The Tread Climber
It’s just unbelievable. Every doggone user of the tread climber holds on. This includes 20-something men, one right after another. I belong to two chain health clubs. Two of those clubs have four tread climbers each, so I’ve had ample opportunity to observe.
The tread climber does NOT attract senior citizens or very heavy people. Most users are not what you would call “fat” or “blubbery.” Many are in their 20s and 30s. They all hold on. Every once in a blue moon I see someone not holding on, like the woman undergoing chemotherapy (the bandana and bald head are a tip-off) who walks on it without holding on – because her smart personal trainer has instructed her to do so.
The infomercials for this machine used to show the model always holding on. The revised infomercials now show models swinging their arms in half the shots. I have witnessed people leaning as far back as possible, rigid as a board, arms straight as wooden planks, tugging as their legs go through wistful motions. They believe they are simulating a climbing action. Nothing of the sort is happening.
I have seen very tall men with their hands pressed down on the sides, body hunched way over. Many young men will take exaggerated steps, thinking they are amplifying the climbing effect, all while they cling on. Go figure.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If you feel you will fall off without holding on, SLOW DOWN! The tread climber “treadles” will bobble up and down as slow as 1.6 mph! How can you lose your balance at such a slow speed? Start out here. Then gradually increase speed as you acclimate. Do not become dependent on those rails just because they are there.
The tread climber simulates walking up a sand dune, forest bed or snowy trail, but only if you keep your hands off the machine. As in the treadmill, if you hold onto the tread climber, you are NOT training your body to handle inclined movement. In the natural world, there is nothing to hang onto, and this forces so many muscles to work.
When you hold onto the tread climber, you cheat these muscles from their job. Never mind that the infomercials show buff people holding on. These are paid models and actors hired to perform according to instructions.
Let go at a slow speed and you will immediately feel many more muscles and body parts working. If you tire very quickly, SLOW DOWN. It’s a crying shame that young men and women (and any age, for that matter) hold onto this amazing machine, never reaping its benefits.
I’ve seen some of these cheaters doing barbell squats or playing basketball. Come on, I don’t believe for a second that they, and all the other reams of younger adults who use this machine, have balance disorders.
That cancer patient appears to be in her 50s, by the way. So what’s YOUR excuse for holding onto the tread climber? It just doesn’t make sense. You cannot mimic hill climbing when you hold on. And don’t think that it’s okay to hold on after wearing yourself out on the basketball court or with weightlifting routines. What if in real life, you are worn out, yet you must still continue performing? Will clinging to a machine prepare you?
Your time is valuable. You are wasting it when holding onto the tread climber. If all you want to do is warm down on this machine after a weight workout, you should still do it right: Hands off! If it’s too difficult, then…S L O W the speed.