Title: Treadmills - Get Fit For The New Year Word Count: 820 Summary: Benefits do exist for your exercise program with the use of treadmills. Your heart, lungs, and circulation will get a wonderful cardiovascular workout from the use of a treadmill. Keywords: Treadmills, fitness Treadmills Article Body: Benefits do exist for your exercise program with the use of treadmills. Your heart, lungs, and circulation will get a wonderful cardiovascular workout from the use of a treadmill. It is easier and less painful to workout when there is low impact on your joints while you exercise. It is a great workout for women who are pregnant. It builds endurance which will likely help during labor because it is low impact and cardiovascular in nature. Treadmills especially the lower end models, are not expensive and they are easy to use. If you want to lose weight and body fat try using a treadmill. Treadmills have a non-physical benefit, they don’t take up a lot of space. Some treadmills could take up a whole room but you can find some that fold and are powered by your movement only, if space is the issue. If you want to find the one that is appropriate for you, do some research and talk to professionals. The best thing to do is to compare various models. What kind of features do you want on your treadmill? When comparing different models you should look at a number of things. This can all be overwhelming because all you want to do is workout. The motor type can affect the size of your machine. One of the most important things to look at are the belt trackers. It’s the running belt placement and the type of movement of the belt as you work out. The belt should move smoothly over the rollers as opposed to jerky movement. Have you seen the checkout belts in the market that move then stop and move again and stop again? If your treadmill works like that there can be more impact on your joints than necessary and injury could result. The width of the belt and its length is something else to look at. You could end up “running-off” the end of the belt if it is too short. Your stance will not necessarily be supported if the belt is too narrow. You can try a machine that is similar to the one you want or try the one you do want if possible. The impact on your joints as well as your workout will be affected by the type and percentage of incline. You can increase the slope to be as if you were climbing a steep hill on most treadmills as you make progress. You should be able to adjust the speed-how fast the belt moves also. There is a minimum and maximum speed, do you know what it is? You can make your workout more effective with this knowledge and plan it better. Check your treadmill console for the heart monitor which should be a key feature. Knowing your resting heart rate and the target heart rate (the highest number you can safely reach to get maximum benefits) will help make your workout more beneficial. Also on your console there should be displayed your speed, your time, and the distance you’ve covered. Learning how to properly use your treadmill is essential before attempting to use it. The control panel should be very easy to read. In order to use the control panel, do you need the software program? Something you don’t want is a noisy treadmill. You don’t want the noise to be overpowering but know there will be some noise. The noise level should be tolerable, is it? Is the belt’s thickness acceptable? You want a belt thick enough to last for a long time, a thin belt could wear over time. Some belts will stretch out. If you want your treadmill to last, be sure to check the belt for stretching or cracking. The weight of the machine is something you should consider. Some companies will deliver it to the door but it’s your job to get it into the house and set it up. If you don’t like the looks of your machine you will be less likely to use it. When not in use, will it be easy to store? Since it will likely occupy the same space it does when not in use, you will have to decide if this is practical for you. Treadmills should not be place near walls to prevent injury. Set it up at about 8 feet from any wall, ledge, or window. In order to prevent someone from falling while getting off the treadmill all of the wires and the power supply should be out of the way of walking areas or taped down. Listed below are a few tips on using your new treadmill. Straddle the belt before you get on it, and make sure it’s set at the proper speed. Keep your eyes straight ahead because your feet will follow your eyes. Preventing slips and falls can be done by staying in the center of the belt.