Bad Treadmill Habits (page 2)
Information you don’t know about the treadmill
When the machine’s settings are high, the calorie display shows a very big number. But this reading is triggered by the program settings only. Don’t be fooled by the calorie readout. If you put your 8-pound puppy on the tread, you’d still see the same bright red number flashing on the console. Walking hands off burns 20 to 25 percent more calories for the same length of time.
Holding on deprives the spinal support muscles from working. It also eliminates workload from the muscles that stabilize the shoulder girdle. Fewer muscles worked means fewer calories burned. Large muscles burn the most calories; your legs and gluteal muscles should do all the work.
Different kinds of holding on; which one are you?
Front-bar tugging
Some people grip the front bar with bent arms, yanking their body forward with each feeble, unnatural step. Even if the yanking is subtle, placing your hands on the front bar (or any spot) eliminates walking’s weight-bearing benefits.
Side-rail gripping
Other people press their palms down against the side rails, lifting their bodies off the tread with each fake step, sometimes locking out their arms straight. This is walking? Their shoulders dip up and down with each step, legs wistfully going through mere motions, even if the machine is inclined.
Some people take heavy or exaggerated steps (people who do this are always men, it seems), arms bent, hands clamped to the side rails, body bobbing up and down like a buoy in the ocean.
They apparently believe that the exaggerated stepping and buoy-like motion are yielding a good, solid workout. They can exaggerate all they want, but it’s fruitless as long as they are holding on.
Body weight is subtracted from the tread when one “walks” this way. The minute the person steps off the machine, he or she must ambulate with full body weight. Holding on un-teaches the body how to move efficiently in real gravity.
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