Exercise And Treadmills ??

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Like a lot of people, I don't get the proper amount of exercise. So I went out and bought a treadmill. It's hard to keep up the routine, but when I told my doctor about it, he praised my efforts and told me to keep it up. Then I noticed something. Why is it on every treadmill you see at a doctors office, clinic, or hospital, right next to every one of them is a set of those defibrillator shock paddles? All ready to go. That sure doesn't give me much confidence to climb aboard one.

It reminded me of when my dad was alive, and I would go down to Texas to visit him. Most every town in Texas has some type of a rodeo going on every weekend. At some of them you can even buy a ticket to ride a bull. Then, when you go down to the chute they put the bull in for you to climb on, right next to it they've got 2 ambulances parked, with 5 or 6 Paramedics standing around. And they wonder why they don't sell many tickets.
 
In 2015, I started a massive weight loss initiative on a treadmill at Planet Fitness, but it became incredibly boring, so I moved outdoors. One thing I can say about treadmills is to be careful with the starts/stops, but also remain alert. In the beginning, I was not in good shape at all, I would catch myself day dreaming (the routine is depressingly boring) and more than once it nearly kicked me off like your proverbial "bucking bull" example. The gym commented to me at one point that they have had more injuries (all minor) on treadmills than any other exercise equipment in the gym.

Set some reasonable goals and expectations and you will succeed. Wishing you all the best on your quest.
 
I think if you're getting up there in years and/or really out of shape, it's good to talk to your doctor before starting something like a running program. My dad thought that exercise was a bunch of hooey but kept active enough until he retired in his mid 70s, at which point he relaxed a bit too much and then told me his legs were feeling weak. He wanted to start some mild exercise so I bought him a recumbent stationary bike that he really liked. Dad wouldn't go to the doctor unless he was nearly disabled, so he just started using it at a pace he liked. After a few months, he had a stroke while on the bike and kind of went into denial and refused to let my sister help him...she finally called me and I called 911 two seconds after seeing him, my sister didn't have the strength of will to go against his demands that we not get him help.

I am on my third treadmill and it is boring as heck, I have an old TV set up in front of it and watch DVDs that have a lot of action so I don't have to worry about blasting the sound to hear dialogue (one of my favorite scenes to watch is the car/train chase from "The French Connection", helps get me worked up and concentrating less on my discomfort). I was planning to buy an elliptical after our second treadmill went belly up and was trying them out at my gym over lunchtimes when I found that my back was getting really sore and cranky. I decided to switch back to a treadmill at the gym and my back cleared up immediately...guess the jostling of running was good for it. I thought the elliptical would give my knees a break, but I wasn't willing to trade a tight back for making them less cranky.
Our first treadmill was intended for my wife's use (basically walking) and I decided to try it just for fun. I was biking a lot with coworkers at the time but still didn't have a lot of confidence in being able to run long distances, so I started off mostly walking with maybe a mile of running per session. I thought that seemed pretty doable and slowly stretched out the running times until I was only walking as a cooldown. The lunch biking crew decided to run one day when a new coworker was bragging about his distance prowess and then he was infuriated by the fact that I beat him in a 4 mile run as a novice...he didn't talk to me for a few days (fine by me).
Running outside is a lot more interesting than a treadmill and I think it's a bit harder (meaning better exercise), but I like using my treadmill at times I like (usually around 9:30 at night) without having to worry about the weather or dressing up in reflective clothes. The fact that nobody sees my running shoes also means that I can buy really stupid looking shoes on clearance at the Nike outlet with no worries...well, except that I usually run 1-3 5ks per year and use an old pair of treadmill shoes for those, and I usually get a couple of wise guy comments about my "stylish" kicks.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Why is it on every treadmill you see at a doctors office, clinic, or hospital, right next to every one of them is a set of those defibrillator shock paddles?


Because they don't want to be dealing with an ambulance chaser like Gloria Allred.

I started on one of these programs about two years ago. Its made a big difference. I do 3 to 6 days a week. BP is down, heart rate is down and I sleep a lot better. Went from 192 lbs. to 158 lbs. and now holding.

I do some light weights two to three days a week. But no heavy lifting.
 
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Originally Posted By: Donald
There are other ways to exercise than a treadmill.


Yes but in the winter with the rain and the snow its a great way to keep in your program of physical fitness.
 
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
The defibrillator is next to the treadmill in the patient exam room because the facility is setup for a stress test.


^^This^^

To the OP: Good for you for taking initiative with your health. Stationary equipment like treadmills can get boring fast so I like to set my phone in front of me and watch Youtube videos or something to make the time pass. You forget you're exercising and before you know it, you're done.
 
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted By: Donald
There are other ways to exercise than a treadmill.


Yes but in the winter with the rain and the snow its a great way to keep in your program of physical fitness.


The OP lives in Phoenix...

Keep after it Bill, it takes commitment and a change in attitude. Once it's a habit and you're seeing some results you want to get out. Bonus, it will probably help your shooting!


Research shows that 99.9% of home treadmills end up as clothes hangers.
crazy.gif
 
When I got diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and my doctor told me I could probably control it through weight loss I bought a treadmill (used) and I might have used it 20 times and then got board with it and found I kept putting off using it. Then I bought a card that gives me access to the local pool near my house run by the city. That membership fee forces me to use it and I force my self to walk to/from the pool which is about 1/2 a kilometer away. I have lost almost 80lbs to date and I find the pool is easier on my bad back because you are essentially weightless in it. Just FWIW.
 
Arizona has some decent weather. Why not bike? I'm a casual (2X) per week biker for the past 15 yrs. as I could no longer expose my joints to all the pounding from running. And you need something low impact for cardio (bike, swim, hike, walk hills, yoga, pilates, etc.). I like the breeze in my face when biking. A stationary bike is just brutal for me, sweating uncomfortably. But, it sure is safer than avoiding cars and road debris. I might be able to do stationary bike/tread mill with a fan blowing on me.

Used a running treadmill on submarine deployments back in the 1980's. Too many times I was caught on the treadmill when coming up to periscope depth or changing depths. Try staying on one when the ship is rocking side to side...or changes its angle (bubble) to up or down. I was tossed off the thing a number of times. These days I walk on days that I'm not biking.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Like a lot of people, I don't get the proper amount of exercise. So I went out and bought a treadmill. It's hard to keep up the routine, but when I told my doctor about it, he praised my efforts and told me to keep it up. Then I noticed something. Why is it on every treadmill you see at a doctors office, clinic, or hospital, right next to every one of them is a set of those defibrillator shock paddles? All ready to go. That sure doesn't give me much confidence to climb aboard one.

It reminded me of when my dad was alive, and I would go down to Texas to visit him. Most every town in Texas has some type of a rodeo going on every weekend. At some of them you can even buy a ticket to ride a bull. Then, when you go down to the chute they put the bull in for you to climb on, right next to it they've got 2 ambulances parked, with 5 or 6 Paramedics standing around. And they wonder why they don't sell many tickets.


You probably have seen the treadmills for a stress test. It's there to push the heart, and sometimes people get a heart attack because of it, and sometimes they die.
 
Anybody at anytime can have a heart attack. Of course, when exercising the risk can go up. Treadmills are no more a cause of heart attacks than any other physical activity.

I used to have a quality one. I enjoyed using it instead of running in the winter. The neighborhood I lived in wasn't that noice to run in either, so it made for a more pleasant run. I would watch TV or look out into my backyard while I exercised. It worked great....as did my Lifecycle. To get a good, quality treadmill, I'd expect to pay over $1500.
 
Perfect time of year in Phoenix to just walk out of your front door and walk around the neighborhood. It's really all the exercise you need.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Perfect time of year in Phoenix to just walk out of your front door and walk around the neighborhood. It's really all the exercise you need.


Unless it's in the summer....during a long hot stretch. Been there....not safe to walk much in 115 degree heat during the day.
 
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Anybody at anytime can have a heart attack. Of course, when exercising the risk can go up. Treadmills are no more a cause of heart attacks than any other physical activity.

I used to have a quality one. I enjoyed using it instead of running in the winter. The neighborhood I lived in wasn't that noice to run in either, so it made for a more pleasant run. I would watch TV or look out into my backyard while I exercised. It worked great....as did my Lifecycle. To get a good, quality treadmill, I'd expect to pay over $1500.


The answer was above, those treadmills in doctor's offices are for stress tests and anytime you push the heart, you could have a heart attack so they have to have the equipment nearby.

As for falling off the treadmill, I've seen it happen a few times at the gym, people just slide right off. Make sure there's room behind the treadmill. Typically what happens is that if you look to the left or right, it throws off your balance. Look straight ahead when running on it.

As for buying them, the best deals are probably on craigslist. I know my gym treadmills (Life fitness, Cybex, Star Trac, Precor, True, etc) so you can typically find a gym quality treadmill for around $1000-1500 when they went for $4000-$7000 when new. The ones you can buy new for $1500 are flimsy when compared to a gym treadmill. Usually the gym ones have wider and longer decks, if they're 220 volts, the motors last longer too.
 
I like the treadmill; I usually go 35 minutes at 4 mph or more. I try to do that 4 days per week. I don't find it boring as I use the time to catch up on reading the 8 car magazines I subscribe to...
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted By: Donald
There are other ways to exercise than a treadmill.


Yes but in the winter with the rain and the snow its a great way to keep in your program of physical fitness.


The OP lives in Phoenix...

Keep after it Bill, it takes commitment and a change in attitude. Once it's a habit and you're seeing some results you want to get out. Bonus, it will probably help your shooting!


Research shows that 99.9% of home treadmills end up as clothes hangers.
crazy.gif



Well that's good who's going out running in the dark or in the summer when its 117 degrees?

Bonus it will help your shooting.
 
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