Motorised Treadmills Vs. Manual Treadmills

Motorised treadmills are the most popular version of treadmill, while manual treadmills are pretty much a thing of the past. Some people might not have even heard of a manual treadmill let alone seen or used one. Manual treadmills were the original version of treadmills however they have lost popularity since the advent of the more modern motorised treadmills. Manual treadmills are not as common today due to the hard set up. Meaning that you must start the treadmill up using your own legs and plenty of muscle power is required to work the machine up to the desired pace. The overuse of the muscles needed to start up the manual treadmill is one of the main reasons why the use of manual treadmills has declined. Because of the added stress, the joints became damaged over only a short period of time, in other words not great for your body.

Motorised treadmills are more widely used than manual treadmills. Generally, motorised treadmills burn more calories but seem to build less muscle than a manual treadmill because of how the motor maintains the desired pace rather than your legs. The manual treadmill will no doubt build more muscle but it will not burn as many calories. Fortunately, if you are looking to use a motorised treadmill and want to build muscle as well, then the incline feature on most motorised treadmills is very handy. This allows the user to walk or run at an incline (angle), similar to the motion of walking up a hill and therefore building and strengthening muscles in the legs.

The fact that the manual treadmill causes all of that tension and stress on your joints should be enough to defer anyone from using one. If you goal is to build muscle then you should not depend upon a manual treadmill, instead you should work out on a motorised treadmill for around 20 minutes (preferably using the incline feature) with the implementation of resistance (weight) training using equipment at a local gym or purchasing a multi gym for home use. You can also do various exercises that build leg muscles by using your own weight.

Aside from the obvious difference in how the treadmills work, manual treadmills have a lot less features when compared to motorised treadmills. Manual treadmills today are very basic and as such cheap. Although they are very affordable, there is not much offered in terms of motivation and personal feedback. Another downside is that many have a manual incline, which means that after the hard work of getting the belt moving, you would have to get back of the treadmill and manually adjust the incline before starting again.

If you are looking to lose weight and tone up by burning calories, then a motorised treadmill is the way to go. The health benefits are fantastic, as you will notice significant improvements to your cardiovascular system. Your overall fitness will improve without any strain on your joints. A motorised treadmill will also have much to offer in terms of electronic feedback and motivation. You will normally be able to adjust the incline and speed with a touch of a button, which is not the case with manual treadmills. However, the major benefit of a manual treadmill is that they are a lot cheaper. For the average user, a good quality motorised treadmill would always be recommended ahead of a manual treadmill.

Motorised Treadmills

Pros

• Increased blood flow to all of your body’s organs and muscles

• Big loss of unwanted calories and fat

• More advanced features such as incline, heart rate monitor, distance monitor

• User friendly

Cons

• More Expensive, but less expensive than other exercise machines

Manual Treadmills

Pros:

• More muscle building work out

• Cheap

Cons

• Added stress and tension to joints

• Hard start up

• Must keep the pace using your own legs