A home gym is a great investment in your health. You will be more likely to stick to your workout regime when you don’t have to trek across town, exercise with total strangers, or shower and change in public dressing rooms.The convenience of being able to workout whenever you have time without a commute means that you will quickly be in better shape. When you decide you want a home gym, a good place to start is with a quality treadmill.
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Lets see if the LifeSpan TR5000i Non-Folding Treadmill is a good candidate for your home gym.
The TR5000i is built with a commercial grade three horsepower motor to guarantee a long trouble free life and back it with a lifetime warranty. The frame is built with heavy duty components allowing it to have a lifetime warranty and allows the treadmill to be rated for 350 pound users.
The running surface is a very comfortable 20 inches by 60 inches to accommodate a wide range of strides and automatically pauses if you step off. The incline has a motorized adjustor with fifteen positions so you can fine tune the resistance needed to get to the results you are looking for. The speed can be changed at the touch of a button and is variable between 0.4 and 11 MPH to allow for pacing your workout from a walk to a flat out run.
The control console allows complete control of all the features in one place. While not as intuitive as it could be, it is fairly easy to figure out.
The buttons will light up in the order you need to press them to set up and start your workout. Seventeen preset workouts are included divided into four categories based on the goal you are working towards – cardio fitness, weight loss, sports training, and healthy living. There are also two preset slots left for your custom workout.
Included is a free membership in the LifeSpan Fitness Club website. An included USB flash drive allows you to capture your workout data on the treadmill and transfer it to the online site so you can track your progress and plan your future workouts. If more than one person is using the treadmill, additional memberships can be purchased from LifeSpan.
Features and Benefits
• The motor is a commercial rated three horsepower model with a lifetime warranty so you don’t have to even think about it ever failing.
• The running surface measures 20 inches by 60 inches so you don’t have to adjust your stride to run on it.
• The running surface is rated for users weighing as much as 350 pounds which means it is built to take more punishment than you will likely ever be able to give.
• The running belt stops automatically if you step off for your safety and that of others in the area.
• The incline is adjustable with fifteen levels so you always get exactly the workout you desire.
• The speed can be adjusted between 0.4 and 11 MPH so you can walk or run at the speed required for the results you want.
• Built in speakers allow you to play music on your MP3 player during your workouts.
• Seventeen custom workouts are pre-programmed to give you a head start to the results you are looking for.
• The TR5000i comes with a free lifetime membership to the LifeSpan Fitness Club that allows you to customize and track your workout online.
AMAZON DISCOUNT LINKCustomer Reviews
The TR5000i is a new item on Amazon so there are very few reviews available. A pretty thorough search on the internet failed to uncover any negative user comments. As more people will take the time to write negative reviews, the lack of complaints is a good sign of the quality of this product.
Pros
The overall quality of the TR5000i hasn’t been available at this price point before. To get similar quality anywhere else would cost you at least 50% more. This combined with the lifetime warranty on the frame and motor ensure you years of trouble free service.
The console is a great added value. It allows you to enter your age, weight, height, and sex. This allows the preset workouts to be custom tailored exactly to you. When combined with the LifeSpan Fitness Club this is almost as good as having a personal trainer.
The TR5000i also includes an unique safety feature. If it quits detecting your footfalls on the running surface, it automatically stops the belt. This reduces the danger of leaving it running when you step away momentarily to hydrate or answer the phone.
The included features are also unheard of without paying hundreds or thousands more. LifeSpan has produced a commercial treadmill like you would find at the gym at a price that allows you to have it at home.
Cons
The biggest complaint I found online is with the console. It is somewhat cluttered and many users will find it confusing at first. One review even described it as looking more like a medical device than any thing else. With a little practice, you will be able to find your way around and easily set it to do what you want.
The only other issue is the limitation of control available with the quick keys. They only allow adjustments between three and six MPH. As you get used to the console, this will become less of an issue since you will know what to do to make the adjustment you want.
Conclusion
If you want to get the build quality and features of a commercial treadmill like you would find at the gym in a package affordable enough to take home, the Lifespan TR5000i NonFolding Treadmill is not only an excellent choice, it may be your only choice. The quality and features of this treadmill will easily cost you at least another thousand dollars from other manufacturers. That value is hard to beat.
