Every person I’ve ever seen at my health club, who uses this machine, uses it incorrectly, tricking themselves into believing they will get results, be it weight loss, more stamina, or improved hiking skills. I’ve seen perhaps only two people using it the right way.
The Treadclimber is a hulking piece of cardio equipment that’s often featured in infomercials. Here’s what everyone does wrong: They hold on to either the bar in front, or the rails on the side. This is not something that little old ladies at the gym do; even the big, tough-looking dudes grab the rails.
The whole purpose of the “treadles” is to improve balance and build hill-climbing stamina. This won’t happen if the user clings to the rails. The treadles combine walking (treadmill) with climbing (revolving staircase). There are two treadles; one for each foot, and they move up and down in an alternating fashion. If you don’t hold on, it feels like you’re walking up a sand dune or a hill of soft snow.
Holding on eradicates this effect. You are no longer balancing. The rails become your support base. But outdoors, you have NO support base. If you’re trudging up a forest floor or some hilly course, there are no rails to hold onto. You are totally on your own, and must rely on balance, coordination and steadiness-all from you, not from some chunk of metal.
So when you cling to the Treadclimber, you are not training your body to be efficient at hill walking, nor are you truly challenging your cardiovascular system. I have yet to witness a person get out of breath while clinging to this machine. It’s ridiculous. These are not physically handicapped people. In fact, the vast majority are young, ranging from 20-something to 40-something, and many are men.
They are not lazy. If they were lazy, they wouldn’t even be at the gym. The problem is that they are not informed. Personal trainers have a responsibility to educate patrons on correct use of cardio equipment.
Sure, it’s more comfortable to hold on. But feeling comfortable will not melt off fat, nor will it give you the cardio conditioning and stamina that you seek. Slow your pace on this machine, then let go. Surprise! Your legs will actually be working! You’ll truly feel like you’re climbing.
Some people hold on the front bar and lean way back. This makes it even easier; a total cheat-walk. Other users press their hands on the side rails. When very tall men do this, it subtracts body weight from the treadles; and these men are essentially walking with significantly reduced body weight. This will not give rise to better conditioning, because this creates a “light gravity” workload.
When these men venture onto a hiking trail, they must battle regular gravity with their actual body weight. They will struggle with their climbing, and wonder why the Treadclimber didn’t prepare them.
The informercials used to show all the models holding on. But the updated, latest informercials alternate between models holding fast to the machine, and models walking in a natural state, with arms gently swinging or sometimes pumping.
You will get superior better results in much less time if you remove your hands from the machine. It goes as slow as 1 mile an hour with the treadles bobbing up and down; so if you feel you’ll fall off if you let go, then slow the pace to 1 mile an hour if necessary. If that’s too easy, then increase speed in one-half-a-mile-per-hour increments. Work at it. Concentrate on balance. If you want a heart rate check, hold on, but then let go after the heart rate number appears. Keep those hands off the machine unless you are turning around to talk to someone.
