View Full Version : Treadmills. Anybody use them?
Since I was diagnosed with diabetes earlier this year, I have taken up running.
I have now progressed to running between 3km and 5km a day, depending on what time I have available.
The problem is that it is getting dark early, and running on the roads in the local area is dangerous, as they are not all lit at night.
So, I am looking for a treadmill. Thoughts at the moment are the Nordic Track Commercial 1750. Does anybody here have any experience with this type of fitness machine?
not me tho i did when younger; nowadays i might get called homer
https://media.tenor.com/P6d2f8PcCg8AAAAd/simpsons-homer-simpson.gif
I have used treadmills in gyms on and off for many years (decades). I rejoined a gym in the last month, after a nearly 4 year break, to use the treadmills rather than run in the dark before work. I've never had a problem with running on them and find I can get into a rhythm and switch off mentally, I would typically do 6 miles but in years gone by done more. A number of people however have told me they don't like them and find them too boring. My wife will use one grudgingly on holiday but tends to keep her runs shorter than if on road. I don't think they are for everyone and ideally you would try one before buying but that may not be possible.
A tv in front of the treadmill should help with boredom. my gym is a cheap gym with no tvs but I have previously used ones with tv's and it is more bearable, I'm too much of a skinflint to pay premium gym fees these days. I wish the gym was cooler and I sweat much more in the gym than on road so I would recommend you locate it somewhere cool.
I've not used the treadmill you mention but it gets good reviews (t3.com) so should be a good machine. The top speed is way faster than I've ever been able to run.
Thanks for the feedback.
I know that some people find training on treadmills boring. This is where I am hoping iFIT will come in handy, giving me virtual runs to do.
There must be a market for a giant hamster wheel type thing that generates electricity while you run.
or just mechanically turns a clothes dryer or something useful. The Romans did a lot of that sort of thing. Nowadays we just waste the energy we produce by exercising.
Lawrence001
26-11-2023, 11:01
I'm surprised the Chinese haven't set up huge factories with Uigers all running in hamster wheels, they could replace all these coal fired power stations they keep building and reduce their carbon emissions.
I'm assuming that banks of humans running in wheels produces less carbon/methane emissions than coal but that might not be true if you think of all the meat they have to eat to keep fit on top of the CO2 from the exercise they are doing.
On reflection maybe solar panels are better, the Chinese seem to have a glut of those.
I'm surprised the Chinese haven't set up huge factories with Uigers all running in hamster wheels, .
we don't know they haven't, it's a big country and a lot of it is off limits.
Saw a show the other week where they were down a Roman mine and they had big hamster wheels to pump the water out.
Powered by slaves. Once they got them down there they didn't come back out. They estimated life expectancy as three months.
Lawrence001
26-11-2023, 11:33
we don't know they haven't, it's a big country and a lot of it is off limits.
Saw a show the other week where they were down a Roman mine and they had big hamster wheels to pump the water out.
Powered by slaves. Once they got them down there they didn't come back out. They estimated life expectancy as three months.
I thought that sort of thing only happened in films like Conan the Barbarian. Mind you everyone had galley slaves back then so it's probably not much worse. Apart from being permanently underground in the dark that is.
Mikeandvan
26-11-2023, 13:03
I think you need a really solidly built one for them to be any good, need some spare room too I guess in your home. Must be quite expensive, personally only going to the gym motivates me to exercise.
Lawrence001
26-11-2023, 14:33
And I'd only use it on a concrete floor or garage or the whole house will shake!
The space has already been found for it, on a concrete floor, well away from the bedrooms, so I can use it when I like.
Mikeandvan
26-11-2023, 18:28
I personally use to like using them in the gym, great cardio if you run fast enough, I go swimming now though to lessen impact on my back.
I swim in the summer. This is for winter.
The plan is to use the treadmill and bike trainer while it is dark and cold.
I can't imagine France as dark and cold, been there a lot of times but always in high summer.
It does get cold here, which is good for skiing.
Pigmy Pony
26-11-2023, 20:31
I'm surprised the Chinese haven't set up huge factories with Uigers all running in hamster wheels, they could replace all these coal fired power stations they keep building and reduce their carbon emissions.
I'm assuming that banks of humans running in wheels produces less carbon/methane emissions than coal but that might not be true if you think of all the meat they have to eat to keep fit on top of the CO2 from the exercise they are doing.
On reflection maybe solar panels are better, the Chinese seem to have a glut of those.
Don't know about that, i can produce methane just bending down :( But I do feel that not harvesting the energy expended at gyms up and down the country is an opportunity wasted. At the very least I'm sure it would be enough to heat the swimming pool and sauna. I fact I think the gyms should be paying their members :)
Skiing - way too active for me!
Don't know about that, i can produce methane just bending down :( But I do feel that not harvesting the energy expended at gyms up and down the country is an opportunity wasted. At the very least I'm sure it would be enough to heat the swimming pool and sauna. I fact I think the gyms should be paying their members :)
schools have PE and games so there's energy that could be harvested. In fact you could have them all on treadmills during the other lessons too.
Pigmy Pony
27-11-2023, 22:07
The space has already been found for it, on a concrete floor, well away from the bedrooms, so I can use it when I like.
Or just pretend to use it and no one will be any the wiser :D
Pigmy Pony
27-11-2023, 22:16
schools have PE and games so there's energy that could be harvested. In fact you could have them all on treadmills during the other lessons too.
Should be on the curriculum anyway, can only be a good thing. When I was at school fat kids were something of a rarity.
I bet your parents did not feed you fast food and ready meals?
I bet your parents did not feed you fast food and ready meals?
dont remember them coming out until long after i left school. not that my mum would have bought them anyway. probably expensive and not a patch on homemade. they have improved tho.
I bet your parents did not feed you fast food and ready meals?
Wimpy twice a year, my birthday and my brothers' birthday (they're twins).
KFC once a year - stop off on the way back from holiday.
Ready meals weren't invented unless you count a can of beans.
Exactly. I am not sure that the same parenting standards are maintained for all of the new generation. Higher sugar intake in breakfast cereals etc. also has a lot to answer for. Also not forgetting when we were younger, we used to go outside to play, not sit in front of a games console.
The last time I bought my daughter a “Mickey D’s” was three years ago on the way to our holiday, as all of the restaurants in the area were full where we decided to stop for lunch. It really was the last choice. I am sure she would like more, but I prefer to make her the burgers using fresh local produce. She has never eaten a ready meal.
Exactly. I am not sure that the same parenting standards are maintained for all of the new generation. Higher sugar intake in breakfast cereals etc. also has a lot to answer for. Also not forgetting when we were younger, we used to go outside to play, not sit in front of a games console.
The last time I bought my daughter a “Mickey D’s” was three years ago on the way to our holiday, as all of the restaurants in the area were full where we decided to stop for lunch. It really was the last choice. I am sure she would like more, but I prefer to make her the burgers using fresh local produce. She has never eaten a ready meal.
Good for you. Astonishes me how much Maccy D people I know's children consume - I mean multiple times a week and they don't bat an eyelid. Although in fairness they do seem to do a lot of organised sports stuff at weekends and evenings, in the summer at least. So maybe they do burn it off.
In our case it was more lack of money I think rather than our parents being concerned about health issues. But the result is the same.
Plus as you say lots of time spent running about outside since there was nothing better to do. After all there wasn't even any telly in the daytime back then unless you count 'Take The High Road' and the like.
My daughter is pretty active with sports at the weekend, and during the week.
France seems better set up for sports than when I was growing up in the U.K. There seems to be more facilities in the smaller villages.
Good for you. Astonishes me how much Maccy D people I know's children consume - I mean multiple times a week and they don't bat an eyelid. Although in fairness they do seem to do a lot of organised sports stuff at weekends and evenings, in the summer at least. So maybe they do burn it off.
In our case it was more lack of money I think rather than our parents being concerned about health issues. But the result is the same.
Plus as you say lots of time spent running about outside since there was nothing better to do. After all there wasn't even any telly in the daytime back then unless you count 'Take The High Road' and the like.
whats maccy d?
Lawrence001
28-11-2023, 18:00
McDonald's! I take my kids there most Saturdays in the afternoon, they like it and it's good value for them to eat. They'll need something else in the evening though if they just have a happy meal.
The problem is that the bread in the burgers is loaded with sugar (compared to normal burger bread).
McDonald's! I take my kids there most Saturdays in the afternoon, they like it and it's good value for them to eat. They'll need something else in the evening though if they just have a happy meal.
ah, ok... yes they are fairly good value, or were. dont think it does kids much harm at once a week tops. my grandson got a pt job in local one for a short while but got a better one at tesco. he is still at school but is a big lad for 16
https://news.sky.com/story/shocking-rise-in-sugar-and-salt-in-mcdonalds-burgers-in-last-30-years-11287119#:~:text=The%20burgers%20had%202.6%20gramm es,worldwide%20and%201.8%20million%20employees.
The problem is that the bread in the burgers is loaded with sugar (compared to normal burger bread).
well apart from rumours to contrary, there is one teaspoon of sugar(4gm) per bum, which helps with colour as much as anything.... or so im told:eyebrows:
Pigmy Pony
28-11-2023, 18:27
I bet your parents did not feed you fast food and ready meals?
Absolutely not, multipacks of crisps and pop were never a part of the weekly shop. The closest we got was a chippy tea of a Friday which was sometimes accompanied by a bottle of Tizer.
well apart from rumours to contrary, there is one teaspoon of sugar(4gm) per bun, which helps with colour as much as anything.... or so im told:eyebrows:
A cheeseburger has 7g.
Most of that is in the bread, and is way more than I would use in baking a loaf of bread.
Pigmy Pony
28-11-2023, 18:37
My daughter is pretty active with sports at the weekend, and during the week.
France seems better set up for sports than when I was growing up in the U.K. There seems to be more facilities in the smaller villages.
Facilities? Pah! We had to make our own facilities! And no Maccy D for us, the best we could manage was to suck on a piece of damp cloth
A cheeseburger has 7g.
Most of that is in the bread, and is way more than I would use in baking a loaf of bread.
we usually got a stick of rhubarb and an eggcup of sugar for a cheap snack. tbh there was nowhere to buy snacks so no one missed them. whether we have advanced or regressed depends on your outlook i guess. but even my kids got the rhubarb stick
Facilities? Pah! We had to make our own facilities! And no Maccy D for us, the best we could manage was to suck on a piece of damp cloth
Damp cloth? Luxury.
We never even had a cloth.
Damp cloth? Luxury.
We never even had a cloth.
... and if you wanted damp, you had to provide your own :eek:
Absolutely not, multipacks of crisps and pop were never a part of the weekly shop. The closest we got was a chippy tea of a Friday which was sometimes accompanied by a bottle of Tizer.
we only got chippy tea when my mother was too busy to cook - only time we got a decent meal, except for Sunday dinner.
She didn't eat much and assumed no-one else did either so the portions weren't large. In the summer it would be salad - 'It's too warm for a hot meal' - but of course we'd have been out playing footy for six hours so a few bits of lettuce and slice of ham wouldn't even touch the sides.
Mikeandvan
28-11-2023, 20:29
Wimpy twice a year, my birthday and my brothers' birthday (they're twins).
KFC once a year - stop off on the way back from holiday.
Ready meals weren't invented unless you count a can of beans.
What? Never had curry in a can? Fray bentos pie in a can (a rather flattish can), or steamed pudding, yes in a can.
What? Never had curry in a can? Fray bentos pie in a can (a rather flattish can), or steamed pudding, yes in a can.
had a Fray Bentos pie in a can one time. Like dog food in pastry. Think I was in my thirties at the time though.
we never had canned food as children except for soup or beans.
I thought they were meat based? :lol:
I thought they were meat based? :lol:
meat debased is closer:eyebrows:
Since I was diagnosed with diabetes earlier this year, I have taken up running.
I have now progressed to running between 3km and 5km a day, depending on what time I have available.
The problem is that it is getting dark early, and running on the roads in the local area is dangerous, as they are not all lit at night.
So, I am looking for a treadmill. Thoughts at the moment are the Nordic Track Commercial 1750. Does anybody here have any experience with this type of fitness machine?
That Nordic 1750 looks like a serious machine.
Bought a much cheaper machine a few years ago.
Didn't get that much use.
My BMI had crept up to severely obese, with the threat of diabetes.
Started using the treadmill (found I wasn't over the weight limit).
As well as walking.
And some intermittent fasting.
With good results over two years.
As I got lighter, have added a few challenges to my exercise
Being spring, it was easier to intersperse the treadmill with some grass/trail walks.
Wearing a 10kg weight vest.
Using the incline function on the treadmill.
Some brief running - started with 450m, and 1.05km recovery for three sets after a 2.5km warmup.
HiiT in the pool with an aquajogging belt.
Have got to the point where I can run 5km 1-2 times a week.
dave2010
03-12-2023, 10:46
I tried a treadmill once in a gym on a cruise ship. Quite funny, but potentially hazardous. Get the pace wrong, or hit the wrong button, and one may get ejected backwards!
That already happened to me in a brain fade moment. I stopped to take my shirt off, and gracefully slid off the end. The safety key did it’s job and stopped the treadmill before disaster struck.
As I got lighter, have added a few challenges to my exercise
Being spring, it was easier to intersperse the treadmill with some grass/trail walks.
Wearing a 10kg weight vest.
Using the incline function on the treadmill.
Some brief running - started with 450m, and 1.05km recovery for three sets after a 2.5km warmup.
HiiT in the pool with an aquajogging belt.
Have got to the point where I can run 5km 1-2 times a week.
The treadmill is for winter running. It is cold and dark here when I get home from work.
I am hoping the 1750 is a reliable machine. For the price, it should be.
Ever since my rugby playing days, my BMI has been higher than normal, at overweight. Before I lost 10kg recently, it was slowly heading towards obese. Now I am about the same weight as I was in my early twenties, with a BMI of about 27. I need to lose another 6kg if I am going to get a “healthy” BMI score.
The treadmill is for winter running. It is cold and dark here when I get home from work.
I am hoping the 1750 is a reliable machine. For the price, it should be.
Ever since my rugby playing days, my BMI has been higher than normal, at overweight. Before I lost 10kg recently, it was slowly heading towards obese. Now I am about the same weight as I was in my early twenties, with a BMI of about 27. I need to lose another 6kg if I am going to get a “healthy” BMI score.
My BMI is 22.6. Is that good, or is it too low?
My BMI is 22.6. Is that good, or is it too low?
pretty good barry..
Pigmy Pony
04-12-2023, 18:44
My BMI is 22.6. Is that good, or is it too low?
Yes that's just about perfect, right in the middle of the 'healthy' zone. Mine is 28.9, which is at the top end of 'fat bastard' zone :(
Yes that's just about perfect, right in the middle of the 'healthy' zone. Mine is 28.9, which is at the top end of 'fat bastard' zone :(
no thats the bottom end... im likely the top end and probably into the hundreds :eek: its all bull; thats my theory
I'm 17.6 so according to their chart I need to gain 11 pounds.
Best open another can of Pringles then.
BMI is a crude measure, it doesn't indicate how the body mass is distributed.
Lawrence001
04-12-2023, 21:53
There was some story in the Mail about a family who got a letter saying their son was obese because of his BMI and telling them to put him on a diet. I can't remember if he was very tall (I assume not as I think height is a factor) or a muscly rugby player but he was quite lean and clearly not obese at all.
Pigmy Pony
04-12-2023, 22:03
I'm 17.6 so according to their chart I need to gain 11 pounds.
Best open another can of Pringles then.
And wash it down with a 4-pack of Guinness. Twice daily.
There was some story in the Mail about a family who got a letter saying their son was obese because of his BMI and telling them to put him on a diet. I can't remember if he was very tall (I assume not as I think height is a factor) or a muscly rugby player but he was quite lean and clearly not obese at all.
I wouldn't believe anything that's written in The Mail. :doh:
Pigmy Pony
04-12-2023, 22:30
no thats the bottom end... im likely the top end and probably into the hundreds :eek: its all bull; thats my theory
As Barry says, BMI is indeed a rather blunt tool, and only has any value with folk with an 'average' body type (ectomorphs and endomorphs needn't apply).
When we were asked to do some case studies on a sports therapy course way back when, one of my subjects was a work colleague. He was 6'1" and 12 st. Which is nice, except he had bugger all muscle mass and a very rotund torso. If you can picture a potato with four pencils sticking out of it you get the picture. One of my other subjects was one of the tutors, who was also a competitive bodybuilder, looked like a short Schwarzenegger with not an ounce of fat. But his BMI was firmly in the 'obese' category.
Too much is made of what we should look like. My thoughts are that if you feel ok and you're not losing blood from orifices you're probably ok.
Lawrence001
04-12-2023, 22:35
and you're not losing blood from orifices you're probably ok.
Oh maybe I'd better see my GP.
Lawrence001
04-12-2023, 22:38
I wouldn't believe anything that's written in The Mail. :doh:Some of it is BS but the Guardian and Independent are just as bad if not worse now. The FT is getting really left wing too. I can't imagine many City types read it. Not the old style barrow boy traders anyway, if there are any left.
As Barry says, BMI is indeed a rather blunt tool, and only has any value with folk with an 'average' body type (ectomorphs and endomorphs needn't apply).
Too much is made of what we should look like.
Had to look those terms up - I'm definitely an endomorph.
Pigmy Pony
04-12-2023, 23:34
Had to look those terms up - I'm definitely an endomorph.
Really? I saw a picture you posted a few months ago, and i would have thought you'd be an ectomorph. But if I'm honest I never really got my head around that stuff. Part of the reason I didn't follow up after completing my first year in sports therapy. I was the class favourite when it came to massages though :)
Really? I saw a picture you posted a few months ago, and i would have thought you'd be an ectomorph. But if I'm honest I never really got my head around that stuff. Part of the reason I didn't follow up after completing my first year in sports therapy. I was the class favourite when it came to massages though :)
That might have been a photo of my friend with whom I travelled up and down the Dalmatian coast earlier this year. It's not me as I took the photos.
I'm definitely a skinny 'so and so'.
That might have been a photo of my friend with whom I travelled up and down the Dalmatian coast earlier this year. It's not me as I took the photos.
I'm definitely a skinny 'so and so'.
well your not an endomrph then
well your not an endomrph then
Yes, you're right - I'm an ectomorph. I had to look at the diagrams. My travelling companion is endomorphic, as is my partner.
Pigmy Pony
05-12-2023, 07:38
That might have been a photo of my friend with whom I travelled up and down the Dalmatian coast earlier this year. It's not me as I took the photos.
I'm definitely a skinny 'so and so'.
I'm sure you said it was you in the photo - indoors and wearing a striped shirt iirc and tie, and looking very dapper (by AoS standards anyway) :)
BMI is laughable. The fact that my weight (and now waist maesurement) is the same as when I was 20, and extremely active, playing Rugby and cycling to work and back every day, but I am still “overweight”. I don’t know where the extra six kg are going to come from to get to a “healthy” score, but I shall do my best. I am not willing to lose muscle mass though, as that means I am no longer active
I'm sure you said it was you in the photo - indoors and wearing a striped shirt iirc and tie, and looking very dapper (by AoS standards anyway) :)
Oh that photograph. Yes, that was me. :)
BMI is laughable. The fact that my weight (and now waist maesurement) is the same as when I was 20, and extremely active, playing Rugby and cycling to work and back every day, but I am still “overweight”. I don’t know where the extra six kg are going to come from to get to a “healthy” score, but I shall do my best. I am not willing to lose muscle mass though, as that means I am no longer activeMuscle is heavier I think than fat so your extra muscle may be tilting your score
walpurgis
05-12-2023, 08:28
I am not willing to lose muscle mass though, as that means I am no longer active
I've lost muscle and I'm active.
Might have something to do with my advanced years though :).
Pigmy Pony
05-12-2023, 18:44
BMI is laughable. The fact that my weight (and now waist maesurement) is the same as when I was 20, and extremely active, playing Rugby and cycling to work and back every day, but I am still “overweight”. I don’t know where the extra six kg are going to come from to get to a “healthy” score, but I shall do my best. I am not willing to lose muscle mass though, as that means I am no longer active
Sounds like you're already sorted. Ignore the scales. Remember: you carry fat, but muscle carries you :)
Pigmy Pony
05-12-2023, 18:56
I've lost muscle and I'm active.
Might have something to do with my advanced years though :).
It's called sarcopenia. Starts around age 30, where muscle mass reduces by about 5% per decade, and this decline will accelerate as we age. What a depressing thought. However this decline can be slowed, even stopped by taking regular resistance exercise. Maybe I'll go back to the gym after Christmas when I officially become an OAP, maybe that'll get me a discount :)
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