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| February 2007 |
| Treadmill. . .to Hold On or Not to Hold On | |
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Some of these of these answers are true and real reasons why people to do use treadmill handrails, but what really is the most effective way to get the most for the little time we really spend exercising everyday. First of all, hands down it's my opinion, one the best pieces of cardiovascular equipment is the treadmill; however it really depends on how you use the treadmill. Now that we know the reasons why we hold on to treadmill handrails let me give you just a couple reasons why not to hold on to see if I can possibly change your mind why not to hold on. Balance Holding on to the rails might be a little safer while using the treadmill, but actually you are taking away one of the most important training affects of treadmill exercise. Balance is a big part of using the treadmill, however by holding on, you take away this very important element of fitness. If you could pick one of the most important aspects of fitness to help your quality of life, balance would rank pretty high. Without balance and stability we would always be falling down and injuring ourselves. Caloric Expenditure How many of you like to burn the most calories possible in the shortest amount of time? I imagine everyone would answer yes please tell me how. By not holding you have to balance, when you create a situation where you have to balance you force yourself to use a lot of muscles. In fact just by creating a situation where you rely more on balance incorporates the use of your core muscles or the entire trunk. Basically this means you are involving the use of more muscles, the more muscles you use the more calories you will burn, the more calories you burn the more weight or inches potentially you can loose. Stride Length The treadmill offers a user defined range of motion instead of the machine defining the range of motion. What this means is most every other cardiovascular machine has a restriction on how long or short your legs can lengthen or shorten during the machine use. It's much more beneficial to be able to walk, climb, jog, or run with your appropriate stride. Any thing less or more would or could cause muscle imbalances. Treadmill challenge Where a heart-rate monitor and track your heart rate during a walk while HOLDING ON to the treadmill rails. Record your heart rate every 2-3 minutes for 20 minutes. Make sure you write down the speed and elevation which you used during this cardio session. On a different day complete another 20 minute walk at the same speed and elevation, however this time DO NOT hold on to the rails. Record your heart rate again every 2-3 minutes. Compare the two cardio sessions seeing which session created a higher heart rate average. Take the treadmill challenge, I dare you. Jeff Biehl, Fitness Director Memorial Athletic Club |
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