Greetings from the DOJO! This week the Treadmill Sensei feels very very old. Not only did my eldest daughter just get married, but a rather significant day has passed. On Oct 19th, the Treadmill Sensei celebrated his 21st year in the fitness industry. That's right, your Sensei has been servicing, installing, rebuilding and repairing treadmills, ellipticals and fitness equipment for 21 years now! Dear lord I'm old! I think I need to build myself a fitness walker!

Speaking of my daughter, her new husband asked me to take a look at the treadmill he has out in his garage. He said it has been acting a little "funny" and was wondering if there were anything I could do to fix it. Heading out to his garage, I found an almost brand new New Balance 1200 Treadmill. The thing was in great shape and looked as if it had just been sitting off to the side unused. Looking under the treadmill I quickly figured out his problem: no treadmill mat in a very dusty/dirty area. That was it. His motor had become clogged with dust and link and was no longer running at full efficiency. I popped the hood off the New Balance 1200 treadmill's motor, did a quick clean job on the motor, and had it up and running in about an hour. One of the key things about treadmills is to have a treadmill mat under them. The motors act like giant dust/dirt magnets and you can ruin your motor if you're not careful. The mat will helps to discharge the static build-up. Another thing I told my new son-in-law is to keep his treadmill belt lubricated and adjusted. Two very easy things to do once you know how to do them.

Since I had worked on his New Balance 1200, I thought I'd do a review of this excellent machine. If you are a regular reader on this website then you've probably already seen the high rating I gave the New Balance 1200 in my top 5 treadmills of 2006 posting. Nothing has changed since that Top 5 List.

The New Balance 1200 is an excellent choice for runners looking for a solid performing treadmill at around $1000. The unit is heavy duty, sturdy and has one of the largest decks available for a treadmill in this price range. The 20x56 deck should be more than enough for all but the hardest of marathon training.

The deck itself could be a tiny bit thicker, but at 3/4" it will still hold up to your running workouts and their "Dura-Soft" shock absorption system is comfortable and gives you solid support and cushioning. In the same area, the rollers on the New Balance 1200 are a large 2.4" and will help extend the life of your belt and motor both. Speaking of the motor, New Balance gives you a large, low RPM 2.0 horsepower motor that will last for the life time of the treadmill itself (as long as you aren't like my son-in-law and keep the thing clean and well cared for!).