18 Sep Five advantages to using a treadmill

There aren’t too many pieces of equipment in a gym that can offer the benefits of using a treadmill.
Here are five of the best advantages to using a treadmill:
1. People of nearly all ages and physical abilities can get at least some use out of a treadmill. As long as you can walk and keep your balance, you can benefit from a treadmill.
2. A treadmill has a predictable surface that is much easier to walk or run on than roads, sidewalks, curbs, trails, etc., where the risk of tripping or suffering an injury such as a sprained ankle is greater.
3. All aspects of a treadmill workout can be controlled by the user – speed, incline, warm up period, cool down period and energy expended and, of course, climate (you control the room temperature).
4. Treadmills enable users to design custom programs to fit their goals and time requirements.
5. Running on a treadmill usually burns calories faster than most other forms of in-home exercise, such as using an elliptical machine or riding an exercise bike.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com