Folding Treadmills

If you want a treadmill for your home and you don’t have a spare room to put it in and you would rather not try to make it a part of your décor, perhaps a folding treadmill would be right for you.

An obvious advantage to a folding treadmill is that it can be stowed under a bed or in a walk-in closet when not in use. This can be very important if room space is limited. And, for some, hiding a rather clumsy piece of athletic equipment out of sight is essential to the aesthetics of the room.

Portability

Something else to consider about folding treadmills is their mobility. Almost all will be equipped with wheels so even if you aren’t putting your treadmill away you can move it out of the way and clean around it when you like. Cleaning around a treadmill is actually very important, as the most common element in breakdowns is the presence of dust.

Stability

Unfortunately the mobility of folding treadmills normally makes them less stable to exercise upon. And, the more strenuously you exercise on your treadmill the more lateral (side to side) movement you will experience. This is especially true for people who want to run on their treadmill.

Quality

Usually folding treadmills make up most of the lower cost treadmills on the market. It makes sense if you think about it. If you’re not sure that you want to make the commitment to exercise and you really don’t want that clunky treadmill messing up your room, you may not stick with exercising. So why spend $2,000 or more on a treadmill? Bottom line: expensive treadmills rarely fold. Even if they do, these “best of both worlds” models will be bulkier and much harder to move because they’re more heavily built.

To fold or not to fold

Yes, that truly is the question. Maybe your space limitations answer the question for you. Or maybe your ability to commit to exercise does. It will probably be some combination of both but consider the pros and cons before purchasing a folding treadmill and you’ll be happier because of it.

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