Hey everyone. How's it going?

I've been running since I was 9 years old. I only started using a treadmill recently. My doctor suggested it as I have been having knee problems and I refuse to stop running completely for any length of time. The treadmill has more cushion than the road and all that...

Anyway, these things are kind of dangerous, no? I average about 7 minute miles no matter what distance I race (except marathons are closer to 8 minute miles). Anyway....you get the treadmill up to say 9.0 and you are pretty much asking for an injury, right?

I picture myself losing my balance and then flying off the end of that thing. At my gym, that would slap me up against one of the elliptical machines behind me. Shouldn't they have these things with the wall directly behind them and perhaps a mattress or mat on the wall in case one flies off the end of the machine?

I had a crappy experience on the StairMaster the first time I used it. I lost my balance and fell but landed on my feet because that's how the thing is designed. The treadmill, well damn it seems pretty dangerous to me.

Anyone here ever fly off the end of one of these or see someone fly off the end of one?

Thoughts? Advice?

Originally posted by Excitable_Boy
Anyone here ever fly off the end of one of these or see someone fly off the end of one?

When that happens, it's usually because it was too fast.

Running isn't particularly friendly on the knees no matter what your running on, running on grass or other soft surfaces however can reduce the impact and thus the strain put on the knees.

I don't know why he recommended using the treadmill, I can't see the impact being less than running on a road.

I hate treadmills. It's like running on a flimsy tightrope. They aren't sturdy beneath your feet- they make noise under you and vibrate. It's hard to hit a flat out run on one because when you're going all out your speed is going to fluctuate. If you're tall (and maybe if you aren't, I wouldn't know) you have to worry about stepping off the belt by accident (don't get your ankle pinned against the belt, it hurts), and when you're running hard you may feel the need to stare at your feet to make sure you don't trip over yourself, which really makes it boring.

The view never changes either. I don't know the clientelle at your gym so you'll have to decide whether that goes under pro or con.

My advice- slow down as much as your doc wants you to- walk if needbe. Just keep up your legs and your habbit that way. Adopt a low impact or upper-body based cardio program until you're ready to run again.

You'd be suprised how little running you have to do to maintain the ability to run. At MCRD they do it almost all on short sprints and jumping jacks- runs of more than a mile are not even a weekly event these days, because it turns out that if the only thing you ever do is open soda cans and wear out couch cushions, you get osteoporosis in every bone except your thumb and your ass, and that makes it dangerous to ask young Americans to run long distances.

Of course those are even higher impact than running, but there are low impact substitutes- anything that gets you moving a lot of muscle very quickly will do it.

Thank you everyone. UK Wizard: Hello. My doctor really wants me to take a break and use an elliptical but not going to happen. I do use an elliptical and have one at home but use strictly for cross training. A treadmill does have some give to it so it does have less impact compared to running on pavement or even in the desert here where I live as the ground is pretty hard. Not too many surfaces I can run on around here that aren't hard.

Running is getting less and less friendly on my knees as I get older.

Vagabond: Hey what's up? Balance is definitely an issue on these things. Whe I run outside I don't listen to music. I have always liked peace and quiet and the sound of the road under my feet and nature aroudn me. I could never understand how nayone could run with headphones on. It's a balance issue really. I guess the joggers can do it but not the runners.

My gym has TVs on each machine with cable. I guess that's cool. I can deal with it on the elliptical but it again effects my balance while running. I will watch the silent screen instead of listening to whatever I decide to watch. Even then, it's an issue with paying attention to what I am doing on the machine.

There's some okay scenery at my gym and there's pretty good view of most of the gym from the cardio machines. Most of the babes have their bubble on (their force fields that they think makes them invisible) or they have the "boyfriend hanger on" who basically hovers over his woman like someone is going to pounce on her if he's not paying attention. You know this guy...he'll use the machine next to her or stop by every frive or ten minutes to make sure everyone knows he owns her.

My wife goes to the gym with me sometimes and I honestly prefer she leave me alone and I leave her alone. We are not at all on the same page with regards to what we are there for.

But the view is pretty much always the same. The same women, etc. Ocassionally a new one shows up and it's like being in prison when the bus comes with the "fresh fish."

Anyway...it appears I can't runas fast as I want to on that thing. I will justhave to keep it at a pace I can maintain without killing myself!

Peace!

I'll rarely put myself through that kind of a gym scene anymore. I get angry too easily and start impugning the masculinity of people who make themselves obstacles. That definitely includes the Girlfriend Guardian, who sits on a bench next to his girl as if alternating sets with her, leaning just enough in her direction to pretend that he could get there in time if she needed a spot, and then tells you he wants to crank out one more set when you finally ask him to move after 10 minutes of waiting for him to show some sign of life.

Actually the best gym I know is at a community college that I don't think has seen a dime of new equipment in my lifetime. You'd think that would suck, but put me in a small room with a full set of dumbells and a bunch of teenagers who don't even want to be there, much less be in my way, and I'm happy. And if it only costs me 8 bucks a month, so much the better.

(And, Incidentally, the proper proceedure for dealing with the girlfriend guardian is as follows:
1. Walk up and ask if you can have one of his beers.
2. Act confused when he doesn't have any beer.
3. Ask where the TV remote is.
4. Act confused when he doesn't have a TV remote.
5. Look around in a daze, then give him an "aha" look and cautiously confide in him, "dude, I'm starting to think this ain't your living room".
6. Make eye contact to signify that you are deeply convinced of your theory.)

I don't know if it would work but I always thought it would be really fun to see how they react.

Just had an idea. But if you take this seriously, I strongly suggest that you get one of those "invisibility bubbles" that the women at the gym use.

Get an IV pole tall enough to hang one of those bouncy harnesses from (like the ones for toddlers except big and not colorful). That will bear some of your weight when you run.