How to use a Treadmill
When embarking on a trip to one of your local gyms or health clubs, you may feel daunted by the modern exercise equipment donning the floor space of fitness clubs. The main piece of machinery you will find is the treadmill. This handy guide will give you tips on the do’s and don’ts of using the running machine and how to get the most out of it, without injuring yourself.
First things first, make sure you attach the emergency cut-off lead to your top, if it is not highlighted it will look like a red button on a piece of string. This is an important bit of the equipment, as even the more seasoned of gym goers occasionally stumble on the treadmill and with the cord attached, should you stumble or fall, it will pull the cord and the machine will stop, this saves you from being injured and avoids the red face factor.
You also need to make sure you don’t hang you towel on the handle bars, as if this drops off you could fall over it, resulting in an injury.
One of the key areas is to make sure you set the treadmill at a minimum incline of about 2%, if left flat you’ll find yourself running unnaturally and doing a slight bobbing motion. With the incline it will mimic outdoor running on pavements, which will make it easier for you if you can’t make it to a health club to run on the pavement.
As you start to run on the treadmill avoid holding onto the handlebars as you won’t be running naturally in this position and you’ll actually be making your body run harder, not only that it will impact on the readings given by the heart rate monitor. However, by all means use the handlebars as you cool down, this way you’ll be able to assess how long it takes to get to a comfortable heart rate. The quicker this normalises the fitter you are getting.
Don’t worry about what other people are doing, all you need to do is concentrate on what you are doing, sometimes if you are very new to running on treadmills, moving your focus elsewhere can lead to a feeling of imbalance, which could result in a fall. Keep your eyes set on an area this will help your balance remain in tact. Also if your treadmill has a built in fan, then use it, it will make your run more comfortable and this in turn should lead to you being able to train for longer.
These are the basics of using a running machine, as you get used to this piece of equipment you will find that it won’t be long before you will be increasing your distance, speed and resistance time. Going to the gyms will be more rewarding.
Written by Steve Regis who is an experienced personal trainer and has worked with many clients over the years, he is an avid writer about health and visits his gym in Bristol and can be found working in local fitness clubs. He likes to focus on motivating people in their fitness goals and aims to inspire people to want to feel great.
Processing your request, Please wait....
