Treadmill for the Elderly (page 2)
Real-life cases
Even people with hip replacements need to keep their hands off the machine. That new hip must learn how to become an integral part of your body’s natural walking mechanism. Hence, you must walk the way you would in real life: no holding on! This is true hip replacement recovery. Wherever you walk in your daily living, you aren’t holding onto anything. You can’t prepare your hip for reality by clinging to the machine.
I once told a woman in her 60s — who’d been holding on for years — to let go. She complied and became taller and straighter. Within five minutes, she was walking like a soldier, even using an incline. She never reverted to holding on ever again. I’ve instructed numerous people 60-plus to let go. In every case, their gait improved. Not one of them ever teetered or lost balance.
One of my clients was 65 years old, weighed 220, had aching knees, a stiff gait, and her legs were slightly bowed. During her first session, she held on. I told her to let go.
I never say, “Hold on if you feel wobbly!” To do so would taint the person’s confidence. Of course you’ll feel unsteady if you release your hands, since you’re so used to holding on. But holding on de-stimulates your neuromuscular system. Hands-on creates a maintenance state for your body, never a progressive state in which it gets better and better.
The minute you hold on, your body recognizes this as something that’s pretty easy. But when you let go and make your legs, hips and core muscles work, your body detects a true challenge. It responds by becoming stronger!
Several months later, my client’s stride was as smooth as a teenager’s, and her legs were no longer bowed. Her knees lost their achiness, and she went on hikes with younger people. This would have never happened had I been a “nice” trainer and patronized her with, “Now be sure to hold on for balance.”
So how, then, do you transition from holding on to letting go? By making the decision to. The 60-plus men and women I’ve worked with were able to do it immediately at either a slower pace, or — believe it or not — the same pace they were hanging on at! Do not underestimate yourself.
Holding on never simulates actual walking. Additionally, holding on with one hand is still cheating, creating unequal stresses to the body — even if you alternate hands. As mentioned before, even “resting” your hands on the machine compromises efficacy. Besides, the moment the speed or incline is increased, those resting hands will tighten.
More dangers of holding on for senior walkers
• Ruins posture. Hanging on skewers spinal alignment and causes crooked, or hunched forward posture, especially in tall people.
• Makes you a less efficient walker. Holding on makes you unlearn how to walk efficiently on uneven surfaces, since holding on relieves your body of having to do any balance.
• Raises blood pressure. This is the last thing a senior walker needs.
• Will not improve your motion in the real world. Holding on makes walking so easy, that your body will not advance.
• Will not promote fat loss because holding on burns 20 to 25 percent fewer calories than letting go at the same speed. The calorie reading on the machine is automatically triggered by the settings, not the person on the tread.
• See Bad Treadmill Habits for a more in-depth explanation of the pitfalls of holding on, and the virtues of walking hands off.
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