To 'Mill Or Not To 'Mill?

[Jana83]

My BF & I spend spend around £1000 per year going to the gym (membership plus petrol for an 11 mile round trip). We go 3 times a week on average; we both just run on the treadmills. We are thinking about buying a treadmill of our own now that we have some space in our kitchen.

Can anyone recommend a decent 'mill? We would pay up to about £600 for a good one. Also, any pros and cons would be helpful.

Thanks

[danzargo Graduate]

How about saving ALL that money and just running in the park / streets / field or wherever is close to you? You get fresh air for free and save a bloomin' fortune!!

[Laney0378 Graduate]

Hi!

I think the same! I belong to a gym and I regularly use the treadmill for walking and for climbing gradients as part of my CV exercise but I've found I can't really run on the treadmill and although it might be lower impact it's so boring! I much prefer being outside...

Good job we're not all the same though!

[doggymum Graduate]

I bought a Reebok irun (I did C25K on it) but have found that it is quite short in length to other treadmills. It was great for me at the time, but since braving the outside world I find it really hard to maintain momentum on it. I would say if you are brave enough to try running outside then do it, you won't regret it.

[Beads Graduate]

I'm another that will say try running outside, though I do have my own treadmill in the shed for when the weather is truly naff or before work on a Tuesday when I don't feel I have enough time to run outside. Just one thing though, will there be arguments about whose turn it is to use the treadmill at 9pm on a Sunday evening? 1 treadmill means only 1 of you can run at a time.

P.s. my treadmill is a cheap second hand one from eBay, it's ok but I prefer to run outside.

[Hidden]

This probably won't answer your question but just as a thought - before I discovered C25K I bought a cheap exercise bike from Tesco Direct because there was still snow on the ground. I found it very useful in the early days until the weather improved and I could get outside (I always run outside). I picked up a very cheap second hand manual treadmill in a local market. Not suitable for running on but at least I can do walking when the weather is bad. At least this way some exercise can be continued. I think, though, at the end of the day it will come down to personal choice for you. Good luck and hope you get the right treadmill for your needs.

[jellyhawk Graduate]

We have a Newfitness AS01, got it for a really good price second hand and it is pretty good. As good as any I have used at a gym anyway. It folds up and is of a really solid build but weighs a ton! I have only ever seen them for sale on ebay and I can't find anything out about who makes them, so spares might be an issue if it ever packs up!

I would keep and eye on the classifieds there are usually a few for sale in there. I prefer running outdoors now, but might not in winter!

Kev.