Treadmills are a good option to exercise indoors. These machines exercise your legs and provide a total aerobic workout. BUT treadmills have advantages and disadvantages. Let us take a look at them in an objective manner.
Treadmill Pros:
1. Owning a treadmill helps to release you from the compulsion of getting all dressed up in your Nike or Reebok sportswear and drive all the way down to the gym. Gym subscriptions can be expensive. Moreover, many people cannot accommodate a visit to the gym because of busy schedules.
2. With a treadmill, you can spread your exercise routine to morning and evening or just about anytime when you feel you want to exercise. Instead of an hour at the gym or in a park, you can have three 20-minute sessions throughout the day.
3. A treadmill works well for both beginners and advanced users. A beginner can start at a low speed and a steady incline and work his or her way up to a high speed and steep incline. Some treadmill models have inbuilt exercise programs that provide a good level of flexibility and increase the user's level of direction and focus.
That is one side of the picture. The other side, which the cons, are:
1. Treadmills are expensive. Some of the higher end machines may cost as much as 2500 dollars. It is a capital investment that may have recurring costs in terms of maintenance and upkeep.
2. A treadmill is no substitute for a walk in the park. Working indoors does not provide you the fresh air and sunshine that a walk in the park does.
3. After a while, a treadmill user may become bored of the monotonous routine of walking on a machine and may want more variety in his or her exercise routine.
4. If you are the outdoor type, then a treadmill is certainly not meant for you.
The fact is that there are number of pros and cons of owning a treadmill. Think carefully before you decide to purchase a treadmill.