You've seen them. Their treadmills rising above all others ... seemingly climbing to the ceiling. How impressive to see them tower over the others. Mount Olympus! Then you notice IT. It's the fatal flaw. They're holding on to the treadmill. Oh no! Not only does this compromise everything they sought out to do, it can be harmful to the body and the treadmill. Here's the details from the folks at Treadmilluse.com and other scientific studies.Problems caused when you hold on to the treadmill:
Turns walking into "fake-running": By holding on you reduce your body weight which is a key factor in fat burn rate. Holding on can reduce the calories burned by as much as 25% the indicated numbes.
Shoulders are placed in an unnatural position that no longer resembles walking or running.
Cheats the lower back muscles: These are the muscles that keep you erect while walking or running and help stabilize the spine. When you cheat, these muscles are weakened.
Holding on ruins posture: Especially tall people. The gait is unnatural and often times the butt is sticking out. Not a pretty sight.
Hanging on skews the spinal alignment. Your legs can not fully extend as they do in natural walking causing potential injury to hips and repetitive stress injuries
Gripping at fast speeds can raise the blood pressure.
Just in case you might care about keeping your gym dues down consider this: Holding on creates more drag on the tread belt. Remember by holding on you can effectively go slower than the belt is trying to pace you. This increased drag can cut short the lifespan of the tread and overheat the motor. The next time you see a "This machine temporarily unavailable" sign. You will know the truth.
So what do you do? Slow down. Don't hang on. Don't cheat.
Thank you for sharing this.....Treadmills are relatively affordable, and almost anyone can own one and it is very helpful device.. Fitness instructors continue recommend using this equipments and method of exercise. so keep doing the job that best for you!
ReplyDeleteIt's killing me watch good people try very hard to get in better shape doing all the wrong things. What's this need to incline so high that you have to hold on? Crazy.
ReplyDeleteIt freaked me out today when the women next to me was walking slower than me although the speed on my exact same treadmill was 3.4 and her's was 4.0! Of course, she was holding on!
ReplyDeleteThere's an epidemic of cheaters. I saw 7 of 9 non-joggers today holding on to the treadmill.
ReplyDeleteThe sad fact of the matter is that the guy next to me was holding on and he didn't even have his treadmill set to any incline!