Best Treadmill for Home Gym

Having a home gym means not having to worry about pesky annual gym fees rising, dealing with other people in a gym setting, or being bombarded with emails and notifications to join a health club or upgrade your membership. Enough of all that rubbish.

When you fill your home gym with machines and create that fitness ecosystem, it becomes flawlessly simple to exercise every single day.

It’s right there—and you don’t have to worry about the pitfalls of the gym. You can’t skip cardio, even in a gym setting, so it’s time to get the best possible treadmill and pop it in there.

To a gym-quality treadmill for home use, all you need is on this list. We’ll answer your burning questions about owning a home gym treadmill, and cover why these treadmills reign supreme over all else.

Recommended Treadmills for Home Gym

Best Overall: HYPATA Treadmill for Home Gym

The best gym quality treadmill for home sometimes folds up pretty small and can be shoved behind the couch when you need extra space, and that treadmill happens to be HYPATA. You wouldn’t expect a foldable treadmill to make the top of the list, but it’s a concept that’s done so well that we can’t deny the simplicity and raw performance that HYPATA offers.

Starting with the motor, you get a 2.5 horsepower motor. That equates to around 7.5 MPH at max speed, which is enough for a lot of athletes. Thanks to the slight incline, it feels a lot less flat and makes that motor power go the extra mile.

With a weight limit of up to 300 lbs, this lightweight treadmill comes in handy for anyone who’s on a weight loss journey. Designed with a steel frame and streamlined for rigidity during running, it won’t quit on you no matter what. You can make full use of the 12 pre-programmed modes without worrying about wear and tear on the treadmill.

Access them through the quality LED panel. Normally, treadmills have decent access panels (while a lot of other cardio machines simply don’t), and HYPATA does a fantastic job of making everything easily accessible. Thanks to the UI being nearly flawless, you won’t have to fidget around in a dozen different menus to find what you’re looking for.

Once you get to the bottom of the screen, that’s when we run into an issue. The emergency key is a little short, so you might pull on it and deactivate the treadmill by accident while using it. In the photos on the sales page, they actually leave it hanging down from the machine and not attached to the model in their marketing photographs. It even has the string surrounding the short cable still attached.

Apart from that, the only major gripe we have with this treadmill is the lack of warranty. With only a single year of warranty coverage specifically against manufacturer defects, you’re not left with this instilled feeling of confidence. Thankfully, after vetting these treadmills ourselves, we can attest to their quality.

The large belt is excellent for taller runners so you don’t run out of deck space, and the entire thing folds up when you aren’t using it. The rails in the front are definitely a bit difficult to fold down, but it works just the same. With a shock-absorbing deck and easy transportation wheels, this treadmill has a little bit of everything all in one package.

Pros

• Weight limit up to 300 lbs
• Pre-programmed with 12 different modes
• Quality LED panel that’s actually legible (normally a huge problem for treadmill hardware)
• Large belt surface area for taller runners

Cons

• Only 1-year warranty on quality
• Fairly short string on the emergency stop key

Runner Up: OMA Treadmills for Home

OMA is exactly the opposite of a small treadmill for home use—this thing is much bigger than it looks, and far more utilitous than you may think. Let’s start with the fact that it’s foldable and somehow doesn’t include an invasive, box-you-in style panel and running area. Some treadmills just miss the mark and make you feel enclosed when you’re supposed to have as much room as possible. OMA got the memo.

The rails don’t get in your way, and fold up easily around the edge of the treads to make it a compact and easily storable little tray. The power isn’t just in how small it can fold up, though. OMA comes in handy with 36 preset programs to make your workout your own. Choose how to expedite your workout scaling, and track every core vital along the way.

Track your pulse, calories, and connect to the touchscreen console to figure out your steps, speed, and distance all at the same time. OMA took a very unique design approach to this console screen that deserves some praise, because they’ve done just about everything that most treadmill brands fail at.

You get a complete touch screen console with a relatively high resolution. The buttons and LCD display on the handle make it easy to interact and see your vitals while you’re running, all in crisp bright white light (blue LCD backgrounds need to stay in the early 2000’s where they belong). Overall, it’s the best interaction we’ve ever had with a console screen on any treadmill.

While the 8-layer shock-absorbing tread is fantastic, it has its own problems. It needs to be lubricated fairly often, making it a high maintenance machine compared to some others. OMA also caps out at 8 MPH, and for the rest of their performance, this is a little disappointing.

The commercial quality steel construction and high quality motor are great, although it seems like a very specific and awkward decision to choose a 2.25 horsepower motor when the industry standard is at least 2.5 horsepower. OMA made an excellent product, but we wish they balanced out the performance of the treadmill a bit more than they actually did.

Pros

• Rails don’t get in your way or box you in while you run
• Includes 36 preset program to help you with your workout and fitness tracking
• 300 lb weight capacity
• Commercial quality steel construction for durability and longevity

Cons

• Caps out at 8 MPH max speed
• 8-layer running belt needs to be lubricated more often than most running belts

Alternative: Goplus Under Desk Treadmill

The best treadmill for home use doesn’t have to be traditional, and it doesn’t have to be overly expensive. Goplus has a simple option that gets the job done without needing any assembly; it’s ready right out of the box. There’s no rails to worry about, so that saves you money since it saves Goplus on cost of materials. You basically get a cost-effective solution-in-a-box mailed to your house.

The lack of rails shouldn’t be a cause for concern either, because the frame is still made out of highly durable alloy steel. You’ll be able to run on this with no problem—depending on one thing: the weight limit.

Goplus dropped the ball on the weight limit. This holds up to a maximum of 220 lbs, and since treadmills are mostly used to improve cardiovascular health while also losing weight, it doesn’t give the average person a whole lot of room to start. These measurements are also about mass as well, not just bodyweight, so even a user at 220 lbs you could still put more pressure on it and damage the machine.

The motor is only 1 horsepower, which would explain why. It’s not the frame that’s going to break, but this also limits the max speed of the entire machine to 4 MPH. This would be ideal if you regularly go to the gym or run outside for your cardio, and you want something to pad the days or times in between workouts, but it’s not a full replacement.

However, we have to give credit where credit is due. The rubberized bottom is extremely durable and practically sticks to the floor, so you won’t have to worry about slipping or skidding while using this. If you put this down on a carpet, you may need a treadmill mat for the sake of vibrations and balance, but the rubber grips on the bottom will do the trick just fine for keeping you in place.

The compact size is also something to note. It’s lightweight at just 56 lbs, so you can lift from one end and put it on its casters. Wheel it forward to position it where you want, and be sure to tighten the rubber feet on it so they don’t get caught on anything.

The storage is great, the limitations aren’t amazing, but it gets the job done for minimum to moderate exercises and helps you with weight maintenance. For what it’s worth, it’s a fun and sturdy machine that we highly recommend as long as you meet the criteria.

Pros

• No rails or screen to increase the cost
• Super compact to fit under your desk or behind a couch
• Durable alloy steel construction
• Solid rubber bottom stays in place without skidding during operation

Cons

• Max user weight is 220 lbs
• Can’t go higher than 4 MPH

Alternative: Ksports Treadmill Bundle

Ksports isn’t the first name that comes to mind when you think of a treadmill for home use, which is why they surprised us with this versatile machine. To kick things off, it’s a bulky beast, so you’ll have to make sure you have the appropriate room for it. That comes with some perks, which we’ll talk about later.

First and foremost, let’s talk about what it does for you. With three levels of incline, you can make your workout feel exactly like you want. Flip the motor speed from a steady pace up to a total of 8 MPH for a nice moderate to intense run, and really build up a sweat. Despite the motor being 2 horsepower (which is still 20% below industry standard), the weight limit doesn’t punch up.

With a maximum user weight of 220 lbs, we’re a bit shocked. The durability of the frame and length of the tread seems like it should be able to support more weight just fine. Made of carbon steel with a nice finish, this machine won’t show its age beyond a few scuffs and scrapes on the tread from time to time.

Connect your device to the bluetooth connection or the 3.5mm audio jack, and you’ll be able to enjoy tunes while you run. There’s a built-in device mount that can fit a generous sized tablet, so if you want to catch up on Netflix while you’re on a run, you have that option. However, that’s where the console benefits seem to end.

The LCD control panel is very janky. The buttons will fold inward due to the very malleable button cover material, and the screen is so blindingly bright that it smudges text. In the marketing material on their sales page, you can’t even read the screen—it’s bright blue and blinding.

While the machine weight is nice, the situp rack installed in the rails makes it a little difficult to put away properly. It’s an added feature, but it’s not one that we believe anyone was really in the market for, so it feels a bit useless.

Overall it’s a good treadmill that should stand the test of time, and it’s backed by a 12-month warranty plus amazing customer service if you happen to run into any issues. What more could you want?

Pros

• Bluetooth connection helps with connecting to your tunes when you start a run
• 3 levels of maximum incline to control your workout
• Carbon steel frame is ultra durable and built to last
• Adjustable feet help you stabilize on awkward floors

Cons

• LCD screen is bright and smudgy; difficult to read
• Situp rack makes it difficult to store this fold-up model properly

Alternative: Goplus 2 in 1 Folding Treadmill for Under Desk Use

Last but not least, we have the best treadmill for home under $500 and for desk use at the same time. Goplus has a 2 in 1 folding solution that includes a rail system, but it’s completely optional. There’s a surprising amount of power in this little devil, so let’s talk about all of it and get the ball rolling.

First and foremost, the motor allows you to go up to 8 MPH. For an under the desk model like this, that’s impressive. We’ve even seen some full-size treadmills that only go up to 7.5 MPH, so this is great. Goplus also took care of one annoying issue that a lot of these different style mat treadmills have, and that’s the LED screen visibility and placement. You can see everything that’s happening on the screen here, and it’s bright green to help with visibility in low-light environments (such as if you’re doing this first thing in the morning).

The rails fold down to perfectly frame around the back of the running area, meaning you can just slip this under your couch or into a closet when you’re not using it. So where does it really shine? With the full app control that connects to the LED display area. While you won’t be able to use your favorite apps like FitBit and Apple Health, Gymax is a well-known fitness app that does the trick. It records your fitness data for you to review later, or for you to send to your doctor if needed.

But everything has a shortfall, and for this, it’s actually that the rails are hard to keep shut. After using this for a while, they’ll want to pop up, and you might have to keep it folded shut with additional support. That’s a bit of a let-down, but the main issue is that the casters are easy to clog and muck up. It just makes it more difficult to move, and since this treadmill is 70 lbs, that’s kind of a big deal.

Do the downsides outweigh the good? Not by a long shot. You get a maximum user weight of 265 lbs, as well as a five-layer wear resistant tread that you can put through the ringer without worry. There’s a high strength support layer, shock absorbing layer, and sound insulation layer to the tread that helps you keep things nice and quiet (or as quiet as you’re going to get). If you end up on a Zoom call while exercising at your desk, the machine won’t drown you out in your microphone.

There’s no plug to keep dust out of the outlet cover, so you will have to either remedy that on your own or just find a way to clean it out frequently. We don’t want dust building up in the outlet and causing sparks or a fire. The cord they give you is long enough to give you some great length, but you can always buy a replacement cord to extend that reach further if you need to.

Pros

• Railing system is extremely linear and easy to move with; it doesn’t box you in
• Full app control with added LED display
• Running mode goes up to 8 MPH
• Decent weight capacity at 265 lbs

Cons

• When folded it’s hard to actually keep it in this position
• Casters get mucked up very fast and aren’t very good

Treadmill for Home Gym FAQ

Which Treadmill is Used in Gyms?

Getting a compact treadmill for home use isn’t the same as getting one from the gym. Big gyms will use brands such as NordicTrack Commercial, IN10CT, and Precor. We recommend NordicTrack and IN10CT products here on HealthArty, but for some folks it’s overkill to have as a home gym machine.

Is it Good to Have a Treadmill at Home?

Yes, having a foldable treadmill for home use is excellent. Whether it’s folded up and goes behind your couch when you’re not using it, or you have a dedicated room, using a treadmill at home is one of the best things that you can do for your health.

It allows you to cut back on gym membership costs and save money each year, improve your health without ever leaving your home, and it’s right there so it’s incredibly easy to start using without any obstacles in your path.

Can We Lose Weight by Treadmill?

Treadmills are one of the best ways to lose weight. If you train on a treadmill 5 times a week for 30 minutes each, you can lose around 1,750 calories while still giving your muscles time to rest. That’s exactly half a pound, so just from running on a treadmill alone, you can lose 2 lbs per month.

However, you also reduce your resting heart rate, reap energy benefits, and improve your overall cardiovascular health. Your body becomes optimized for endurance and longevity, so compounding this with resistance training and a steady, healthy diet can make drastic changes every single month while building up your physique.

Is it Okay to Treadmill Everyday?

It’s okay depending on the intensity and time spent. You shouldn’t run every single day if you’re doing at least 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise. You’re recommended to get 150 minutes of moderate to intense cardio per week.

Your body and muscles need time to rest in between exercises. Even if you have the best home treadmill for running and it’s tempting to hop on, you shouldn’t over-exert yourself just for the sake of losing calories.

Is 30 Minutes a Day on Treadmill Enough to Lose Weight?

Yes, 30 minutes per day on a treadmill is enough to lose weight. It’s actually the ideal amount of time. You’re supposed to get around 150 minutes of moderate to intense cardio throughout the week, so spacing it out over 5 out of 7 days in a week is an excellent method to achieve your desired results. 

Is Walking Outside Better Than Treadmill?

It depends on where you live and what kind of treadmill you own. Outdoor conditions worsen year after year for UV ratings and heat exhaustion, and while the benefits of running outside are usually better than running on an automatic treadmill, the conditions mean that you can’t control your outcome.

It’s better to run on a treadmill most of the time, especially since the overlap in benefits and calories burned/gains made isn’t all that much. If you get a treadmill with an incline or a manual treadmill (especially a curved one), you may actually increase your workout output on a treadmill instead of running outside.

How Much Should You Walk on a Treadmill for Beginners?

It depends on where you’re starting from. If you’re a beginner who’s never used a treadmill before, you should start with 10-15 minutes on medium or low settings to get the hang of it. If it’s not your first  cardio exercise, 15-20 minutes can be a good place for beginners to start.

While we recommend sticking to the 30-minute per day rule at intermediate levels, there’s nothing stopping you from learning the ropes as a beginner so you can build up your endurance over time.

Is Treadmill Harmful to Knees?

Treadmills can impose a lot of shock right on your shins, so you might end up with some of those vibrations running through your legs to your knee joints. That can cause problems over time, but most manufacturers anticipate this. That’s why they add shock-absorbing layers in the middle of their treads.

While we think running outside is a good alternative to using a treadmill, asphalt, hard dirt, concrete, and rocky outcrops will put 100% of the vibrations back into your legs without absorbing any shock. You actually have to be more careful outside than you do inside when it comes to protecting your joints while running.

Treadmills Are the Ultimate In-Home Experience

Plenty of people don’t like cardio, but those folks don’t know what they’re missing. The health benefits alone are off the charts, and with the rising heat wave crisis affecting most of the world, it’s not worth risking dehydration, heat exhaustion, and an increased risk of skin cancer to be doing this outside.

Buying an in-home treadmill for your home gym is one of the best health investments you could possibly make. There’s no better way to supercharge your health and stay on the right track. Optimize your time, enhance your exercise, and build up those health benefits—this is going to complete your home gym.