We all have different reasons for wanting to purchase a treadmill running machine for our home gym. Whether it’s to sneak in a workout without leaving the house, not having to worry about the weather to get your daily or weekly runs in, or providing fitness motivation for the whole family, a home treadmill is an excellent way to make sure exercise is an important part of your day.
Before purchasing a treadmill for your home, you may be wondering whether it replicates the feeling of running or walking outside. As technology gets more sophisticated, it’s easier than ever to find your natural gait on a Precor low-impact treadmill. Precor created the first cushioned treadmill in 1990 and has been working tirelessly ever since to make sure your indoor treadmill running is just as effective as your outdoor treks.
Step-By-Step
Whether you are looking for a professional-grade running machine or a comfortable walking treadmill, shock absorption is an important component to consider when purchasing a home treadmill.
The average treadmill user will likely strike the running surface of a treadmill more than one million steps over the course of two years. That’s 500,000 steps a year or 5 million steps in 10 years. By considering shock absorption when you’re purchasing a treadmill for home workouts, you are doing your future self a huge favor.
To further address shock absorption, let’s consider a diving board. When a 300-lb person jumps on a diving board, it’s a matter of physics and gravity that allows the board to absorb more shock than if a 125-lb person jumps on it. With conventional running treadmills, exercisers of different sizes experience varying levels of shock absorption due to their size and the location of the shock absorbers on the treadmill. Traditional treadmills have shock absorption in the front, middle, and back of the treadmill, but this is where Precor differs.
On every Precor home treadmill model, you’ll find our patented shock absorption system throughout the entire area where your foot strikes, meaning wherever your foot falls, you’ll get the same cushion at each strike. We also designed our running machines to provide consistent shock absorption for any user. Using our diver example, our two divers can walk or run on a Precor home treadmill and each will get a similar absorption experience, regardless of their size.
If you have more than one person in your household using your treadmill, it’s important to buy a running machine that provides a comfortable experience for everyone whether they’re 6’4” and 350 pounds or 4’11” and 95 pounds (and anywhere in between). Only Precor can provide a consistent experience across the full spectrum of sizes and abilities making Precor home treadmill for running available.
The Intuitive Self-Adjusting Treadmill
For years runners and walkers took issue with a treadmill’s inability to replicate an outdoor walk or run. Precor tackled the problem and found a solution that not only has the natural feel of the outdoors, but also is better for your knees, back, and joints.
When you’re running or walking on a treadmill, the belt pulls your foot back in a way that does not happen when you’re outdoors. Precor is the only home treadmill manufacturer who addresses both vertical impact (your foot hitting the treadmill) and horizontal impact (your foot being pulled back by the belt).
To address the added stress that horizontal impact creates on your joints, Precor Precision Series 400 Line Treadmills monitor their belt speed 700 times per second (compared to our competitors’ 60x per second rate). This monitoring allows the Precor treadmill to intuitively and minutely self-adjust to the speed of your foot strike. The running treadmill monitors your heel strike, then communicates with the software to adjust the motor speed with your natural stride.
A Precor low-impact treadmill “thinks" its way through your entire stride. It controls the speed of its belt throughout the whole process by minutely adjusting its speed either up or down to create a run that’s consistent to running outdoors. Your Precor home treadmill is making multiple millisecond decisions to create the best running experience you can have.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Precor technology works to ensure your treadmill running is as similar to the outdoors as possible, it’s important to try it out yourself. Visit an authorized Precor dealer to feel the Precor difference in minutes. You can also try our competitors’ options to see just how superior Precor treadmills are to others on the market.