Canada’s Best Treadmills for Home Use

For years treadmills have been a top choice in fitness equipment for cardiovascular exercise whether it be in the home gym or at your favourite gym facility. There are many types of treadmills on the market today such as folding treadmills built with a space saving design, Manual curved treadmills which provide a smooth reliable feel that is great for H.I.I.T (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts and finally traditional fixed frame treadmill designs made for both residential and commercial usage. Finding the right treadmill can be difficult, to make it a bit easier check out our Treadmill Buying Guide.

Which Treadmill is right for you?

As mentioned above there are many types of treadmills on the market today. Determining the treadmill the best treadmill for you can depend on a few different factors including: fitness level, fitness goals, how much floor space you have available and more.

It is important to look at your fitness level and fitness goals to determine the type of use the treadmill will see and by how many users. Walkers, joggers and runners will not all need the same feature set from a treadmill.

Our treadmill buying guide and treadmill buying guide video provide a great starting point in your treadmill shopping.

If you are looking for an interactive treadmill experience Matrix treadmills & Horizon Fitness treadmills now come equipped with features such as iFit and virtual active. These experiences allow you to take part in interactive trail runs, fitness classes, live workouts and more turning home gyms into a motivating group training experiences.. Horizon Fitness treadmills now through the use of bluetooth connectivity are an official treadmill partner of Peloton. By connecting your Horizon Fitness treadmill to your iPad or mobile device you are able to take part in Peloton treadmill classes and experiences. 

Why Choose Fitness Experience for Treadmills in Canada

Fitness Experience since 1992 has been building partnerships with our suppliers to be a top provider of treadmills in Canada.  We work closely with some of the industries top treadmill brands including Matrix Fitness, Precor Fitness, Horizon Fitness, True Fitness, Assault Fitness, Life Fitness and more. 

At Fitness Experience our team of fitness experts have hand picked a selection of treadmills from the industries top brands to provide you the treadmill user with the comfort of knowing you have received the best quality treadmill possible no matter your price range. 

Fitness Experience is also proud to service and maintenance service on all treadmills. Treadmill maintenance is an important part of treadmill ownership. In general treadmill maintenance is quite simple, one of the most important steps being treadmill lubrication. 

 We created a video to help you find the treadmill that works best for you and your needs!

SHOULD I BUY A FOLDING OR NON-FOLDING TREADMILL?

A lot of people desire a compact treadmill and a folding treadmill can be a great space saver if you're placing the treadmill in a tight spot in your home. One thing you will want to consider is how the treadmill folds, because different treadmills have different folding mechanisms and sometimes folding the treadmill only ends up saving a small amount of space. Most home treadmills will have front transport wheels for easy storage and transportation.

If you do have ample space, some users find the non folding treadmill has a little bit less movement, therefore provides a more stable feel. If you decide to go with a foldable treadmill you want to choose one with the safe soft drop feature, which is a safety feature that ensures a safe lowering of the treadmill deck.

If you're in search of a compact treadmill, I recommend looking at the Horizon Fitness series, which has a variety of folding treadmills, as well as small treadmills with a compact footprint. Just remember that a small treadmill is not always the most sturdy. If you're primarily walking on it then an advanced model may not be necessary, but it's good to consider the affects of having a small treadmill. The size of the treadmill will also affect the maximum user weight. If maximum user weight is a concern for you, this specification is almost always listed on the product listing.

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TREADMILL CONSOLES?

Consoles are one of the biggest separators when it comes to treadmills, ranging from a basic touch and go design to a full immersive experience where you can be running through your favorite hiking trail. A very popular immersive option is getting an ifit subscription, which is available on Matrix Fitness treadmills.

Every treadmill will come with a very basic set of programs with built in workouts, so you need to ask yourself whether having those more advanced features is something that's important to you. Do you need a program to help push you to reach your fitness goals? Programs are a great way to push yourself a little bit further than you would normally do on your own, just like a personal trainer. More treadmills these days come with Bluetooth connectivity, which opens up a whole world of options, such as app connectivity, better workout tracking and overall a more immersive workout experience . Connecting through a bluetooth chest strap will also be an option.

If your treadmill console doesn't have the special features you're looking for, another option is using your own tablet and finding an app that works best for you. Many workout tracking apps are great for accountability and with some apps creating workouts for you, it can be like having a personal trainer.[show-more]

Heart Rate Monitoring

The best treadmills will have heart rate monitoring options. If heart rate monitoring is important to you, many treadmills have heart rate sensors on the railings, or have the option to connect through a chest strap.

Types Of Workouts

You can use your home treadmill for walking, jogging, sprinting, warm up, interval training, incline training and much more. No matter what type of workout you decide to do on your treadmill, it's a great machine to burn calories. If your goal is to lose weight, setting a daily target for calories lost can have huge benefits. This way your goal is to lose a certain amount of calories and it's up to you what speed and intensity you work at. The higher the speed, incline and intensity, the faster you will burn calories. A treadmill console includes many preset workouts, which can help take the guess work out of your workouts and be like your own personal trainer. High intensity interval training has proven to burn calories in the least amount of time and a great type of workout to lose weight. If your goal is to improve stamina, you can strive towards increasing your time and speed each day, or set a speed range that you'd like to reach. Long distance training will also burn calories. When working with a personal trainer, they'll tell you it's important to diversify your workouts in order to keep challenging your body in different ways.

WHAT SHOULD I CONSIDER REGARDING THE RUNNING SURFACE?

Each treadmill comes with a suspension system to provide for safety and comfort. The type of suspension system you need will depend on the type of user. For example, someone that runs outside a lot may want to choose a stiffer running deck to emulate what it feels like to actually run outside. Someone that has joint issues may want a softer suspension system to provide that extra comfort and safety. If users require additional cushioning some treadmills have an adjustable suspension system, while others have an orthopedic belt design.

Running Deck Cushioning

Treadmills that have a running deck with shock absorption are a great option for people with joint issues. Picture a running deck with shock absorption like putting insoles in your shoes. These types of running decks provide extra support. Many of these cushioning systems can be compared to the cushion flex whisper deck. The only downside to this type of treadmill, is if you run outside a lot the contrast from training on this type of treadmill to the concrete can be tough for your body to adjust to. Some treadmills will have the benefits of an adjustable cushioning system. This is ideal for families that have different needs, or if you are planning on training outside you can start to transition to a harder deck closer to the summer months.

Size

The size of the running surface will vary between treadmills. It's important to consider whether you'll be walking or running on the treadmill, as well as the user's height. If you're using the treadmill to run or if you're taller user you'll have a longer stride length, which makes it more important to have a longer running surface. If you're walking your stride length is shorter, therefore a shorter running surface would suffice. The width of the running surface will also vary, with common sizes being 20-22 inches. The width of the running surface is particularly important for users that are running, however a wider running surface can make for a more comfortable workout for all types of users.

Does the size of the motor matter?

Motors play a big role in every treadmill. While the motor size will vary from machine to machine, you want to ensure that for a good in home use treadmill you're looking for a motor between 2.5 and 3 horsepower, with some Motors going even greater than that. One very important factor to consider is that you want to make sure that the motor uses continuous horsepower or CHP rather than peak horsepower. This will ensure that your motor can endure multiple users and many uses.

Top Speed range and Incline range

Most home treadmills will have a speed range starting at 0.5 or 1 MPH with a top speed of 12MPH. Most treadmills should be able to switch to KM/H if that is preferred. A common incline range is 0%-15%, but more expensive treadmills will have a negative incline as well.

We can to ensure you choose the right treadmill! If you have more questions about treadmills please do not hesitate to give us a call, send us an email, or come visit us in store!