Why Buying A Treadmill Or Elliptical Could Be The Biggest Mistake Of Your Life

This Article Is No Longer Updated For Accuracy.

Please Read Our 2011-2012 Treadmill Buyer’s Guide and Elliptical Buyer’s Guides Instead.

STOP! If you're thinking about getting yourself a treadmill or elliptical, you could be making one of the biggest mistakes in your life that may not only damage your bank account but also your health. Surely you must think that we've gone off the deep end when we say this. Treadmills411.com is after all a site about finding you the best treadmill and elliptical deals out there. How could we possibly say that buying one is a mistake then?

In the worst case, you might be thinking that buying a treadmill or elliptical could at most be a financial blunder costing you a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. That’s the obvious conclusion one would arrive at but we’re not referring to this. When we say "the biggest mistake of your life”, this isn’t money we’re talking about. We’re talking about your health. More specifically, we’re talking about the commitment to your health.

Two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese according to these stats. Although the reasons for buying a treadmill/elliptical can vary, one of the most prevalent reasons that treadmills and ellipticals are bought is to lose weight.

But if you think the treadmill alone is going to help you achieve that magical number on your bathroom scale, you’re in for a rude awakening.

There’s no doubt that a treadmill or an elliptical can provide an effective cardio workout that can help you burn calories, strengthen your heart and improve your overall health. But to think that a treadmill can solve all your problems is wishful thinking. Cardio can only take you so far. You need to combine cardio with a balanced diet and a resistance training program to attain maximum results.

WHY CARDIO IS JUST NOT ENOUGH

Think about this for a moment. Running on the treadmill is hard work and hard work pays off in the form of calories being loss. This is what a treadmill does, helps you lose calories. So why is it that most people after their workout go on an eating binge? Despite what you may want to believe, the calories that you’ve burnt off in the last workout does not translate into much when it comes to food. A few French fries here and there with a can of coke just about flushes all the results you’ve reaped from your workout down the drain.

This is why cardio by itself is just not enough. To put it bluntly, if you don’t take care of the other aspects of your fitness regime, you will be disappointed with the results you get from just doing cardio.

When you become disappointed with results of your cardio workout, sooner or later, you're going to abandon it all together. After all, if you’ve worked your butt of and you don't see the results you're looking for, what are the chances of you continuing to exercise? For most of us, running on a treadmill or elliptical is just plain boring! So what can you do to prevent having a treadmill turn into a clothes rack when the novelty wears off and you get bored of running?

MAXIMIZE YOUR GAINS AND PROTECT THEM

As I've said previously, for maximum results, combine your cardio with a balanced diet and a resistance training program and you're bound to see much greater results than doing only cardio alone. When you see those initial gains, you'll be motivated to work even harder to make further gains or at the very least, you'll want to protect the gains that you’ve made. Nobody wants to lose what they've previously worked very hard to gain so it follows that if your exercise and diet program are getting you results, you'll want to keep doing what you've been doing because the sight of losing those gains is too much to bear. If your gains are too small, it’s not going to be motivating enough. (“You mean I’ve worked that hard for this?”) That’s why to maximize your gains in the beginning, you have to alter your diet and do some resistance training.

The Biggest Mistake - To Reiterate

It's the issue regarding your commitment to living a healthier life. Without noticeable results at the beginning, the chances of giving up are greatly increased. Face it, running on a treadmill is boring no matter how you look at it. If there’s nothing to gain from running on a treadmill, what’s the point of running?

So to ensure you get the maximum benefits from your cardio workout, you need to change your eating habits and combine it with some sort of strength/resistance training. When you combine all three of these elements, you’re going not only get much better results but also much quicker results. These then become noticeable results that you will want to protect no matter what.

Trust me, once you see positive changes, it will make committing THAT much easier. This is why if you’re buying a treadmill for cosmetic reasons, you have to do everything you can at the beginning to get results. So don't let the chance of taking control of your health slip away or it could become your biggest mistake!

For a different spin on this idea, please read Empowering Your Health - Why Buying A Treadmill Could Be The Most Important Purchase Of Your Life