Family, Running & Fitness

Treadmill Review: LifeSpan TR4000i

Matt Orlando
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It has been a while since I have reviewed anything, but I wanted to share my thoughts with you on a new addition to my life. No, not my 3rd child, though he is adorably cute and doing just fine! No, I wanted to share my thoughts (not a technical review) with you on a new fitness addition to my life, the LifeSpan TR4000i treadmill.

As you know my family and I recently moved into a new home and were beyond excited that we had space for a home office / home gym. After we got settled some and I did some research, I settled upon the TR4000i for various reasons, including an attractive price point, good reviews, and the fact that it fits within the space that we had for it. I also chose this particular model because at the time Amazon was offering free shipping and installation which thankfully went flawlessly. Thank you Amazon prime!

Treadmill & Office
Original setup. New flooring still pending.

What I Love

  • Smooth ride. This treadmill, despite its lower price point compared to other models I looked at, has a very smooth ride. I would comfortably compare it to the same ride you would get on a gym-grade treadmill. Apparently, the 8 compression shock absorbers do their job well.
  • Quiet ride. I have been on some noisy treadmills before and was very pleased that this was not one of them. I do most of my treadmill runs at 5 in the morning and do not want to wake the rest of the house. So far, even at high speeds, it’s a pretty quiet ride.
  • Large Display. The display is easy to read and lists all the (what I consider) important information all without the need to scroll: time elapsed, incline, speed, distance, and calories.
  • Easy To Use Controls. The TR4000i has speeds up to 12MPH and 15 levels of incline. These can be controlled via the main control panel or by dedicated toggles on the heart rate monitor arms. When you return from pausing your workout, it will immediately go back to the speed at which you were going, which is a nice feature. It also has dedicated speed buttons to easily jump to a higher speed.
  • Built-in programs. Like any good treadmill, the TR4000i has multiple built-in programs, for weight management, sports training, and heart rate targeting. In all honesty I have not used them yet, but am glad they are there for days I want to switch up my routine.
  • Workout exports. There are two ways to export your workouts. One is through the built-in USB drive, where you can transfer your workout data to a thumb drive and upload to your computer. The other is via an optional Bluetooth receiver to upload directly into the LifeSpan app (for Android & iOS devices). As someone who likes tracking workouts and calories, this was a big selling feature.
  • Folds away. This is a great feature, especially with kids or if you’re looking for some extra floor space when not using the treadmill. It is easy to fold up and lock into place, and gently folds back down when you are ready to use it again. Full disclosure, I don’t use this that much, as I prefer to just turn it off and remove the safety plug to make sure my kids don’t use it.
  • Other nice features. For the price it also has some other (what I would consider a bonus) features, such as a 3-speed fan, heart rate monitor, and step counter (for those who are trying to hit a particular step goal). It also has an audio-in jack for use of the built-in speakers, as well as the dual-function USB port which can charge your devices while you run.

What I Don’t Love

  • Squeaky shocks. After I contacted support I found the problem is easily resolved with some silicone-based lubricant, but out of the box the shocks were very squeaky when running near the front of the treadmill. By adjusting back to the middle of the treadmill the sound did go away.
  • Built-in Fan. It’s nice, but I am someone who sweats A LOT when I run, especially indoors…so it’s not exactly that beneficial. A nice feature, for sure, but not something I’m in love with. Instead, I ordered a wall-mounted fan (also from Amazon) which resolved the issue.

    Set up with fan & TV.
  • Workout exports. While I do love that you can export your data, I don’t love that they export as “walking” as the activity type…which you cannot change. Why does that matter? Because the only way to get the data into other apps like MyFitnessPal is via Google Fit. MyFitnessPal specifically ignores “walking” activities from Google Fit (since you can use GoogleFit as MyFitnessPal’s step tracker). So in order to get MyFitnessPal to get the data, you have to manually go into Google Fit and update the activity to “Running,” after which it syncs up for the purposes of calories. I contacted their support, but making the workout type an option in the app is not on their priority list.

All in All

All in all I am loving the treadmill and the freedom it gives me to get my runs in before the sun comes up, and for my wife to get in her runs while she is home with our boys. Definitely a great purchase, and hoping to get many, many miles out of this investment.

Do you own a treadmill? What do you have and what do you love? Share below!