If you’re buying a treadmill, chances are you’ll want to research before you buy. Everyone wants to get the best deal for a discount price. They also want to find the best treadmill to suit their workout needs.

So you’ll probably be interested in looking at various treadmill ratings or reviews. But why are there so many different ratings and which one is the most accurate? Here’s a few things most buyers don’t know about treadmill ratings.

There are really 2 types of treadmill ratings:

1) Consumer Ratings

2) Expert Ratings

User Treadmill Ratings:

Consumer treadmill ratings are done by the layperson who has bought and used the specific treadmill. Many websites allow anyone to go online and post a review of their treadmill.

Customer reviews and ratings can be very valuable when searching for a treadmill – however keep in mind several things:

1) No treadmill has a 100% perfect track record. Even the BEST treadmill manufacturers sometimes make a dud.

And it’s usually the people that have had BAD experiences that leave negative reviews of their treadmills, not the many that have had good experiences with the same treadmill.

They have every right to do this and hopefully the treadmill manufacturers read these reviews and do something about them. Just remember that one bad review doesn’t prove it’s a low quality brand.

2) The treadmill industry is growing more competitive each year. And marketing is a huge portion of the treadmill industry since treadmill manufacturers KNOW you’re going to research treadmill ratings before you buy.

So while I’m not making any accusations, I have read ‘customer reviews’ that are clearly NOT written by the average buyer. They sound like they’re written by somebody working for the competition – someone well versed in the art of sales psychology and who knows more about treadmills than the average person. Again, not making any accusations here – just keep this in mind when reading user ratings online.

Rule of Thumb: Use common sense. If it sounds like it’s written by a treadmill salesperson, take the treadmill review with a grain of salt.

Expert Treadmill Ratings:

There are also expert treadmill ratings. These are the ratings written by the experts in the fitness industry. People like Consumer Reports, Runner’s World, Consumer Guide, Men’s Health, Prevention Magzine are just a few out there. These people rate and review various treadmills at various times in the year.

While these ratings are much less likely to be tainted by biased reviewers, here are a few cautions to keep in mind while reading them:

3) Each rater has a different rating system and may rate treadmills on such factors as price, cushioning, stability, quietness, belt area, warranty, console, electronics, programs, incline and quality of parts.

So while one reviewer may put more emphasis on cushioning the other may put more emphasis on warranty. It’s nothing to get confused over – just understand that different experts value different features. They’ll usually have an area where they list exactly how they rated the treadmills and which features they valued highly in their review.

2) Expert ratings also usually don’t have time to look at EVERY treadmill brand on the market. Nobody does. We’ve been reviewing treadmills for over 3 years and we still haven’t covered all the brands.

So just because a certain brand isn’t in the ratings, doesn’t make it a poor quality brand. Try to find other reviews on a brand if you can’t find it in your favorite expert ratings list.

One last thing: Many treadmill ratings are also based on comparison to other similarly priced treadmills on the market.

So if you have a $1000 treadmill that gets 5 stars – that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s better than a $2000 treadmill that gets 4 stars. It means that compared to other $1000 treadmills it is one of the best values.

By remembering these things when sifting through treadmill ratings, you’re less likely to be confused. And it will be easier to choose the best quality treadmill for your needs.

Most bodybuilders would agree that supplementing with whey protein is an important element in achieving serious muscle gains. This article will examine the facts relating to whey protein as a supplement and help you decide whether you need to follow this particular strategy.

Whey protein is produced during the process that sees milk turned into cheese. It is also found naturally in dairy products, eggs, soy and vegetable proteins but none of these compares in quality to whey protein powder. It also scores highly in providing the branched chain amino acids (BCAA’s) that are important in the building and retention of muscle.

Whey protein is highly favored by bodybuilders because it provides the necessary building blocks to produce the amino acids that the body uses to build lean muscle tissue. Many studies have shown that whey protein contains the perfect combination of amino acids, in just the right concentration for optimal performance in the body. It is also thought that whey protein has a role as an anti-oxidant and immune system builder.

It is best taken in powder form mixed in juice or milk, spread throughout the day to maintain a positive nitrogen balance. Serious bodybuilders often consume up to 150 grams each day but as a rule of thumb, daily protein intake for active trainers can be calculated by taking your weight in pounds and multiplying by 1 or 1.5. But remember, you need to work out how much protein is taken from food and other sources, and then spread the remaining whey protein balance over the day.

Whey protein is a relatively safe supplement but no more than 30 grams of protein should be taken at one sitting as excessive single doses could overload the liver. The safety of whey protein has been well documented in many scientific studies and there is clear proof that taken consistently, coupled with regular exercise, it will result in meaningful muscle gain.

Your body builds muscle naturally in response to your physical activity. This doesn’t happen overnight. But you’ll be well on your way to “bulking up” if you are consistent towards workouts.

First of all you have to decide on the exercises to be done each day. Some exercises focus on a specific muscle while other exercises are helpful for several muscles workout at one time. The important thing is to make sure each muscle can rest for at least a full day before exercising it again. So, you should do a full-body weight training routine, every other day (with cardio exercise in between) or you can alternate different muscle groups like arms exercise on one day, legs on another day, upper back and chest on next day and so on.

Body muscles grow during rest. If you don’t give your muscle adequate time to recover, you’ll directly interfere with the muscle building process. When you lift weight, you put stress on the muscle to an extent that it breaks down at the cellular level which results in increased protein synthesis and produces thicker muscle fibers. This process begins 2 – 3 hours after the workout and lasts up to 24 hours. If you put stress on the muscle before this process is complete then you break down the muscle fibers before they’ve had a chance to rebuild and hence it can have undesirable effects.

You should learn how to do exercise properly (the extension of movement, correct stance and proper posture, etc) as this will not only reduce the effectiveness of the movement, but also increase the risk of injury. So, try to begin the exercise with light weights. Practice will improve your form. For muscle building process, you need to stress the muscles, so till the final rep of your final set, your muscle should be exhausted. You can add one or more reps if you are in good form. If stress on muscles is less then you need to add on some weight.

For effective muscle building you need to give your body the proper building blocks. Don not eat too much of junk food. You can have supplements which can give you energy and aid in muscle recovery and repair, but, they should be taken in conjunction with a consistently followed exercise regimen and a proper diet. You should increase the amount of complex carbohydrates and proteins in your diet like egg, low fat yogurt, and whole grain carbohydrates like oats and whole-wheat bread. Try to avoid sugary and processed foods as they interfere with the glucose levels and immune system. You should drink a lot of energy drinks, water and juices during exercise to avoid water retention from the body. Protein drinks can also be taken after workouts to repair and rebuild lean muscle tissues.

For better results you should change your workout schedule every 3 – 4 weeks to avoid your body from adapting to stress. This can be done by increasing weight and changing exercises.