The Treadmill, Still Going Strong After 50 Years

Initially designed for medical use the first treadmill was created in 1952, it was later recognized as having great fitness benefits and being a weatherproof alternative to walking or running in the great outdoors.

Despite all manner of new and more sophisticated exercise equipment, the treadmill remains the most popular machine for use in both the gym and the home.

It is ideal for burning off calories and toning your muscles.

Interestingly the Graduate School of Business, part of Stanford University has just concluded a study which discovered that gym membership is costing people far greater than they need to actually pay. Commonly members do not use the facilities regularly enough to cover the cost they are paying.fitness tools

Finding time to get to the gym can be hard in an already hectic schedule which is where the treadmill comes in.

Fitness experts advise that two fifteen minute sessions of exercise are just as beneficial as a full half hour of working.

This type of regime is ideally suited to the treadmill as you can divide your regime into slots of time to fit in with your day. [treadmill workouts]

An article recently featured in a popular woman’s magazine claimed that walking was the best possible exercise, burning more actual fat, than any other.

Apparently the stores of fat are accessed immediately when you walk, even quite gently, as opposed to using up all the body’s sugars first beforehand. The latter is known as glycogen and is there to provide an immediate source of energy.

Even the American Medical Association have ranked the humble treadmill as the number one machine for losing weight by using cardiovascular type exercise [cardiovascular fitness]. It is the bigger leg muscles that are put to work and this is why it burns the maximum possible amount of calories.

Some machines can even work to stimulate walking up a hill which is even better for you and a new phenomenon that of walking with poles can be tried too on a treadmill.

But the overriding reason that the treadmill is still so popular is quite simply convenience. It is there when you need it, you can walk and watch your favorite TV show at the same time and even read a book.

Another consideration is that, what you do is private, so if you feel unhappy with your body image, which is obviously the key reason why most people decide to take up exercise, then you don’t have to worry about how you look. You can even be naked if you so desire, as long as you close the drapes, of course.