I’m pretty fanatical about running. It’s something I haven’t wanted to admit about myself, but when I look at the fact that I’ve been running every day for the past four or five years, I have to admit that somewhere in there, I became fanatical. I run outside, quite frankly because it’s free. However, because I’ve been living in Texas for about 15 years now, I’ve become fully acclimated to 110-degree summers and have no tolerance for cold weather. If it drops below 60 degrees I get goosebumps and become grumpy. I have a space heater in my room that I turn on and bake in front of for hours in the winter time. Sadly, however, I can’t bring my heater on my runs. Every winter, I have to overcome the obstacle of winter. This year I made my parents pull out their old TrimLine treadmill and give it to me so I could continue my daily runs in the cozy temperatures of my living room. Their treadmill is huge, loud, several years old, and took some getting used to in order to run comfortably on it. Based on how my treadmill runs feel, I knew there must be newer treadmill technology out there, so I went looking for it, and here is what I found.
There are several companies that offer top-of-the-line treadmills. I think they’re all similar, but there are some impressive features on the Smooth 9.35 HR Treadmill I found. One favorite is the motion sensor you can use to adjust the speed of your running with a wave of your hand. Now when you run at a brisk 9.5 MPH, you don’t have to awkwardly press buttons to adjust your run. Instead, you can just wave at the control panel.
Another way to control the speed of your run is with your heart rate. Yeah, that’s right. Treadmills can now decide what speed they think you need to go based on your target heart rate. Strap on a heart monitor, set your target heart rate, and then the treadmill controls the speed and incline of your run. All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other.
You can also create and program your favorite neighborhood run right into your treadmill. Set hill incline, distance of flat runs, and speed. You can even upload images or video of the very neighborhood run you’re replicating on your treadmill. Why go to all the trouble of running out side when you can take your outside run in with you? Who needs sunshine and fresh air?
In addition, much like the mattress you have on your bed, you can control how firm or soft your treadmill deck is. If you would rather run on something as hard as pavement, set the deck to be firm. If you would rather run through a grassy meadow, set the deck to have more cushion. There are several different types of cushioning systems. They were originally created to lessen the pressure that went to your joints from your foot hitting the solid deck of the treadmill. Some companies use springs or a swing arm that allows the entire deck to move up and down with the impact of your foot on the deck. Other more advanced methods use a combination of rubbers. A soft rubber in the front, or stride impact zone, a harder rubber on the push off zone, and a moderate rubber in the transition zone between the two.
Several manufacturers are compatible with iFit Live and allow you to track and log your progress on the treadmill. You can also download it to a thumb drive and upload it to your computer or other devices so you can keep your stats in as many places as you like.
However, my favorite discovery is the Hydro Worx underwater treadmill. Yes, you read that right, and it is as ridiculous looking as it sounds. It was created to remove all impact from your run, while allowing your body to maintain perfect form and get a sold cardio workout. Knowing how my body reacts to movement in water, I can’t imagine this actually working. Apparently it does though. There’s a video of a distance runner using it at a pretty decent speed. It doesn’t look like authentic running form to me, but he’s running nonetheless. The blue hairs love it as well. It allows them to walk for longer distances and kick their water aerobic routine up a notch.
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For now, given the price of a new treadmill, I’ll keep my runs on the huge TrimLine treadmill I got from my parents and maybe find something sleek and small that comes with one of those onboard entertainment systems that allows you to watch TV, a DVD, or listen to music while you run. But that’s far in the future. I have a hard time justifying spending the thousands of dollars on a treadmill when I can run outside for free.
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