Treadmills are the easiest and safest of all fitness equipments or so you thought. They did bring a completely new dimension to exercising, true, but when the cons outweigh the pros you are left wondering about the worth of highly mechanized methods of fitness maintenance. As treadmills take on the role of personal trainer for more and more people it is important to have a clear idea of the dangers that these machines can cause.
Indoors vs. Outdoors: Exercising on treadmills and exercising outdoors might seem similar at a superficial glance. However the results are quite different. For one, running outdoors requires more energy than running on a treadmill since the latter does not involve any weather, temperature or terrain changes. Moreover treadmill calorie counters are often found to overestimate the amount of energy spent making it an unreliable personal trainer. Lack of terrain variety and unchallenging running conditions are also deterrents to a sustained interest and concentration in the activity. Similarly, it is seen that depending on a treadmill to prepare for outdoor running can be a very bad choice indeed.
Physical dangers: The body has to make certain changes in gait in order to balance itself while moving on the treadmill. These changes, unnatural and unhealthy, can cause damage to your back as well as the neck and shoulders. The stress on the body also results in conditions like softening of the cartilage, inflammation of the tendon and calcium loss. While the conveyor belt can be regulated most people would tend to continue at a fixed pace and this can be very harmful for people with cardiovascular problems. It is also a tendency among treadmill users to start exercising without warming the body and abruptly end the exercise instead of gradually slowing it down. Both can be extremely harmful to the body. Your neuromuscular system derives zero benefits from using the even surface of the conveyor belt and if used in a room with improper ventilation conditions, a treadmill can prove to be quite harmful in the long term.
Falls, Space and Children: Treadmill falls can also be fatal. While all consumers have the choice of using the emergency stop key, not everybody chooses to exercise it. Treadmill friction injuries can vary from the mild to life threatening depending on the speed of the conveyor belt and the position of the fall. Treadmills are a serious risk to life when children are around. The death of Mike Tyson's daughter Exodus in a freak treadmill accident was an eye-opener to the dangers involved in using treadmills at home where they are accessible to children. On a practical note, treadmills swallow huge chunks of domestic space.
Cost and maintenance: These machines are quite costly and often fail to live up to the expectations of consumers. Maintenance and transport of these equipments are also costly affairs. In most instances of machine damage professional help will be required.
To conclude, treadmills might seem to be more convenient than personal trainers but in reality, they are ineffective and can cause more harm than good. No treadmill can beat the advantages of outdoor running and walking. Besides they are so much more fun!
