If you question me what to choose between running in the park or on a treadmill in fitness center, I would probably answer in no time that running in the park is much better because of the good air and good view. However, there are many times that we are unable to go to run in the park. The second best choice is definitely running on a treadmill. It is always better than not running, isn't it?

In fact, being a member in a fitness center has many advantages, such as the variety of equipment. On the other hand, there are also many complaints from the customers some fitness centers accept so many members that they need to queue up in order to use such equipment. Moreover, there might be some trainers talking to you during the exercising, but all they talk about is nothing but convincing you to get themselves commissions. They do not care if the customers are feeling bored or not.

If you have faced this kind of situation for a few times, it is more than boring, and that might lead you to not going there again, and that means it is a waste of money. Anyhow, I have a better solution, and that is adapting your house into your own small fitness. Firstly, I am going to talk about how to choose a treadmill. Because the price of it is not that cheap, the money you are going to invest should be worthwhile.

What are the key factors to help you decide which to buy?

* Size and Weight - There are many sizes of the treadmills available almost everywhere. The price of the small one is not expensive, probably around $250-$500 USD. On the other hand, some of the bigger ones cost more than $2500 USD. You should choose the treadmill that the width of its fits the size of your body well. Do not buy a small one just because of its cheap price because it will probably get you bored from its size. You might fall from it while you are running on it. You should test it to see if it is okay with you and see if you can run on it for a long time without any distress.
* Horsepower - You should only buy a treadmill that has 1.5-2.0 horsepower. Treadmills which have less power than this will need your own energy to drive in the initial stage.
* Top Speed - Actually, it is not a very significant factor because we are just joggers, not greatest runners who run at the highest speed. Furthermore, running or jogging for health does not need you to go too fast. We mainly focus on going slowly and continuing for a long period of time, but if you are a professional runner, the treadmill's top speed should be considered as an important factor because if its highest speed is not enough, it will cause you difficulty in the interval training, which helps you strengthen and fastening yourself.
* Adjustable Slope - some treadmills can adjust its slope for 10%-11%, and we should not make it less than this if we would like to keep training on the mountain running. Some treadmills can make it 25%, and I must say that it seems to much and more than enough.
* Smoothness - You should be able to keep on running smoothly even when we change the treadmill's running speed. Some might say that the best treadmill will be smooth as silk as the Thai Airways' slogan. Anyway, you should slowly increase or decrease the speed at a time because you might get hurt if you do it too fast.
* Options - You should consider them before you make a decision. Some treadmills contain so many programs for you, such as regular running, mountain running, interval running, and weight-control running, and so on. Some can be programmed for both running type and time and also your running record. However, do not forget that the more options contained, the more expensive the price. You should carefully consider if you really need those options or not.

I have another advice. The calories counter on the treadmill will not show you the exact numbers because I have run on so many treadmills and found that the number shown in there were not the same. Use the time as your module is always better. Heart-beating rate measurement is also a good suggestion. Nowadays, almost all treadmills have it. Try to control it not to exceed the Target Heart Rate. You might be interested in calculating your Target Heart Rate here.

Please remember that a treadmill is one of the most expensive equipment. Make it worth every penny you spend on it. You do not buy it to make it just a clotheshorse.