A Look at New 2022 Treadmills – What Can You Expect To Find?

We usually take a look at what’s to come in the new year towards the end of December, so we’re getting somewhat of a late start. But, there haven’t been too many new models out there, mainly just upgrades on existing models, so you didn’t miss much. Here’s what to expect this year if you’re in the market for a new treadmill for your home gym…

Are there any brand new 2022 treadmills?

With COVID still going strong two years on, it seems like there aren’t nearly as many new treadmills on the market as in years past. This is likely do to higher production costs, limited supplies and shipping/delivery issues. After a blowout 2020 and much of 2021 due to an unprecedented increase in demand, sales for cardio and other home gym equipment are definitely down significantly. Millions of people already bought their equipment during lockdown, not knowing if or when they would ever be able to go to the gym again. As such, the demand in 2022 is much lower than it should be. Without the high demand, why release new models? Add to that all of the COVID related headaches and it’s just not really worth it.

However, some companies did introduce new treadmills for the 2022 model year. Let’s take a closer look at those…

The first place I always look when it comes to finding new treadmills is NordicTrack. Of all of the cardio brands out there, NordicTrack changes things up most often. There’s always a new model, an upgrade, new programming…it seems that every year their treadmills get better and better.

For 2022, NordicTrack added a new top of the line model in their entry level EXP Series. The EXP 14i joins the EXP 7i and EXP 10i, an affordable series with a surprising amount of features and capabilities. Compared to the other models, it has the largest touch screen (14″), as well as several other upgrades. It has incline and decline capability, which you don’t find often on a home treadmill, strong motor, large 20″ x 60″ belt and FlexSelect cushioning, like the other EXP treadmills.

The Commercial 1750, one of the most popular treadmills on the market today, and the mid-range Commercial 2450, both received facelifts for 2022, with new touch screens that you can actually tilt and pivot around, improved sound system, ActivePulse to work out in your ideal heart rate range, and a modern, sleek redesign. We imagine that the top end Commercial 2950 will soon receive a similar upgrade, given that it’s the most expensive model. Hard to justify the higher price if it has last year’s touch screen while the less expensive models have a brand new one.

At any rate, that’s the extent of the new developments at NordicTrack for now…the popular Incline Trainers seem to be carryovers from last year. But that could change…

Over at ProForm, also owned by IFit Health like NordicTrack, the lineup seems to be the same so far. They pared down their treadmill selection considerably last year, with only 5 models remaining…less than they’ve ever offered since we starting reviewing treadmills at Run Reviews over 15 years ago. Same story with Sole Fitness…they have the same treadmills for 2022 that they’ve offered for the past few years. Towards the end of 2021 they partnered with Studio to offer on-demand classes, community leaderboards and other interactive training options to compete with NordicTrack/ProForm iFit and Bowflex’s JRNY program.

Horizon Fitness has their same 6 treadmills, the popular T101 remains along with the T202, T303, 7.0 AT, 7.4 AT and top of the line 7.8 AT.

Bowflex made some interesting moves last year, discontinuing the popular TreadClimber series in favor of two new treadmills: the Treadmill 10 and Treadmill 22. These two machines are packed with everything from touch screens, incline and decline, streaming capability, JRNY workouts, foldability, high max user weight and large well-cushioned deck. Sine those two treadmills are so new, I don’t think they will be adding any additional 2022 models…but well keep an eye on that.

Bowflex has also offered a lot of different Max Trainer models, which are hybrid stepper/elliptical machines that have become quite popular in recent years. You now have the M6, M9 and new Max Total 16, with more advanced features and capabilities as you move up in the series.

What about the high end treadmill brands?

So those are the most popular residential brands, and only NordicTrack has added a brand new treadmill for 2022. All of the others seem to be just carrying over their 2021 lineups, some of which were recently upgraded or improved in some way.

As far as high end brands, Life Fitness leads the way there, and it looks like it’s the same story. There are 5 treadmills in their lineup, also on the lower end of choices historically. The newest edition was the Run CX, an affordable option that is comparable to some of the other new residential offerings from other brands. It has all of the benefits of their popular commercial treadmills with conveniences and features that you look for in a residential model. It’s missing a touch screen, however, which is surprising given the popularity and ubiquity of touch screens on treadmills these days.

Precor is another big name in the high end market. Their offerings for 2022 look much like 2021, with TRM 200, 400, 600, 700 and 800, ranging in price from around $2000 all the way up to $8,000. Although not as popular as Life Fitness, these are still very good treadmills to consider if you’re looking for something that’s more like the treadmill you use in your health club.

What are the hot treadmill features in 2022?

Even though there aren’t a lot of new models out there this year, there’s plenty of new technology carrying over from last year, so if you are in the market for a new treadmill there’s a lot to be excited about…especially if you are upgrading from a treadmill you bought years ago. Even though gyms are back open again, there are still millions of people choosing to work out at home. As such treadmill manufacturers are packing more into their machines than ever before, making them more appealing and ensuring that people will continue to use them.

One of the biggest trends in recent years is interactive training memberships…sort of like a gym except you’re at home. NordicTrack & ProForm’s iFit technology really started the trend, but you can credit Peloton with bringing it to the mainstream, especially during the pandemic when everyone starting working out at home.

These are typically a large selection of on-demand (and sometimes live as with Peloton) workouts with professional trainers, along with community leaderboards, workout tracking and sharing and a number of other features. The allure for the companies that offer it is the additional revenue stream on top of the actual machines themselves. They typically offer a free month, year, or something in between, and after the free trial you pay a monthly or yearly membership. All of the major brands have this option, and we suspect that this will continue to grow as it’s a cash cow for them.

As we mentioned, NordicTrack and ProForm have iFit, which is perhaps the most comprehensive of all of the interactive training programs. Peloton has their built in training program. Bowflex recently introduced JRNY, their offering which competes directly with iFit. Sole Fitness recently jumped on the interactive training wagon, partnering with Studio, which also offers on-demand workout programs.

Horizon Fitness is taking a different route, allowing their customers to choose any program they want to use, including Peloton, Zwift, Studio and others. Their treadmills, especially the higher end models, are built to react quickly to speed and incline changes, allowing you to keep up with any interactive classes that you choose. So with Horizon you’re not locked into any proprietary program…you can choose what you want to do. Of course you can use any treadmill without paying for a membership, but you miss out on a lot of great motivational features.

Another continuing trend is the addition of touch screen displays, which people seem to love as again, it is closer to what you find in the health club and very convenient. Again, NordicTrack and ProForm lead the way here, and have offered touch screens on their treadmills, ellipticals and other cardio machines for years. Currently, all of their treadmills have touch screen displays, from the base EXP models up to the Incline Trainer series. Some models, as we mentioned above, have new pivoting/tilting touch screens for even more convenience.

All of the ProForm treadmills now have touch screens as well, except for the base City L6, but we wouldn’t expect one on the entry level model. Sole has been slow to introduce touch screens for some reason. Only the higher end F85 currently has one, although we suspect other models will follow suit at some point.

Horizon treadmills still don’t have touch screens for some reason, but perhaps they will start adding them to the more expensive models if it makes sense cost wise. Life Fitness and Precor have touch screens on the higher end treadmills only.

Besides interactive training and touch screens, we’re seeing more decline capability for 2022. This gives you an opportunity to target muscle groups you wouldn’t normally be able to on a treadmill.

All of the Nordictrack treadmills, save for the EXP 7i, have decline training capability. At ProForm, the Pro 2000 and Pro 9000 treadmills decline. At Sole, the TT8 declines. At Bowflex, both the T10 and T22 have decline capability as well.

Heart rate training is also a growing trend many treadmill brands are offering ways to stay in your ideal heart rate range and train more efficiently. For 2022, NordicTrack added ActivePulse training to some of their treadmills. This allows the treadmill to automatically adjust speed and incline to keep you in your optimal zone throughout your workout. ProForm offers Bluetooth heart rate technology. Sole has always offered a number of heart-rate specific programs. So we think you’ll continue to see a focus on keeping you in your ideal zone to make the most out of your workouts, either with built-in technology, more accurate wireless reading technology or more cardio-centric programs, or some combination of all three.

What’s the bottom line for 2022 treadmills?

Their might not be too many brand new models to choose from, but there are plenty of great options for you in 2022. You have a wide selection of treadmills in all price ranges for all of the popular companies. You’ll find endless workout options, large HD touch screens, heart rate monitoring, incline as well as decline training, larger running areas, more advanced cushioning and much more.

All of these features and capabilities make for a much more enjoyable workout experience, keeping you motivated to reach your fitness goals. And at the end of the day, that’s the only important thing to focus on. If these companies can keep you on your treadmill for a longer period of time, every day for months and even years, then they’ve succeeded. So even if you have to pay monthly for that motivation, to us its worth the expense given the incredible benefits to your cardio and overall health.

We’ll continue to watch to see if there are any new 2022 treadmills that haven’t come to market yet, as well as report on any new features, upgrades and programs that we come across.

Here’s to your health in 2022!