With the advancement in the treadmill industry, quality machines could now cost you up to $5,000. So purchasing the wrong equipment could prove costly. And with the huge variety of treadmills in the market today, finding one that suits you best has become even more confusing.

This is the reason why I created these guide questions. It aims to educate people on how to purchase the best treadmill for their needs and avoid some costly mistakes.

So before you start shopping for your new treadmill, answer first the following guide questions below. They will guide you into making the right purchase.

1) Who would use the treadmill?

The treadmill you would be buying would depend on how much you weigh, how tall you are, and how many people would use it.

Most treadmills have a maximum user weight limit, so be sure that your treadmill will be able to support your body weight. For tall people, I suggest you choose machines with lengthy decks, since your strides will be longer than normal.

If the whole family would be using it, it would be better to buy higher quality treadmills (those above $2,000) to make sure that it can handle the workouts of everyone in the family.

2) How often would the treadmill be used?

The quality (and price) of the machine you will be buying would also depend on the number of times the treadmill will be used in a week and for how long. As a guide, a person who weighs less than 200 lbs. and plans to run on it for 30 minutes a day, 7 times a week should get a treadmill in the $1,500 - $2,000 range.

3) Where will the treadmill be used?

The size and weight of the treadmill you will buy is another factor to be considered. If you have limited space at home, then buying a huge treadmill would not be a smart move. Also, an extremely heavy treadmill is recommended to be only on the ground floor of an old house.

For those with limited spaces at home, you might want to choose a treadmill with foldable feature. This allows you to fold the treadmill after use to save space.

4) What features do you need?

You need to determine the features that would be useful to you and be sure that the treadmill you will buy has those features. If you want to workout in your target heart rate then make sure that the machine you will be buying has a heart rate monitor.

5) How much can you afford?

Finally, know how much you can really spend for a treadmill then, considering numbers 1-4, choose the treadmill in that price range that suits you best. If you can