A treadmill can be a beneficial exercise tool if used properly. Treadmills afford you the convenience of a cardiovascular workout without having to leave your home or expose yourself to the elements. But there are several unofficial rules of treadmill use that you need to understand and respect. Knowing how to operate a treadmill, perform safe treadmill practices and practice treadmill etiquette are important parts of a general treadmill routine.
Treadmill Operation
Knowing how to operate your treadmill is an important, according to TreadmillTalk.com. Before you begin your treadmill workout, familiarize yourself with your treadmill's control panel. Note the location of all the buttons, especially the location of the pause and emergency stop buttons. These are your safety buttons, and they can stop your treadmill's belt at any point in your workout should it be required.
When you're beginning your treadmill workout, never start your treadmill while you're standing on the belt. It's safer if you stand on the side rails as you start your treadmill, holding your treadmill's railings if necessary. Use one of your feet to get a sense of how fast you'll be walking before you put both of your feet on the belt and start walking. Once you're walking on your treadmill, increase your speed in small increments. Treadmills typically have a high top end for speed, so be careful as you're increasing your speed. A good general rule is to increase your speed by 0.10 mph with each adjustment so you're not caught unaware and thrown off the back of your machine.
Treadmill Behavior
Treadmills can be dangerous pieces of exercise equipment if you don't follow some basic safety rules. One of the most important safety rules of treadmill use is to start walking or running at a low speed. Jumping onto a treadmill while the belt is moving quickly is extremely dangerous because you can easily lose your balance and fall on the belt. This can result in friction burns and even trauma.
Never run on a conventional treadmill if somebody else is already running or walking on that treadmill. There's simply not enough room for two or more people to exercise safely, and the likelihood of injury increases should one person trip and fall. When you're exercising on a treadmill, don't look sideways, down or backward because there's a tendency for you to run or walk in the direction you're looking. Keeping your focus directly in front of you will help keep you from planting your feet in the wrong place. If you're shoelace comes undone during your workout, step off your treadmill and pause the belt. Standing on the belt may cause you to lose your balance and fall.
Treadmill Etiquette
When exercising on a treadmill in a public setting, such as a gym, it's important that you follow some basic treadmill etiquette rules, according to CompleteRunning.com. Practicing treadmill etiquette involves using small cloths and disinfectant spray---often provided as a courtesy by the gym---to mop up any pools of sweat you have left behind once you have finished your workout. Take a few seconds to wipe down your treadmill's railings and console. However, it's easy to overdo it with the spray. Because gym treadmills tend to be clustered, there's an increased likelihood that the spray---whose fumes can be disruptive and unappealing to others---may affect nearby exercisers. Consider spritzing your cloth away from your treadmill, then using your wet cloth to tidy your space. When you're exercising on your treadmill, it's also considered poor etiquette to ogle another person's console. If you find that somebody else is watching your readout, consider draping a towel over your console as a deterrent.
One of the most important rules of treadmill etiquette is to obey the time limits of treadmill usage established by the gym. Understand your gym's policies about time limits on its treadmills and adjust your workout accordingly. Hovering as you wait for a treadmill to open up is also considered poor treadmill etiquette. After you have finished exercising on your treadmill, consider changing your sweaty clothes, especially if you're moving on to a strength workout in which you'll be using machines or equipment that others will also be using. If you don't have a change of clothes, consider taking a brief walk outside if the air is cooler to help dry off.
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