surface. A treadmill surface should be much softer so that should help.

Gym membership is still best.
 
highland145 said:
Pay for 1 month at a gym and let her figure out what she wants. Then buy.
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This.

I understand wanting the equipment at home. But the whole "she is not certain that this is what she wants" thing should be a giant red flag. It would be stupid to buy anything that expensive without at least some idea of whether or not it will be used.
 
IHateMyJob2004 said:
Oh, I was also thinking of getting her a trainer for her mountain bike. Trainer+cheap carper+moutnain bike = win?
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I think yes because of the log rides.

If it's all about the exercise/calories/cario...who cares how she does it. Trainer works...Much easier on the knees in the long run.

I just had a treadmill test and was quite surprised that my knees didn't give out. So it's much easier on them than road running, imo. I could not do it regularly..

Looked at a spin bike when I couldn't leave the kid by himself...$1K...hell no. Made him go to the gym with his DS.

At least she wants to exercise so that's a +1 for her and you.
 
I hate running on treadmills, but around here in the winter there is little alternative.

We bought a Nordic Track treadmill at Sears about 10 years ago for something like $999. It gets a ton of use during the winter as both my wife and I run at least 30 miles a week. That has mostly been in the last three years however. All I have done to it is lubing the motor from time to time and cleaning the belt. I think it is finally starting to show its' age, but it has been a reliable piece of equipment for a remarkably long time.

If I were to get a new one I would go for something a little quieter with a thicker track on it. I would be willing to spend much more than $999 now, but I wouldn't go for the ultra deluxe model if I didn't know it would be getting regular use.
 
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