In deciding which treadmill I want to purchase I want to see if I can get some help. What are the top 5 most used features of a treadmill?

Same with Elliptical , what are the top 5 most used - valuable - features to look for?

Thanks

We have a Nordic Track now, we had 2 Pro Forms before that. They are all good. The Nordic Track has a card that you can buy for different levels of workouts, that is a good feature. My elliptical is a fitness gear, it is okay, it isn't the best but it was what I could afford. I also have a schwinn areodyn bike. Between the 3 I can shake up my routine. Hope that helps. Jeanne

We've had a relatively inexpensive Proform XL Crosswalk ($350) treadmill for several yrs and its given us no problems other than 2 AA batteries to run the data panel. To me, the most imp features are the clock, the choice of intensity (warm up/turtle pace to an aerobic/performance level), the incline adjustment, knowing how many calories you've burned, and the length of the stride panel belt itself. All those other bells and whistles are just that, really inconsequential. A huge investment is not necessary just getting on it, turning on music or tv w/remote ctrl, and staying on it and keeping your heart rate up regardless the length of time is better than sitting on the couch. Ellipticals I cant speak to never having tried one. It was however included as part of therapy for my daughter who had a severe broken leg. So it really helped with strengthening the weakened muscles. Good luck to you.

We have a Horizon treadmill. It has a timer, distance, calories burned and pulse feature on the display screen. It can also be adjusted manually to different speeds and inclines, but my favorite feature is the preprogrammed weight loss setting. You set it to the program level you want (ex. level 1, 2, 3, etc.) each level gets more difficult. This setting allows you to set the amount of minutes you are going to walk, and builds in your warm up and cool down automatically. It adjusts the speed and incline constantly so you are simulating walking outdoors. I will not buy a treadmill in the future that does not save me the brain strain of having to do all that adjusting by myself! Hope this helps!

A basic treadmill or elliptical, in my experience and to the best of my knowledge, can give you just as good of a workout as an expensive one with lots of gadgets and perks. These added features are usually for interest and convenience and are not necessarily used often, if they are used at all. That said, I find the following things most helpful:

Of course, you will want variable speeds, but I don't know of a model that doesn't offer that, and an incline can help to focus on different muscle groups and intensify your workout. If you are a music listener, many come with iPod jacks and/or speakers. I personally like the monitor and data screens that can control your workout and report your activity in realtime. I also like the screens with body diagrams that show you what muscles are getting the most work. Beware of calorie counters - on ellipticals, at least, they tend to overestimate work done.

The heart rate monitor is also good, so that you can tell how hard your body is working. If you want to walk for a little while and not sweat this can be handy too, (normally it's around 140 beats/minute) or if you want to make sure you're working hard enough it is good too.