Once upon a time, I was healthy. I ate fruits and veggies and drank protein shakes and worked out every single day (and even loved it). Then Covid ruined everything. Then I got pregnant. Then I quit my full-time career to become a stay-at-home mom. Now here we are four years later. I'm actually just shy of ten pounds from where I was before Covid (a.k.a. at my fittest), so it's not as bad as I make it seem. But sadly since I've hit 40, things have gone downhill FAST! The apron belly that was starting to slowly shrink just before the end of last summer quickly inflated back up after my birthday in the fall, and I've suddenly found my health in quick and serious decline. As many people do when ringing in the new year, I've set some goals for 2025 with the most important goal being to regain control of my health again. Since I'm in a slump and can't bring myself to committing to lifting weights again or even doing yoga, I've decided to try the most basic thing I could possibly do that doesn't require multiple pieces of equipment or having to find a video to follow- walking. With this treadmill, it keeps things super simple: either I walk slow or I walk fast (or jog). I don't ever have to worry about inclimate weather and severe temperature changes, or being discouraged about not being able to walk around the block while my toddler's asleep because I like to workout undisturbed in the early hours of the morning. Heck, I don't even have to necessarily get dressed as much as just put my running shoes on! I simply pull this pad out, turn it on and start walking. It's not the lightest thing ever, but I'm able to manage lifting and moving this around without struggling too much (though built-in wheels would have been nice for easier maneuvering). I really dig how compact it is because it fits perfectly under my bed or just propped up against a small corner in my room. Super simple and straightforward operation- you just flip the switch on the treadmill itself, hit the go button on the remote, and set it to the speed you want. I really love that the display automatically cycles through your workout information at a quick glance (time, speed, steps, and distance) and it cycles just fast enough so that you're not staring down for too long which could potentially throw you off balance. Speaking of which, if you don't have good balance I definitely do NOT recommend you get on this type of treadmill as it lacks a handle bar for stability. It can be a bit nerve-wracking not having something to hold onto only because I've only used treadmills with one, but I'd like to think I still have cat-like reflexes so I've not stumbled or fallen off yet. The openness of it makes it easy to be on my phone while walking and gives me the freedom to swing my arms naturally, and I can even reach out and stabilize myself on the bed or a chair if needed. Since this pad is so compact it can be easy to find my feet drifting off the back if I take long steps even though I'm quite short (5'1”), so you'll need to be aware of your position on the pad as well as your stride length; that said, I wouldn't recommend this for taller people. It's obviously not the quietest piece of equipment but it's comparable to the noise level of a vacuum (when in walking mode) and doesn't wake my sleeping toddler with my door closed. The vibration plate is a cool feature but since I'm having some interesting health issues at the moment, I probably won't be using it until I figure out what's going on with me and can confirm with a doctor that it's safe to use with my conditions; though I will note that it does feel nice on the body and seems to loosen me up a bit after only a minute or two. I should also note that it's pretty loud in vibration mode. Not sure what the accompanying phone app is good for, as I thought it would log my workouts but it hasn't (not that I necessarily need another app anyway since I wear a Samsung watch and use the Health app to automatically log workouts). I'm definitely looking forward to jump-starting the year with this simple treadmill. Overall a fantastic buy for the price point!